I have used a Tablet PC as my secondary daily notebook computer since way back when Terri Stratton, Editor-in-Chief of MobilePCWorld.com and TheTabletPC.net turned me on to Tablet PCs back in 2007.
I started out with the HP Pavilion tx1000, moving to the Pavilion tx2000 when that model was refreshed, and landing on the HP TouchSmart tx2, a unit I still carry daily.
However, in 2010, the line was updated to the HP TouchSmart tm2. Unfortunately, I must have upset someone at HP because I wasn’t given a review unit!!! As I result, I couldn’t tell of what had changed.
At last year’s Microsoft PDC10 in Seattle, the UK-based IT journalist duo of Simon Bisson and Mary Branscombe showed me their tm2s, Simon with his consumer tm2, and Mary with her business version, the HP EliteBook 2740p.
Suffice to say, I was blown away by the svelte new dimensions of the tm2. The difference in weight versus the older tx2 seemed to be about a 50% reduction. It just felt better. Upon my return to the homebase, I researched the specs on the tm2 and discovered that HP was now shipping the device with the Intel Core i2 processor. At that point in time, I decided to authorize the purchase of a unit for testing by my staff, with a view to seeing if it would be a capable replacement for all the tx-series Tablet PCs we had placed that were reaching EOL for whatever reasons.
The tm2 excelled. We have had nothing but good joss from the product, and the test device became a favorite. So much so that in the past three months, I have basically being shut out of using it.
To the testers, it is much faster, more responsive, and the weight reduction means that there is less fatigue associated with using it.
Since Microsoft, for whatever reasons, seems to be playing ostrich with the slate-device market, we would continue to recommend Tablet PCs for clients that need touch functionality in a content-creation system.
Not resting on their laurels, HP has revved the tm2 into the tm2t, now with Intel Core i5 microprocessors.
We like this product and we recommend it without reservation.
