If you are available to work in Sydney and you’re interested in an opportunity to sell cutting edge Tablet PCs like the new Motion Computing F5v and Motion Computing J3500, then it might be time to contact us!

Our website generates hundreds of leads in the Sydney area so this will not involve prospecting! This opportunity would involve:

• Understanding the needs of customers
• Selecting and demonstrating appropriate Tablet PCs
• Visiting customers at their premises – this could be anywhere in NSW – travel may be required
• Managing and reporting on your own sales activity.

Send your resume through to jobs@tabletpc.com.au with a one page cover letter explaining your experience and why you would be good for the job. Phone calls will not be accepted at the initial stage.

Successful applicants will need:

• Top level communication skills – we deal with very large companies at a high level. Your presentation will need to be top notch.
• Experience with sales – tell us about your sales training in your letter.
• Technical knowledge of Tablet PCs – if you have used a Tablet PC then you’re ahead of the game.
• Access to your own presentable transport.

We will be closing applications when a suitable applicant is found and we’ll remove this post once the offer has been filled. Good luck!

Last week Motion released the J3500, an excellent revamp of the Motion J3400. We now have a Motion J3500 product page on our website with some more details for you.

We have been using a combination touch and digitizer on our Fujitsu Tablet PCs for a while now, and the announcement or the Wacom multi-touch capacitive touch screen on the J3500 fills a hole in previous models.

Some of the applications that you might find for a combination touch and digitizer tablet are:

• Point of sale (POS)
• Music recording
• Simple field data collection
• Navigation.

Touch adds a level of speed and simplicity for simple tasks like navigating and repetitive data entry (such as Point of Sale).

On the other hand, the active digitizer pen is essential for note taking, fast handwriting recognition and accurate input – tasks such as writing, emailing, drawing, sketching and plan measurement.

In the last 2 years Motion Computing has really run ahead in the Tablet PC field by focusing on the core market for Tablets – field workers. This includes industries like mining, construction, engineering, field sales, healthcare, surveying and inspections.

Local, federal and state government departments are have heavily adopted both of the Motion Computing products for field work. In many cases the are replacing old style bulky and heavy ruggedized solutions with the new sleek Motion products.

Both the Motion J3500 and the Motion F5v are exceptional products for anyone who works on the road, in the car or on site. They generally stand out in the market for a few reasons:

• Desktop replacement power – Intel® Core™ i7 and i5 with vPro™
• A super tough package – Both the J3500 and F5v conform to the US Military MIL810G standard and are IP rated. Both sport Corning Gorilla Glass which is five times stronger than any other Tablet PC screen.
• Best outdoor display available – The Motion Hydis AFFS+ display uses smart technology, not just screen brightness to achieve perfect outdoor viewing and perfect 180 degree viewing angles.
• 3 year Australian warranty – When things go wrong, everything on these machines can be fixed or replaced locally
• Tough but not heavy - Both weigh around 1.6kg (with one battery on board)

As an independent Tablet PC reseller (and we have dozens of Tablet PCs at our disposal) we find the Motion Tablet PCs very hard to beat in many applications.

If you would like to see the Motion J3500 or the Motion F5v, we have demo models available for short term loan or long term hire. Phone us on 03 9012 6602 or contact us via the Motion J3500 page on our website.

Motion Computing today announced the J3500, an incremental update to one of our favourite slate Tablet PCs, the J3400.

The new Motion J3500 includes:

• Intel Core i7 and i5 processors- up to 40% performance improvement over the already fantastic J3400 performance
• Optional Corning Gorilla Glass – 5 times stronger than other Tablet PC screens
• Optional Wacom multi-touch and active digitizer screen

The J3500 is backward compatible with existing J3400 accessories. Check out the Gottabemobile.com video review here.

We had a great time with the Fujitsu T4310 recently, right up until the point where we broke the screen :-0… but that’s another story!

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:

Engadget gave the new Fujitsu T4310 a great review, not for its looks, but for its great multi-touch tablet experience with Windows 7.

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:

We’ve had a great time playing with the new multi-touch Fujitsu T4310 over the summer. The combination of windows 7, Office 2010 (currently in beta) and multi-touch just rocks!

The first Fujitsu tablet to come out with multi-touch was the T4310, and it has now been followed up by the T900, the replacement for the beefy T5010 Tablet PC. Fujitsu continue to innovate with pen and touch computing and are one of the clear leaders in the Tablet PC field.

