One of the things that does bug me on the iPhone is the lack of flash support. The reason that it bugs me is that it completely limits the viewing of websites like YouTube. Yes, “there is an app for that”, but as the video here points out users should not have to be thinking about apps all the time – besides the YouTube app on the iPhone is unreliable and very limited in my experience.

So with Flash Player on the HP Slate device,  I’m able to access the full web and not just a part of it. – Alan Tam, Adobe Flash Marketing

Fortunately as you will see in the following video, soon we will have a consumer oriented slate device that will support flash in the HP Slate.

After my fantastic experience with Windows 7 multi-touch on the Fujitsu T4310, T900 and HP Tm2, I think it is definitely worth passing over the iPad to wait for a real consumer slate that acts just like my PC.

What we do know is that the HP Slate:

• Runs Windows 7
• Has a 10” multi-touch screen
• Is designed for viewing media
• Runs flash!

According to this video, HP has been holding back on the Slate for two years now to make sure that you could afford it!

We’re looking forward to getting our hands on the HP Slate soon!

What we really loved is how zippy and responsive the multi-touch screen is. So we took a video of a number of Windows 7 multi-touch goodies including:

• Microsoft Collage – This really shows how smooth and slick Multi-Touch applications can be under Windows 7
• Microsoft Virtual Earth – Another touch goody from the Microsoft Surface team, included in the Windows 7 Touch Pack – Very fast app as you’ll see
• Multi-Touch typing on the virtual keyboard of the Tablet PC Input Panel
• Handwriting Recognition – The best kept secret of Windows
• Touch web browsing.

The Fujitsu T4310 is an absolute pleasure to use. It has a very fast Intel Core 2 Duo processor, but it also has a great 5+ hour battery life.

Take a look at the video here:

The 2740p retains exactly the same form as the 2710p and the 2730p with the welcome addition of a multi-touch capacitive screen and the new Intel i7 processor.

Cheek out the gottabemobile.com review below:

Take a look at the following video from a long time Tablet PC user in Malaysia who compares the resistive touch screen on the Fujitsu UH900 to the capacitive touch screen on the Lenovo S10. During the video he shows:

• Writing with a stylus pen on the resistive touch screen – good experience on the fast and small UH900, although not quite as good as active digitizer
• Writing with finger on the the capacitive touch screen – no leverage, very hard to sustain for longer than a few seconds
• Writing with a pogo stick on a capacitive touch screen – like using a crayon.

Fast forward to about 6:30 to see the pogo stick (crayon) in action.

From this video you will see that a capacitive touch screen is fairly useless for pen-like or fine input – think sketching, drawing, note taking  and handwriting. To resolve that problem, Windows Tablet PC manufacturers include an active digitizer on their capacitive touch screen Tablets.

There are several major improvements for the TouchSmart Tm2:

• Wacom digitiser pen – better pen experience in general
• Capacitive multi-touch screen
• Intel Core 2 Duo Ultra Low Voltage – Cooler, quieter, better battery life
• Sleek new design – no optical drive cuts down size and weight
• Much better build quality – in line with the HP Envy series
• Dedicated ATI graphics – one of the only Tablets with this feature.

The Tm2 is still sports a glossy screen and is very much aimed at the consumer, but the move to Intel processors and Wacom Digitizers brings the Tm2 closer to the business market.

MobileTechReview.com HP Tm2 Video Reviews – 3 Parts

We’ll let you know as soon as it becomes available.

The key feature for really useful and functional touch Tablet PCs is the inclusion of both the Wacom Active Digitizer Pen and the capacitive touch screen. The T4310 is one of the many new Windows Tablet PCs that include both!

A touch screen on its own makes for a very limited Tablet PC experience.

Navigating web pages and opening programs is a dream with touch under Windows 7. On the other hand handwriting recognition, sketching and note taking are completely impractical with touch.

So the inclusion of the pen gives you both the convenience of touch and the note taking and sketching functionality of the accurate digitizer pen.

Take a look at the Fujitsu Lifebook T4310 in this video below:

In form, the iPad is very much what Tablet users have been wanting for a long time. It is ultra-thin at just 1.3 cm thick, and weighs around 700 grams – about the same as the weight as the Viliv X70 UMPC.

iPad is based on the iPhone OS which will give the device the benefit of simplicity. Imagine the iPad like a large iPod touch with 3G options. There are no voice call capabilities, and there is no webcam. We wonder wether Google talk – famously banned from the iPhone app store for blurring the lines of the Apple / AT&T contract in the US – will be allowed on the iPad.

