Lenovo ThinkPad X60 Tablet PC
Starts from $3,599
Available from authorised dealers

The idea of an electronic writing tablet came about in the early to mid-1990s, but the idea failed miserably. Not least because people were not ready to accept any other input other than a keyboard. Also, plus, folks just didn't like their own handwriting.

It took Microsoft to bring back the idea in 2002, entering the market alongside hardware makers like Toshiba, Fujitsu, Acer and Compaq, with a so-called "Tablet PC" running Windows XP. The inclusion and use of the stylus support from Microsoft made manufacturing easier, and by that time hardware had also matured to capably capture and recognise a wider range of scrawls.

Tablet PCs can be categorised into three types - convertibles, slates and hybrids.

The ThinkPad X60, about 1.92 kg, is of the convertible variety. It resembles and works like a regular notebook PC with the typical clamshell design.

Except that the LCD screen can be turned 180 degrees and then folded down flat with the screen portion facing 90 deg up, so you can write on it with a stylus. The keyboard is then hidden underneath.

The review unit with an Intel Core Duo processor operating at 1.83GHz, 1GB of RAM and a 120GB hard disk drive was able to complete Bapco's MobileMark 2005 benchmark test and produce a score of 248 versus the baseline score of 100 measured with a 1GHz Pentium 3 processor.

The benchmark results indicates that the X60 is capable of handling even the most demanding of tasks like hi-resolution graphic editing.

Battery run time was measured throughout the benchmarking and as the review unit had an eight-cell battery pack, the power lasted a whopping 380 minutes.

The specs promised just 7.5 hours, so getting 85 per cent of the reported capacity under a simulated load is very good.

The X60's 12.1-inch display was a surprise as it had a display resolution of 1,400 by 1,050 pixels. This is higher than the usual 1,024 by 768 found on most 12.1-inch units.

The increased pixel count lends to a better experience with the pen input as the handwriting captured always looks sharp - even if your scribbles are atrocious.

FINAL SAY

It can be very distracting, during a meeting, to hear a touch typist furiously pounding away. With the Lenovo ThinkPad X60 Tablet PC, one can jot down the points of discussion quietly. And with the handwriting input easily recognised and coverted to type written text, any worries about unnecessary transcribing work are put to rest.