I was on the run this weekend with the kids activities and toted Samantha, the Samsung Q1P everywhere I went. The mobility of the UMPC along with a wireless connection allowed me to attend the kids events but still get some work done when there was a lull in the action. For some reason, I had more questions about my device setup than I normally do. In just three short hours, I had seven folks come up and ask me about the small slate device and of course, I never mind sharing my thoughts on the subject. ;)
Everyone asked "where is the keyboard?", which I’ve come to expect as one of the first few questions on any slate Tablet PC…..
My typical response to that question is: "You don’t need a keyboard because this is a Tablet PC." Before that really sinks even, I immediately follow up with, "There are many ways to input text right on the screen, but if you really need a keyboard, you can add a USB or Bluetooth keyboard." I’ve found that if I don’t say that, people tend to get turned off from a Tablet PC way too early because handwriting recognition is a relatively foreign concept to them. They simply think it can’t work or won’t work for them and they walk away thinking that’s their only option.
Before I go further, I’d never say that direct screen input is THE best solution for EVERYONE. As we try to repeat here at jkOTR: you have to use the right tool for the task. Can you write a novel on a Tablet PC by handwriting it? Of course you can, provided you enjoy writing manually and are proficient at it. If you’re more comfortable with a keyboard, so be it: that’s likely the right tool for you. I find that I move back and forth between various input methods as needed. It’s not just the task either; it’s the context and physical situation. If I’m briefly replying to a few e-mails while at the kid’s events, for example, I don’t have the space nor the need to break out a keyboard and in fact, I didn’t over the weekend.
Once I gave my two stock answers to folks, that generated more questions:
- How does it work?
- Is it easy?
- Can I ink in any application?
- What’s the advantage?
I fielded the questions as best I could and believe that most folks walked away with a new perspective and respect for an ink-input system. They all seemed genuinely interested, especially when I started showing them some of the advantages of having your ink searchable, which is one of the biggest advantages in my opinion. Every one of these folks told me that they attend meetings and take notes, but they always find it difficult to go back and find specifics in their notes. A few minutes showing them Microsoft OneNote definitely had them hooked.
The most interesting reaction I received was from one gentleman who thought that the Tablet PC was better than sliced bread. He said, "This is fantastic because I really can’t type." He told me that if he could eliminate a keyboard from his life, he’d do it in a heartbeat; something I don’t hear too often and that got me thinking about others who might be on the fence about Tablet PC adoption.
From the time we start school, we lean how to write. It’s a basic, required skill in today’s world. I value my typing skills; don’t misunderstand me, but take a moment and think about how often you’ve used the written word in your life. Have you written a check recently? Did you make a shopping list on a small piece of paper? Did you jot a phone number or address down? You couldn’t do those actions without the basic skill of writing.
Make no mistake: touch-typing is a valuable skill to have and I’m glad I have it. The more I use that skill, the better I hone it. I’m thinking I need to hone my ink skills as well. Yes, practice. I’m thinking that in some personal-use situations where I would normally type something out in Word, for example, I actually sit down and handwrite it on paper; something I haven’t done in some time. Now I could really do this on a Tablet PC, but if you don’t have one and you’re considering one, think about handwriting a few items that you’d normally type. C’mon, you remember how to do that, right? ;)
Once you’ve done that for a few "exercises", think about how useful it would be to have those strokes captured digitally in a searchable format. Sound appealing? Don’t be daunted by the task of inking in lieu of typing: you’ve likely done this all of your life as a natural skill. If anything: typing is less natural than writing when you really think about it. Based on the reaction over the weekend, I plan to practice the natural skill as much as I can.
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