Bake-Off: Convertible Tablet PCs

Notebook computers are an ideal mobile computing platform for most users. But many solution providers find that tablet PCs are better suited for vertical industries such as medical, education, manufacturing, shipping and receiving, public relations and inventory tracking where users prefer to record handwritten notes that can be converted to text.

Slide Show: A Tale Of Three Tablets

Unfortunately, many users don't want to trade the functionality of a conventional notebook for a tablet PC that has no keyboard. For such users, convertible tablets are the best fit, combining the functionality of a notebook computer and a tablet PC in one portable unit.

For this bakeoff, CRN Test Center engineers examined the best convertible tablets—notebooks with swiveling hinges that allow the display to be flipped around and closed so that the units can be used as tablets—from three of the biggest players in the industry. The units include Hewlett-Packard's tc4400, Lenovo's ThinkPad Tablet X60 and Toshiba's Portg M400-S4032. All of the units tested were running Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.

Shopping The Ingredients
COMPANY: Hewlett-Packard Palo Alto, Calif. www.hp.com • PRODUCT: HP Compaq tc4400 • PRICE/WARRANTY: $2,187/3 years. • PARTNER INCENTIVES: HP Smart Buys, sales contribute to MDF per partner agreement. • AVERAGE MARGINS: 10 percent to 20 percent. • PROGRAM PARTNERS: 15,000. • TRAINING COSTS: None. • DISTRIBUTORS: Ingram Micro, Synnex, Tech Data.
COMPANY: Lenovo Morrisville, N.C. www.lenovo.com • PRODUCT: ThinkPad X60 Tablet • PRICE/WARRANTY: $2,299/1 year. • PARTNER INCENTIVES: $20 rebate, MDF varies based on partner level • AVERAGE MARGINS: 5 percent to 10 percent • PROGRAM PARTNERS: 9,200. • TRAINING COSTS: None. • DISTRIBUTORS: Ingram Micro, Synnex, Tech Data.
COMPANY: Toshiba Irvine, Calif. www.toshiba.com • PRODUCT: Portégé M400-S4032 • PRICE/WARRANTY: $2,199/3 years. • PARTNER INCENTIVES: Rebate awards from 1 percent to 3 percent, MDF policy not specified. • AVERAGE MARGINS: 11 percent. • PROGRAM PARTNERS: 7,000. • TRAINING COSTS: None. • DISTRIBUTORS: Ingram Micro, Synnex, Tech Data.

Engineers tested the tablets using PerformanceTest software from PassMark, which measures the performance of the different components of a computer and then generates an overall score, or PassMark rating. For example, the software measures CPU performance including integer and floating point math, compression, encryption and string sorting and so on. It also measures 2-D and 3-D graphics performance for lines, shapes, fonts and text. Memory and disk performance also is measured. If an individual test can't be run properly for some reason, that portion of the test is skipped and the PassMark rating is generated without it.

HP COMPAQ tc4400
Last summer Hewlett-Packard updated its tc4400 tablet PC with powerful Intel Core Duo and Core 2 Duo processors. But, like the other two tablets covered here, the sample unit reviewed by the Test Center came with a Core Duo, in this case the T2500, running at 2.00GHz. The unit comes preloaded with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 and is also compatible with Windows Vista.

Based on performance alone, the tc4400 tablet outdid its peers, earning a PassMark rating of 427.6. That was the fastest score of all three units, though the gap between the ratings was not wide.

However, missing from the HP unit are some key features, which could make a difference to clients, depending on how they intend to use their tablet PCs. For one thing, HP does not offer a finger touch-screen option for the tc4400. Another drawback is that the unit lacks a built-in optical drive, meaning customers will have to use an available external USB CD-RW drive if needed. HP also left out FireWire ports as well as stereo audio, opting instead for a single mono speaker.

What the device does include is a bevy of other standard features, including 1 Gbyte of DDR2 SDRAM and a 12.1-inch XGA display with a native resolution of 1,024 x 768. The display is driven by an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 that shares up to 128 Mbytes of system memory as needed. The display automatically switches between landscape and portrait modes, depending on whether the unit is in its notebook or tablet configuration. Storage space is provided by a 60-Gbyte hard drive.

Next: More on the HP Compaq tc4400