After considerable research and much internal angst over how much to spend, I settled on the HP TC1100. I know I spoke highly of the Fujitsu, but it came down to portability and I really wanted something small. The Fujitsu P1500D sounded intriguing, but the passive digitizer did not. I wanted a slate, but still feared completely losing a keyboard (although, I have some second thoughts on that… more later). I just couldn’t pass on the ability to drop the keyboard when I wanted to and go slate. And so far, I have to say, “I love it!”

I purchased a decked out model with 60GB HD, 512MB RAM, and Bluetooth (the remaining specs are standard). Since having it, I’ve already bumped the RAM to 1024. The processing is fast, but not as much as the Fujitsu. It still beats the IBM for startup and application loading. The digitizer works without problems and I’ve been using it extensively with OneNote. I also compose emails, but would hesitate trying to write a paper without a keyboard.

The keyboard is a little cramped and I really don’t care much for the keys. I even prefer the Fujitsu’s keys over this. The keyboard really acts as a stand most of the time. My recommendation for any slate is to get either the FrogPad (which I’m training myself on), or ThinkOutside’s bluetooth keyboard which has a really nice feel to it (remind me to do a handheld keyboard review!).

The TC1100 has some very functional outside buttons and the pen storage is handy. The screen only rotates 90 degrees, but I’m learning to figure out the orientation when I pick it up. I find the plastic port cover flimsy, and suspect it will get broken off after a year or two. Battery life has been pleasantly long, going 3-4 hours on a charge. I did pick up an extra battery which has saved me on a couple of long meetings.

The graphics have been impressive. It can play DVDs (using an external DVD drive, of course) flawlessly as well as most games (SIMS and the like) without problems.

The TC1100 is definately a poweruser’s tablet. I would not recommend it for most of my average users (actually, most of my average users should get Macs!). It is a portable computer and I would not use it for my main desktop. It’s been great for email and the web, despite the hiccups from XP. Mac users considering a Windows machine: applications do crash in Windows much more frequently than OS X. But, like any happy Microsoft camper, I’m learning to live with it.

Any average user looking into a tablet really should look at the Gateways. I’ve been very impressed with them, despite their size. But for extreme portability, the TC1100 has been great! I’m sorry to hear HP has discontinued them, but I can understand. Powerusers don’t make up a huge market.