Below is a very simple demonstration of the native support for digital ink in Microsoft Office programs like Word, Excel and PowerPoint as well as the amazing handwriting recognition capabilities of Windows 7.

In reality, it’s much easier to ink when you have your tablet undocked and in your hand or flat on the tablet. I’m thinking that Tablet in the video might be set in the dock to show the fact that it has a docking option.

And that reminds me, the Australian version of the Samsung Slate Series 7 Tablet PC that is set to arrive next week includes the dock and keyboard as shown in this video.

The dock is very small and portable but it gives you the ability to use your Tablet like a PC when you want to. Inputs and outputs on the dock include:

• Power – Just dock the tablet to charge

• Full size HDMI – Connect to a Projector, Monitor or TV with ease
• Ethernet – Essential for corporate networks and maximum network speed
• USB 2.0 – Connect a Keyboard, Mouse, USB Memory, Camera, Phone – anything
• Audio – Headphones, Speaker, Microphone.

Of course it also props the display up at a nice angle. The keyboard is a nice compact Bluetooth model.

As a person who spends most of my time on the road, this dock is a very attractive option. During the day, I use my Motion F5v tablet as a slate, taking handwritten notes, writing emails, preparing quotes and showing people information on screen.

At night though, I could be at a hotel room, and I often need to type up some more lengthy information that I’d be more confortable typing. Whilst I can write on screen faster than typing on a touch keyboard (30-35wpm vs 20-25wpm), as a computer geek for most of my life I can still type faster when seated at a tablet with a physical keyboard (60wpm).

With the Samsung Slate PC Series 7 you could carry the dock in your bag and bring it out when needed to make an instant PC!

Anyway, it’s great to see Samsung rediscovering the Windows Tablet PC and finally seeing the benefits of the Wacom Active Digitizer Pen!

The Intel Core i7 versions of the J3500 and F5v went from the i7-640UM 1.2Ghz processor up to the i7-680UM processor at 1.46Ghz. The core i5 version also got a bump.

Whilst the low power Intel Core i7 processor in the F5v and J3500 is still the last generation “Arrandale” chip, it is still between four to ten times more powerful than the Intel Atom based processors found in many rugged Tablet PCs depending on the test performed.

Of course you can’t beat an Intel Atom based tablet for battery life, but there are several reasons that sales of F5v and J3500 with Intel Core i7 have increased at pace with the introduction of the Motion Computing CL900:

• 4-10 Times more powerful than Intel Atom
• Up to 8Gb of RAM
• Desktop replacement power

Whilst the CL900 is fantastic for basic computing tasks like field data collection into web forms, PDF files or Microsoft Excel, it cannot match the performance of the F5v or J3500 for people who need a go-anywhere mobile office.

Judging by the number F5v and J3500s going out with 8Gb RAM on board, a surprising number of people do need brute computing power in the field.

The Motion J3500 also gets a bump up to the faster Gobi 3000 mobile broadband chip with GPS.

Handheld / Standalone Mobile Barcode Scanner

For Tablet PCs with a USB port or Bluetooth Connection (i.e. all of our Tablet PCs) we have standalone micro barcode scanners like the Opticon OPN2001 and Opticon OPN2002. These features some amazing capabilities such as:

• Tiny 29gram weight in a matchbox size
• Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Polymer Batteries
• An impressive array of 1D and 2D barcode support
• Up to 25,000 Barcode Scan Storage
• Bluetooth and USB connectivity
• Easy USB charging via the ubiquitous mini USB standard port.

Opticon OPN2002 – Bluetooth and USB version for live Bluetooth, USB connecting and batch scanning.

Opticon OPN2001 – USB Only version for USB connected or batch scanning.

These two barcode scanners can be integrated directly into your software with an extensive SDK available. Our models come pre-configured for direct entry (keyboard wedge) input so that you can easily deploy these scanners with your Tablet PC without any extra configuration.

