My friend Odi and I were “chattwitting” about a possible Apple Netbook or Tablet PC, and we didn’t have the same vision about what that computer would look like. I could not imagine there was a big enough market for a Tablet-only computer for the market-savvy Apple.
Because I wanted to explore development of multi-touch applications, I didn’t hesitate buying myself a Tablet PC. It’s a convertible laptop, as I wanted this computer to replace my current laptop. Anyway, nobody could use a Tablet like a laptop, right?
Well, I decided to try it, for a week. I’m sure that’s enough to get the idea. That week already started, with the installation of Windows Live Writer, and creation of this post, fully written with the on-screen keyboard. I can already say that typing with the on-screen keyboard is far from optimal, not much better than those phone keyboards. The #1 problem is when typing the same letter twice. If you double-tap too fast, only one letter is typed. Also, because the keyboard window can (and must) be moved, your fingers don’t get the hang of positions.
Another thing I miss is quick access to slimKEYS and its slimLAUNCH extension. It would make more sense to have an icon in the taskbar to open slimLAUNCH. It still works with the on-screen keyboard but takes more time.
Right clicks can also become a problem. Normally, you can tap-and-hold and wait for imitating it, but it does not always work, or is imprecise. Take Windows Live Writer for example: correcting typos with those red underlines is difficult since it often thinks you’re tapping a line below.
Finally, every time you need to enter text in a textbox and the keyboard isn’t visible, three taps are necessary, a little excessive, but I didn’t check the options yet.
During this week, I’ll be trying the following tasks (and more):
- Read and post on Twitter.
- Read and write emails with Gmail.
- Surf the web.
- Listen to music with Windows Media Player.
I won’t stop myself from using the stylus, but instead compare touch and stylus head to head.
See ya in a week, or on Twitter.