Filed under: Tablet PCs

We already showed you a review of the thing, but now we’ve got an X60t of our own, and we thought you’d give you our impressions, along with a nice bevy of pictures of this tablet in the flesh. As always, you can find the pics after the break, so lets get on with the impressions. Tablet PC Review was no liar when it complemented the build quality of the X60t: the unit is a rock. The keyboard feels wonderful, the hinge is solid and even the TrackPoint “nipple” (of which we’re not normally a fan) works great. The pen is solid, and when writing on the screen there’s just the right amount of friction to make pen-based input feel just right. Aside from an overly zealous complement of pre-loaded, taskbar-hogging software, our only real problem was with the battery life, but it was a big one: the stock 4-cell battery choked out at around 1.5 hours of use for us. Granted, the display was at max brightness (which is plenty bright), and WiFi and Bluetooth were on, but it was still rather disconcerting to be able to visibly watch the battery meter lose percentage points, and then have the thing conk out altogether at a supposed 8 percent of battery left. So, if you can spring for the 8-cell, or stand to live without wireless or a backlight, the X60 comes highly recommended as far as Tablet PCs go, but we do have that minor caveat. Keep reading for the pics.

Lenovo packed in a webcam, headset and dock. Wasn’t that nice of them?

Pretty dang small for a power brick.

The recessed ports are a nice touch.

The screen automagically reorients itself based on how you hold the tablet.

The latch works both ways.

Sure they’re dusty, but boy do they feel good.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

If you thought the bevy of Merom-based laptops coming at you had finally stalled, well, maybe it has — but HP Compaq’s tc4000 tablet PC has arrived (albeit fashionably late) with spec-bumped innards that include an Intel Core Duo 1.83GHz T5600 processor. Aside from the Merom boost, this convertible also packs 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 12.1-inch XGA display, 5,400RPM 80GB hard drive, 56k modem, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g, biometric fingerprint sensor, and a 6-cell battery. It comes fully prepared for that stylus abuse thanks to the included Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005, and sports the usual complement of ports: VGA out, S-Video out, microphone in, headphone jack, IR, and a trio of USB 2.0 connectors. If you’ve somehow held out on those Merom-powered laptops and just can’t resist the allure of taking notes on an LCD, the tc4400 is available now for $1,479.

[Via Laptoping]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

The fine folks at Asus are dropping three new portable series to serve professionals with Core 2 Duo speeds and snazzy design. For starters we have the V1 widescreen laptop, with a 15.4-inch display and the full range of Core 2 Duo processors, from the 1.67GHz T5500 to the 2.33GHz T7600. Graphics are provided by ATI’s Mobility Radeon X1600, with 256 or 512MB of RAM. Hard drives range from 80 to 120GB, with a dual HDD option, and the V1 features gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0 for connectivity. There’s also an ExpressCard slot, fingerprint reader, S/PDIF audio and a card reader to round out the 0.98-inch thick, 6 pound laptop. The F2 series is only slightly more modest, with processors from Core Solo all the way to the Core 2 Duo T7400, and a 15-inch XGA or SXGA+ display. There’s no digital audio, but the F2 does have TV-out and an optional 1.3 megapixel webcam. Graphics are a Radeon X1400 card running 128MB or 512MB of memory, and specs are otherwise similar to the V1. The R1F Tablet PC keeps the trend going, keeping pace with its siblings on specs for the most part, but featuring a 13.3-inch WXGA LCD and most likely integrated Intel graphics. There’s no word on price or availability for any of these models, but we’re liking where Asus is headed with ‘em so far.

[Via Laptoping]

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Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Fujitsu’s tablet PC lineup has been a mixed bag, and the LifeBook T4210 convertible does little to improve on previous attempts. The T4210 gives it to ya both ways, as a tablet and as a traditional notebook, but it’s not remarkable at either — the 12.1-inch device weighs a bloated 4.5-pounds and only managed 2 hours of battery life in testing. Drop the top and you’ll find an Intel Dual Core 2.0GHz processor, 1,024 x 768 XGA screen, 1GB of RAM, 80GB SATA drive, DVD+/- RW optical drive, and a wireless suite with Bluetooth and 802.11a/b/g. The legendary Fujitsu build quality is here, and the biometric security features including a finger print scanner are a plus, but the faults of the T4210 literally outweigh the positives. If you have no use for decent battery life and like your ultraportables on the bulky side, then the T4210 is available now for $2,349.

