The latest Tablet PC news and reviews

Hands-On With FlyBook V5 Convertible Tablet
The 8.9-inch widescreen is also a touchscreen that can swivel around. The FlyBook V5 is a convertible tablet with enough processing power to rival a 3GHz desktop computer. Key specs include an Intel Core 2 Duo ULV processor, Windows Vista Business, 2.0GB of RAM (upgradeable to 4GB), 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, VGA output, 1.3 megapixel camera, integrated HSDPA, Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi, and a swappable 6-cell battery. I love the form factor and the touchscreen...

TabletFlash 1.1 (#10)
TabletFlash V1.1 is a flashcard program for Tablet PCs. Handwrite anything you like on a series of blank cards, record audio hints or answers for each card, and then step through the cards either sequentially or randomly. Now supports writing on the back of each card. Ink gives you tremendous flexibility over the contents of each card. Write a series of words, ink an equation, or sketch a picture. It's all up to you. Here TabletFlash is being used to practice Mandarin phonetic characters Write a question or problem on the front of a card. Write your answer on the back. TabletFlash Features: Handwrite or draw on flashcards Flip between front and back of flash card quickly and easily (New) Record an audio clip hint or answer for each flashcard 16 different pen colors and sizes Lock audio and ink to prevent accidental editing Sequentially or randomly play back flashcards Audio files now are stored in the card files making it easier to copy and share flashcards (New) Use arrow keys or Tablet buttons to navigate through flashcards (New) Scratch out gesture supported for quickly erasing ink (New) Includes install program and sample flashcard files (New>

Lenovo X200 Tablet PC Confirmed In Leaked Presentation
Over the weekend a whole shed-load of new Lenovo notebook information turned up, including details of upcoming X200, SL, T, and R series machines. The leaked slides give preliminary specs for numerous new models, of which the X200 - which is set to replace the X61 - is perhaps the most interesting. Full run-down after the cut, together with apparent confirmation that Lenovo are planning a Tablet PC version of the X200 measuring between 0.81″...

PlanPlus For Windows XP (#18)
FranklinCovey PlanPlus for Windows XP is a full-featured electronic planning system that incorporates calendar, contact, and task management with enhanced features for daily and weekly planning, note-taking, and organization. Its clean, intuitive design lets you interact more naturally with your desktop computer, notebook computer, or Tablet PC, using it much like a paper planner. Store copies of documents, like price sheets, inventory lists, or web pages, within PlanPlus where they can be searched, retrieved, modified, or e-mailed. PlanPlus for Windows XP v. 4 is a major upgrade for TabletPlanner 3.0 users. PlanPlus for Windows will be the preferred application for desktop, notebook, and Tablet PC users running Windows XP. PlanPlus for Windows XP includes extra features, such as: Palm synchronization Enhanced note-taking and note management Updated user interface Enhanced printing capabilities Data import for Franklin Planner Software v. 7 and FranklinCovey Planning Software v. 8 TabletPlanner users may upgrade to PlanPlus for Windows? XP for $49.95. Natural Planning Environment - PlanPlus features a user interface similar to paper planning pages and provides easy navigation to your vital information FranklinCovey Planning System - PlanPlus includes tools to help you get organized, focus on priorities, and accelerate productivity. These tools include: Modules to help you identify your Mission, Values, Roles, and Goals Daily Planning tools such as the Prioritized Daily Task List and Daily Notes The Weekly Planning module to help you create a plan for the week that incorporates your Weekly Compass and Goals The dynamic Task list features ABC-123 prioritization, drag-and drop sorting, five-option action codes, and mote attachements to help you stay focused on your priorities. Palm OS application and synchronization - PlanPlus features exclusive Palm OS applications for Daily Tasks, Master Tasks, and Daily Record and conduits to synchronize Appointments, Contacts, Notes, Tasks and Daily Record. Powerful printing capabilities - PlanPlus gives you exclusive printing capabilities to print your most important information on plain paper, FranklinCovey Planning Pages, or FranklinCovey Perf-Fit forms. Data migration for FranklinCovey Planning Software users - If you're a user of Franklin Planner Software version 7 or FranklinCovey Planning Software version 8, you can easily migrate your planning data to PlanPlus. Powerful notes - Regardless of the type of Note you create, you can go far beyond simple text. PlanPlus Notes let you: Create Notes on different paper types (blank pages, ruled pages, grid pages, and more) Insert, move, and resize graphic images Organize your notes with a Tabbed filing system with multiple sublevels to keep your Notes and other information easily accessible and searchable Capture just about any electronic document and store it in your electronic planner One central place to record important conversations, key information, assignments, etc., where they can be searched and retrieved in an instant. Synchronization to Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Exchange - PlanPlus lets you synchronize appointments, contacts, and tasks with Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Exchange Server. Ink support for Tablet PC users - PlanPlus features digital ink support for Tablet PC users in all areas of the planning system. Use your pen to enter appointments, contacts, tasks, etc. Take notes in your own handwriting and convert to standard text. PlanPlus for WinXP System Requirements Microsoft Windows? XP or Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition PC with 233 MHz or higher processor clock speed 128 MB RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and features) 100 MB available hard disk space CD-ROM or DVD drive Microsoft Outlook 2000, 2002, or 2003 required for local synchronization Microsoft Exchange 2000 or 2003 required for synchronization with Outlook Web Access over the Internet Palm OS 3.1 or higher required for synchronization with Palm OS handhelds Tablet PC device required to utilize some digital ink and pen input features The Download button connects you directly to a file hosted on the vendor's website.