The following user give a good demonstration of the T4310. Although this user points out a couple of the shortfalls of the product, he still gives it a big thumbs up… And so do we.

Part 2 in particular shows how the capacitive touch screen works with OneNote 2010. It makes navigating your workspace super easy!

You won’t find a better demonstration of the combination of digitiser pen and touch. As you will see in this video, touch nicely augments the functionality of the pen.

Touch does not eliminate the need for the pen however, and as you’ll see a digitizer pen is pretty essential for serious Windows based tablets.

Call us on 03 9012 6602 for more info on Fujitsu Tablet PCs.

Most computers and electronic devices like Tablet PCs and UMPCs use Lithium Ion batteries. Lithium Ion (LiIon) batteries have some really compelling advantages that make the kind of small and lightweight gadgets that we have today possible. Lithium Ion batteries:

• Have a low weight to energy ratio
• Can be made in a variety of shapes and sizes
• Do not exhibit a memory effect (you don’t need to discharge them or run them down before charging again)

However, there are some disadvantages to having all this power…

What you should be aware of with Lithium Ion batteries:

• They have a minimum charge threshold - usually protected by the electronic controller on the battery-  and if they go below it they may be unrecoverable (i.e. dead).
• They lose capacity over time - A full battery will lose about 20% of its total capacity every year if stored at 25 degrees C. If fully charged it will lose 35% per year at 40 degrees C (laptops often get hotter than this!).
• They have a limited number of charge cycles* – usually between 500 – 1000.
• You should expect to replace them at some stage.

Tips for saving your Tablet PC or UMPC battery

The following tips will help you to keep your Lithium Ion battery running as long as possible. You might find that some of these tips are not that practical, but being aware of them will help you.

1. Store it at 30% – 40% charge (I.e. not full) - For example, if you’re heading away for a month and your not going to take your tablet, charge it to about half and put it somewhere cool.
2. Never leave your Tablet PC in your car, especially on a hot day – As detailed above, heat will greatly diminish the capacity of your lithium ion battery to hold a charge. Keep them cool as much as practically possible.
3. Remove the battery from the Tablet PC when you’re running on power constantly (I.e. if you’re mainly deskbound).
4. Unplug it! Let your Tablet PC run on battery as much as possible rather than keeping the battery in the unit fully charged.
5. Don’t leave a battery flat for long periods of time – If you do, it may discharge below the voltage threshold, and they don’t come back from that. The typical storage loss is 10% per month, so if you left a battery flat for a month or two or three, it may not recover.

Battery power is a critical component of your Tablet PC. Without your Lithium Ion you simply won’t be mobile anymore! So when choosing a Tablet PC you want to consider a couple of things about it’s batteries:

• How much do they cost? – Any decent Tablet PC or UMPC will outlive its battery! You absolutely will need to replace them at some stage
• How fast do they charge? – Some charge much faster than others
• How many will I need to keep? – If they charge faster you will probably need fewer batteries
• Will they continue to make the batteries? – Lithium Ion batteries do not store well as outlined above, so it is not a good idea to buy some for now with the intent of using them in future. You will want to be able to buy fresh new batteries in future.

* Charge cycle = 100% full discharge and recharge. So, if you discharge and recharge to say 60%, then back to full, then another 40%, then back to full you have reached 1 cycle.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer introduced a new HP slate Tablet PC at this weeks CES Show in Las Vegas USA. HP have published a little teaser video, but not much more information just yet:

Welcome HP and others back into the real Tablet PC market! This year you will be spoilt for choice in buying a Tablet PC.

After a huge run up to the end of 2009, we took some time to think about all of the “2010 – Year of the Tablet PC” rumours. There is no doubt that 2010 is going to be an exciting year for Microsoft Windows based Tablet PCs and UMPCs, and maybe even some Apple and Google ones too.

We’ve already had some very interesting hardware shown this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

However, here at TabletPC.com.au, we think that the year of the Tablet PC was 2009!

Sure, the consumer devices from the like of HP, Lenovo, Viliv and Apple will make some waves this year. On the Windows front we have already seen a wave of pen and multi-touch devices like the Lenovo X200t and Fujitsu T4310 with capacitive touch screens.

