Eric Mack On-Line

The adventure begins

Saturday, April 23rd, 2005

After considerable research and public discussion, I've decided to purchase the Tecra M4 Tablet PC. The Tecra has all of the features on my wish list, so I expect to be a happy camper. It looks like an ideal combination of tablet and power desktop.

I just placed my order with Niki Spano over at ToshibaDirect. We were able to design my dream Tablet PC using the build-to-order site in real-time. How cool, I was able to actually talk to the manufacturer and place my order - and on a Saturday!

Today's ordering experience was a delight. Niki is sharp; she answered all of my questions and made the buying process fun.

Well done Toshiba! I hope that the delivery experience is as smooth as the order process. (I'll be sure to let you know.)

My new Tecra M4 Tablet PC, fully loaded, should arrive in 2 weeks.

I can't wait!

Posted at 12:44:13 PM, PST in eProductivity

Discussion/Comments (11):

so what specs did you order?

Posted at 4/23/2005 3:16:23 PM by Rob Bushway

congrats!

I'm thinking about ordering that one as well.. I'm a 3d animator, and this is the first tablet which looks like it'll hold up to the pounding I'm going to give it!

shweeeet..

Posted at 4/23/2005 4:40:22 PM by jason schleifer

eMac[k] Tablet Configuration:

Part 1. Hardware

Toshiba Tecra M4-S115TD Pentium M 770 (2.13GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB),

Microsoft® Windows® XP 2005 Tablet Edition,

2 Gigabytes 533MHz PC4200 DDR2 SDRAM

14.1" SXGA+ nVIDIA® GeForce Go 6600 TE w/128MB DDR SDRAM

80GB (Serial-ATA, 5400rpm)

8X DVD Super Multi-drive (Double Layer),

Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG (802.11a/b/g)

Bluetooth (Ver 2.0 + EDR)

Li-Ion Battery (6 Cell, 4700mAh)

Dock, pens, etc.

If there's interest, I may blog about my setup and software config.

I'm not sure the world needs another Tablet PC Blog.

Posted at 4/23/2005 10:15:34 PM by Eric Mack

The adventure begins

Congrats for your purchase Eric nice setup you get there ;)

I discovered the Fujitsu following your blog and eventualy ordered one. Smaller form factor is more sexy for me, hope I won't wait too long for it :p

Posted at 4/25/2005 9:44:03 AM by EZ

Interesting. I just saw that model today, and thought "hmmm, maybe I should get this over the Fujitsu 4010D."

Was it the wait time to deliver that changed your mind, or were there other factors. I'd be curious to learn, as the Powers That Be have not yet placed the order.

Posted at 4/28/2005 1:54:56 PM by PromoGuy

Why Toshiba

Promo: as you know, I was set to order the Fujitsu. The Tecra M4 announcement offered a Tablet that had everything on my wish-list. In fact, the only two problems that I can find with the M4 - at least on paper - are the lack of a mic array and the fact that the tablet screen obscures the stereo speakers.

I look forward to receiving the M4.

I'll keep you posted via my blog.

Posted at 4/29/2005 3:26:37 AM by Eric Mack

Fan noise?

I'm thinking of the M4 as well, but when I spoke with the representative at Toshiba, they've had some complaints regarding the M4's fan noise being a bit louder (because of the Sonoma chipset) than some people expected. I look forward to hearing (pun intended) what you think about this when your M4 arrives, as I plan to use mine in class and when teaching (I'll be a doctoral student this fall). Take care, and best of luck!

Posted at 4/30/2005 10:17:33 AM by Michael

If M4 fan is not silent, I won´t be either

Michael, I too, plan to use my Tablet PC in a classroom setting. A loud fan is unacceptable. We have one student in my management cohort that has a laptop with a loud fan. When she boots up, everyone in the class knows it. James Kendrick wrote to me about the fan issue last night. I responded that If the Toshiba M4 fan is not silent, you can bet that I won't be either. I'll keep you posted. Best regards. Eric

Posted at 4/30/2005 10:22:52 AM by Eric Mack

m4 fan noise

Eric, I'm glad James and you are talking about this issue, as I've come to rely on both your sites for my own guidance. It's good to know you understand the issue with regards to teaching. Beyond everything else, this is my biggest concern. I owned one of those slim Sony Vaio notebooks awhile back that sounded like a small aircraft engine, which made its use during meetings and class prohibitive. I'll keep checking back for further updates. Hopefully once you receive yours, the fan noise issue may not be so (crossing fingers).

Posted at 5/1/2005 9:49:12 AM by Michael Willits

The adventure begins

Eric -

Congrats on the order, I myself just ordered my own Tecra M4 as a first Tablet. Let me know how the build / ship process progresses; as my order has been "Credit Card Verification Pending" for more than 24 hrs. =( If it could arrive in 2 weeks, that would be great!

I'll add my interest to that following the fan noise, as I too am a student.

Posted at 5/2/2005 11:17:56 AM by Falk

Discussion for this entry is now closed.