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!

l was in a meeting recently with a large group of executives from one of Australia’s biggest companies. Half of the executives had iPad, (tablet envy anyone? ). Early in the meeting as l was feverishly taking notes on my tablet pc (Active digitizer of course). One of the execs turned to us and said,

"Wow, you really use those things don’t you!"

Interestingly none of the 7 iPads did anything during the meeting. Why?

This is not an isolated experience. I observe it all to often. Every plane flight l take lately, l get up and have a scan around to see what the iPads are doing… I’m yet to see one doing work on any of my regular flights. I’ve seen plenty of solitaire though…

In the meantime I used my last 3 hour flight to process 250 emails… Contacts created, appointments calendared, meetings requested, emails sent, spread sheets analysed. Perth to Melbourne seems to go in about 5 mins thanks to my Tablet PC and the power of the Active Digitiser Pen!

What my experience tells me is that even the slickest touch experience cannot come close to accomplishing what the Digital Pen can. Touch input is blunt, slow, frustrating and dumb. The only thing it has is convenience. That’s good, but it’s not enough alone…

Active Digitizer = Heavy Lifting

For a science / education perspective on why active digitizer technology is still the best method of input for real work, check out this article from John K. Waters. – Style, but no stylus.

I should add of course that I own an iPad amongst dozers of touch tablets. I’ve also been working with touch input for nearly 20 years now, and the last 10 with tablets and PDA’s – In other words, I’m no stranger to what’s possible!

As Tablet PC resellers, we have helped many, many Mac users switch to the PC platform. The best kept technology secrets (Windows 7 Tablet PC with OneNote) once discovered are so compelling that even the best of Apple’s marketing machine can’t compete.

The ability to take handwritten searchable notes on a powerful PC platform – once discovered – outguns the slickest, shiniest gadgets that the market has to offer.

Don’t believe me? Then read this from a Tablet PC teacher who wrote in to John Guin’s OneNote blog:

From: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/johnguin/archive/2010/12/16/a-nice-letter-from-a-teacher-using-onenote.aspx

This is reminiscent of many of our experiences in switching Mac users to the Tablet PC.

I hope folks high up in Microsoft and their hardware partners take note of comments like this. Many companies like HP, seem to have swallowed the rhetoric on multi-touch and have become blinded to the untouched market for real productivity Tablet PCs (Perhaps why the are jagging around with the HP slate 500).

Fortunately, some companies are alert to the power of Tablet PCs with touch AND pen (Running OneNote!) and you’ll see a number of new tablets emerging shortly into a new age of accessible Tablet PCs for the mass market!

Cheek out the OneNote Facebook page to see how many Mac uses are begging for a Mac, iPhone and iPad version… it’ll never happen of course. Ok, so onenote for iPhone is out now in the US only which will be a big bonus for the masses of PC based iPhone users, but still no sign of Mac and iPad versions…

Most Tablet PC users agree that Microsoft’s best kept secret is OneNote. It’s a brilliant tool for a regular PC, but when you use it on a Tablet PC with digital ink it reveals it’s genius.

Here are a couple of OneNote highlights:

• Digital note taking with background handwriting recognition
• Searchable handwritten notes
• Automatic synchronization to web, network shares or USB key – Auto backup
• Powerful heaper linking (down to paragraph level)
• Automatic saving – never lose unsaved work again!

OneNote Resources for you!

To help you get started with Microsoft OneNote, you should check out the OneNote Facebook page. Note the number at Mac users pining for OneNote for Mac, and feel the satisfaction of using it on your tablet PC!

You should also keep tabs on this blog which is the most informative OneNote blog l have found. Don’t let the name mislead upon, although its author John Guin is in the OneNote testing team, this blog offers many helpful tips, power, toys and solutions for regular OneNote users!

Happy Inking!

Whilst the consumer technology media goes mad over touch based systems, you can see from this video that Active Digitizer Pen technology is far superior for many jobs that require precise input.

On a large screen like you’ll see touch can really get in the way by causing all sorts of accidental inputs. On the other hand this interactive pen display allows you to rest your hands naturally on screen, just like you would on a plan board.

The Wacom Interactive Pen Display uses Wacom’s advanced active digitizer technology to deliver pressure and proximity sensitivity via the intelligent Pen.

The Digitizer Pen includes several programmable buttons that allow you to perform functions on screen and it can also take advantage of inbuilt Windows 7 Tablet PC productivity enhancements like pen flicks.

For a live demonstration of the Wacom Interactive Pen Display, contact Tablet PC on 03 9999 1601 or at info@tabletpc.com.au.

Sure, multi-touch features are pretty cool and nice to have, but what does a swipe or a pinch really offer that is going to help you to become more productive?

Many of the people that call us insist that their Tablet PCs must have touch, but not many of them have a clear idea of why it should. There are a couple of reasons for that:

1. There is a lack of awareness of the difference between an Active Digitizer Pen and a Stylus.
2. Touch is the talk of the town
3. There is an anti-stylus agenda run by folks such as Steve Jobs from Apple.

Currently, touch offers some basic convenience for doing things like

• Clicking on links
• Typing short text on a virtual keyboard (too slow to write a paragraph without frustration though)
• Playing touch games
• Using programs specifically designed for touch

As many people have now noted, a touch screen only device does not offer you much in the way of input.

Most people don’t realize that an Active Digitizer pen is a lot smarter than a stylus. It offers you the ability to:

1. Use handwriting recognition that is accurate and fast – up to 40wpm
2. Take notes in your own handwriting – no need for text recognition or conversion, just keep your notes as handwriting
3. Annotate documents like word and PDF files in an easy and natural way.

