TabletKiosk Sahara i440D Tablet PC Review
By Chris De Herrera, Founder
Date:  8/6/2007

Introduction

The Sahara i440D represents a significant step forward for Tablet PC technology. It incorporates an Intel Core Duo processor and PCI Express video card which make Windows Vista come alive for Tablet PC users especially with Aero Glass.

Front - The Sahara i440D

For a complete set of pictures see Sahara i440D Pictures

Ergonomics

The Sahara i440D continues the sleek look and finish of prior Tablet Kiosk Sahara Tablet PCs. It’s matte “pearl” finish doesn’t show scratches and does not require polishing. It’s not very heavy at 3.3 pounds. However it does run warm on the back if you hold it on your lap.
 

Buttons

While it has all the standard buttons – CTRL-ALT-DEL, rotate screen and volume up/down, it also has 4 programmable buttons. The top button on the right is use to switch digitzers between the active digitizer (wacom) and the touch screen. You’ll hear 2 beeps that tell you are in the active digitizer and 1 beep for the passive digitizer.

Display

The 12” screen is bright and great for indoor use however it is marginal to use in direct sunlight depending on the angle. Also, it helps that there is a matte finish on the screen – so you won’t see all those finger prints from using the touch screen.

Storage

The 80 GB hard drive which works with the TPM support to allow you to encrypt your data offers high performance storage.  I liked the idea of the eSata port however I did not have time to test this.  Also, I used the PC Card slot to transfer files and it worked great.  I can see this being used by users with a EvDO or other high speed cellular card for internet access away from the office.

Battery

The 6 cell battery allowed me to use the Sahara i440D for 2 1/2 to 3 hours per charge with the backlight on the screen turned up bright.  Of course your mileage will vary depending on how bright you keep the screen and how much you use the hard disk or what peripherals you use with it.

Accessories

With the Sahara i440D I received the case and the stand.  The case is designed to allow you to easily carry just the Tablet PC and still protect it.  The stand is very handy since it folds flat and when it unfolds it allows you to quickly use your Tablet PC on a hard surface like a desktop.

Conclusion

The only things I wish it had are screen up/down buttons or a jog wheel to scroll without using the stylus which I use when I’m reading so I don’t have to use a stylus to scroll. Other than these issues, the Sahara represents the type of Tablet PC I want for my next machine!

For more information on the Sahara i440D visit Tablet Kiosk.

Specifications

Hardware Specifications

Processor
Intel® Core™ Duo LV L2500
2 CPU Cores @ 1.83 GHz
32KB/32KB L1 cache, 2 MB shared L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB
Intel® Virtualization Technology
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology

Chipsets
Intel® 945 GM Express North Bridge with 533 MHz and 667 MHz FSB Support
Intel® ICH7-M South Bridge with 10 GB/s full duplex DMI, PCI Express 1.0a
ACPI 1.0b and 2.0 Compliant, supports C0-C4, S0, S3-S5 power states, Intel® SpeedStep® Technology

Memory
2x SODIMM DDR2 (Unbuffered, 64-bits/channel) slots with initial configurations of 512 MB - 2.0 GB
Upgradeable to 4.0 GB with 2.0 GB SODIMMs
(modules available Q2 2007)
Supports Single Channel, Dual Channel Symmetric, or Dual Channel Asymmetric DDR2 Configurations
Supports Reduced Power DDR2 (RPDDR2)
Intel® Rapid Memory Power Management

Battery
Rechargeable 6-Cell Lithium Ion Smart Battery Pack
(3800 mAh @ 11.1 V, 42W/hr)
Over Charge Protection, Over Discharge Protection, Over Current and Output Short Protection, Over Thermal Protection

Hard Drive
2.5" 9.5 mm, Ultra DMA SATA 150 MB/s
Configurations from 80 GB to 160 GB @ 5,400 rpm
Configurations from 60 GB to 100 GB @ 7,200 rpm

Video
Intel® GMA 950 PCI Express, 250 MHz Core Render Clock at 1.05V core
DirectX 9.1 Compatible, Intel® Dual Frequency Graphics Technology, Intel® Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0
Windows Vista™ Aero capable
Intel® Smart 2D Display Technology, High Performance MPEG-2 Decoding, VLD/iDCT Hardware Acceleration
Screen rotates 0°, 90°
1024 x 768 Landscape, 768 x 1024 Portrait
Dual Display Support
External Display up to QXGA (2048 x 1536) with CRT Hot Plug support

Display
12.1" TFT XGA LCD Wide Angle Display
Dual Mode Active Digitizer and Touch Screen, Hot Mode Switchable
PanJit SRII Sunlight Readable Screen (Optional)

Audio
Intel® High Definition Audio Interface (ICH7-M)
Independent Bus Master Logic for eight (8) general purpose streams: 4 in / 4 out
ALC262-VC2-GR HD Codec
AC '97 Compatible
Multichannel 32-bit / 44.1KHz/48KHz/96KHz/192KHz sampling rate output (DAC)
Multichannel 32-bit / 44.1KHz/48KHz/96KHz sampling rate input (ADC)
Built-in Stereo Speakers and Dual Digital Microphone Array for added fidelity and accuracy
3.5 mm Headphone & Microphone Plug 'n Play Jacks

Wireless
Intel® Pro 3945 Dual-Band/Tri-Mode 802.11 a/b/g Networking with Power ON/OFF Switch
802.11 d/e Quality of Service (QoS), 802.11h (Active Client Radar Detection) support
64-bit and 128-bit WEP Encryption, Hardware AES (128-bit, 192-bit, 256-bit key sizes)
Supports IEEE 802.11 Power Save Protocol (PSP)
Bluetooth® 2.0+EDR built-in USB module with Power ON/OFF Switch

Finger Print Reader
Patented TruePrint Technology for best Ability to Acquire (ATA)
High Definition 128x8 TruePrint Technology based pixels
6.5mm x .40mm 500 pixel per inch array
USB 2.0 High Speed interface with Suspend and Remote Wake-up
Full Support for C3 Selective Suspend Mode
Built-in Low Power Finger Detection with Remote Wake-up capability

TPM Security
Single-Chip Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
Embedded TPM 2.1 Firmware
TPM Administration Tool provides Owners/Users Management and Key Archive Policies
Trusted Group Computing (TCG) v1.1B / v1.2 configurable mode of operations

Expansion Slot

PCMCIA 2.1 Compliant, Supports one (1) Type II 32-bit PC Card Bus Architecture
I/O Ports
1x RJ-11 56Kbps v.90 Fax/Modem
1x RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps Full Duplex (2.5 Gbps single-lane channel) Ethernet
2x USB 2.0
1x IEEE 1394a, 6-pin
1x eSATA
1x DC-In
1x 3.5mm Audio Out, 1x 3.5mm Audio In
1x VGA port, HD15
1x Cradle Connector

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