<p>MTC2003: Tablet PCs have a definite "Cool" factor. Regular laptops are found all over campus. For the most part they all look alike. Writing away in Tablet mode will get you noticed. </p>
<p>If you're on the shy side, this will give you an opportunity to be a product demonstrator. If you're outgoing, you get to meet more people.</p>
<p>A novelty? "Dubs with spinners" are a novelty. A Tablet PC is a great note-taking and learning tool. Those "spinners" aren't going to help you pass a Chem mid-term.</p>
<p>Michuncle: Thanks. I really do "want" a tablet pc, so I'm thinking if only I could get an affordable price on one. A 14" has to be atleast $1500. I want to keep it in the $1000-$1300 range (although $1000 will not happen unless it's refurbished). Can you recommend some places to get really "good" deals. I've been all over the internet and I'm still not really stable with the pricing and the features. What's the BEST deal you've ever seen on a tablet pc?</p>
<p>and check it out... the only bad thing about this one is the weight unless u dont mind it and it only comes w/ 256 ram but u can always add memory; it does have a dvd-rom/cd-rw drive built-in, though</p>
<p>Do you know of any licensed refurbished dealers? I don't mind having a refurb tablet PC as long as it is from a licensed dealer and comes with a warranty.</p>
<p>MTC2003: I've looked around the Web for good deals on refurbished Toshiba M205 S810/M200 S809. A few months ago, there were available from a number of reputable dealers. There are a few merchants that claim they have them in stock, but after looking at shopping site reviews, I don't think I would trust them. Of course, this is a the cheap end of the market. Some sites have the Toshiba but at higher prices than is possible in your budget. And these better sites have good reputations...</p>
<p>ToshibaDirect does have the R10 (14") for a good price. It's a basic model and if you can live with the specs, it should be fine.</p>
<p>There are a couple of M200/M205 Tablets available on Ebay. The sellers have pretty good feedback. Check them out carefully...</p>
<p>There was a poster on this thread that recently got a refurbished unit. You may want to see where he got his from...</p>
<p>You guys worry to much. The quality of current tablets is just as good as with any other laptop. The problem with screens wearing out was really only with the first generation of tablets. My refurb came from ubid.com in great condition and had a 90 day warrenty.</p>
<p>Also, I would not suggest getting anything bigger than 12in for a tablet if you plan to write on it much. 14in is too big for me to hold and write comfortably.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I looked at the toshiba r10/r15 and it does look like a good deal, but it also looks like I have to upgrade a lot of things to get my tablet pc up to where i want it...which means I'm gunna have to add around $300-$400 worth of features. Then I might as well just get a more expensive one. But again, thanks for helping!</p>
<p>Let me know about your personal experiences and daily usages with your tablet pcs. I'm assuming your all college students right? What year are you guys in?</p>
<p>Tablets are generally more expensive for less computing power. They are slow, have a different operating system and are very buggy being that they are a knew technology. But there are laptops that have extremely versatile screens that flip, turn, and cover the keyboard. Maybe thats what you want.</p>
<p>(It's the last post in the thread with several links to his blog.)</p>
<p>Bemoreyo: The Tablet PC operating system is encorporated into XP PRO. With service pack 2, it's pretty stable. The flip screen you describe is the "convertible" version of the Tablet PC. The other model is the "slate" model which comes with a detachable keyboard. Both are in their second generation.</p>
<p>Michuncle might remember me from previous Table PC discussions. I decided to pay the extra money and get a Toshiba Tecra M4. As far as screen life and quality, the screen seems really durable, and I was able to order Toshiba's full service plan for 3 years for about $140. Not bad at all. Yes, the computer was very expensive, but I love it already. Physics/math here, and not only have I already used it to email handwritten percussion music, etc, I fully plan on keeping everything really organized by taking notes with it. (How do you type in stuff like the quadratic formula? Just write it!) BTW, it made sense for me because I lose things ALL THE TIME. Papers, books, notes. I've spent so many hours replacing that stuff. I never lost a computer though! :)</p>
<p>As far as computing power, I have a 1.73 Pentium M (Best Buy people told me it is a Pentium 4 2.8GHz equivalent) , with 512 Ram, and a GeForce 6200/6600 upgradable graphics chip. Very, very powerful for a laptop. Very fun. Extravagent, yeah. But I sold my nice car for college, so this is my new toy.</p>
<p>Finally, since you're doing math, take a look at Xthink.com's math software. While you could use a program like LaTeX on a regular computer or laptop to "type"out equations, Xthink's MathJournal gives you the solution. </p>
<p>Remember: With great power comes great responsibilty... use the M4 wisely. (I understand that you can play Battlefield 2 on the M4...)</p>
<p>Lol, I sold my car a long time ago. Yeah, I thought about it, but I guess I got suckered in to the M4. It had the DVD RW, the GREATLY enhaned Graphics, and the slightly enhanced processor. It was Like 400 more for that, but Toshiba had a deal on the Warranty Plan, so I saved 200 on that. Yeah, without that deal, it wouldn't have been worth it to me. (But those graphics are great! I got Doom 3, Command and Conquer Generals, Tiger Woods 2004, and others. I can run all at 1400 x 1600 with full detail and eveything with zero lag, except of course for Doom 3, which I have played for about 2 min so far) I'm going to install Battlefield 2 either tonite or tomorrow!</p>