But the serious Tablet PC business really kicked off last year. 2009 saw many large and small Australian organizations deploy mobile computing solutions with Tablet PCs.

What happened in 2009 for Tablet PCs?

1. Windows 7 – Mobile computing  took a huge stride forward in 2009 on the back of improvements in Windows 7.
2. Outdoor Screen Technology – The introduction of the Hydis AFFS+ display by Motion Computing was a technical breakthrough for Tablet PCs (currently on Motion Computing F5, C5 and J3400) – Most Tablets are used outdoors at some stage, so this technology is essential.
    
3. Mobile Broadband Access – We now have Tablet PCs with 21mbps mobile broadband access with GPS onboard.
4. Applications – Software developers are continuing to embrace mobile applications in areas like building and construction management, building and pest inspections, sales force automation, digital forms, GIS and mapping.

Who started using Tablet PCs in 2009?

Hundreds of Australian  organisations deployed Tablet PCs in 2009 because of advancements in hardware and software that make field computing solutions now practical. Here’s a taste of the types of companies that we helped deploy Tablet PCs with in 2009:

• Defence and Police Forces around Australia
• Local Governments from North Queensland to Tasmania and across to WA. 
• Distribution businesses
• Manufacturing businesses
• Nurseries, Farms,
• Building, engineering, architecture and construction companies
• Physiotherapists, Occupational therapists, Nurses, Doctors, Clinics,  Aged Care Facilities and Hospitals
• Restaurants, Hotels, Bars and Pubs

And many more from small “Mum and Dad” businesses through to multinational companies.

Why did they choose Tablet PCs in 2009?

Our customers have many reasons for choosing Windows based Tablet PCs for their jobs and projects. They generally boil down to the following:

• You gain true computing mobility without sacrificing power
• You can now read the screen without effort
  • Outside reading is comfortable with good battery life
  • Screens are much bigger than PDA (PDA screens are too poky for many jobs)
• They can run their existing Windows programs without having to learn a new system or pay to develop a completely new one
• They were surprised to find that handwriting recognition really works, particularly in windows 7
• You can now work all day away from a power source.

Why did they buy from TabletPC.com.au in 2009?

The largest to the smallest Australian companies called on tabletpc.com.au for advice in 2009 because we are still the only independent Australian company that employs real Tablet PC and UMPC experts.

• We sell all of the Tablet PC brands that are available in Australia to independent resellers, including:
• HP, Lenovo, Toshiba and Fujitsu Convertibles
• Panasonic Toughbook Rugged Tablets
• Motion Computing
• Xplore Rugged Tablet PCs
• Tablet Kiosk, Logipad, Getac
• Viliv, Gigabyte, Asus and Samsung UMPCs
• And if it’s not on the list, we can source it for you…
• We are able to give you advice on your specific needs – We don’t have allegiances to any brand, we will only sell you the best device for your job!
• Our staff have all been involved with Windows Tablet PCs since the launch of Windows XP Tablet PC edition in 2001 – in real world use.
• We have a worldwide network of software solution providers to make sure that your Tablet PC is not just a piece of hardware, but a solution that will work for you.
• We supply training and support with all of our Tablet PCs that cheap web sellers and even the manufacturers just can’t offer (because their staff have no idea about Tablet PCs!) – We make sure that you know how to use your Tablet PC effectively.

Resource management is especially important on Tablet PCs where performance is balanced against weight and battery life. Many Tablet PC and UMPC users are left with a particularly poor experience when it comes to anti-virus software.

Over time Anti-Virus software has generally become bloated with features like link and search scanning, email filtering and anti-spam. Ultimately your Tablet PC can be come so weighted down performing all of these security functions that it runs like a snail…

Finally there is a decent solution direct from Microsoft called Microsoft Security Essentials. It is a simple, free anti-virus client that just does anti-virus. We have found that it adds very little overhead to your Tablet PC so everything runs much faster.

If you need features like anti-spam and email scanning we recommend that use a hosted service like MailGuard. With a service like MailGuard, the filtering of spam and viruses is done before it gets to your server or Tablet PC. It is much more reliable and it has many other benefits like increased security. That means that your Tablet PC is not bogged down performing those tasks.

You can download Microsoft Security Essentials for a faster Tablet PC here. If you have an alternate solution, tell us about it in the comments below.