HP tc1100- a viable alternative to the netbook
There is a lot of interest in the lowly netbook, and rightly so. They are full little laptops that often sell for less than $400 so the decision to pick one up is not as hard as it used to be, when laptops were a lot more expensive. My recent project to reincorporate the old but capable HP tc1100 Tablet PC back into my daily rotation has convinced me that these are viable alternatives to the netbook for some folks. Just hear me out on this and see if you agree.
A brief history is in order. The tc1100 was an innovative concept for a convertible notebook and was, in fact, one the first ones to hit the market. The hybrid design of the tc1100 is what made the device so portable, that and the 10-inch screen. This is the same screen size used in the most common netbooks today. What set the tc1100 apart then (and now) is the ability to take the screen totally off the keyboard and use it in the hands as a slate Tablet PC. The entire PC is in the screen and the keyboard is a thin, light module that provides a 95% keyboard that is easy to use. The slate screen swivels around and folds down over the keyboard for transport; tc1100 can be used as a slate either with or without the keyboard attached.
I used the tc1100 as my main computer for a couple of years and it served me well as both a notebook computer (when I needed it) and a slate Tablet PC with full digital ink capability. I carried it everywhere in my consulting work and it never let me down. When it was time to move on to a bigger Tablet PC I gave the tc1100 to my teen-aged step-daughter, who used it all through high school. It served her as well, as it did me, and still runs well even today.
I am just getting going with the tc1100 again and dealing with some minor issues. The main problem is battery-related; the two batteries look like they are too long in the tooth to be viable power sources. The tc1100 works fine while it’s plugged in but doesn’t last very long on the old batteries. This led me to undertake what I thought would be a futile search for a new battery, but instead took me into an entire ecosystem supporting these devices still dear to many.
I first did a search on Amazon and found numerous companies still selling new batteries for the tc1100. They range in price from $45 to $120 and I will check into it a bit more before plunking my money down, but it surprised me to find so many battery sources for a 4-year-old computer. This led me to do some additional searching for accessories for the tc1100.
Next I jumped on eBay — and what a surprise was waiting for me! Not only is there an ample supply of batteries but also power adapters, memory cards — even mother boards. Not just a few, either; there are dozens of sources for accessories like the dock and even replacement keyboard modules. Further searching showed me that there is a lively market for buying entire tc1100 systems both used and refurbished. There are systems consisting of just the slate and keyboard and full systems that even include a dock and other accessories.
This plethora of systems and accessories has me thinking that the tc1100 is a decent alternative to the netbook for some folks. In its notebook configuration with the keyboard attached, the tc1100 is as capable as most netbooks today, maybe even more so. Most of them have a full Pentium processor and up to 1 GB of memory, which is just as capable as netbooks.
At four pounds, the tc1100 with keyboard weighs marginally more than the average 10-inch netbook and is roughly the same size due to its thin form. There are some advantages to the tc1100 over netbooks, foremost the warm-swappable battery. You can get an extra battery and swap out a depleted one without shutting down the computer. Then there is the obvious advantage of taking the slate off the keyboard and using it as a sweet Internet tablet, complete with inking. It is a heady feeling that has to be experienced to understand.
What makes this a viable alternative to the netbook, in my view, is that most of the tc1100s I found on eBay can be had for roughly the same price as most netbooks. I found systems as cheap as $250 and up to $600 with lots of accessories. Of course, like all eBay deals you’d have to make sure of the product you are buying. To me the price is right, similar to the netbook yet far more capable. It’s worth thinking about if you’re in the market for a netbook.
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Definitely. Older used ultraportable notebooks/tablets are fantastic alternatives to netbooks, provided you know what you are getting into.
A refurb Dell D420, for example, can be had on eBay for the same $450 as a Samsung NC10, and the tablet Latitude XT goes for approximately $600, which is less than the Gigabyte atom-based tablet, and likely the same price as the EEE tablets. Remember, both of these are ULV dual core machines with full 12″ screens and keyboards, and only weigh in the low 3 pound range, which is right there with the 6 cell netbooks. Great deals, really.
Hi.
I too own a TC110 with 3 batteries, a 5 bay recharger, 1.2ghz Pentium, 2GB of Ram, bluetooth, and a 7200 rpm 100GB HD. I also have a Samsung NC10 into which I have installed a mini-pci connector and a 3G Sprint card.
