Tablet PCs

[Arctaeus]

So, i'm looking to move away from the world of pens and paper and actually having an electronic copies of Dark Heresy/Inquisitor Character sheets, as well as my own notes on the PC when i'm doing an adventure (to help the environment and all that)

Does anyone currently use a tablet PC and can anyone recommend a type or even an actual product?

It won't be used for anything more than doing powerpoint presentations, and using word/excel for RPGs. Occasional connection to the internet is also a factor, as well as needing to use a USB drive for actually running my adventures

Am currently in the UK, since that will make a different.

Thanks y'all ^__^

*Edit*

I mean't the mini laptops, not a tablet PCs. Bah

[kaulem]

Well I use an Acer Iconia Tab with windows 8. it comes with a docking station and keyboard. Its great because I can use it as a laptop or a tablet.

And it can run army builder, pdf reader, rpg character vault etc...

[simonr1978]

From a general point of view I've not been impressed by Acer. The build quality of them seems particularly uninspiring. I was only able to keep our old desktop running past a year by cannibalising parts from an even older Dell and the netbook I had wasn't brilliant either, from what I can gather talking to work colleagues the DC jack on the netbooks was a quite common source of failure (Mine broke pretty quickly and Acer's customer service is very poor). It's relatively simple and inexpensive to fix if you're confident poking around in a computer with a soldering iron, but on the other hand why go through that hassle if you can avoid it?

When I got my netbook, a couple of years ago now, you could often save £50+ off the cost of a comparable machine by getting one with Linux rather than Windows. If you're anything like me however, the ease of use of Windows over Linux will outweigh the cost savings

Similarly from experience, I would avoid buying from Tesco unless you're getting a real bargain. What they laughably refer to as their helpline is basically useless and if the product is over a month old you'll just end up getting told to contact the manufacturer anyway.

I've had good experiences with Dell and Toshiba laptops in the past, my misses's Dell in particular got battered to bits and still carried on working. I've had a Toshiba laptop which lasted 8 years before its graphics card gave out.

[Grimmeth]

Windows 8 is shaping up to be rather awesome for Tablets, but remember it's not up for general release just yet...
If you can hold on a few months I'd wait for the full range of Windows 8 tablets to drop (we tested a Samsung Series 7 Slate running Windows 8 at work and it was absolutely awesome - but I am a big geek! Not cheap mind...) I'd suggest doing that?

[stephan harkon]

i agree with Grimmeth, hold on a little while longer.
the only mini laptop/tablet i would recommend (if you can get hold of one) is the Dell Duo. i managed to get to test one at work last week, i have to say that they have a nice design and once windows 8 is properly available. a Duo with it on should run absolutely fantastically.