Toshiba Protege 3500 for Student?
Tyler Verhaeghe
I am a university student looking to purchase a Tablet PC
for typing notes in class and checking e-mail. (I type
faster than I write and have used a laptop in class
before.) However, I found it very frustrating when it
came to drawing figures and charts in my notes. Drawing
in paint, then pasting in Word just doesn't work during
the middle of class!
I am looking at purchasing the Toshiba Protege 3500 to do
all my note taking, and would like to know what current
owners think of their machines before I go out and spend
money that is equivalent to the price of a year's tuition!
A few questions:
Is the battery life truly 3.5 hours as advertised?
Is the Trident video card capable of dual-display (ie.
projector and laptop display)?
Or, would you think it best to purchase a Toshiba Tecra
S1 with 5 hours of battery life (and able to play DVDs!)
and stick to typing notes and drawing pictures, then
scanning them in later?
Thanks,
Tyler
terri
I'm getting ready to post a review of a Tablet PC written by a college
student on my website. It should be up sometime tmw. She's definitely glad
she got a Tablet, even though it's not a Toshiba. Her comments are valid
with any Tablet PC.
Here's a portion of it -
The uses for a Tablet PC for a student are as endless as the possibilities
of cooking ramen noodles (and any college student can come up with a
plethora of ways to cook these cheap meals!!).
Already, I have quickly adopted my Tablet PC as my new security
blanket, taking it with me wherever I go. This is something not everyone can
do with heavy and at times cumbersome laptops, and let's not even try to
think about carrying around our not so portable PCs. ...
--
Terri Stratton
Editor
http://thetabletpc.net
Now, chat - http://thetabletpc.net/support.htm
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP / Tablet PC
"Tyler Verhaeghe" <compute...@telus.net> wrote in message
news:08ec01c336f1$cc5a15e0$a301...@phx.gbl...
Jim
to "write" on the screen when it is in the "keyboard"
mode. I'm not sure if it accepts input at that stage.
I have the compaq tablet, and use it for work in the
exact manner to which you are speaking. (I type faster
than I write, but we do a lot of diagramming and
flowcharting.)
In addition, it works well in meetings using a projector.
It has basically eliminated the need for a white board,
and works well with virtual teams. This of course is made
possible by the dual display video card.
The battery is a solid three hours. I simply keep my
stylus next to the keyboard and when i want to draw, just
point it to the screen and go to town.
Finally, after using the onenote beta application, I
completely will be recommending the purchase of the
application. Sometimes I imagaine just how productive I
would have been in college with this type of device.
>.
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Brian Phillips
Yes, you can draw on when it is in laptop mode
Brian
"Tyler Verhaeghe" <compute...@telus.net> wrote in message
news:08ec01c336f1$cc5a15e0$a301...@phx.gbl...
e
is the one thing I am unhappy about. I did buy a second
battery, but it is a bit of a hassle since you charge the
battery while it is in the tablet, and charging speed is
rather slow. Yes, I could get an external charger, but
the price on that is quite high for the utility. Also,
standby mode is quite power-draining, so hibernate when
not in use to save power / recharge faster. I've lost
work a few times by going to standby on a Friday and not
plugging it in over the weekend.
For note-taking, you can use Word (with the tabletpc
office pack) and add an ink drawing in the middle of your
document. Writing on the screen in laptop-mode has one
thing to get used to - the fact that the monitor moves as
you draw - but I've down pretty well at getting used to
that.
-E-
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Pete Miller
I'm a student at university in Manchester, England, and
I've had the toshiba 3500 tablet for a bit now, and it's
amazing - changed my life! If you have any questions,
feel free to email me at peter....@stud.man.ac.uk
>
Tyler Verhaeghe
Thank you for your comments. To follow up, I have two
quick questions:
- You said you have yet to get 3 hours of battery life.
Does this include when you are "just typing"? (If not 3
hours, what time are you getting?)
- When drawing a diagram, what is the precision like? Is
it rather thick and rough like sidewalk chalk, or like
using a needle on a grain of rice?
Thanks again!
Tyler
>.
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Tyler Verhaeghe
Thanks for your reply. What type of video card is on
your Compaq machine?
Thanks,
Tyler
>.
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Tyler Verhaeghe
Just typing/drawing in Word, what type of battery life do
you get?
Is the unit solidly built, or does it feel a little
flimsy?
Thanks,
Tyler
>.
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Tyler Verhaeghe
Thanks for your reply!
How is the graphics performance on the tablet? Is it
capable of dual display?
Also, what time are you getting on the tablet battery
when taking notes?
Cheers,
Tyler
>.
>
e
brightness set at a medium-to-high level so it is easy to
see, keep the wireless card on since I like to be able to
quickly hop onto the Net to check things, and keep the
processor speed at medium-to-high since I've noticed that
when I set it lower, there were annoying semi-freezes at
times.
Drawing diagrams is great. You can select the pen
thickness you want and whether or not it is responds to
pressure. The only downside I've seen in Word using it so
far is that the eraser is set to erase whole strokes, so
you can't just "touch up" a line.
-E-
>.
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