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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