June 2003

New Acer, HP Tablet PCs rumored to be released
Digitimes continues to report a Summer 2003 launch of two significant new TPC product. One reportedly will be a new tablet from HP which will retain the 10.4-inch display but offer better performance. The other a 14.1-inch Centrino-based Acer TravelMate 240, equipped with a standard notebook display instead of the swivel mechanism of the Acer 100/110. Digitimes also says Acer expects to sell 300,000 Tablet PCs in 2003, with over half having keyboard and handwriting input and the rest only pen input perhaps via an unspecified new design. -- Posted Thursday, June 12, 2003 by chb

Sharp announces Tablet PC Convertible
Sharp Japan announced its first Tablet PC product, the PC-TN1-H1W Mebius Muramasa. In size, space and design, the new product is reminiscent of the Toshiba Portege 3500--a sleek ultra-light with a 12.1-inch display that rotates and lays down flat to make the new Mebius into a slate. Sharp is using Intel's Centrino technology, but went with the 1.1 GHz version of the Pentium M processor. Standard memory is 256MB of PC2100 DDR, upgradeable to 768MB. There is a Type II PC Card slot, wireless LAN, 2 USB 2.0 ports, a Firewire port, a 30GB disk, and a 56k modem. Measuring 11.4 x 8.8 x 1.14 inches and weighing 4.2 pounds, the new Mebius is almost exactly the same size as the Portege, but a bit thinner. Battery life is said to be up to five hours. The new machine is said to go on sale in Japan on August 1st for roughly US$2,200. [see Japanese language release]

-- Posted Wednesday, June 11, 2003 by chb

Itronix announces rugged Tablet PC slate
Itronix Corp., a leading maker of rugged notebooks and handhelds, is joining the Tablet PC ranks with the announcement of the GoBook Tablet PC, a compact and rugged 3.7-lbs. slate. The device neatly fills a niche between standard tablet PC slates and higher priced ultra-rugged products from WalkAbout/Intermec and Xplore/Symbol. The GoBook TPC uses a 866MHz ultra-low voltage Pentium III and can support up to three radios concurrently, giving it considerable communications flexibility. Delivery of the GoBook Tablet PC will start in September and the MSRP will be at US$2,995. -- Posted Monday, June 2, 2003 by chb

Motion releases 1GHz Centrino model
Ever at the cutting edge of technology, Motion Computing of Austin, Texas announced immediate availability of a new M1300 model using 1GHz Centrino technology. According to the company, the 1GHz M1300 runs 8% faster than the 900MHz model and 40% faster than their initial M1200 Tablet PC (which we always felt was pretty speedy in the first place). Available from Motion Computing itself and over 70 VARs, pricing of the new model starts at US$2,099. -- Posted Monday, June 2, 2003 by chb