The Bottom Line
- Touch Screen and OS for Pen Input
- Small Dimensions
- No Software Suite
- External Keyboard
- No Optical Drive
Description
- Intel Pentium M 1.0GHz Ultra Low Voltage Processor
- 256MB PC2100 DDR Memory
- 40GB 4,200rpm Hard Drive
- 12.1" XGA Touch Screen LCD and Intel Extreme 2 Graphics with 64MB of Shared Memory
- AC'97 Audio
- v.92 56Kbps Modem, 10/100 Ethernet, 802.11b Wireless
- Two USB 2.0 Ports, One Firewire Port and One Type II PC Card Slot
- 11.7" x 9.4" x .9" @ 3 lbs.
- Windows XP Tablet Edition Operating System
Guide Review - Gateway Tablet PC
9/16/04 - Gateway is one of the few major manufacturers that has dropped all of its consumer ultraportable notebooks. In its place, Gateway is selling the Gateway Tablet PC that is very different from the traditional ultraportable.
While the Tablet PC may have the smaller dimensions of an ultrportable computer system, it also lacks many features of a standard notebook. For example, the system relies upon the touch screen interfance and pen for input instead of using a keyboard. This can be useful in certain areas, but for many individuals, writing on the screen is much slower than using a keyboard. Similarly, many of the features that a stylus interface can provide are better supported through the smaller palmtops.
What the Tablet PC offers is greater power and flexibility over a palmtop. The Tablet PC has the ability to run the same office applications as a traditional personal computer, something that palmtops can't do. The Intel Pentium M processor also allows it to power through most applications without heavily draining the batteries.
The Tablet PC does have its problems though. Most notably of these is the storage options. While the unit does feature an internal hard drive, it does not have any optical drive. This makes installing software onto the Tablet PC difficult.
While the Gateway Tablet PC may have the dimensions of an ultraportable, it lacks the same flexibility as competing ultraportable systems.
