This post continues my series of reporting on Tablet PC ownership. The total current days I’ve owned a Tablet PC are marked on the bottom left of the home page and at the time this was written it’s been 241 days. My intention for these posts are to record how one tablet user honestly feels about the tablet experience and what the tablet is being used for in business and home. I do not work for Microsoft, nor am I in the business of selling Tablet PCs, so readers are getting a straight view with no baggage on what it’s like owning and using the Tablet PC for business and home.

In July we put the Tablet through a rigorous vacation test. These are just a few things we planned for this tool:

- blogging and internet browsing in available areas via wireless EVDO or the slower internet connection
- Skype, when possible
- tracking our actual vacation travel progress via GPS and Streets & Trips 2005
- handwritten journal notes in a special new “vacation2005″ OneNote tab about key locations as well as recording some audio and video notes about travel destinations and plans. Some of this might become content for podcasts or vlogging about our trip someday. We passed around the Tablet in OneNote and wrote down our thoughts about various vacation locales and activities in OneNote.

Since getting back from vacation I have switched from running primariliy in portrait mode to running in the more traditional landscape mode. This gives me more widget space now that I’m using Konfabulator (it’s free, thanks to Yahoo purchasing them). Still, when it comes to using the tablet mobile I still much prefer and use portrait mode.

We started a membership to the YMCA recently and I’ve already taken the tablet to the gym. While riding the cycle, it’s possible and useful reading digital magazines, blogs and other RSS feeds with a slate. I’m still demoing and searching for a good offline RSS aggregator solution. Would like to explore blogging while working out as my blogging time has been cut into with the advent of working out. I’ve seen others walking and riding and reading print (newspapers, books, etc) — if only they had a slate they could do both.

While this doesn’t apply to every Tablet PC vendor, I was miffed to learn that Motion Computing has obsoleted the M-series tablet that I have owned for not even a year. I know this obsolesence was going to occur but I didn’t expect Motion — which makes high end, expensive tablets — to admit they were only going to make batteries and accessories for the M-series until December 31, 2007. That, IMO, is a horrible policy. I’ve already moaned and groaned about this in detail earlier at this blog, in the Tablet PC Buzz Motion forums and have called the Motion support line and told them to pass along my grievances. I encourage others that disagree with this policy to do the same. It’s not just me that’s disappointed by this policy, so we’ll see if Motion takes this information and comes back with something besides a slap in the face or just ignores the complaints.

Admittedly, this lifecycle support issue has taken a little bit of my Tablet PC steam away. I guess I’ve been what one would consider a fair weather fan of Tablet PC. I like them for certain activities and uses, but still do not like the pricing (high) of most of them. As for service? I really haven’t had to use any service yet.

The cheap plastic stand that came with my M1400 broke down the seam and is no longer usable. Thanks to advice by another tableteer I was able to use a cheap (.99 cent) wood plate holder as a suitable replacement. It works great and they sell these things at retail dollar stores. No need to buy another $16 plastic stand that breaks down the spine after six months of use. I still think it doesn’t make sense selling something over $2,000+ with a cheap and unsturdy stand.

As I approach 250 days of tablet ownership, I still use the machine every day for business and most days for pleasure. My favorite activities are (in no particular order): reading and annotating digital magazines via Zinio, making handwritten notes in OneNote (I use the Tablet for notetaking from phone calls and meetings) , snipping the occasional blog entry picture using the snipping tool, and utilyzing for making exciting, interactive sales presentations to clients. I still believe that tablets are an essential tool for salespeople and believe it has helped me in some sales situations getting attention from the prospect. For that reason, it remains worth the expensive price tag.

But if you aren’t in sales? Not in a business where you attend many meetings or take lots of notes? Not an artist? Well, I still can’t make a good case for buying a tablet in that case.

It was nice to see a tablet reappear at the local Best Buy and be somewhat prominently displayed. One of the Tablet PC undesirables is retail visibility and at least Best Buy is selling one unit again, so if you’d like to play around with one in a retail environment, then stop by your nearest Best Buy. They are also selling the Mac Mini, if you want to check into those.

I’m looking forward to what Vista brings in the way of new tablet features. I’ve read that it’s going to contain some new tablet specific features. Too bad it’s not coming until late 2006, about the time this machine will be some two years old and only one year away from the date the manufacturer isn’t going to make batteries for it any more. Hopefully the next time I write one of these updates, I can report that they have changed their policy and extended this date.

History of Tablet PC Ownership posts
December 19, 2004: First full week of ownership complete
February 13, 2005: 60 days after buying a Tablet PC, was it worth it?
March 3, 2005: Day 78 bought external CD-RW drive
May 3, 2005: Day 140
June 27, 2005: Day 196 incompatibility of EVDO Kyocera cards

• OneNote 2007 minimum UI mode
• Day 302 as Tablet PC owner: email, chat and gaming
• Day 140: Tablet PC Owner notes
• Tablet PC stolen for drug money, police believe
• Article ponders: Will Tablet PCs ever become mainstream?
• Organizing Mind Camp attendee list in OneNote