AbletInkPdf (#15)
(No longer available) abletInkPdf is a Tablet PC application that lets you add ink directly to a Adobe Pdf file. Unlike a number of other methods, where you have to take information and copy it to another program like MS Journal save the ink and print to another program. abletInkPdf let's you draw directly on screen with your pen and then save that ink you have just drawn and have it formatted directly into a Pdf document that you can e-mail or share with your colleagues. You don't have to purchase either Adobe Acrobat or the Adobe Distiller program in order to have this capability. The following features are available: Support for directly entering ink into a Pdf document that you can create on your Tablet without having Adobe Acrobat or any other Adobe creation programs. Support text, graphic text and number Installation Instructions 1.Download the Zip file from the Website 2.Select either Open or Save from the screen 3. Run Setup.exe or save to a temp folder and unzip and run Setup from that location 4. Follow the on screen prompts from the Setup screen 5. Icons will be place in the Start Folder, Desktop and the Application Folder The Download button connects you directly to a file hosted on the vendor's website.

MindManager X5 Pro (#17)
MindManager? X5 Pro on Tablet PCs ? The Tablet PC was crying out for a software application like MindManager, which really does deliver the goods.? - Financial Times ? MindManager represents a big leap forward in Tablet PC practicality and usability? ? Business Week Maximum Mobile Effectiveness MindManager offers business professionals a more effective way to capture, organize and communicate information, ideas and meeting notes on Tablet PCs. The powerful combination of digital ink and MindManager's classic productivity software allows users to fuse new ideas with existing information, resulting in: Increased productivity Collaborative meetings Faster, more informed decisions Tablet PC specific features enable the quick capture and organization of information on the fly, for maximum mobile effectiveness. MindManager X5 Pro Simplifies Communications Instantly capture ideas, meeting notes and concepts using sketches, handwritten notes or type. Drag and drop branches to quickly structure that information. Visually identify important tasks, issues and relationships. Facilitate a clear understanding of the topic at hand. Organize tasks, supporting documents, existing resources and materials in a single application. Immediately export to popular formats, including select Microsoft Office applications, HTML, MPX, XML and PDF. Take a tour of MindManager X5 Pro on Tablet PCs The Download button connects you directly to a file hosted on the vendor's website.

MathPractice (#19)
MathPractice makes practicing basic arithmetic skills easy and natural. Designed exclusively for the Tablet PC, MathPractice uses advanced ink-technology so you can handwrite solutions to math problems just as you would with paper and pencil--only better. As you handwrite your work MathPractice recognizes each digit and provides immediate reinforcement as to whether your solution is correct or not. With MathPractice you can: - Increase your proficiency in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers. - Choose from five levels of difficulty or let problems become increasingly more difficult. - Receive instant grading - MathPractice highlights mistakes right when they happen so you can correct them promptly. - Compete against yourself or others for high scores. Using MathPractice Math Type Click the corresponding button to solve addition, subtraction, multiplication or division math problems. Five Levels of Difficulty Then, choose your level of difficulty. The smaller star represents Level 1, single digit problems, and the largest star represents Level 5, which is more complicated. The basic level focuses on 1 digit problem solving. Use the pen tool to handwrite the answer into the white cell. When the correct answer is entered a smiley face appears to the right of the answer. The next math problem will automatically appear or you can advance manually. By default the level of difficulty increases as you solve problems correctly. Level Advancement can be disabled so a student can practice at one level. Example 1: Basic Level addition. When the incorrect number is written into a cell the cell background color turns red. Example 2: When an incorrect number is written in the field, then the cell background color turns red. Simply click the button that has the eraser pointed to a red cell and the mark will erase and the cell background color will return to white ready for you to enter the correct number. Two Erasers MathPractice has 2 erasers: a) standard eraser mark clears any mark that the erasor cursor moves over and b) secondary eraser that clears any red cell with incorrect mark or number. We've noticed that younger students use the blank area to the right of the problem to scribble or work through the problem. In this case you can use the primary eraser to clear those marks. When you advance to the next problem, those notes also disappear. MathPractice Keeps Score MathPractice keeps track of correct answers and your score is displayed in the bottom left corner. As the level of difficulty increases, more points are rewarded. Installation Instructions 1. Download the zipped file MathPractice.zip. 2. Extract files using Windows XP utility, WinZip, or a comparable utility. It will uncompress into the single file MathPractice.exe. 3. Launch MathPractice. System Requirements 1. Tablet PC with Microsoft? Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2. Latest .Net Framework v1.1 3. Latest Tablet PC SDK v1.5 Known Issues: 1. No help 2. No setup program 3. Depending on how the digits are drawn, sometimes 5s and 4s are not recognized correctly. With a little experimentation and adjustments to the way you write these digits, you can get around this problem. 4. Still requires .NET Frameworks 1.1 to be installed 5. Hints temporarily disabled The Download button connects you directly to a file hosted on the vendor's website.

