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wayspooled · 08-03-2007, 10:38 AM

Thank you all for taking the time to reply

The information is very helpful. I've never done much with a tablet pc before and I've never even had my hands on an ebook reader. I know they're too small though from trying to read on my home pc. All the reading I've done is on one of my "too big to move around" home pc's. One day they'll make a reader with eInk that's big enough for me.

Since none of you posted "DON'T get a tablet pc" heh... I guess I'll give that a shot. To the kind person who mentioned the cost of the tablets, that's just what I was thinking

.... No, I have no intention of blowing $2k on this, there are 250-500 $ reburbished Fujitsu tablets with 10 or 12 inch screens on ebay, Toshiba M200's similar price, Motion Graphics a little higher. I could go through quite of few of those for the same money - and since all I want to do is be able to move to the den or porch chair or flop on the sofa somewhere, power (with an adapter) is available and one of those should suit me.

Couple of things about buying used pc's for those not familiar. Because you folks have been so kind and because I get the impression one or two of you may not have realized used ones were affordable.

I was head of IS for 20 years, currently underemployed

and have bought millions worth of computer equipment. Though not on Ebay. I'm willing to risk my own money

Here's a few things I've thought while considering buying a tablet there.
-----------------------

Some come with the cds for WinXP Tablet Edition and some don't. If it doesn't, you want to check and see how much those sell for because you'll probably want it sooner or later. Don't buy one that at least doesn't say it has the COA (certificate of authority) stuck on the back of the unit.

Don't hesitate to ask a seller questions. Don't do business with one with bad customer comments in their profile.

Check out the cost and availability of the accessories you think you might want before you decide which brand. Some brands, a new accessory might cost as much as the used tablet.

Some have reflective front lit screens for outdoor use, some have transmissive back lit screens for indoor use. You folks probably know all about that already.

Always google the brand and model name and find professional reviews of the product you're interested in. Motion and Fujitsu and Toshiba and Lenova/IBM (too expensive even used for me). Other customer comments are revealing but not entirely what you want to base a purchase on.

You can search on ebay and other places like google using the same operands commonly used searching databases. ie: You can use * as a value for a discrete character, you can use -<value> to exclude things from a search. For example you can go to "tablets" on ebay and in the search block,

key in --- Fujitsu st**** -- it will return models ST4010, ST4011, ST5011, ST5020, ST5021, ST5022, ST5030, ST5032 etc...

key in --- Fujitsu ST5*** -- it will return just the ones beginning with ST5.

key in --- Fujitsu ST**2* -- it will return just the ST4020, ST5020, ST5021 and ST5022.

key in --- Motion LE**** -LE1800 and it will return just the LE1300 LE1400 LE1600 and LE1700 and "not" the LE1800.

Don't forget to go into advanced search and search for completed sales of the same item and you can get a feel for common, recent prices.

Always make sure you find where the shipping cost is hiding.

It looks to me as if sometimes people don't know what they're selling. Be sure you're buying a tablet or a convertible tablet/laptop and not a non-convertible laptop. Some vendors, the difference is only 1 digit in a model number. Couple of the Dell's and the Lenova X60 are like that. The person selling an item doesn't always realize that and list something with the word tablet when it really is a laptop. It's up to the buyer ultimately to know what he's buying and not buy things that aren't exactly specific. Don't be in a hurry

It's not a good deal at any price if it's not what you want.

I'm not posting links to any of them because I don't want you to think I'm one of the ebay vendors just fishing. I've never sold anything there before. hehehe...

Edit #2 - btw, I've been using ICE Book Reader on the home pc and rather like that. I'm going to give a try to a couple of the ones you've suggested.

08-03-2007, 10:38 AM	#16
wayspooled Crab In The Dark Posts: 486 Karma: 2328180 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Virginia Device: Tablet PC until a 10" comes out that I like	Thank you all for taking the time to reply The information is very helpful. I've never done much with a tablet pc before and I've never even had my hands on an ebook reader. I know they're too small though from trying to read on my home pc. All the reading I've done is on one of my "too big to move around" home pc's. One day they'll make a reader with eInk that's big enough for me. Since none of you posted "DON'T get a tablet pc" heh... I guess I'll give that a shot. To the kind person who mentioned the cost of the tablets, that's just what I was thinking .... No, I have no intention of blowing $2k on this, there are 250-500 $ reburbished Fujitsu tablets with 10 or 12 inch screens on ebay, Toshiba M200's similar price, Motion Graphics a little higher. I could go through quite of few of those for the same money - and since all I want to do is be able to move to the den or porch chair or flop on the sofa somewhere, power (with an adapter) is available and one of those should suit me. Couple of things about buying used pc's for those not familiar. Because you folks have been so kind and because I get the impression one or two of you may not have realized used ones were affordable. I was head of IS for 20 years, currently underemployed and have bought millions worth of computer equipment. Though not on Ebay. I'm willing to risk my own money Here's a few things I've thought while considering buying a tablet there. ----------------------- Some come with the cds for WinXP Tablet Edition and some don't. If it doesn't, you want to check and see how much those sell for because you'll probably want it sooner or later. Don't buy one that at least doesn't say it has the COA (certificate of authority) stuck on the back of the unit. Don't hesitate to ask a seller questions. Don't do business with one with bad customer comments in their profile. Check out the cost and availability of the accessories you think you might want before you decide which brand. Some brands, a new accessory might cost as much as the used tablet. Some have reflective front lit screens for outdoor use, some have transmissive back lit screens for indoor use. You folks probably know all about that already. Always google the brand and model name and find professional reviews of the product you're interested in. Motion and Fujitsu and Toshiba and Lenova/IBM (too expensive even used for me). Other customer comments are revealing but not entirely what you want to base a purchase on. You can search on ebay and other places like google using the same operands commonly used searching databases. ie: You can use * as a value for a discrete character, you can use -<value> to exclude things from a search. For example you can go to "tablets" on ebay and in the search block, key in --- Fujitsu st** -- it will return models ST4010, ST4011, ST5011, ST5020, ST5021, ST5022, ST5030, ST5032 etc... key in --- Fujitsu ST5* -- it will return just the ones beginning with ST5. key in --- Fujitsu ST*2 -- it will return just the ST4020, ST5020, ST5021 and ST5022. key in --- Motion LE**** -LE1800 and it will return just the LE1300 LE1400 LE1600 and LE1700 and "not" the LE1800. Don't forget to go into advanced search and search for completed sales of the same item and you can get a feel for common, recent prices. Always make sure you find where the shipping cost is hiding. It looks to me as if sometimes people don't know what they're selling. Be sure you're buying a tablet or a convertible tablet/laptop and not a non-convertible laptop. Some vendors, the difference is only 1 digit in a model number. Couple of the Dell's and the Lenova X60 are like that. The person selling an item doesn't always realize that and list something with the word tablet when it really is a laptop. It's up to the buyer ultimately to know what he's buying and not buy things that aren't exactly specific. Don't be in a hurry It's not a good deal at any price if it's not what you want. I'm not posting links to any of them because I don't want you to think I'm one of the ebay vendors just fishing. I've never sold anything there before. hehehe... Edit #2 - btw, I've been using ICE Book Reader on the home pc and rather like that. I'm going to give a try to a couple of the ones you've suggested. Last edited by wayspooled; 08-03-2007 at 10:54 AM.