Seriously thoughtful Anyone have a Dell Duo tablet?

[HarryT]

Does anyone here have one of the Dell "Duo" laptops that convert into a tablet? I'm seriously thinking of getting one, but thought I'd ask for opinions first. What's the battery life like? Is it too heavy to hold? Is Win7 actually usable with a touch interface?

[Billi]

Don't have one, but - if no one else answers here - you will find an answer in this tablet-pc forum, although it's not the most active forum anymore:

http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/forum.php

Generally speaking, battery life is the main flaw of the tablets, otherwise they are great (I have a HP TC1100, it's old, but Win7 is usable with the wacom touch screen.).

[phenomshel]

Well, mine doesn't "flip" like the Dell Duo, but I do have a convertible netbook/tablet, the Asus T91MT. It's heavy (compared to my Sony 950), and the battery life is only about five hours. Other than that though, the Win 7 interface is fairly easy with touch or stylus; I enjoy using it. I find I use stylus more than touch, however.

[vivaldirules]

I was going to buy one, Harry, as my one and only device other than my Sony. I wanted a reader that was also a full tablet. But the reviews all indicated that the Atom processor is just insufficient for Windows 7 and the battery life is only about 3.5 hours. So I gave it a pass and bought an iPad instead. I hope someday someone will finally sell what I want.

[HarryT]

Thanks for the advice. I've now read a number of reviews, and they all say that it's underpowered with too short a battery life, so I think I'll give it a miss!

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Thanks for the advice. I've now read a number of reviews, and they all say that it's underpowered with too short a battery life, so I think I'll give it a miss!

I was interrested as well, until I read the underpoweredness. The battery life I could live with, the lack of processor power, not so much.

(if it had been half the price, I might still be interrested though...)

[GeoffC]

On a slightly different note I cannot recommend a Dell product given my experience of their technical support team(s).

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

On a slightly different note I cannot recommend a Dell product given my experience of their technical support team(s).

I love Dell. I have a Dell desktop and two Dell laptops. Nothing but praise for them.

[mikegetz]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

On a slightly different note I cannot recommend a Dell product given my experience of their technical support team(s).

With Dell support, you get what you pay for. I have heard horror stories from everyone that has used the basic "consumer grade" support options. However, we are pretty much a Dell shop at work, and their ProSupport is wonderful.

back on original topic:

I have an old IBM (pre-lenovo) tablet - x41t. I liked it with XP on it, hated it with Vista, and once i got Win7 on it, i loved it. It weighs about 4 lb. which is great compared to a full size laptop. However, that is about 8 times heavier than your average e-reader.

I used it mainly for GPS and reading w/ MS reader, and some light web surfing while on vacations. The down side is poor battery life, and honestly, it's HOT. With the advances in ereaders and smartphones, i really don't see myself using it much anymore.

I think the iPad / android slate market is pretty much going to kill the proper TabletPC market. Which is really sad, because a convertible with One Note can be one of the most useful things ever ...

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

I was going to buy one, Harry, as my one and only device other than my Sony. I wanted a reader that was also a full tablet. But the reviews all indicated that the Atom processor is just insufficient for Windows 7 and the battery life is only about 3.5 hours. So I gave it a pass and bought an iPad instead. I hope someday someone will finally sell what I want.

I apologize ahead of time if this is too far off topic, but you don't need to automatically be afraid the Atom processors. I have an N475 with 2GB memory and a fast hard drive and it runs Windows 7 fine. I've been surprised at how close it is to a desktop. No Atom can address more than 2GB of physical memory but the current crop of Atom processors addresses DDR4 memory with twice the bandwidth of DDR3. The Atom works fine for tasks like browsing, reading books, and running Office productivity programs, watching movies and streaming video. I haven't found a program that could choke it but I admit I don't push it very hard.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I love Dell. I have a Dell desktop and two Dell laptops. Nothing but praise for them.

I have my current dell laptop for over 4 years now (I should get a new one soon, as it's way past its economic life time...) and I only ever had one problem with it: the power supply died...

Originally Posted by 6charlong

I apologize ahead of time if this is too far off topic, but you don't need to automatically be afraid the Atom processors. I have an N475 with 2GB memory and a fast hard drive and it runs Windows 7 fine. I've been surprised at how close it is to a desktop. No Atom can address more than 2GB of physical memory but the current crop of Atom processors addresses DDR4 memory with twice the bandwidth of DDR3. The Atom works fine for tasks like browsing, reading books, and running Office productivity programs, watching movies and streaming video. I haven't found a program that could choke it but I admit I don't push it very hard.

From what I read, the price is too high for the performance you get.

[LCF]

On the good side, there were about 10000 Netbooks/Tablets on the CES, which will be available this year. I'm sure you'll find a nice one

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by LCF

On the good side, there were about 10000 Netbooks/Tablets on the CES, which will be available this year. I'm sure you'll find a nice one

already found the one I want

1. It'll not be available in Europe (figures!)
2. It's about twice as expensive as I can afford! (always knew I had an expensive taste )

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

already found the one I want

1. It'll not be available in Europe (figures!)
2. It's about twice as expensive as I can afford! (always knew I had an expensive taste )

I know exactly how you feel .

[Seadogie]

Dude, I got a Dell! I purchased the Duo around the end on Jan and received it on 2/10/11. I read all the negative reviews prior to purchase and was expecting the worse as I kept coming across more negative reviews while I was waiting. I am a captain and found that my two gateway (xp and vista) tablets were too heavy and cumbersome to haul around from boat to boat and the pen input really was not useful when bouncing around. I usually watch TV while surfing the internet and had it with the waffle iron laptop frying my family jewels. I had a lot invested in old software but was considering going with the Mac Air when and if they came out with a screen that would flip and could be used like an ipad. While I waited I thought I would take a chance on the Duo. I am glad I did. Found my old software works even better with touch and I have even used the speech recognition to zoom in and out of my navigation maps. I use Firefox browser as it has better scrolling than explorer. Since Windows software is not designed for touch I still use the mouse pad and a Targus pen that works as good as a finger but doesn't leave smudges on the screem. I use the same pen on my Iphone. I loaded Office 2010 and everything works. Of course, the software I use is not designed for touch but I use the touch function to scroll and the mouse to hit all the tiny icons and menus when in laptop mode. I watch videos with the screen flipped and make a tent of the keyboard and screen and it sits nicely on my stomach. Don’t really need any special case like you would if you had an Ipad. I have a Bluetooth external gps that works as well with Chart Navigator Pro. This thing is the Ipad killer for me. You don’t need all of the apps as you can simply use the browser. My Iphone 3g and the Duo is the best and cheapest solution. This blows away the Mac Air for the price. I purchased the docking station and the auto charger all for much less that the Ipad toy or the Mac Air. Yes, the Apple is idiot proof but then again I like to tinker around with windows stuff to get it to satisfy my requirements. Find me some other product with the same functionality and maybe I could come up with something negative like all of the other reviewers.