tablet pc?

[aka_red]

hi guys i, like sauce, am in the market for a new laptop. i was also looking at the convertible tablets as well. what id primarily be using it for is browsing forums on the couch or shitter, and watching youtube and poker vids (makes the convertible tablets pretty attractive). then id also use it for school as well but much less frequently only have like 12 hours of class a week tops. and then id also like to be able to play some amount of poker on it and have it run hem and table ninja and pokerstars whatever.

from what i can tell it seems like the convertible tablets are the way to go for me but i have no expierience with tablets at all. i was looking at FRYS.com | Fujitsu as it seems to fill my need decently except maybe the poker one? i'm guessing its screen is smallish for that (has anyone played on 12' screen?) but poker is by far the least important of the three. also i had a terrible experience with customer service and unfortunately if i have a problem its unlikely ill be able to fix it myself. so does anyone know how their customer service is? also if anyone knows of a reliable review website.

cliffs:
-need laptop to browse forums watch youtube/pokervids on couch, perform school related work, and be able to play very very minimal amounts of poker with appropriate applications
-want to know about anybody's experience with tablets or fujitsu customer service

[Jack Sawyer]

This is close to my very own use case scenario, except I add extensive photography and other creative minima as well. If you judge it from the hardware side only, the Fujitsu seems like a good deal (you can get the T4410 for $1198 on amazon). No word on the battery life, and I would not know how well the warranty on the thing is, or Fujitsu as a company etc.
The problem with "convertible" laptops is that the software support for the touchscreen specifically in windows is currently very subpar, leaving you with hardware with great potential but poor execution.

I would have solved this problem with the following combo:
1a) iPad 32GB+
1b) apple bluetooth keyboard / batteries
2) Macbook Pro 13

I'm not a Mac zealot, but it's hard to ignore the fact that they do have some of the best values on the market currently when it comes to what counts in a laptop, which is wowriffic battery life, worldwide warranty, a great screen, an excellent keyboard and passable graphics. The prices are a bit on the plus side, but you absolutely get what you pay for.

Taking notes in class is a breeze with the iPad, as well as reading books/documents and browsing non-flash websites. It's size is the killer feature, and it's an extremely versatile device for rudimentary things. When you need better input you just use the keyboard, very thin and infinitely portable. The laptop is for poker and "bigger" things, such as catalogging pics and stuff. It's going to be more expensive, but it's all very portable and your needs will be properly served.

On a 13" screen I could only do 4 tables, 6 if I hid some from view, and play on the bigger screen when at home or whatever (I still only do 6 on a 1920x1080 screen, so go figure). I have no idea if there are mac versions of "appropriate applications", so you're on your own there.

[aka_red]

what do you mean software support? like i cant use pokerstars or i dont really understand.. i am really bad with computers if you couldnt tell haha. the problem i have with the ipad is it doesnt play flash which all poker vids are and transferring them (if possible) is inconvenient enough to deter me. for school i would be using laptop mode for note taking plus completing assignments and projects unless for some reason slate mode is more convenient. however at home i would primarly be using it similar to that of an ipad (except without the flash issue). for poker i cascade so maybe that possibly nullifies screen size issue? but im definitely open to hearing more about the mac book pro

[Jack Sawyer]

With the tablet, it's all about touch. Since it will be the primary form of input when the keyboard is hidden, it is of paramount importance that your OS recognizes all of your moves etc while in slate mode. The thing is, most if not all current ones use resistive tech, meaning you need a stylus to manipulate whatever you see on screen. This is hit or miss, as windows is not necessarily designed with this in mind, with the GUI (as in the things you see on screen) unoptimized for this usage, meaning missed touches and more annoyances that do accumulate through use. Maybe at some point they will get this under control, but they will have to offer like a whole new version altogether. Other applications will have to be designed specifically to be used in this mode as well, and you can see where the headaches lie there.

In a nutshell, you have to use the stylus just as you would a mouse. You can also use your nail, or something else that is pointy. The mouse emulation is not always spot on, however, and you will have frequent times when something won't behave exactly the way you expect it.
A better explanation can be found here 5 Reasons Tablets Suck And You Won't Buy One

The iPad, on the other hand, was designed specifically to be used with finger touches (capacitive, no stylus needed ever), which is why it's the better slate all around. Yes, its problem is specifically flash video, with the public feud between Apple and Adobe. They'll work it out eventually, and more and more people will start using html5 instead of flash (and other plugins), but that is for another story. As you say, most flash vids can be transferred with differing degrees of inconvenience (you can set up handbrake presets to do it for you, the flash vids you have downloaded that is, rather easily), but you will have it on tap whenever you would like to use it without needing internet, like in the subway, on the potty, etc.

The current Macbook Pro line is considered to be pretty much unequaled on the consumer side. On the business side it's the HP Elitebooks and the Dell Precision workstations that rule the roost though because of the ease of their upgradability and standard parts. But the iPad's convenience in the classroom is something you will have to experience on your own though (audio, ample learning aides, books available, built in mic, apps, etc.) to understand why I recommended it.


Cascaded, no screen size will deter you anyhow. Jorj95 attained SNE using a 1280*1024 screen anyway. Find out if the programs you need will run natively on the lappie, but you can always run things inside virtual machines in Mac OS X as well.