Acer Aspire 1810 Tablets Thread

Glad you guys enjoy the review. I hope I've help to make your buying decision somewhat easier. I know I was somewhat apprehensive when going for this machine knowing there was 0 info on the web. Overall I've got to say I'm quite satisfied, especially considering the price (especially since mine was bundled with my residential broadband plan at a highly discounted price).

Ah, that would be the sounds of my washing-machine, the local bird life, the rain, etc.

 

Unfortunately I think you may be right. In Denosha's video the speed at which the resistive screen follows the hand writing isn't bad, but the palm rejection seems to make it miss a letter and that was only in a short phrase. I can see that becoming a problem if I plan to be writing for an hour long period.

Also the stylus seems small and uncomfortable for extended use. Do you have any comments on the stylus Denosha?

 

Denosha,
Thank you so much for making the videos. That was a huge help to me and everyone else waiting for some news on this model. Overall it seems like a really good functioning laptop with only viewing angles being its most major weakness.

Since I can find something wrong with every table, that's not to bad.

 

Yes, unfortunately the palm rejection is not perfect as it does seem to affect the pen detection sometimes. I must say though that because the screen is so small, it actually isn't that comfortable to rest my hand on the screen while writing. Doing so leaves me with much less space for the actual writing. Writing with my hand "floating" actually feels better but maybe that's just me.

The stylus is rather small and light but since it's a passive digitiser you can use your own if you want (like those multifunction pens with a stylus nib). I've played Rebound (from the win7 touch pack) with my brother with him using my super old Palm V stylus.

Anyway, I've posted some updates on the screen calibration (under the screen section) and also some size comparison photos (right at the bottom).

 

I'm one of those students, what options do I have? I googled and came up short or years old threads.

What about the gateway version of this tablet? I read about it a few months back but then ran into this thread and stuck with it till now.

Now, since i'm interested in it mainly for note taking, it's beginning to look like a fail for me.

Or should I just wait till the 1st or 2nd quarter of 2010 and hope one with active digitizer comes thru?

Worst thing is I had went out and bought a X25-M 160GB on Cyber Monday. Will it be compatible with other tablets or am I SOL? I may have to fleabay it since it's still NIB.

 

It sounds like getting an old school HP tablet makes more sense. They have active digitizers with palm rejection.

 

Wait for the HP TM2 tablet? It will be the first HP consumer tablet with Intel (Arrandale) processors and will be shown of at CES starting Jan 7th.

 

Gateway and Packard Bell are just repackaging the 1820PT, it's unlikely they put an active digitizer. You can hope on a second version of the 1820PT, like HP did with TC1100, or wait for the, probably expensive, HP TM2.

If you need it right now, continue reading.

Active digitizers don't need palm rejection, because they can only recognize special pens. Modern digitizers from Wacom and N-Trig offer dual (active and passive) technology, so they must employ some form of palm rejection.

Active digitizer: good for inking, doesn't recognize fingers/palm, great pressure sensitivity (up to 256 levels).
Passive resistive digitizer: good for touch, recognize pens -- like nokia Xpress or old PDAs.
Passive capacitive digitizer: great for touch, doesn't recognize pens -- like iPhone.
Dual Technology digitizers: combine the best of both worlds, but still there is some occasional problem, especially with N-Trig drivers. In any case you can switch one technology off and work with the other.

Historically inking features have been targeted to the professional market, designing expensive tablets, while finger touch capabilities have been integrated into consumer products. Now, thanks to dual technology, the trend is to have both touch and inking in the same device.

Acer 1820PT uses the resistive digitizer as cheap replacement for a dual technology one.

If you need digital ink on a daily basis, or for extended period of time (1 hour or more), you want and active digitizer, and it's not easy to find such notebook for under $1000. The least expensive are probably:

- HP tx2 (N-Trig dual technology)
- Fujitsu T4410 and T4310 (Wacom dual technology)

Other interesting tablets are, in no particular order (bold for dual technology):

- Fujitsu T2020 (active digitizer)
- Fujitsu T5010 (13'' tablet, active digitizer)
- HP 2730p (active digitizer)
- Toshiba M750 (active digitizer)
- Dell XT2 (thinner, lighter, N-Trig dual technology)
- Lenovo x200 Tablet (expensive, Wacom dual technology)
- Fujitsu ST6012 (expensive, pure tablet, active digitizer)
- Motion Computing J3400 (expensive, semi rugged, pure tablet, active digitizer)


That said, I'm probably going to buy the Acer 1820PT, because I want to use it for recreational use, watching DIVX and videos on TV, the occasional notes, reading PDFs, and working on the airplane.

