Wendland & Dvorak on the Tablet PC

A lot of Tablet PC enthusiasts are up in arms today over an article in the Detroit Free Press by columnist Mike Wendland.  It seems Wendland tried out a Tablet PC and liked it except for the size and weight.  What has the enthusiasts in a dither is that the particular Tablet he tried out was the Acer TravelMate C300 which has a 14.1 inch screen and weighs over 6 pounds.  No wonder he had a problem with the size of that thing, it's the biggest Tablet around.  This leads everyone to question how serious he was about evaluating a Tablet in the first place since size was going to matter to him.

The most interesting response to Wendland's article I've run across comes from a post John Dvorak made on his blog.  John's article is a well written piece that chides the Tablet industry for a distinct lack of marketing of the Tablet PC.  Regular readers of jkOTR will recall a rant I posted recently about that very topic.  Dvorak tells how he has tried to get someone, anyone to let him evaluate a Tablet PC but hasn't gotten any takers of his offer.  He discusses how Microsoft in particular has promised him several times they would provide one but never have.  If ever there was a perfect profession ideally suited for the benefits a Tablet PC brings it seems to me a reporter would be it.  Dvorak thinks so too and his article is worth a read if you too wonder why there is no marketing for the very capable Tablet PC.

Comments

[Shital Shah]

On the contrary, I'd choose Acer Travelmate anyday. Its the best tablet out there. But my usage pattern is different. I need tablet with lots of RAM, full 14.1" screen and DVD writer and all the goodies. And should be convertible in to Laptop. For people who wants that Acer Travelmate is the only choice as far as I've researched.

http://www.shitalshah.com/blog/PermaLink.aspx?guid=dab45554-f0cf-4891-abfe-0f45a5ff739c

[jk]

I can see the bigger screen being perfect for a s/w developer but I think the reason people are upset at Wendland is that he shouldn't have evaluated the biggest Tablet he could find if he wanted small and light.