This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by James Avery. Original Post: Why I bought a Tablet Feed Title: .Avery Blog Feed URL: /blog/Install/BlogNotConfiguredError.aspx Feed Description: .NET and everything nice Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by James Avery Latest Posts From .Avery Blog

Ian wrote a post about why he doesn't have a tablet. His main complaint is that he finds ink a horrible way to enter data, and I agree with him. I think if you want to fill out forms, enter text, etc.. then ink is not the best way to go. For some people it might be more intuitive, doctors, insurance inspectors, etc. But for everyday users the keyboard is much easier and faster. This is why I bought a convertible. You might be wondering why I bought a tablet if I think ink sucks at data entry, here are my reasons:

1) It's small, I decided that I needed a smaller laptop if I ever hope to get it open on an airplane.

2) I sit in meetings a lot. It will be nice to have slate mode and scratch notes on my tablet instead of the normal pad of paper. (Typing notes is distracting in most meetings)

3) I am trying to conserve paper. I don't want to print out anything unless I absolutely have to. I am hoping that the slate mode will make it easier to read on my laptop. (Sitting on the couch, sitting in bed, etc.)

4) I think ink is great as a virtual whiteboard. I love white boarding things, but even if you take a picture when you are done it is hard to modify it later. I look forward to using ink to draw out a lot of things I might otherwise have done on the whiteboard.

5) It is really not that much more expensive. I priced a Dell Inspiron 300m (The small one) and it came out at around $2,000, and that is with a lower resolution screen, no bluetooth, and a slower proc. My Toshiba cost about 2,400.. so I basically paid $400 more for a better screen, bluetooth, faster proc, and all the tablet functionality.

I think the point Julie was trying to make was that if you are looking at buying a new laptop, why not go ahead and get a tablet? There is even a tablet with an optical drive and 14" screen out there now. I would wager that in the next couple years we will see more and more laptops with this functionality built right in.

-James