Why I Bought a TabletPC

About three weeks ago, I bought a Toshiba M205-S810 TabletPC. I’ve always thought it would be a big boost to my productivity if I could actually take my computer with me to meetings. Then I would have access to everything I need—my calendar, e-mail messages, documents, spreadsheets, etc. I tried using a PDA, but that didn't really cut it. The interface was too primitive and scrolling documents was a drag.

Then I tried a ThinkPad X31 laptop. This is a great computer. Powerful, light, and elegant. In my opinion, it’s still the best looking laptop on the market. However, laptops in meetings are a problem. Michael Linenberger stated it succinctly in his excellent book, Seize the Work Day: Using the Tablet PC to Take Total Control of Your Work and Meeting Day. He writes:

Using a Tablet PC during a typical management meeting is totally different from using a laptop. It’s the difference between night and day. The difference between success and failure. Here’s why.

• Discretion: Nothing is more distracting than, during a management-style meeting, having a meeting participant typing away on a laptop. In contrast, working with a Tablet PC in your lap appears no different from what you would be doing with a pen and notepad in your lap. This is particularly true if you use, as recommended later in this book, an executive-style portfolio case that makes your Tablet PC resemble an executive notepad portfolio.
  
  
• Communication barriers: Placing a laptop with the screen flipped up in front of you on a conference room table creates a physical barrier between you and others in the room. This is literally a barrier to communication. The Tablet PC is normally on your lap, and out of sight. Or it is flat on the desk like a writing pad.
  
  
• Personal effectiveness: Research shows that if you use both hands to accomplish a task, a much larger percentage of your brain becomes engaged in that operation. Typing with both hands tends to totally engage your brain in the typing activity and makes you visibly less tuned-in to the meeting. In contrast, writing with one hand during a meeting is second nature to most of us. The brain stays mostly engaged in the meeting activities. We all can take notes and participate in a meeting at the same time. Using a Tablet PC in a meeting is little different from this.
  
  
• Eye contact: Related to the above point, and for the same reasons, many users have reported that it is much easier to maintain periodic and consistent eye contact with others in a meeting when using a Tablet PC versus using a laptop. This has a dramatic affect on the perception of others that you are engaged and personable. Lack of eye contact also limits your ability to read body language of others, adding to your distance from the meeting (pp. 15, 16)

So, based on Marc Orchant’s recommendation, I bought the Toshiba. The nice thing about this unit is that it’s a “convertible.” This means that the screen swings around so that you can use it as either a regular laptop or a TabletPC.

So far, I have been very pleased. The biggest problem has been getting used to the Toshiba keyboard. I’ve used ThinkPads for years, and many of the keys are just in different places. Also, I'm not crazy about the touchpad as a mouse pointing device. I still prefer IBM’s “trackpoint” technology (i.e., the red eraser head in the middle of the keyboard). I think it’s more accurate. But, over time, I’m sure I’ll get used to both.

The cool thing has been taking the machine into meetings. Like Lineberger suggests, I bought the leather portfolio that Toshiba makes for it. (This also is very cool and only $39.00.) However, this still didn't camouflage it enough. The first time I pulled it out and started writing, one of my colleagues exclaimed, “Whoa! Is that a TabletPC?” My cover was blown. Regardless, I like carrying the machine in the case. At the very least, it protects it between meetings.

When I demonstrate the computer, as I inevitably do, I usually do so by handwriting some text in Microsoft OneNote. Immediately, people ask, “So, does it automatically convert your handwriting to text?” Well, yes, it can ... if I want. But, 90% of the time I just leave my handwriting “as is.” Here’s why ... to quote Linenberger again:

Taking notes in ink:

• facilitates creativity in your note taking
  
  
• communicates more about the meaning of your notes
  
  
• integrates better with sketches and expressive marks on the note-taking page
  
  
• is a better way to represent information copied from whiteboards and presentations
  
  
• is a faster way to record notes, faster than even the most speedy and accurate handwriting recognition.

I can virtually guarantee that after a few days or weeks of taking notes primarily in ink, you too will be convinced that this is a highly effective and preferable method of note taking on the Tablet PC (Linenberger, p. 237)

I concur. They key is knowing when to use ink and when to use the keyboard. This is where Linenberger's advice has been invaluable.

When I am at my desk, I plug the Toshiba into its docking station and use an external keyboard and monitor. This is the same keyboard and monitor I used with my ThinkPad, so it is very familiar.

When I’m at home or on the road, processing e-mails or writing reports, I use the computer in laptop mode, just like my ThinkPad. Again, this is very familiar, except for the Toshiba keyboard and touchpad, which I am still getting used to.

When I leave for a meeting—and most of my life is spent attending meetings—everything changes. Before, I would have grabbed a legal pad, a folder, and perhaps even a binder or two. Now, I just pull the Toshiba out of the docking station, whirl the screen around so that it’s in tablet mode, insert it into my leather portfolio, and off I go. This takes about 5 seconds. Here's what the Toshiba looks like in tablet mode:

Now I have all my files with me. In fact, I have set up my “Power Documents” (another Linenberger idea) in OneNote for instant reference. (I plan to blog more about these later.) Since our office is wireless, I can quickly look up something on the Web if needed in the meeting. I can also make assignments or solicit information via e-mail. Much of the assignments I receive in meetings can be done right there in the meeting. You have to experience this to believe it, but it's already been a great boon to my productivity.