Tablet PC Update: I’m loving it, but here’s an extra $300 I wish I had spent when I bought the thing

Posted by J. Matthew Buchanan

May 24, 2005

Drawing on inspiration from the most anticipated and celebrated launching of a new Tablet PC in history, I thought I’d share a recent improvement I made to my Tablet PC setup.

I’ve been using the Toshiba M205 Tablet PC for about a year. Needless to say, I love the tablet platform and the Toshiba itself. Am I YABHTU (yet another blissfully happy tablet user)? Probably. I’d buy another in a heartbeat. I suppose that’s as good a test as any.

My happiness isn’t solely due to the gee-whiz factor. That wore off long ago. The real reason is this:

Over the last year, as I’ve become more proficient and comfortable with the tablet interface, I’ve actually started to realize efficiencies and improvements in my workflows that are directly attributable to the tablet form factor.

And a recent addition to my setup has dramatically increased the effect the tablet has on my work.

Toshiba_Multi_Dock Last month, I bought the Toshiba docking station for the M205 (the Tablet Multi Dock II) (see first picture at left). I considered this accessory when I bought the computer, but opted against it mostly because of the steep $300 price tag. A friend and fellow M205 owner recently sold me on the docking station by telling me he’d gladly pay more than $300 for it, even if he had to spend his own money (he’s buying with house money, I’m buying with my own).

What can justify a $300 price tag for a docking station? Simple. It allows me to use the tablet features of the computer in situations in which I previously didn’t.

Combined with my wireless mouse and keyboard, the dock allows me to keep the computer in tablet mode all day. Big deal, you say? It is. Before I had the dock, I used the computer in notebook mode while sitting at my desk. Throughout the day, I hesitated to make the conversion from notebook to tablet because I didn’t want to go through the effort of rotating the screen and disconnecting cables to allow me to put the computer in a comfortable configuration for writing on the screen. I know it sounds like pure laziness, but there was a mental hesitation there, for whatever reason.

This hesitation prevented me from using the tablet features for tasks that, arguably, would benefit the most from the pen.

With the Multi Dock, the computer is always in tablet mode. The screen is positioned at a comfortable angle to serve as a monitor (I use it as a secondary monitor - see the first picture at right). But here’s the best part — the computer is actually mounted on a rack that can be detached from the base of the docking station. The rack is connected to the base with a single cable so that it can be easily detached from the base without loss of any computer function (network connection, speakers, USB-devices, etc.). When I need to ink, I simply remove the tablet/rack combination from the base and set it on my desk (see the second picture at right). The inclined surface of the rack (see second picture at left) automatically positions the tablet at a comfortable angle. Presto, I’m inking in about 2 seconds flat.

This allows me to use the computer in tablet mode more frequently than I did before…and my work is the better for it. For example, I now use the tablet to record notes of telephone conversations (using OneNote or TabletPlanner). For me, the idea of computerizing my notes, even quick notes such as the details of a telephone conversation, was something that sold me on the tablet platform. While I’ve put the tablet to good use over the last year, I didn’t fully exploit it for note-taking until I added the Multi Dock.

Here’s another example. When a client calls to review a document, such as a draft patent application, I pull the tablet/rack combination out of the base and place it on my desk, open the electronic file, and ink notes right on the document. After the call, I review my notes, make additional notes if necessary, and simultaneously e-mail the document to the client for reviewing my notes and to my secretary for incorporating them into the document (betting that the client will not have any additional comments).

This practice has eliminated a great deal of time from the editing workflow, which saves the client real money.

I do wish Toshiba had made the cable between the base and the rack a little longer. The cable is just long enough to allow me to detach the rack and place it on my desk for writing on the tablet. It would be nice, though, to hold the tablet/rack combination in my lap when I’m in a heels-on-the-desk mood. The current cable is nowhere near long enough to do this. I bet Toshiba could sell an extension cable that would do the trick. This may be tough to do with a $300 price tag on the docking station itself, though.

I was very happy with the tablet before adding the Multi Dock. Now I’m ecstatic.

If you’ve read to the bottom of this post, you deserve a little gem. Want to try a Tablet PC? Microsoft is giving them away. Register here to win a Toshiba M200.

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