Tablet PC's

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Has anyone else heard of this new technology coming out in November? It seems to be an appraiser's dream. It is not a laptop, not a PDA. It is somewhere in between. It is about the size of a clipboard, about a inch thick and has an on screen keyboard or an attachable one. Here is the best part it will run any windows xp programs. No special programs needed. It seems you could inspect a home and draw it on apex while on site and even fill out the form while inspecting. It seems too good to be true to me. Sorry Dave, but I would rather have one of these. The pocket PC is small and has a small screen. I don't have a PDA yet and I just can't fathom drawing a 4,800 sf home on the small PDA screen. The Tablet PC works like a PDA too with voice notes and you can write on the screen and it will be saved. Boy, I sound like a kid waiting for Christmas. Anybody else faoming at the mouth over this product?

 

[Farm Gal]

Tim,
Have played with a couple different similar toys, I like the idea , but it ain't real REAL yet...

One of my gripes is that MOST of them have the darn tablet oriented long end 'horizontally'... this results in most of us brushing our hand across the writing surface and ending up with a glitch.. instead of orienting the tablet like most of us actually write 'long-way-vertical' oriented! :evil:

Other gripe for me is that on most you have to use a keyboard to type in 'qwerty' with a stylus, as opposed to useing hadwriting recog methods...
I find the Grafitti (PDA) entry method quite acceptable, but would prefer to have a bitty keyboard option for those characters(usually symbols) that I don't want to mess with! :?

I think this IS going to be the way of the future, but at the Technology booth at the AI conference in HI this still wasn't being touted as 'here', or even soon.

Wouldn't hold my breath ... yet.
But it's comin! 8) My crystal ball say at least another year before a reasonable product of this type actually hits our street level :roll:

 

[slacker]

In an earlier post I said my finger was hovering over the “Order Button” for Pocket Total on the HP Jornada. I heard about the Tablet PC as well. I think I’ll put off spending the 1200 clams for a few months.

Is it a coincidence or is the HP Jornada being discontinued around the same time?

I’m sure this thing will cost and arm and a leg if it does show up, but I figure if I wait until November, the obsolete Jornada will probably be selling for about $150.00. You never know.

 

[Judy Whitehead (Florida)]

I saw the Pocket Total at a WinTotal seminar in Tampa. The APEX owners/designers were there as well. My old eyes are just toooooo weak to see that little bitty screen. I have been using Apex for years and am comfortable with it, but I just don't think I could see the dimensions of a 2,000 sq. ft. house well enough, let along anything bigger, including garages, porches, rooms, etc. It is just too small. Money would be no object for me if they make a bigger one (at least I say that now!). In rainy Florida (thank goodness!) my paper got all wet this morning. Who would have thunk? I drag myself out of bed and drive 30 minutes for a 745am appointment and it is raining!

 

[graindart]

The Jornada line being discontinued has nothing to do with tablet PCs. With the HP and Compaq merger it was a purely economic decision.....the IPAQ's have a larger user base. There are tablet PCs out right now, the new thing is that Microsoft is tweaking XP with a few new items to work better on the tablet platform. The main thing that these tablets lack is a reflective screen! Outside taking measurements you can't make anything out on the screen. This was the problem with using pocketpc machines until the last year or two, when they started using reflective screens. I've seen a couple of reflective screen tablet style computers for sale over the past year, but they're in the $3000-$5000 range and are designed for vertical markets, like insurance adjusters, appraisers, etc. I wouldn't mind getting one, but will have to wait for a less expensive alternative.....

 

[slacker]

The Jornada line being discontinued has nothing to do with tablet PCs. With the HP and Compaq merger it was a purely economic decision.....the IPAQ's have a larger user base.

<span style='color:blue'>When I said "coincidence" I meant that it seems interesting that the Jornada is being pushed so hard today when we know it wont be around much longer.

Sounds to me like another case of “Planned Obsolescence ”. There is a probably big warehouse full of Jornada and IPAQ inventory that needs to be sold just in time for the new Tablet technology to be unveiled.
</span>

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

I did find a viewsonic viewpad 1000 tablet pc when I did tablet pc search. It can be bought for $1575. Intel celeron 800 with windows xp. It seems inviting, but I would like to see more info and actually try one in the field.

 

[slacker]

I did find a viewsonic viewpad 1000 tablet pc when I did tablet pc search. It can be bought for $1575. Intel celeron 800 with windows xp. It seems inviting, but I would like to see more info and actually try one in the field.

Here's a link to a Microsoft Tablet Test Drive. Now this is what I'm waiting for. Bye Bye Pocket PC. This thing is way cool.


http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/tabletpc/#

See ya

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Yes, I did that test drive. That is what got my technology antennae excited.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Microsoft had another article about the Tablet PC available in November. Eight reasons to buy a Table PC. Here is the link:


http://www.bcentral.com/articles/enbysk/162.asp


Anybody who has read my comments about the Disto probably can't believe I am interested in this new technology. But having a 10-12 inch screen to sketch the home on Apex on site seems to be the most innovative way to speed up the appraisal process. Plus, filling out the form on site, actually selecting and using the comps on site, instead of taking 4-10 pictures of prospective comps seems a no brainer. Comp selection has always been a CYA out in the field. Select a few bigger homes, select a few smaller homes in case that house you just inspected is not the 3,100 SF advertised and is only 2,800 SF or is really 3,500 SF. There was nothing more frustrating than have three solid comps out in the field that are the exact same size to find out back at the office that there were really three better comps out in field that are actually the correct same size as the subject.