Totally unrelated to diet question: Drawing Tablets

Hey all!  I'm planning to look into some different things this summer now that my schedule has cleared a bit.  One of these is doing some stuff where I'd like to "mark-up" documents, record written  "presentations" and/or just incorporating some free-hand drawings into content here.  So I was in Staples the other day to return something I didn't need that I received as a gift, and forgot about.  So first I checked that they still carried the item and they did.  Yay!  But as I browsed the aisle, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the writing tablets.  They are so much sleeker looking and seemingly functional (according to the descriptions) than one I had eons ago back when computers still came with 5" floppy drives and hard drive capacities measured in MB.  VERY interested -- also wide price ranges!  I'm well familiar with underspending on such devices and them having inadequate function ... but then again, nowadays you can get devices for $50 that actually do the same things as $500 devices if you're not looking to push every feature to the max for some high-end professional endeavor!  I'd like something economical BUT functional.

So ... I thought I'd ask if anyone has one and how you like it and what you use it for.  Brand, model and all that definitely helpful info.  Right now I have just my HP Mini (my big laptop bit the dust almost a year ago and this little thing is wonderful and I've had no need for anything more!) with Windows 7 (Starter) .  If you'd rather for any reason offer input or give recs via email, it's carbsane at gmail dot com as always!  THANKS in advance!!

Comments

Gwen said…
Hey Evelyn,

I just interrogated my techie husband regarding your question. He would recommend Lenovo or Toshiba. They're both "business" class and durable. In fact, I'm using a Toshiba to type this. He cautions against HP and Dell. HP has a higher failure rate for different components and Dell is made for business accounts with an IT department (any problems, IT switches it out while they send the faulty one for service).

He also recommends some sites you can go to to see if they review tablet computers:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/

http://www.engadget.com/

Also, he recommends this site:
http://www.cdw.com/?cm_mmc=acquirgy-_-Google-_-CDW_Brand-_-cdw&AcquirgyID=9822555

as they give quite detailed information on components and features of whatever tablet computer you're thinking about.

Also, make sure whatever you buy is already loaded with the software you want.

Hope we've helped! Good luck!
Sanjeev said…
I may get one of this type too, as long as it has cell phone, GPS and fairly fast internet capability and an earphone (an inobtrusive one, no LED).

Using google Maps on those tiny cell phone screens is just terrible, terrible, terrible. for me anyway. I used to be the type to value CRT size above all else for clear viewing, often going for a bigger monitor and higher refresh rate and skimping on computer power.
CarbSane said…
Thanks guys! Sorry for the confusion though -- I'm not in the market for a tablet style computer, but for a drawing tablet to hook to this one. I'm all set on that as I received a great tip by email. I'll report back when I get it!

FWIW, I love my HP 210 series Mini. I'm really rough on laptops and this thing goes everywhere and is almost 2 years old. It's taken a few lickings and just keeps ticking! The 10.5" "landscape" screen is a good size, and once I adapted to the KB, it feels natural to me. I've used iPads and such and really don't like the touch keypads (even my new smart phone has a slide out KB that I prefer).