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Gateway Tablet PC Review

Easy To Like, Not So Easy To Justify

January 30, 2003
By Eric Grevstad

Easy To Like, Not So Easy To Justify

Do we go with the head or the heart on this one?

Microsoft's Tablet PC push is all about taking pen-based, clipboard computing out of its various vertical-market niches -- doctors making rounds, insurance adjusters filling out forms at accident sites -- and into the business mainstream. And using the Gateway Tablet PC, you can easily become a believer: You're taking notes in a board meeting, not bothering coworkers with a clicky keyboard but smoothly writing on the three-pound tablet in your lap -- even if the meeting stretches past the three-hour mark.

When the boss asks a question, you alone have the answer, using the system's 802.11b wireless link to retrieve a file or check an e-mail message or Web reference. When the meeting's done, you pop the tablet into its docking base and use the attached keyboard and DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive for a spell of desktop work with your favorite Windows programs, mostly using an external monitor but keeping your browser open on the tablet LCD alongside. In short, the Gateway is not just for scribbling and sketching; it adds scribbling, sketching, and enjoyable mobile convenience to a genuine desktop alternative.

Unfortunately, it has two drawbacks. The first is that, like other Tablet PCs of the "slate" (no keyboard) as opposed to "convertible" (notebook with reversible screen) style, it's of limited use as a laptop alternative -- no, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition's handwriting recognition isn't bad, but it's no substitute for a keyboard for more than a few minutes' writing or editing work.

The second is sticker shock: Gateway deserves credit for offering the Tablet PC only in a fully usable bundle, complete with USB keyboard, desktop dock, and DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, but the price comes to $2,799. These days, that'll easily buy you both a capable desktop and notebook PC, both with more performance than the modest 866MHz mobile Pentium III-powered Tablet. So while the heart says "Cool!", the head asks, "Do you really need handwritten notes and diagrams?"

The Best, Biggest-Screened Slate

The Gateway Tablet PC isn't really a Gateway product; it just puts the direct vendor's logo next to that of startup Motion Computing, which sells the same slate as the Motion M1200 (for the record, charging $40 less for a comparable bundle, though Gateway offers a far stronger support infrastructure; both vendors provide a minimal one-year warranty).

While ViewSonic and Fujitsu, among others, offer slate-style Tablet PCs with 10.4-inch screens, Motion opted for an easier-on-the-eyes 12.1-inch, active-matrix LCD with 1,024 by 768 resolution, switchable (like all Tablet PCs) from landscape/horizontal to portrait/vertical orientation. It's in a slightly hefty but well-balanced, easy-to-carry slab that measures 11.7 by 9.5 by 0.9 inches and weighs 3.3 pounds -- 3.9 counting the protective, hard plastic lid that snaps over the LCD and can be snapped onto the system's back when in use. (Though Gateway includes plenty of other goodies, it omits a carrying case.)

The screen is bright and colorful, even with the backlight turned down one-quarter or halfway to save battery power. Its viewing angle, however, is narrower than lounge-chair or hammock users would like -- sometimes we stretched out on the sofa or sat up in bed for a spot of note-jotting, only to find we had to prop our knees up near vertical to see the display clearly.

There's a 40GB Hitachi hard disk and 256MB of memory (expandable to 1GB, though Gateway's Web site oddly lists no upgrade options) under the hood, along with Intel's 830MG integrated graphics chipset and an 802.11b Mini PCI wireless networking adapter. Along the bottom are docking connector, 56Kbps modem, 10/100Mbps Ethernet, VGA monitor, one FireWire, and two USB ports plus headphone and microphone jacks; one Type II PC Card slot is at the right edge.