The unnamed source goes on to say that the device could be unveiled as early as this September (few weeks from today), with availability set for November. The only thing that is holding up the process according to said source is the blessings of the all wise Steve Jobs.

Will it sell? That is the question! To be honest I don’t think now is the best time to be releasing a Tablet PC with a $699 to $799 price tag (as analysts are speculating). No, I wasn’t expecting anything under $600, but it never hurts to hope does it?

Despite the odds set against it, I think it’s about time Apple did something in the Tablet PC realm. Granted we have a pretty good idea of what to expect if this device does make it to the market and I’m sure that most of its buyers will be purchasing this based on need and not want, but heck it’s still a nice idea and an entire foot of touchscreen goodness in a package less than an inch thick is awesome to say the least.

While I have had my silent (and not so silent) disputes with the iPhone, I have always thought of the iPod Touch as the best PMP on the market hands down. That said, I still believe its lacking one thing, screen space. An Apple Tablet would be the perfect addition to an already great lineup, and if we’re to believe what is being floated around about eBook reader support, games and robust media capabilities, this wouldn’t be a hard sell among many.

If Apple can convince consumers that instead of buying an Amazon Kindle and their own iPod Touch, they should take that money and put it towards the Apple “iTablet” we might just have a winner. Remember, unlike their computers, Apple’s mobile devices are all about media content, games and everything with the word “fun” in it. Few can find faults with the iPod (except for its outrageous update prices) and bringing the concept to a device Apple will be selling on luxury, and not practicality, is not a bad idea.

Remember, unlike Microsoft, Apple doesn’t have to promise functionality and bargain for its loyal subjects to buy its devices. That said I’m sure there will be a lot more people who will take a look at the ‘iTablet” and while I’m in no way loyal to Cupertino I have to say they would really have to screw up the idea to persuade me not to mortgage my house for one of these.

Let’s just see how Jobs decides to handle this one. So what are your thoughts? Agreement and disagreement is welcome.

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Modbook has been treating Apple users to tablet PC’s for ages (mainly because of Apple’s lack of plans to bring a tablet Mac to the market), but to be honest there has been no real players in the tablet Windows field. Most tablet computers have some type of keyboard attached and that makes them kind of bulky. The idea of having a tablet PC for use on the go is an amazing idea that Archos is just beginning to catch onto.

All the former models of the Archos line have been Linux powered and carried little to none productivity capabilities. That will all change when the Archos 9 Tablet goes on sale later this year in the UK (a US date is yet to be decided). A tablet like this would fit very nice into a carry on bag or handbag and could easily be used to check up on emails, weather, stocks as well as providing the whole entertainment pack while waiting for the bus, train, plane or any other situation where a keybaord is not practical and a cellphone is just too simple.

That said, the Archos 9 tablet features an 8.9-inch 1024×600 pixel resistive touchscreen display. While there have been rumors of multi touch support, that has not been confirmed by Archos as of yet and frankly from what I know, it seems pretty unlikely. The device is only 16mm inches thick and carries a host of features such as Bluetooth, 1GB of RAM, 802.11b/g WiFi, an 800MHz or 1.2GHz Atom Z515 processor as well as a SIM card slot for WLAN. Hard drive space is either an 80GB HDD or 160GB model. So far no word on an SSD option but as we all know that would be an arm and a leg.

So far from demos and FAQ’s the system seems pretty capable to run a stripped down version of Windows 7, but it would be a lot nicer if we could get a Core 2 Duo option. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would like to be able to play WoW on the go or test out Photoshop while miles in the sky. Secondly we’re hearing that it will be fitted with the integrated graphics thingy from Intel. There is no need to go over the fact that NVIDIA’s Ion platform would have been a much better choice.

According to Archos the device can be navigated pretty well VIA the touch of a finger but for some tasks the included stylus would be a better choice. For this reason I doubt it carries multi-touch.
Recently Archos released the pricing for the system. For the 80GB version it will run you £449.99 which is the equivalent of $735 USD. The doubled hard drive space (160GB) will run up the cost to £499.99 or the equivalent of $816 USD. The launch date is set for September. That’s nice and all but this comes in direct conflict with the October 22nd launch of Windows 7. So unless Archos is cutting a special deal with Redmond, or that date is for pre-orders, we think someone at Archos French HQ has their facts wrong or it’s a typo.

In any case, the idea of a full tablet PC without a keyboard that carries the processing power of a netbook is a nice one indeed. My only concern is if the price tag will be the biggest hurdle the Archos 9 has to jump.

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Tablet Enhancements 3 for Outlook adds the TEO mode to Outlook which is basically a full conversion of Outlook forms into ink-enabled forms. It is possible to switch between modes on the fly and convert handwritten notes into characters without difficulties.

The notes can also be kept in handwriting if that is preferred which is a nice feature. The software program does add rich note taking to Microsoft Outlook which accepts both text and handwritten content as well as images and other media files.

Tablet Enhancements for Outlook adds organizing features to Outlook. It can keep a log of Skype phone calls, keep track of research topics by using Wikipedia links and MapPoint integration.

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The second reason was that when I used to work with a mouse daily I started to feel quite serious pain in my forearm through the last few months and that required some changes. I finally decided to buy Wacom’s low-end device called Volito2 and I must say I really like it.

For the very low price you get a nicely featured equipment with pleasant specs. At the beginning I thought that a 127×92mm wide active area is too small to work on but when I actually held the stylus (pen) and had to move my hand around the pad, I found out that it’s actually big enough. Despite all the positive aspects tablets are not suitable for all applications (i.e. some types of games) but they’re still very handy for common navigation.

A very good thing about Wacom’s products is the “Penabled” technology which means that there’s no battery needed inside the stylus. Therefore the pen is really lightweight. It also has 2 programmable buttons on it meaning that you can choose what functions you want them to have (from a sufficient amount of functions included in the list).

You also don’t have to lay it down when you need to type something on keyboard. 512 pressure levels are quite enough for all programs that are able to use them. After few weeks of using a tablet instead of mouse I don’t feel pain in my arm so much and I’m satisfied with it although it requires some level of skills and practice to use it efficiently.

If you want some change and are willing to invest a little effort into learning how to handle this type of device I would suggest that you consider getting it. If you choose one of Wacom’s products, you’ll also get a free piece of software from ArcSoft as a bonus gift. And the design is like perfect – take a look yourself.

If you have any questions about my device, don’t hesitate to ask them.

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