InkGestures (#4)
AN EDITING COMPANION FOR MICROSOFT WORD InkGestures is a Microsoft Word 2003? Addin that enables you to edit documents using the pen on a Tablet PC. With InkGestures you have access to over thirty copyediting commands. Capitalize words. Italicize words. Create bullet lists. Insert text. All with a pen on a Tablet PC. DESIGNED FOR THE TABLET PC InkGestures is designed to make copyediting even more natural on the Tablet PC. With pen-based editing you can make changes to a document much like you would on paper yet have your changes applied to the document immediately. Plus InkGestures makes it easier to edit when and where you want. Whether you're sitting on an airplane editing a manuscript or on the couch editing an assignment, you can be more productive with InkGestures and your Tablet PC. SUPPORTS EDITING E-MAILS IN MICROSOFT OUTLOOK When you use Word to create e-mail messages in Microsoft Outlook? (which Outlook does by default), you'll have access to the same pen-based editing capabilities in Outlook. InkGestures supports over thirty editing and formatting commands.

Revelation Natural Art (#12)
Art & Design software package. Astonishing new art package simulating ''''natural'''' media. Suitable for Interactive Whiteboards, Pressure-sensitive Graphics Tablets and Tablet PCs. Fully customisable interface for all user levels and 3 pre-defined interfaces. Huge stamp library of curriculum relevant images. A4 colour Activity Guide full of topics and ideas. Companion website full of Schemes of Work, guides, step-by-step activities, resources & links. USING ICT TO EXPLORE, DEVELOP AND EXPRESS VISUAL IDEAS Revelation Natural Art can easily be configured to meet any learner?s specific needs. You can add or reduce the number of tools available to make the program as powerful or as simple to use as you wish. The fully customisable interface constructor allows you to: Add or remove tools to meet any user?s abilities Increase/decrease tool button sizes Add or remove any menu options Move tools around; lock or undock toolbars Create completely new toolbars with new behaviours Save and load your own customised settings for future use Three pre-configured interfaces tailor the software to the needs of a young KS1 learner, a KS2 learner and a confident KS3/4 user. The rich range of super realistic natural media effects allows all users to work intuitively with the same tools on the computer that they have already used in their real life Art and Design work: Crayons Oil Pastels Pencils Charcoal Felt pens Chalks Acrylic paints Poster paints Watercolour paints Airbrush sprays A 30-day FREE demo version of this product can be downloaded from here. Includes the three user modes: Simple, Junior and Advanced, and allows you to customise your own mode. The Revelation Natural Art Reference Guide is included in PDF format. NB: The print, save and help file options have been disabled. In addition, users lucky enough to have access to alternative input devices like pressure sensitive screens, pressure sensitive graphics tablets and the forthcoming Tablet PCs with pen sensitive screens will find Revelation Natural Art provides the most amazing and natural user experience for drawing, painting and animation directly onto their screen. Progressive undo and redo allow all users to undo (step by step) the whole of their painting or drawing to try again and again until they are satisfied with the results they have achieved. The stamp library provides hundreds of curriculum relevant images that can be used to construct or augment work in creating pictures and combining text and images. Stamps can be used as single images or sequences of images, can be resized, flipped, skewed and transformed in many different ways. Also, the user is able to create and save their own artwork as stamps into their own stamp library for future use. The Circle, Rectangle, Star, Spline and Polygon tools allow a rich range of shape construction when creating images. The Symmetry tools offer two and four way symmetry, and full control over how the symmetry is applied ? both when using the painting tools and also when working with stamps, effects, textures, motifs and text. The Motif editor allows the learner to experiment with and apply a range of pattern and tiling effects, in a wide range of combinations The Texture chooser lets the user apply media with a range of textured background effects, to simulate different paper types and media combinations The Effects tools allow areas of your image to be smeared, lightened, darkened sharpened, softened and outlined in a simple, intuitive fashion. The Animation Toolbar allows sequences of images to be combined to generate moving images, using a film frame metaphor. Onion skinning allows you to see the previous frame as a shadow when you are drawing the current frame, and a range of cartoon elements lets all users experience the creation of exciting moving images in minutes. Revelation Natural Art allows you to work with images from a wide variety of sources. Use digital photographs, image scans, web graphics and many other sources as your starting point. Any images you produce with Revelation Natural Art can easily be saved for use on the web (including animations), used in DTP, presentation or word processing software. The program comes with a full colour A4 Activity Guide which covers a range of topics and ideas, including Exploring Colour, Taking a Line for a Walk, Imaginary Animals, Light and Colour, Patterns, Animals and Birds, Drawing and Foreshortening, Landscapes, Perspective, Human Figure, Human Face, Animation and Expressing Feelings and Emotions. Revelation Natural Art also comes with: A set of animated viewlets which visually demonstrate the software interfaces working. A detailed reference guide systematically covering all features of the software. An integrated online help system, accessible at any time by pressing the F1 button. There is also a companion website with a further range of useful weblinks, step by step tutorials, schemes of work and other resources to help you get the most out of the software in your classroom. The combination of a highly configurable interface, rich natural media effects, progressive undo, curriculum stamp library, symmetry tools, motif and tiling editor, texture effects and easy, intuitive user experience makes Revelation Natural Art the best painting, drawing and animation tool for pupils of all ages and abilities. The Download button connects you directly to a file hosted on the vendor's website.

