TeacherTabletPC

If you’ve been reading a while, you’ve probably noticed that most of my hardware references have been to convertibles. For me, the first foray into Tablet PCs was a rather tentative one, and I suspect it would be for many people. Not knowing exactly how I was going to end up using it, I couldn’t really even consider a slate.

Having used this X41 (I’m typing on it now) for over nine months, I can safely say that I’d give strong consideration to a slate. I rarely use the keyboard (though I am now). When I do, more than half the time I’m doing data entry which is sufficiently annoying on a laptop keyboard that I have a USB numeric keypad (though with CompUSA closing all their Chicago area stores, I found a good deal on a wireless full keyboard that’s just small enough to fit in my Timbuk2 bag, but that’s probably a whole separate post).

Despite this, if I were buying a tablet today, I think I’d almost certainly end up with the Thinkpad X60. The crux of the issue is the same one I’ve mentioned with nearly ever hardware mention here—I want small and light with a 12″ screen. I have not seen any slates (please comment and correct me on this if I’m wrong) that have roughly the same specs as the X60 and are either thinner or lighter. So, while my biggest use for the built-in keyboard is typing emails, blog posts, or shell commands while my students take quizzes and tests, I don’t have any motivation to give up te built-in keyboard.

(If I’ve missed something significant, please do tell me. I really feel like I’m looking for a reason to go with a slate and just not finding one.)