Hope this helps.

 

surfasb's advice is probably the best route. I'm considering this 2730p from eBay. It's got low memory but that's an easy upgrade and has the same kind of processor that is going into these Acer tablets. The condition is unstated and it says factory sealed box but I can almost guarantee you that they're refurbished. So take that into consideration. Also these tablets are designed for business and do not support finger touch.

As for the TM2, it's great news that it's coming with an Intel but even new HP consumer tablets come at a premium. Most review units of the tx2 came in at about $1500 and started at $1100 at the cheapest. If you can spring that much, you could then consider the Lenovo x200 tablet, which is the standard when it comes with convertible tablets.

What do you mean wait for an active digitizer comes through? You mean appear in the Acer 1820pt? I doubt that would happen but their are plenty of other tablets with Active Digitizers to consider. Just depends on your price range.

 

The older HP tx2000/tz2500 tablets (like in my sig) feature active digitizers(Wacoms). The best inking experience at their price range IMO.

 

I've updated my mini-review with some thoughts on the built-in webcam/mic as well as wifi. Am I missing anything?

 

Thanks for all your wonderful information.
Hummm.. I guess you and your Tablet review are famous now!
Featured at Liliputing.

 

Thank you guys for all the feedback. Looks like i'll combine patience with due diligence.

Though, at the present time I want a tablet that is user friendly in college courses for note taking, my ride on waiting on the ideal tablet has been a long one. I've kept an eye on tablets since Bill Gate$ announced it was the next big thing.

It has taken years for the ideal tablet. Actually, the HP some mentioned, my brother has one and I was not impressed. It has heat/battery issues. He's even had to replace the motherboard because it warped from the heat. Even it's newer version iv'e read has to be undervolted in order to solve those same issues that it's predecessor had. Above all that, the price is not something get excited about.

So needless to say I had given up on tablets a few years ago. Then when the netbook craze started I jumped on the bandwagon, but quickly jumped off after been turned off by the Atom processor.

In searching a for the next or yet to be released netbook, I ran into culv laptops. Then, I quickly saw some of those had specs just a bit better than the netbooks I returned(dell minis 9" & 10").

Fast forward to a cpl months ago after endless googling and I ran into the father version of this thread "Acer Aspire 1410 and 1810 Timeline 11.6" Thread" I was finally impressed with what I read from others and its specs.

Then, on the 1st page it said to click on the tablet version of the 1810 which we now called a 1820 not 1810 tablet.

So here I am, I thought I was converted till the whole passive/active digitizers issue that I was not aware of from day one of reading this thread. It took a kind soul Denosha to shed some light on yet to be globally released tablet.

In conclusion, I'm looking for a tablet 11'6" or smaller, DDR3 ram, dual core processor with descent FSB, great battery life/no heat issues, one that I can see HD video the way it was intended to be viewed, including the youtube flash HD and HDMI & VGA to connect to a Sammy 42" LCD that can run it without stuttering or sub par resolution, and most important the price: $800-900.

I almost had all that with the 1820PT.

 

Hi all. I have been following this thread for a while now and it has been a great source of information. I am planning to buy a tablet in the near future and I just have a couple of questions I hope someone will be kind enough to answer. I have decided against the 1820pt because of the digitizer issue. I am currently considering the Fujitsu t4310 and the HP tx2z. I am going to be using it to takes notes in class and also want to be able to watch movies/videos on it as well. The HP is a little more expensive ("recommended config") with the 8 cell battery and the fingerprint scanner. Is this worth the extra money, given that the touch screen doesn't recognize fingers?

This will be my first tablet and I am really unsure of how important the finger input is going to be. Also, Does the T4310 have the fingerprint scanner? Are the speeds of the processors comparable on each of these? And Lastly (i think), which one has the better screen? Do either of these tablets have issues with the viewing angles and such? This is going to be a big purchase for me and my budget has to stay around $1200. Thanks in advance!

 

All the tablets that you posted have finger recognition.
the T4310 uses a Wacom digitizer, it's great for art with the pen but the touch is pretty buggy from what I tested on the japenese model.

The tx2z is old hardware and uses an N-trig digitizer, it's good for writing but the pressure sensitivity is not recognized in photoshop or corel painter.

The 1820pt is the cheapest , the lightest , best looking( presonal preferance),
and by far the longest battery life.