As long time iPhone users we know that the iPad will lack serious field input capabilities like digitiser driven handwriting recognition – which is now at least twice as fast as virtual keyboard input. That tells us that the device is squarely aimed at content consumption rather than creation.

Essentially, the iPad will make a great colour eBook reader, basic web browser (minus flash content) and email viewer. As we have experienced for many years now with UMPCs and Tablets, these features are hard to live without once you have experienced them.

From early news, some of the groundbreaking features of the iPad are:

• Long battery life – up to 10 hours claimed
• Access to iPhone Apps – Apparently all 140,000 of them
• Simple, sleek, thin and light weight design.
• Crystal clear wide viewing screen – allows up to 178 degree viewing angles – important for a good Tablet reading experience
• Apples usual smooth multi-touch functionality
• Great line of accessories including an attachable physical keyboard and protective portfolio case.

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On early details, there is still some work to be done to bring this device to the masses:

• On screen keyboard – Great auto correction, but frustrating to navigate to symbols and features that you would find on a normal keyboard. It appears that apple have stuck very closely to the iPhone Virtual Keyboard design Microsoft do this well in the Tablet Input Panel with quick access to localised common typing commands like .com and .au.
• Glossy screen – Judging by the video the screen is very reflective and glossy which makes viewing difficult, particularly in common business environments like fluoro lighting and outdoors.
• Oddly in a world awash with widescreen, the iPad has a standard aspect 4:3 screen with 1024×768 resolution.
• No webcam.
• No stylus, note taking or handwriting input – A pressure sensitive digitiser is more accurate and handwriting is about twice as fast as virtual keyboard input. Note taking is what makes a Tablet most useful and this is missing on the iPad.
• No ruggedness ratings – One thing we know for sure is that even Tablets used purely at home take much more of beating over time than a laptop does. We have seen countless broken screens and peripherals. Although the device does include solid state storage, a serious field Tablet needs to be rugged to last.
• Limited storage – storage is from 16Gb – 64Gb depending on model selected. Great for basics, but more storage is often needed.
• No freedom – one of the biggest drawbacks of the iPhone OS is the restriction on accessing your own content like video and audio files directly. Everything must be funnelled through iTunes or the App Store, meaning that you can not just plug in your files and go like you can with a windows based Tablet.

Apple Australia’s website carries no mention of the iPad leading us to expect a long delay before we see the device in Australia. Once it does arrive though, well be sure to get one and bring you a hands on review.

One of the better convertible netbooks is the Gigabyte M1028 TouchNote. We’ve been using the Gigabyte M1028 around the office for a few months now and here are some of the key reasons that we like it:

• Good size keyboard (92% full size) with Function keys and good key placement
• High res 10” indoor touch screen (1366 x 768 pixels)
• Easy access to upgrade and expand – Standard 2.5” SATA hard drives can be upgraded easily
• 2 USB ports, Express Card Slot, SDHC Card Reader and more!
• Multi-touch track pad mouse
• Nice sturdy swivel hinge convertible design

Options include:

• 3G / Next G Mobile Broadband
• GPS
• 2Gb RAM
• Standard 160Gb or 250Gb Hard Drives
• 6 Cell battery option for 5-6 hour operating time.

The Gigabyte M1028 also makes a great eBook reader. So, if you are looking for a netbook, why not get one with a touch screen too?

Pricing

From $759 Inc GST

Contact Tablet PC on 03 9012 6602 or info@tabletpc.com.au for more information.

Microsoft loyalists may think of the 2001 launch of Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition as the beginning of the Tablet PC while many apple fans will point to the “before its time” Apple Newton of the early ‘90s.

But in his recent article in Information Week, Dr Conrad Blickenstorfer of RuggedPCReview.com points out that Tablet PCs have been around much longer than you think and gives us a lesson in Tablet PC history.

…current coverage has been in creating the impression that Microsoft invented tablet computers in 2001, rewriting history in the process. Fact is, slate and tablet computers have been around for a good 20 years, and in 1991, there was as much hype about slates as we have today.

As it turns out, pen computing has been around for a long time and this isn’t the first time it’s hit the news either. But with the runaway success of the iPhone, tomorrow (our time) could be the birth of a Tablet PC for the masses – courtesy of Apple.

It would be hard to believe that there has ever been a more anticipated computer product release… We’ll wait and see exactly what Apple will have for us, and we’ll be especially relieved if it is actually a Tablet PC! Whatever it is we hope that Apple release the product in Australia within a reasonable timeframe.