When we ran four tablet PCs in December 2002 (Issue 61, page 36) we got plenty of response from readers looking to find out more about them. Over a year on now and tablets have increased dramatically in spec and design although pricing hasn’t reduced as much as we’d expected - possibly since they still haven’t made mass market appeal and sales.
Weighing in at a measly 2kg with standard battery, this model is far from bulky, though you’d hope not given its portable nature. Added to this, Toshiba has taken advantage of Intel’s Centrino combo of 802.11b and Pentium M processor for long running battery life, plus all the bells and whistles you’ve come to expect from Toshiba’s top line Portégé range.
Toshiba has included a biometric login function for ultra security, just what you want for protecting your business trade secrets or keeping your personal journal safe from prying eyes. The pen is natural and very easily simulates pen on paper, making the learning curve virtually flat. Grab the pen and get scribbling, if you don’t like it, turn the pen over and use the eraser on the end, removing pen strokes easily.
The display can be contorted easily and can operate in either landscape or portrait mode with simply a tilt of the unit and the press of a button thanks to its inbuilt gyroscope. This is fantastic for note-taking or sketching, while the four easily accessible shortcut buttons on the right of the display are one-touch software launchers for programs such as the included copy of Microsoft OneNote.
Inclusion of NVIDIA’s Go5200 graphics is a welcome change from basic integrated video, giving you an enhanced 1,400 x 1,050 resolution and offering enough grunt to play some basic 3D games, the M200 dishing out just shy of 5,000 3Dmarks.
It lacks optical drives, but does offer LAN and external USB booting for installation, in addition to facility for a docking station which you can plug removable media into.
The combination of performance, long operating battery life and a three-year international warranty rounded out this product very well. Definitely the most impressive tablet we’ve seen to date and well worth checking out if you’d like to ditch your notebook for something funkier.