<p>I saw on the computer requirement page for engineering majors that a tablet PC is required. (<a href="http://www.eng.vt.edu/it/requirement">http://www.eng.vt.edu/it/requirement</a>) They did say that we can use a Windows or Apple laptop meeting our requirements, but we also need a companion device for inking. I'm planning to go into either civil engineering or mechanical engineering. And I'm wondering if it is necessary to get a tablet PC.
1. Would I be at a disadvantage if I have a separate laptop and a tablet rather than a tablet PC? How important is it to have a tablet PC?
2. How good of a "companion device" do I need?
3. Are there any "companion devices" you'd recommend that I get?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Hey there, I too was concerned by these questions and spent some time researching them. I think it is better to keep the two separate, because the tablets that meet the requirements are highly overpriced and they don’t have a respectable graphics card for the price. I will get a laptop, and most likely the Asus Vivo Tab 8 since its specifically designed for inking. If you want to get one device go with the Microsoft Surface Pro 2, the Vaio flip, or the lenovo yoga 2. This is just my opinion and could possibly be misrepresentative or misleading, which would be unintentional. I’d like to hear current students’ opinions, since those are more reliable.</p>
<p>The Lenovo Yoga 2 won’t work because it actually doesn’t have true inking capability. The lenovo Yoga Thinkpad does and would be a decent option. The Vaios are not bad but sony recently sold off their computer division and is no longer manufacturing these devices and I would be concerned on how often they actually put out drivers and software updates to these units since they are not in the game anymore. I’ve looked around pretty extensively for something that would meet the requirements and the stuff they offer at the bookstore seems to be the best deals for the fujitsu and Lenovo products. I would look elsewhere for surface pro and tablet stuff but in the next two weeks they are suppose to update their website with new computer options for this upcoming year. I was told hopefully by May 1 that they will have the specifications and prices worked out with the vendors and post them to the website by then.</p>
<p>My son is a Junior ME major and HATES the Fujitsu. It is made so cheaply. It is crazy they are sticking with this tablet requirement.</p>
<p>We haven’t started looking at this in detail yet, but I wonder if just from a practical redundancy perspective it might be better to keep them separate. I assume the requirement for inking comes from needing to use the device in class, and therefore carry it around everywhere, which, let’s face it, increases the chance of damage. So does it make sense to keep them separate so you can just carry the tablet and leave the laptop in the dorm?</p>
<p>We got my son the Levovo Thinkpad Tablet last year (freshman) and he is very happy with it. We purchased it second hand (eBay), making sure it met all the specs (it actually exceeded them) and purchased additional warranty years for it thru IBM directly (Tech will honor this warranty if he needed to bring it to them for service, although accidental damage coverage has now expired and is no longer renewable). You don’t have to purchase a system from Tech, although their prices for the Lenovo were decent, we just decided to go bargin hunting and kept our fingers crossed. My husband is tech savy enough to have enabled us to assess a used laptop well enough. So far, so good.</p>
<p>Never buy Fujitsu. I’ve yet to meet a student who didn’t hate their Fujitsu laptop. </p>