MMMmmmmm200
After a great deal of pondering (witnessed as early as 2001 when I was considering the first tablet computers), I have finally placed an order for the Toshiba Portege M200 Tablet PC.
I was considering a number of other models: the Gateway M275, the Acer c110, the HP/Compaq TC1100 were all in contention up to the very last minute. Even the iBook and powerbook were in contention. Ultimately, productivity, portability and even price took a back seat to the most important variable that drives us all: fun.
I decided against getting a Mac because I wanted to play games on the laptop. I have a desktop to do that as well but since discovering that Kathryn frequently plays as well, we really need two capable computers. So Mac was unfortunately out.
Thus, I was left choosing from a range of Tablet PCs. For the record, Macheads have it really easy. They basically have a 2 x 2 decision matrix when making a computer purchasing decision.
“Do I want to carry this computer around with me?”
“Do I want to spend an average amount or much more money than I can actually afford?”
Questions like, “Do I want this to look cool?” obviously don’t need to be asked. With those two questions answered, you already know what you’ll but from Apple.
For PCs, there’s an insane number of variables. Price, memory, HDD, processor, 3D card, firewire, bluetooth, 802.11xxx, screen size, weight, durability and for tablets, whether they have glass displays and if not, whether the display has any distortion.
I was THIS close to buying the HP TC1100, despite it being lower end. It had a lot of great features (glass display, very portable slate mode, an nVidia card). My friend Joseph is in HK and he was going to help me out with a discount on the HP. Unfortunately, at the last minute we realized we wouldn’t be able to get it to me in time.
So I decided to buy from the States, giving me the option to buy other brands once more. More hours of web surfing, more forums read and finally, a decision.
The M200 is the only one with an updated nVidia 3D card that can play today’s games. So it has $600 more of a pricetag. So I’m a starving student … but this was going to be my laptop for a few years so it had better be good.
Let’s hope it gets delivered in time …
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