<p>I will be a freshman in engineering (I eventually plan on going into Ocean and Aerospace) at VT this fall. Would you recommend getting a Fujitsu or HP Tablet PC? I know they're very similar, but I just wanted to see if anyone with experience could provide some suggestions. Thanks!</p>
<p>None, do not get a tablet. Just buy a regular laptop and a usb Bamboo tablet. It does the job, its cheaper, you get better specs, and college professor does not care. Search this forum.</p>
<p>listen to primeboss. im doing the same thing as well (usb tablet)</p>
<p>I’ve read the different posts, but I’m still hesitant to go with the external tablet. It just seems too good to be true. Have you ever heard of anyone running into a problem where an actual Tablet PC was required by the assignment or professor? I’m not an expert with computers, so I’m worried that going against the requirement could prove to be difficult.</p>
<p>The deviation from the requirement statement says:</p>
<p>“Students who deviate from the computer requirement and therefore cannot participate in a specific course, complete a course assignment, or participate in the classroom where computer use is expected, without additional effort on the part of the faculty or the college, will be assessed any academic penalty deemed appropriate by the course instructor.”</p>
<p>With a USB tablet, you can still participate in assignments and do the homework just fine. Therefore, nothing to worry about here.</p>
<p>“Students who deviate from the computer requirement and choose another hardware platform and/or operating system are still required to purchase the Engineering Software Bundle”</p>
<p>Doesn’t matter, you need the software anyway.</p>
<p>“Students who deviate from the computer requirement and choose another hardware or operating system platform shall not receive technical support from any College of Engineering information technology personnel.”</p>
<p>This means the SWAT group won’t help you if you start having troubles with certain software. If this happens ask a friend or use Google.</p>
<p>“Students who deviate from the computer requirement and subsequently require repairs for their computer will not be eligible for College or departmental loaner hardware.”</p>
<p>If you buy a regular laptop from the bookstore you can still use the warranty and have them fix it for you, as long as it’s hardware-related and not software-related. If you buy the laptop from another retailer, then you have to deal with their warranty policies.</p>
<p>Professors don’t care as long as you do the homework, and you probably won’t use the tablet after your freshman year. Tablet PCs are notoriously unreliable, the most common issue being abysmal battery life along with a sometimes unresponsive touch screen. The Wacom Bamboo USB tablet is much more effective once you get used to it.</p>
<p>My HP dv6tSE has a 2.7 GHz i7 processor with 6 GB RAM, Radeon 6770 graphics card, 600 GB 7200 RPM hard drive, and a 9-cell battery, and with the USB tablet it still comes out roughly $200 cheaper than the cheapest tablet the university bookstore offers (which is about $1370) with specifications that are comparable to or better than the most expensive tablet ($2400) in all areas except RAM. If you don’t understand the jargon just know that my HP laptop is overkill for schoolwork, and you could find a nice Asus laptop on newegg.com that is MUCH cheaper than what the bookstore offers. Heck, you can try using your current laptop if you own one as long as it has some kind of Windows 7/Vista installed (even a Mac will work with dual-boot).</p>
<p>Yeah, you are dealing with some risk here, but I think the benefits outweigh it. If you still want the tablet PC regardless, get the Lenovo brand as they probably have the least issues. Fujitsu tablets are awful, and I haven’t heard anything about the HP ones.</p>
<p>We decided to go with the requirements and got the tablet. The HP is a highly rated machine. We chose that one. The Fujitsu gets horrible reviews. The Lenovo seems to be a good unit as well, but we thought the HP seemed to have an edge.</p>
<p>I went with the hp aswell.</p>
<p>I have the Fujitsu T900 Tablet. I got it last year when I was a freshman at VT. It is a horrible computer. My mouse and keyboard freeze at random points, it blue screens when I shut it, and the battery life sucks. The only thing I like is the touch screen, but I could have gotten that on the HP. I do have to brag on it a little bit. The performance besides the mouse and keyboard is phenomenal. This computer is very fast, but like I said about the HP: It probably is too.</p>
<p>I have the fujitsu 5010 model I got 2.5 years ago after my first Asus tablet literally fell apart on me and decapitated itself(swivel screen came off) after only 2 years of use. The fujitsu is in much better shape in terms of being in one piece but it’s still cheaply made. Various parts are starting to crack and the screen covering the fan/heat sink came off. It’s just cheaply made and very expensive. I wish I just bought a normal laptop since I never ever use the tablet functions. I’m in CS and no class after freshman year has ever mentioned nor asked anything about having tablets. They just ask that you have access to a computer in class for labs sometimes and even some classes you don’t need a computer. </p>
<p>Personally I don’t even bring my tablet to class anymore to eliminate distractions. It’s too easy to tune out and surf the web instead. Half the students in my classes do that anyway, it baffles me when I see the guy in front of me playing WoW or some other game yet somehow find a way to pass. Why go to college.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the advice. I decided to go with the HP for now. If it really proves to be a problem later, I’ll invest in a regular laptop.</p>
<p>We got the HP on Thursday. My son absolutely loves it…it IS a pretty cool machine.</p>
<p>I think that’s a good choice. I believe HP is the better of the tablets from what I’ve seen but I’ve never owned one. Ideally the tablet should last you all 4 years but you could always get a laptop after if not. Mine lasted just barely 3 years though. If you use a case it’ll last longer.</p>
<p>It’s actually guaranteed to last all 4 years. That is another reason we purchased it there.</p>