GottabeMobile.com poses a vexing Vista/Tablet PC question:

How much impact does Vista have on your planning and purchasing for a future Tablet PC have? How clear is your Vista?

Quick answer: My vista right now is muddy and the impact of Vista hinging on a future Tablet PC purchase is significant.

The first two years I spent waiting and wondering whether I should buy a Tablet PC and once I took the plunge I wish I had done it sooner. The next year or so was bliss and I blogged about a lot of the cool things I’ve learned how to do with the tablet and how we’ve been using the tablet in home and business. Unfortunately, shortly after a year of ownership I started having hardware problems (still am) and am currently considering three paths:

1. fix my out of warranty Tablet PC (an estimated “couple hundred dollars”)
2. buy a new Tablet PC (more expensive than #3)
3. buy a new non-tablet laptop

I guess there is a fourth option: do nothing and keep waiting, but that won’t work long term. Eventually a feature that I do use regularly on the tablet is going to fail and then I will have to go with #1.

I need to get the tablet back into 100% working mode again and/or replace it with something else. The problem with the current situation is software works fine, it’s that I can’t install anything from the CD. Fortunately most software can be installed over the network or by direct download. The tablet hardware and software besides the USB ports are all working good.

I’d put the chance of buying another tablet once Vista is out, tested and preinstalled at about 75%, although it is doubtful I’ll spend as much the second time around. I realize the public Vista beta stuff is an opportunity to check out Vista on my Tablet, but in its current semi-broken state, I didn’t want to risk it. Also, I’d prefer to see a final product before buying hardware that I think might/will/can run on it, especially when it is bound to cost more than $1,000. In the case of Tablet PCs, a really good one is still over $1,500. I wonder how many other existing tablet users are in the same situation?

Our oldest son wants a laptop too and he’ll most likely (I’d say 95% chance) be the recipient of option #3. I suggested to a Macbook and at first he didn’t like the idea but he must have done some more research because he’s come back to me liking that idea. The question for tablet vendors: why would I want to buy him an overpriced Tablet PC with a new OS still on the horizon?

Of course the Mac has the OSX 10.5 Leopard on the horizon too, but why does a new Apple OS seem less distracting than a new Windows?

And it’s not just portable machines, my dad is in the market for a new desktop machine. His existing desktop is a 486 (not a typo). Since he barely uses that (and who would) and opts for his new laptop, I told him to just wait until Vista comes out next year and buy a desktop system with Vista preinstalled.

Right now there’s no way I’d recommend buying a Tablet PC to friends, family or buy myself unless it was a really screaming deal. I had my sights on buying one of the middle of the road Ultra Mobile PC’s (UMPC) but haven’t seen any in stores and the prices have all been over $1,000 which was supposed to be the pricing ceiling. Discouraging. I might be willing to go that route as a more powerful upgrade from my Pocket PC, but then I’ve also been hearing rumors — completely unsubstantiated ones — that there might be some sort of portable Xbox?

I’m thinking it will be late Q1 2007, but maybe early Q2 before we actually see Vista on store shelves and this just gives consumers more reasons to look at other OS options. Who knows, maybe our next desktop machine will be with Linux?

We are going to be buying at least one new machine of some sort before year end and my guess is it will be a laptop with Windows on it and won’t be a tablet. You never know though. The tablet Force is strong, Luke.

I would like to try running Vista on my existing slate tablet but not the beta. That would have to be after the USB ports are repaired since I doubt I’ll be able to install Vista over the network.

As for what I’m using the tablet for since the last update? Not much new. I tried the speech recognition and I’ve made a few updates but mostly it’s been running as a secondary account for Second Life and IRC. Not even inking as much lately, although when I do my note program of choice remains OneNote.

Below I’ve added the pre-Tablet PC ownership post on December 15, 2004 to my ongoing chronology of Tablet PC ownership. That post outlines the 16 times I mentioned the Tablet PC in posts here spanning 1 1/2 years before pulling the trigger. I had been contemplating a tablet purchase prior to this blog being created with “I still have this on my wish list.”

It is curious looking back that my final comment to pull the trigger centered around the slate being good enough for an artist, so it would be good enough for me. My tablet adventures are far from over and in fact I’ll be teasing and wooing the tabletsphere soon with a significant tablet-oriented idea that has just passed the concept stage.

History of Tablet PC Ownership
July 26, 2003 - December 15, 2004: Chronology of tablet indecision (pre-tablet ownership)
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
August 12, 2005: 241 days of Tablet PC Ownership
September 1, 2005: Day 261: Tablet PC sales projections being downshifted by market researchers
September 15, 2005: Day 276 Current office main configuration includes Tablet PC, 3 PCs, Mac
October 12, 2005: Day 302 as Tablet PC owner: email, chat and gaming
December 13, 2005: Day 365: looking back at one year with a Tablet PC
January 22, 2006: Day 405: Dual monitor on Tablet PC alert!
Hardware problems begin
March 4, 2006: Day 445: Tablet I/O board problems
May 5, 2006 Day 508: 10% broken and easy to forget about Bluetooth
Day 577: New Tablet PC purchases being caught in the Vista waiting game

• Oooo that wire smell, the smell of tablet burning
• Day 472: All tablet 5th grade and 2nd year tablet hardware woes
• Day 508: 10% broken and easy to forget about Bluetooth
• Don’t buy a new Tablet PC, buy an older model instead or keep waiting
• Tablet PC stolen for drug money, police believe
• Vista requirements say 512MB RAM and 1280×1024 for glass