I've been interested in the Tablet PC form factor for quite a while now, and because we're thinking about changing our supplier of hardware at work I took the opportunity to evaluate a Tablet PC from HP, the 2710P. The only previous experience I've had of Tablets was when I visited Redmond about a yew ago, and the kind folks at Microsoft let me play with one for a couple of days. Come to think of it, that was probably an HP too.
Anyway, at a number of TechEd's I've looked at different tablets, and the only ones I've ever liked was the ones from HP or IBM. The problem with all the other ones was that the pen interface simply didn't work well enough. But with those two it simply felt right. While I did know that I couldn't find a tablet with the resolution and power of the Dell 8-series laptop I was used to, I still hoped I would be able to find a machine that would be both portable and powerful enough. Right now it feels like the 2710P might be what l was looking for. Sure, like all lightweight laptops it uses components that consume as little power as possible, bur it still seems good enough.
However, the pen experience is not without fault. There are some quite annoying issues with this tablet. I've calibrated the pen a dozen of times and still I haven't been able to get it to behave consistently across the whole screen. If I calibrate it so that it is perfectly aligned at the top of the screen it will still be more than 5 mm off at the bottom. As it turns out, that is enough to confuse my eye-hand coordination. And right now, that is ruining the experience enough for me to not want the machine. However, I am hoping that this Is only a problem with the particular unit I have, and that a call to HP or Monday can take care of it (and I can get another tablet). Otherwise I'll go back to my 15,4" laptop.
One thing I'm really impressed with is the design of the tablet. Admittedly, my dream tablet would probably have to be designed by Apple. Steve, please give us a tablet with multi-touch. Made of aluminum. Your fanboys have been anticipating it for quite some time now. But until then I'm quite happy with the look and feel or this HP. Sleek metallic finish, and it definitely feels more sturdy than the Dell I'm used to.
Please HP, tell me that you can fix the alignment/calibration problem when I call you on Monday.