I think the Samsung is a bit faster. I like the long battery life, also. It seems a bit lighter.
I not crazy about the resolution of the TC1100 and I’d love to install 3G internally.
I’m not like you, though. I can’t justify 100 computers. I was going to sell all the TC100 stuff on Ebay, but now I’m thinking of returning the Samsung.
What do you think?
Wh
What do you think of the TC 1100 vs fujitsu P1610?
The TC 1100 was a great device, and I can’t believe there aren’t more manufacturers who haven’t used this form factor–who doesn’t want a device that’s as portable as you want it to be?
A couple of concerns as an alternative to a netbook, though. I think there’s a durability issue here. A used five year old tablet with a well used hard drive is simply not as dependable as a small frame clamshell with an ssd. Not to mention warranties. My crappy little eeePC 701 stood up to way more abuse than my Samsung Q1U.
My hope is that as components come down in price, we start seeing devices like the TC1100 in the netbook price range, as opposed to the $1500 or so it used to fetch.
You could easily buy the tc1100 and a brand new 2.5″ PATA SSD, and still be under the cost of a lot of netbooks. I got mine for $230 shipped as I mentioned in the other thread, and the average seems to be about $300-350. It does depend on how much space you need, but you can get a good SLC 100/80MB/sec 16GB SSD for another $250, which still leaves the combination under the price of the Gigabyte tablet.
Or, if that’s too expensive, but you’re still concerned about an old harddrive, you can buy a brand new 80GB hard drive for it for $55.
James Kendrick is single handedly reviving the tc1100.
:)
I’m sure HP could squeeze the HP mini’s internals into this form factor. They already own the patent.
Thanks James,
In these economic times, reusing an old 2-4 year old computer makes alot of since. Windows XP Tablet is a great operating system. The netbook craze of low cost computing has me looking at the HP TC1100. I wanted one 4 years ago and I have followed your site when you blogged about the hp TC1100. I could not afford $2000.00 then or now for a computer. I used to read Pen Computing Magazine before it went away. I know you are a geek writer and are always looking at the latest and greatest, but I think some of your past posts on the TC1100 were so great. Onenote and print to Onenote was covered and the inkability of the tablet bring a usefulness that the current netbooks do not have. The eeepc with a swivel screen could be good and I believe windows 7 will bringing multitouch could be a killer feature if they don’t put the starter edition on netbooks.
P.S. Maybe you could repost some past blog posts on the TC1100 instead of just linking to them. I bet some new people could really benefit from your past hard work writing a really in depth and practical posts.
Thanks,
JHall – Joshua A. Hall
Of all the machines I ever used…I still miss my TC1100 the most, hands down.
Now that I am “living the dream” of being a full time performer/private teacher I can’t even afford to buy one off of ebay but I would love to have one again.
It would make a great central machine for my teaching/recording/etc. The thought of runnings Win 7 on it with the improved handwriting etc is cool too.
-Pavlos
I just installed Windows 7 on my ‘new’ used TC1100, and it’s a little hacky, but it works. You have to install XP drivers for things, like a specific older audio driver, an XP video driver (so no Aero even with transparency turned off, aka no preview windows when switching between tasks and no Direct3D/DirectDraw at all), BUT, if you don’t plan on using it for video and gaming, it’s great.
Though an updated model even with Atom would be nice.
And personally, I’ve got some good ink-related games on there anyway like Sudoku, and Ink Crosswords. A little disappointed Crayon Physics won’t work, but I can play that on my XT anyway.
I wanted to reply to Joe below. Why doesn’t Crayon Physics work on the tc1100? I was really disappointed when I got the trial of the delux version and it just disappears.
Had I known about these machines about a year ago when I was purchasing a eee 701, I would’ve most definitely gotten one of them instead. Sure it has a mechanical hard drive, but I could always use a 2.5″ SSD or CF card (if I’m low on funds)
I’ve got one sitting in a closet for about a year an a half…great machine, I just went Mac, and have been too lazy to put it on eBay… any buyers? :)
@Gary: How much are you asking for it? Included accessories? I am primarily a Mac user at home, but I used to love using my Tablet PCs and always wanted a TC1100. If I get one for use as a netbook and not my primary computer, I think it would be great.