As a college student, I cannot see myself buy anything other than the 1820pt when it comes up for purchase, bare in mind that the digital world is gonna shake on 7th of january because of CES, so that statement might change.

 

I agree and would love to get the 1820pt. I am just a little concerned about the comments regarding the digitizer and its usefulness in extended note-taking. It's ability in pressure sensitivity area is unsure as well (as far as doing art). I'm thinking that since the tx2z is "old hardware" that I will eliminate it as a possibility, though it seems like a nice tablet. Arrgh! Decisions, Decisions!

 

For extended note taking, like what some want the 1820pt to do, I would think of it as a bigger Asus t91MT. Their palm rejection seems nearly identical and really it's unusable for long periods. Denosha wrote 3 words in his test and a letter was missed. Imagine trying to keep up with a professor in a lecture.

If you're trying to find the 'perfect tablet' for 800-900 and is not named the tx2z (can never recommend it for its short battery life and heat issue) then you're going to need to buy Used/Refurb. In that case I would recommend the Lenovo x200, HP 2730p and Fujitsu t4310. I think only the t4310 has an HDMI port.

 

I have to agree with this. I owned the HP for maybe under a week. It was to hot to use on my lap. I mean HOT, so hot even aim chat would have a delay because of all the heat killing its performance. The screen also has a sparkly, milky look to it. The view angles weren't good when laying down. Terrible battery life, it weighed 5 pounds, the air vent was right where your arm would be in tablet mode. Turning it around to use it the other way to compensate for this would put the AC power cord into your stomach and you need a cooling pad to use it on your lap.

However, it had great handwriting recognition. I trained it to learn my sloppiest writing and it did a really great job. But it had way to many issues that made it a complete pain in the rear to use. I won't put up with heat and that machine was horrible.

I hear the T4310 has a nice screen but bad view angles. I would move up to the t4410 and get a good screen. But I think for size, long battery life, light weight, the x200 is the only one that is a real option. Now if Lenovo would ever get the enhanced touch screens back in.

 

View angle is kind of an issue as I will be using the computer to take notes in class. The only problem I have with the x200 (refurb) is the diminished HDD space and RAM. I guess it is not so bad considering these things can be upgraded in the future. The battery life is a selling point seeing as how the modular battery for the t4310 is running around $350 extra with the battery, adapter and the docking station. One question, if we throw into the mix the issue of longevity which one would be the better option (t4310/4410 or the x200)? By longevity I especially mean the usefulness of the video card, processor as well as the upgrade-ability?

 

If you want good viewing angles I think you can write off the T4310. This is just from the reviews I've seen. I haven't used it myself. The HP you almost have to lay it on a table to write because it is so big, heavy and hot.

I think Lenovo or the T4410. Lenovo because they are built like tanks and last forever. The T4410, bang for the buck, a kicking processor if you move up to X buy 3. You decide if you want a screen with good view angles. I'd love to have the Acer, but they should make the screens and pens an upgrade option.

I think they all have rather lack luster graphics. A tablet with a Nvidia Ion would be awesome.

I like the Lenovo because its lighter, runs cool and I only need one battery to get up to 9 hours of battery life instead of two batteries.

Is that all you'll mostly use it for is notes and maybe some videos? Probably when SSD's come down in price that will give these machines an added boost also.

 

For the most part I want it for note taking during class, student tablet with all my school stuff on it. Video watching is assured. I also would like it to be good for drawing/art although this isn't a huge selling point. It would also be used for photo processing for school as well. Gaming/video editing are secondary as I have a quad-core desktop at home for that kind of thing.

 

Sounds like you need one with a Wacom for sure. Is multi-touch a must? I mean with the pull, rotate, zoom in etc with two or more fingers working the screen.

Do you have a budget?

I'm like you. I can't figure out why Im ready to buy and there is nothing to buy lol.

 

It sounds like some of us should just hold for more clarity till Jan. 7th-10th b4 making buying decision. By then more shall be revealed, at least i'm hoping it will.

I'm wondering how that apple tablet will be like... I'm no apple guy but I do have a jailbroken iPod Touch2G with many school oriented apps, including Anki which someone mentioned a few pages back as well as iSRS.

Though, I'm looking forward to using Win7 multi-touch features has to offer.

 

I told myself I wouldn't buy the Apple Tablet. I tell you though, there is one thing Steve Jobs knows how to do, and that is sell his product.