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Filed under: Tablet PCs

So what is it with Xplore Technologies’ and their insistence on calling random strings of letters and digits “model numbers?” Regardless of the nonsense, they’ve expanded their lineup further with a new offering that boasts a host of new security features like a finger print reader and user accessible hard drive and PC card bays for those who deal with sensitive data . This tablet was built for a beating — its magnesium alloy shell and shock-resistant hard drive complement its ability to withstand dust, moisture, and extreme temperatures. Powered by an Intel processor and sporting an XGA screen, you’ll have the world at your fingertips with all this connectivity: wLAN, wWAN, PAN (Bluetooth) and GPS wireless are all options here. If you just can’t wait to get your hands on the iX104C3, well, you’ll have to anyway; complete specs, pricing and availability are all currently unavailable — but but that’s no big surprise.

[Via Mobilewhack]

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Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs

Although the SonyStyle site still lists it under pre-order, the Vaio UX180P non-UMPC is apparently already en route to ecstatic US customers, as at least two of our readers have received shipping confirmations from Sony via email. The Core Solo-powered machines are scheduled to arrive on the sixth of next month, which jibes with Sony’s promise of a July release, but we’re still a bit surprised that they’re getting them out this early — as you know, we’ve been burned by Sony a few times before.

[Thanks, Lee and Leland B]

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Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

So apparently Toshiba has a Core Duo-powered update to the Tecra M4 convertible tablet waiting in the wings, and this one gives you a 100GB hard drive, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, and especially nice, a dual layer Super Multi drive that handles both flavors of recordable DVDs. Although we haven’t yet seen any pics of the 14.1-inch, WXGA+ Tecra M7, info on Toshiba’s European website seems to indicate that it will look similar to the M4 (pictured), but you’re getting a lot more muscle on the inside with either 1.66GHz or 1.83GHz Core Duo chips. Rounding out the specs are nVidia Quadro NVS 110M graphics, a 6-in-1 memory card reader, four USB ports, PCMCIA slot, video out, FireWire, and both WLAN and Bluetooth wireless radios. It’s not clear when this model will officially be released (pretty soon, we reckon), but we already have a good idea on pricing: it looks like you’ll be able to get a nice configuration for around $1,600 or $1,700.

[Thanks, Ethan]

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Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs

We’re not nearly as into DualCor’s cPC Windows convergence device now that we found out it doesn’t come with any built-in wireless radios, but we’ve still been looking forward to catching it in the wild just the same, because any pocket-sized machine that sports both XP and WM5 is more than a little bit noteworthy in our book. And luckily for us, our partners-in-crime over at Engadget Chinese have just captured some nice photos of this two-processor machine as part of their extensive Computex 2006 coverage, although our contribution of copying and pasting the pics for you to peep should not be overlooked. More cPC snaps are available after the break, and more VIA-powered products from the CPU manufacturer’s booth tour can be found by following the Read link…

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Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

We've all been waiting patiently for Asus' first foray into convertible Tablet PCs, but from the looks of things their R1F passed FCC muster. Which means, of course, we can't be too long now for the widescreen, Core Duo, and biometrics-equipped R1F to make its indubitably expensive self into the hands of American consumers everywhere; joy.

Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs

We know we've been giving the UMPC -- specifically the Q1 -- a lot of face time, but we have to admit, even though we're unimpressed with the first generation of these devices both in capabilities and having played around with 'em, we're still interested. And to our surprise an English site called Personal Computer World not only got and reviewed a Q1, but gave it some very high marks, citing its quiet fan, sleek form factor, and bright, clear display as high points for the device. In fact, they only knocked on it for having a "standard" battery life (huh? 2.5 hours is now standard?), smallish drive, and, of course, sucky Celeron-powered under-performance. Will all those 4/5-star ratings they laid down be enough to get users to plunk down £799 (about $1450 US) for one of their own? We don't know, but we didn't exactly find it encouraging that Samsung told PCW only "hundreds" had been pre-ordered.

[Via UMPC Buzz]

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

It's been a little while since Gateway's widescreen CX200 Tablet PC has been on the scene, but Gateway's given it a spec bump and a badge nudge, bringing the CX210 / M285-E series (model based on where you buy it: home, or professional) up to date with Intel Core Duo processors. It also appears they've added standard Bluetooth and 802.11a (in addition to the already standard b/g), and an option for ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 graphics, which should goose that $1399.99 base price a little.

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops, Tablet PCs

What do you get when you mix one part OQO, one part Sidekick, and add a touch of UMPC? Apparently you get Averatec's new AHI concept device, that's what. Expected to be launched this fall for as little or as much as €500 or €900 ($600 or $1,090 US) depending on options, Averatec's aiming to launch their device with XP, a touchscreen (which we assume will take advantage of Microsoft's Touch Pack UMPC suite), WiFi, GPS, 3G data, and a six hour battery life in a 7.3 x 3.5 x 1.3-inch 24 ounce package. So yeah, basically this device might single-handedly solve just about every complaint the UMPC community (and we) have: price, battery life, keyboard, and wireless data. We'll believe it when we see it though, so keep your eyes out for Averatec this fall.

[Via The Reg, thanks to everyone who sent this in]