Currently touch adds a little bit of convenience, but as Xavier Lanier noted over at Gottabemobile.com, even the die hard Apple fan boys don’t take notes on their brand new iPads – because it is not practical with only a touch screen to work with.

However, touch is destined to become much more than just a sideshow thanks to the tireless work of Microsoft Research. Touch has the ability to significantly augment the already powerful input features of the Tablet PC.

Watch the video from Microsoft Research’s Ken Hinckley here to see what we mean:

Combining natural input methods like this gets us seriously excited. As Ken points out on his accompanying blog post, this is the future of natural interface. Not just pen or touch, but both working together!

eNoteFile is developed right here in Melbourne in a partnership between Physiotherapist Bruce Cohen and Software Development Firm Kiandra.

Kiandra was recently awarded as the winner of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner of the Year Award 2009 for “Custom Development Solutions, Application Infrastructure Development.”

eNoteFile was described by Microsoft as:

“Onenote meets the mesh”

Companies and individuals who embrace Tablet PCs will benefit from the unique digital ink, note taking, visual search and web synchronisation capabilities of eNoteFile.

Australians will be familiar with organisations who have been using eNoteFile on Tablet PCs such as:

• The Melbourne Storm NRL Club

• The Geelong Cats AFL Club

eNoteFile is an essential application for your Tablet PC or Notebook, and best of all, eNoteFile is free! No strings attached. Download it here (Registration required).

From the Kiandra website:

Kiandra has been awarded the Microsoft Worldwide Partner of the Year 2009 in the category of Custom Development Solutions, Application Infrastructure Development, for our custom developed eNoteFile software and hosted server solution for eNoteFile Services.

eNoteFile draws on the exceptional skills of Kiandra’s development team to securely record, manage, search, synchronise and share detailed notations and related documentation, in an seamlessly online and offline desktop-based environment.

Watch this YouTube video below to get a quick preview of just one of the features that makes eNoteFile a great Tablet and Touch app…

Although eNoteFile was originally intended as a digital ink based paper and filing eliminator for physiotherapists and allied healthcare, it has found application in a wide range of applications such as:

• Construction
• Education
• Project coordination
• Personal note taking
• Team collaboration

As a product, eNoteFile is continually improving, so we will be keeping you up to date with the latest news on eNoteFile.

New Software Launch Provides Tablet PC Powered ‘Green’ Mobility Solution

CANBERRA, ACT – April 22, 2009 – Capitaleyes Business Technologies, a leading provider of document driven process improvement solutions, in conjunction with its strategic partner, www.TabletPC.com.au has announced the release of a low cost, high value software suite to the Australian market in support of Earth Day 2009.

The solution suite is centred on bridging the gap between the collection of vital information on paper forms and how and where that information is subsequently stored and then made available throughout the organisation. The use of a true Digital Ink e‐Forms technology, together with the handwriting recognition capabilities of a new generation Tablet PC or UMPC, provides a capability that not only does away with the need for additional data entry but also helps minimise a company’s environmental footprint.

In migrating from traditional paper to electronic business processes, organisations can generate numerous benefits and significant return on investment through more efficient digital workflows and reduced costs. The adoption of electronic processes to exchange information both internally and externally decreases and often eliminates paper, reducing the impact organisations have on the environment by conserving land and water resources as well as decreasing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

For example, an employee filling out 20 paper forms each month (10 pages each) during site visits could save the following each year by converting just half of these to electronic transactions:

“Enabling streamlined business process through migration from paper to electronic is a central component of the value we bring and is a common theme across our entire product and service portfolio,” said Kevin Burdette, Principal of Capitaleyes Business Technologies. “By deploying our solutions, organisations can leverage mature technology to drive environmentally‐friendly business practices, lower their carbon footprint and achieve their environmental and business goals.”

About Capitaleyes Business Technologies

CAPITALEYES BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES provides software and consulting services to improve the outcomes of an organisation’s business process improvement strategies through the use of mature, innovative information exchange technologies. Founded in 2008, CAPITALEYES BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES is headquartered in Canberra with partners in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and the USA. For more information, please visit: www.capitaleyesbt.com.au.

“I can type way faster than I can write.”

Well, duh!

It seems that some people think that Tablet PC pen input is an exclusive technology that supercedes and overrides all other input methods.

Now, before you decide to throw away your keyboard and mouse because you’re going to buy a Tablet PC… stop and pay attention:

Handwriting recognition and Tablet PCs are not designed to stop you from using a regular keyboard and mouse!

…or touch, or speech, or blink input, or deep brain magnetic resonance commands*, or whatever other new input technology comes out in the next 15 years!

Guess what? I too can type way faster than I can write.

Therefore, because my Tablet PC is my everyday computer, when I’m in the office I use a docking station with a large LCD screen, an external DVD writer and a wireless keyboard and mouse.

I also keep a convertible keyboard in my car for those situations when pen input just won’t do.

Of course, the addition of pen input means that you can use your computer in so many new ways and so many new places.

The fact is, no one is going to stop typing altogether on a keyboard any time soon!

*I haven’t invented deep brain magnetic resonance commands yet, but will keep you posted.

Email – meet Tablet PC

With a Tablet PC and Office 2007 (or Office 2003) you can send email in handwriting. That enables you to send emails from places like:

• An airport lounge
• A doctors waiting room
• A cafe over coffee

Tablet PCs allow you to maximise your working time by enabling you to use a fully functional PC in places where you generally wouldn’t use a laptop.

Brush up your handwriting skills, because you’re going to need them again. Tablet PCs are great productivity tools.