I want it partially for writing and reading PDF's or digital magazines. I think the Apple would be good for that. But I want something with the functionality of One Note which I don't think Apple has. At least not yet.

I'm not that hard to please. I want thin, capacitive, active or dual digitizer, good viewing angles, light weight, good battery and run cool. Nvidia Ion would be a bonus tossed hehe.

When is the next CES show?

 

Those features are appealing and I admit I would like to have the multi-touch capability. However, If all other options were perfect I could live without the multi-touch (I think. . I would like to keep the spending limit around $1000 but I could do up to $1500 I suppose.

The apple tablet is interesting since I was considering buying an apple lappy before I decided to go with a tablet. But I'm afraid the apple will be out of my spending limit. Also, when would the Apple be available? I'm planning to buy my new tablet sometime within a month.

 

It probably won't be out within the month for sure. Its rumored to come out around April and announced in March. The only good thing about Apple is that they will probably get it right and then the race will be on to copy them. Go figure we need Apple's great designs to help the other companies figure out what we want lol.

Gigabyte has a 10.1'' netbook convertible. Good touch but a resistive touch screen. Even one of those will set you back 700. How good do you need the battery life to be? You can pick up a Dell for under 1000. I believe its the thinnest and lightest of the convertibles with multi touch screens. If I'm wrong someone will correct me.

 

Well , in my case I can live with the slight palm rejection error, and it will probably be updated.
No way in hell am I gonna try to write down everything my prof spouts in japanese. My Idea is that it's beyond awesome when it comes to math and graph taking, and mind maps. For note taking: voice recorder + keyboard.
I like this ressistive screen since it seems a bit more responsive than even my wacom pentablets. And it's also seems it's a bit more power efficient than active digitizers.
The most valuable thing i believe is just being able to turn it into a slate and use it while commuting. ( I start drooling whenever I think of wimax or lte with this sucker when in the train.)

Just my litte rant about why the product I decided to buy is so good.

And Anki with onenote on a touchscreen makes everything awesome.

 

The battery life isn't a huge issue. I plan to use it at school mostly where there are plugs available in class (for the most part) and in the common areas. But I wouldn't want it to be less than 3-4 hours. I am also open to battery upgrades or the modular type battery like in the Fujitsu models. Although this would most likely be an upgrade and a future purchase.

 

Even if it will, it will probably take sometime again for those to be available...and by that time there will be again new competitors much better and cheaper being announced, and so on and so on...same old never ending story.
But I agree that Acer is probably missing a great opportunity to be in the forefront of a market that it will probably boom very soon (with the multi touch capabilities offered by Win 7, and the "still to be announced" already extremely hyped Apple tablet), by being late with the 1820 for at least 2 months (probably 3, globally).

I am looking for a good convertible, I would like to have had it for my winter vacation here in January, but that will not happen. So I can wait a little longer - I hope other brands will announce some exciting products during CES, and release them soon afterwards!

Yes, it is amazing isn't it...the technolgy is here, the ground has been prepared (OS is ready), the touchscreen mobile phones are everywhere, the convergence netbook/smartphone is already happening...why is everyone waiting for Apple to show the way?

Well, I am sure Apple tablet will have many faults (like the iPhone), but I am also sure they will get it right where it matters the most for most people, i.e. design, functionality and UI. I am not an Apple fan (I don't even own an Ipod), but if there is nothing else on the market...

 

I agree. Acer has the perfect size screen, a great resolution, awesome battery life and then they skimped on the two most important things. The screen and the pen. If they would at least give you the option to upgrade during configuration, we'd have a real winner.

The x200 is the next best one but you can't get them. They had issues with their panels or something and it could be months before they take orders again.

RandyPan if your in a hurry the XT2 has I think everything you want except pressure sensitivity. It does have a active digitizer and a Capacitive touch screen. I wouldn't buy it new but on Dell outlet for a grand its not bad. Its thinner then most of the models we've seen, runs cool, light, has a battery slice (but that makes it really heavy) and I think it gets around 3 hours on a single battery.

 

Esthetically I like so much Thinkpad x200 tablet and Dell XT2, unfortunately none has the hdmi port...

 

HDMI ports are overrated on 12". They should be relegated to a dock. Especially since it's only 12".

 

Well, depends, I want to use my ultra portable to watch videos (not necessarily full hd) on the TV (of mine and of my friends). It makes sense to have a universal audio/video high performance connection built into a tablet, especially for consumer applications and recreational use.

