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 Toshiba Portege M200
As low as 
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Notebook computers haven't been really designed with people in mind. When
you're traveling, you'd like to be able to jot down notes on the same device
that you use for spreadsheets - in other words, use your PC like a pad of
paper as well as like a computer.
That's the promise of tablet PCs. They'll recognize your handwriting, let
you jot down notes, yet can still let you send and receive email, browse the
Web, use a word processor - pretty much do anything that a computer does.
But which to buy?
First, a bit of background about these unique computers. With them, you use
so-called "digital ink" to write directly on the touch-sensitive screen.
Handwriting recognition turns your scrawls into notes, or you can save what
you write as an image. You can change your ink color, use highlighters, and
much more. Tablets are ideal for note-taking and jotting notes on the run,
for integrating text and pictures, and more. And you can also use tablets
like traditional computers, for word processing, Web browsing, and so on,
although some tablet PCs are more powerful than others.
With some tablet PCs, you have to give up computing power or features to get
the tablet-specific features, but that's not true of the Toshiba Portege
M200 for as low as . It comes with all the tablet features you want: you
can rotate the screen for landscape or portrait orientation, you can adjust
the screen for height, and it comes with Office OneNote for note-taking and
more. But you also get a Pentium M processor a 1.5 Ghz processor, a
full-sized 12.1-inch screen, 512MB or RAM, and a full-sized keyboard for
when you operate it as a notebook. It also comes with an Ethernet port and
integrated WiFi adapter. So it's no surprise that it's the best-selling
tablet PC on PriceGrabber.
The Acer TravelMate C303XMi
for as low as is another do-it-all tablet PC. This one has all kinds
of nice design touches - for example, an integrated light sensor
automatically adjusts your screen's brightness to one of four settings based
on the available ambient light. You can easily choose your own settings as
well. There's also a "soft button" on screen that gives you quick access to
all of your applications, and system settings, so that it's easy to operate
without a keyboard. It doesn't scrimp on power though, with 512MB or memory,
and 80 GB hard disk, a DVD-RW/CD-RW drive, 1.7 GHz Pentium M processor,
integrated WiFi adapter, and 512MB of RAM.
Perhaps you don't need all that computing power in a tablet PC, because you
don't expect it to do double-duty as a powerful notebook. In that case, you
can save yourself a substantial amount of money and buy the second
best-selling tablet PC on PriceGrabber, the Hewlett-Packard Tablet PC
TC1000T for as low as . It's a beautifully designed device, and particularly important
is that it weighs only 3.3 pounds, so that it's easy to tote around. You get
an integrated WiFi adapter, and a 30 GB hard drive. But you won't get the
most powerful processor, which operates at 1 Ghz, or huge RAM, because it
comes with 256MB. But if you're using it primarily as a tablet PC, rather
than your primary computer, that won't matter.
If you're looking for a different tablet PC that's low-weight and easy to
carry around, look at the unique Fujitsu Stylistic ST5010 for as low as . It weighs in at only 3.4 pounds, is the size and
shape of a thick magazine, and uses very little power, so that you can get
five hours on a single battery. It comes with a 40 GB hard drive, integrated
WiFi adapter, 256MB of memory, and an excellent 12.1-inch screen.
Finally, if you're not happy with the pen that comes with a tablet PC, and
want something more stylish, consider the Wacom Cross Executive Pen for as low as . It looks like a Cross pen, works with any
Tablet PC, and comes with a satin chrome finish.
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