Integrated Barcode Scanner

The other option is to have the Barcode Scanner integrated into your tablet PC directly. For a number of years now the Motion Computing F5v has offered this feature as an option. An example can be seen below.

Motion Computing will also soon release a version of their CL900 tablet with an integrated Barcode Scanner option.

Other devices such as the CL900 can scan barcodes via the integrated rear facing camera, however this is very inefficient when compared to a dedicated purpose built barcode scanner. To try out this feature on the Motion Computing CL900, download the new QuickNav Beta for CL900.

The first video is very technical and detailed. If you’re looking for more of the actual usage experience, skip video 1 and start with videos 2 and 3.

Video 2 shows the Q550 engaged in web browsing, handwriting recognition, Outlook and OneNote. The windows touch pack is also briefly demonstrated.

The last video shows the Stylistic Q550 in video playback on YouTube, using the USA Today news app and Netflix (not available in Australia). Finally the last part shows the boot-up time.

Thanks to cmcdeed1 for sharing these videos. Couldn’t have shown the Q550 better myself!

The Fujitsu Q550 and Motion Computing CL900 both feature Intel’s new generation Atom Oaktrail processor allowing manufacturers to create lightweight small tablets with up to 8 hours battery life.

Like the extremely popular Motion CL900 the Q550 is based on Intel’s new Atom “Oaktrail” processor which consumes a tiny amount of power to deliver all day computing. It’s thin, lightweight and flexible. Best of all it runs all of your standard Windows 7 Professional applications without compromise!

Key things to note about the new Q550 are:

• Removable battery with up to 8 hours run time and several days of standby
• Integrated Fingerprint Reader and Smart Card Reader
• Ultra light weight from 730 grams
• IPS Display with 180 degree viewing
• 3 year Australian warranty.

Check out out video review part 1 below:

While you wait for us to tell you more about it, we thought we’d share a review with you from Dr Conrad Blickenstorfer of RuggedPCReview.com. The review goes into a lot of good technical detail and gives you a good overview of where the CL900 product fits in the tablet market. Read it here: http://www.ruggedpcreview.com/3_slates_motion_cl900_full.html

There are two variations due for Australian release in April and June 2011.

Updated features for April model include:

• USB 3.0 – For faster connectivity to USB devices (Memory keys, Hard Drive etc)
• Better screen bezel – The space between the edge of the LED screen and the bezel has been widened making it easier to get into the corners… The bezel also has a gentler angle to allow your fingers into the corners.
• Slightly revised design but using the same battery and accessories as the T900
• “Sandy Bridge” processor – an improved and updated version of the powerful Intel Core i7.

Updated for June model (in addition to the above):

• NVIDIA Optimus dedicated graphics

For several years now, there has only been one Tablet that offered integrated graphics (HP Tm2), but it wasn’t up to business standards. For customers who wanted to do things like run AutoCAD, Advanced Video Editing or Graphics work there were simply no great options… until now.

The new T901 will be the only Tablet PC available with dedicated graphics (HP Tm2 is no longer sold in Australia). Coupling the NVIDIA Optimus GPU with the Intel Core i7 should make the T901 the most powerful Tablet PC on the market by far.

Take a look at a preview of the T901 below:

For detailed specs, visit the Fujitsu US website. Bear in mind that the Australian configurations have not yet been announced and selected configurations from this document will be available.

What we like about it:

• Wide viewing angle (essential for Tablets and something that has been lacking on the cheaper Fujitsu convertible tablets)
• Bright 400 nit display
• Active Digitizer (smart pen) and 4 point multi-touch
• Weighs around 700 grams
• Removable / user replaceable battery and 8 hour battery life
• Smart card and fingerprint reader security built in.

Take a look at this Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 promo video:

The Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 is due in Australia in May. It is definitely an important contender in the productivity and enterprise Tablet space. It should even be a hit with home users and students…