Even so I've seen people use the hdmi at work to illustrate presentation.

 

Well that may be true, the x200 and XT2 are strictly business tablets, they don't care about those uses at all. And while hdmi is nice, VGA is still everywhere in the business world. Even the docks have Displayport instead of HDMI, you need a converter which won't give you audio.

The consumer tablet market is still wide open, only HP has an entry and it's terrible. Acer could have come in and really established itself early. But we'll see how open the market is after CES.

And for those who don't like the idea of waiting for CES, products have showed up at CES and ship by the end of Jan so it's not a terribly long wait for some products.

 

After thinking about it more I think I could sacrifice multi-touch capability if I had to. The pressure sensitivity is more important to me than multi-touch. To me, most of the things multi-touch offers is for novelty. I'd really like to be able to use the tablet for drawing.

 

HDMI for presentations?? Maybe if we are watching a short video clip. And rarely am I showing video clips to people. All your base are belong to VGA.

Display port is going to take forever to become adopted. All the companies so far are taking a rather lazy route to adoption.

 

Lenovo x200, the one without enhanced multi-touch. The Fujitsu T4410, pricer but you can get a good screen and keep the multi-touch and its a wacom pen.

I just saw this on engadget. http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/22/asus-eee-pad-rumored-to-have-multitouch-tegra/ I bet its resistive but we should see a bunch of new stuff hopefully.

 

Regarding Hdmi, As a college student I've never had the chance to use anything else other than vga out because everything is a decade old technology where I am.
However in the grand presentation hall there is this hd projector and I was glad to see people with a smile on their face when I was showing an HD movie through hdmi to it ( it was for educational purposes and I was the only one with a reasonably powerfull pc lying around, everyone else either had atom powered netbooks with them or desktop replacements at home.). So a light weight Device with hdmi that you can hold in one hand and control it through let's say touch would be kinda handy in these type of situations.

Oh, and Regarding CES, I'm expecting atleast some1 to pull a microsoft courier wannabe with tegra 2 , pixelqi display and stantum touch screen.

 

Lenovo set to introduce two new Pine Trail netbooks.

"The new ~Lenovo laptops will be called the IdeaPad ~S10-3 and ~S10-3t.
The ~S10-3t will reportedly feature a touchscreen display that can be rotated and used in Tablet mode."

Interesting....

 

Oh, nice find. That might actually work for me since I only want it for magazines, writing, surfing and maybe surface globe. Lenovo might actually give it some upgrade options. I'll have to keep my eye on this one.

 

The thing is , that if it's anything like the normal atom, even Ms Office Onenote is gonna be laggy. If review's for it Are good , then by all means.

 

anybody knows which is the real weight of the tablet version? (with/without battery)

 

The 1820 has been reported consistently to weight 1.72Kg with battery, which is a bit hefty in relation to its size.

 

I agree. Lack of DVI or HDMI is one of the main things that held me back from purchasing (professional) tablet PCs up until now. I want to hook up to a full size monitor!

Is nobody here (thinking about) connecting their tiny 1820PT / 1820PTZ to an LCD monitor (not a TV, but a monitor with HDMI or DVI input) when they get home? What I mean to say, is nobody using HDMI as an alternative for DVI? (HDMI and DVI are compatible, you know).

I'm currently using two 13.3" regular laptops with HDMI, a Toshiba U400 for work, a Dell M1330 for private use (photo editing being the most advanced thing). Of course I use the laptop's native screens when on the road or carrying one around the house.

But in the main location I regularly hook both up to my LG L245WP 24" 1920x1200 P-MVA monitor for comfort, high resolution, size and and color fidelity. Of course I also hook up peripherals such as keyboard+mouse, Wacom tablet etc using a USB hub.

I would want to work with the 1820PT / 1820PTZ in a similar fashion. ( I do wonder if the digitizer is still active in modes where the internal screen is off. Something to check.)

Docks? They are so ... 1990's.. the time of parallel ports, serial ports, PS/2 ports, pre-WiFi. Even in those days, many docks caused more problems than they solved. BSODs etc.

These days the only things you really need to plug in are the USB cable of the hub with all the peripherals and a VGA, DVI or HDMI cable for the screen. Who wants to buy (let alone carry around) one or more US$150 costing docks just for that?

I don't get your point. Having 1366x768 on 12" is great for portability and provides good screen real estate in many situations (I imagine on the road, airplane seat, on the couch, at school). Also, the dual duty touchscreen / digitizer of the 1820PT(Z) is going to work great in those situations.

