EEK! Or to tablet, or not to tablet?

[pbray]

Four years ago I acquired a Netbook, an EEE PC that I named EEK. The original purpose of EEK was primarily for travel but it soon developed a new use-- as the couchsurfing machine. The perfect tool for answering emails, surfing the web after dinner, or snarking with jpsorrow during Project Runway.

Alas EEK has begun showing signs of dementia, as befits its advanced age (in PC years), and while last week's mishaps where it randomly inserted strings of 9s into the midst of everything I tried to type was annoying, now there are a couple of keys that it no longer recognizes, which means the valiant EEK's days are numbered.

I want something similar, a lightweight tool that's the right size for email, websurfing and the occasional writing stint when I'm away from home. I also don't want to spend a fortune. Tablets appear to be all the rage, and you can't beat them for portability, so I stopped by Best Buy yesterday to check out what was there. The tablets are very shiny, but the whole typing on the glass screen experience wasn't a winner for me. I know you can buy auxiliary keypads, but having to lug around accessories defeats the point of buying the compact tablet in the first place.

So, peanut gallery, any thoughts? Netbook? Tablet? Do touch typists eventually get used to typing on that limited keyboard on the flat screen? Or should I go back to the telephone and mailing handwritten letters?

Comments

[lagilman]

well, I rather love my Asus T3 - it's a tablet with an optional keyboard that turns it into a netbook.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Hmm, as I recall it was envy of your Netbook that started me down this path several years ago...

The ASUS Transformer Pads look interesting, but the TF300T plus optional keyboard dock is a bit more than I want to spend.

[icedrake.livejournal.com]

TF101 is what I had and loved (until it was lost/stolen).

Damn it, now I want the 300T.

[tryslora]

I have an iPad and for responding to things online, it's great. I don't mind typing a few paragraphs there. But I've never been fully comfortable with it as a laptop replacement, and keep returning to my Mac to actually write. Oh, and I have a keyboard case for the iPad that I took off recently because I found it unwieldy and the keys didn't strike nicely and it just never quite worked the way I wanted it to.

I kind of want to go find that Asus suricattus has in a store to look at someday. It sounds like a great compromise tool!!

[lagilman]

I don't think tablets are ever going to be work-replacement items - anything 10" or under just isn't great for long-form work (twist that however you like, my dears). But yeah, for emails or memos or note-taking, the tablet keyboard kinda rocks.


(and I much prefer taking a $300 netbook or tablet on a research trip, rather than a $1000 laptop!)

[pbray.livejournal.com]

and I much prefer taking a $300 netbook or tablet on a research trip

Exactly. Especially since I don't store any files on the netbook so if it gets damaged or stolen it's minimal risk.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

The ASUS Transformer line looks very cool indeed, if a bit more than I want to spend. The TF300T is about four hundred, and the transformer dock (which gives you the keyboard) is in the one fifty range.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

EEK is a great name for an EEE tablet. :)

[pbray.livejournal.com]

EEK has been a great friend. It was very excited to go with me on bike trips, sci-fi cons, or to just hang out and watch bad sci-fi TV. I'm sad that it's malfunctioning, but not surprised.

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

I can tell you that if you've got larger hands, they might not fit on a larger tablet's internal keyboard. Mine sure don't, which makes the utility of typing on an iPad kind of silly.

I'd say to go with a netbook, or lacking that, a hybrid with a detachable tablet section.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Well my hands are on the smaller side. But I'm picky about keyboards-- I bought my EEE since the keyboard was damn near fullsize, with real keys not chiclets.

[1hope1dream.livejournal.com]

I also second a netbook. I don't have one but I've got a lot of writer friends who do, and they say it's ideal for just bumming around or short stints when they're away from home. My beast of choice (and there is a reason I've dubbed my laptop 'Monstrosity') is my Toshiba Satellite. It's NOT a light thing - 8 lbs I think - but aside from having to replace my hard drive after only 2 years, this thing's survived multiple abuses. I love it, though it's portability is questionable when I have everything hooked up to it.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

I am leaning towards a netbook, one that runs windows so it will be compatible with the rest of my setup. But something a little more portable-- I already have a laptop for when I need major processing power.

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

I lurve my netbook (it's an Acer something-or-other, very tiny -- which is fine for me because I have freakishly small hands, although I do miss the number pad for doing accented characters -- and about 2.5 years old, although it's been carted around so much that it's starting to look quite elderly). It's become my primary writing machine, and I also take it to conferences because I can take notes so much faster with it than on paper.

I like to play with tablets because they're so SHINY, but as content-creation devices they're kind of a fail IMO. Although I have seen some pretty cool iPad-stand-with-keyboard thingummies.