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| Is Toshiba's Portege M400 Tablet PC Too Big For Comfort? |
As a mobile computing enthusiast, I love small; the smaller the better. Ultra portable is nice, but even smaller is even better. However, I do insist that tiny be tempered with functionality. If I can't get my work done on a mobile device, forget it! Micro, micro keyboards and dysfunctional styli input or a five minute boot process and slow application startup just aren't worth it, no matter how tiny a mobile computer is.I recognize that not every mobile computing device is designed to act as a full-blown computer. Without standard keyboards and monitors, PDAs just don't cut it when it comes to writing more than a few lines, some would say a few words, in any MS Office application. Sure someone who ought to be in the Guinness Book of Records probably wrote a novel on a PDA, but that's for crazies. I know, you just finished the Great American Novel on an HP IPAQ.
When someone plunks down over $2,000 for a mobile computer, they have the right to expect to be able to easily complete almost any task they can do on a desktop computer. As you can see in the spec chart on the next page, Toshiba's Portege M400 Tablet PC has what it takes to run most non-graphics intensive applications: a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo CPU, 512 MB of DDR2 memory running at 533 MHz, what appears to be a fairly fast hard drive, a serviceable Intel GMA 950 graphics processor and a battery with decent capacity.
As a stationary or battery operated notebook computer with its clamshell open so you can use its keyboard, the M400 works pretty well. However, I'm not as comfortable with the notebook as a Tablet PC. I'll tell you why in just a bit....
Conclusions
Toshiba's Portege M400 sports a decent set of hardware components. It's also ergonomically a pretty good mobile computer in standard clamshell open mode. It has a typically small keyboard and touchpad, both of which I'd like to see drastically redesigned, not just on Toshiba's line of mobile computers, but on portables from all manufacturers.
In Tablet PC mode, the Portege is handicapped by its size and weight. The M400 has reached and maybe exceeded the limits of the Tablet PC concept on the hardware side. Additionally, as with Tablet PCs from all manufacturers, performance is hampered by the Tablet PC operating system. Is Toshiba's Portege M400 Tablet PC Too Big For Comfort? | MobilityGuru Linked by LT Hacker
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