But in environments where you have a DVI or HDMI monitor and a full size keyboard and other peripherals, you may want to use the external devices instead. I know I want.

I agree that that (unfortunately) VGA still rules in office environment. Beamers, even some >22" monitors still come with VGA only these days.

 

Fujitsu T5010 is being replaced, replacement will cost over $1k. And it has Arrandale, which the 1820's need.

 

I wouldn't mind having an Ion in mine if they can get it up to 6 hours of battery life. The only bad thing I see with having a powerful processor and tons of ram is that you're bottle necked by the poor graphics.

In some applications of course it won't matter, but in others, you are only as strong as your weakest link.

I think the whole netbook idea is missing the point. Sure some go for them because their cheap, but many like myself want the size of it and like how thin and light they are. I would easily pay more for the size factor, capacitive screen and Wacom pen and better specs.

Looks like Asus http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/23/asus-eee-pc-t101mt-revealed-by-the-fcc/ has another tablet coming out. Hopefully its not the same resistive crap they keep giving us but I'm sure it is hehe.

Pixel Qi has also sold some screens to a company that will be using them in muliti-touch tablets. I'm VERY interested these screens. Cheap, can be seen outside, can turn off the color to mimic e-paper and longer battery life for the computer. They will be at CES also. Hopefully the 7th brings something good.

 

The precise reason you buy a tablet is mobility. Rarely is a tablet going to spend the majority of its time plugged in. Because of that, its priorities are weight, tablet experience and battery life. Very rarely will it spend its time plugged into a HDMI TV. Which is why I advocate a dock for these ports.

Of course you are using these above laptops as desktop replacements and not as mobile tablets.

A dock is precisely the reason why I don't want to have to carry around extra ports I don't need. A DVI port means I gotta carry around a DVI to VGA dongle. HDMI means I need a graphics solution that can output 1080p. More heat in an already crammed interior that is getting hotter and hotter.

I don't understand the whole screen real estate thing. It's going to be 12" whether you cram a 1366 or a 1920 onto it. It isn't like the fonts get more legible if you cram a 1366 over a 1280. Excel already is a pain in the rear to us on a 12".

This is why, again, I advocate a doc. You can leave a dock at the desk to save on weight, battery and heat. You can't leave behind crap attached to the computer though.

Multi touch is overrated. The Dell XT2 supports multitouch and I hardly use the gestures. Oddly enough, I find myself wishing there were more programmable buttons lining the bezel. While there is already a scroll wheel, I find myself wishing there are a few buttons to launch your favorite apps.

 

You don't find docks/superbar to be convenient enough?

sharaktengu's enthusiasm over this tablet is still keeping me interested...Maybe I can settle for substandard inking too (not even sarcasm =\, thats how much I like the rest of this tablet).

 

You are probably right. But I'm hoping now that Windows 7 is out more things will come out that will be great for it. And I know if I don't get it I will be kicking myself that I should have got it because I don't have it. So I'm going to try and save myself from me.

I'm sure you're right though. I can't tell you how many things I just had to have something and ended up not using it.

 

Indeed, right now multi touch is overrated. The Ideal multitouch is something that supports atleast 10 fingers and has intuitive manipulation gestures for anything you can possibly interact with. One interesting thing for artists is using your non dominant hand to manipulate the angle/size of the canvas and a stylus in the dominant hand doing the drawing.( no more 2000$ cintiq for them).
Now imagine how nice a dual multitouch lcd screen setup would look, a normal one siting in front of you and another one just under it laying on the desk, making them look like an opened laptop.
However, the 2 point multitouch on this tablet isn't that bad either with what we have now in windows 7. Pinching and zooming and paning in firefox, ms office, ebook reading software, comicbook reading software seems quite useful to me. And also we should be able to configure some application opening software if we have the option to: like drawing an L with to fingers to alttab or a P for media player and stuff like that.

And about screen realestate, me being the geek that I have been since birth I have yet to see a screen that has to many pixels. Pixels are good for image accuracy, and the real estate I think everyone is talking is about how small you can get the windows bits to have space for everything else( windows bit= taksbar, net browser panel, all the stuff which you probably alrdy know intuitively). With japanese characters you need as much pixels as you can get, On 1024x screen it is hell, on a 1280 screen( the one I'm using now) it's bearable, on 1920x screen your in heaven. And the size of the screen doesn't matter as far as it concerns me( so says the person that doesn't use excel )