FranklinCovey TabletPlanner 3.0 For Tablet PC (#13)
This versatile and robust software is the first planning application built specifically for the Tablet PC format. Pervasive integration of the digital ink capabilities provides a user interface that maintains the familiar look and functionality of the FranklinCovey paper planner. As intuitive as it is useful, TabletPlanner is the next generation of planning from the productivity experts. Intuitive user interface remains true to the look and feel of FranklinCovey's best-selling paper planner. Runs fully functional on non-Tablet PCs with Windows XP operating systems. Supports Office 2003 and seamlessly syncs Microsoft Outlook or Exchange tasks, appointments, and contacts using built-in, advanced synchronization technology. Also syncs prioritized PlanPlus(TM) for Microsoft Outlook tasks. PowerNotes(TM) technology provides the best note-taking capabilities available. Record appointments, tasks, notes, and more in your own handwriting with a digital pen. Share anything, from handwritten and typed notes to takes or contacts, with anyone via one-click e-mailing. Drag and drop any note for easy prioritization, or to convert a task to an appointment or an appointment to a task. Prioritize, apply action codes, attach notes, and sort your daily tasks according to the FranklinCovey methodology. Enjoy exclusive productivity and effectiveness curriculum from FranklinCovey's world-renowned training seminars. Schedule appointments, set start and end times, and even set recurring appointments in daily, weekly, or monthly view. View meeting details by simply hovering over the item in your calendar. Annotate, highlight, and edit documents, such as meeting agendas or spreadsheets, in your own handwriting. Keep all your electronic papers-including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more-organized and viewable behind customizable tabs. Customizable eBinder(TM) gives you freedom to personalize and organize your notes and files by color, paper type and more. Custom pens feature gives you enhanced organization by allowing you to change the color and thickness of your pens and highlighters and save your preferences. Navigate quickly to past and future dates and store years of information for instant reference wherever your day takes you. Keyword searching and indexing uses the powerful handwriting recognition of the Tablet PC plus a faster searching method to ensure that you can find any note, appointment, or task in an instant. View any document using tools like zoom, shrink, fit to page, rotate, and more. "Slide" control allows you to quickly jump to any page within a large document Supports the remote or occasionally connected worker who may need to access calendar, task, and contact info when they are behind a firewall using Outlook Web Access. The Download button connects you directly to a file hosted on the vendor's website.

Snipping Tool For Tablet PC (#11)
Snipping Tool for Tablet PC allows you to easily "cut out" anything on screen and share it with other people. The whole screen becomes an "inkable" surface that you can add comments to and mark up however you like. You can then save that annotated image to use later, or send it to someone else in an e-mail message. Snipping Tool provides an easy to use pie menu to help you mark up and cut out information and send it to email, copy to clipboard, save for later, and more. Snipping Tool 2.0 is part of the Microsoft Experience Pack for Tablet PC (English only). The Download button connects you directly to a file hosted on the vendor's website.

Computex 2008: Clevo Introduces An Atom-based Tablet PC
Clevo, a second-tier Taiwan-based notebook manufacturer, has several new notebooks on display at Computex. Of mention is a 15.4" AMD Puma-based notebook, which you can read more about over at NotebookReview.com and an Intel Atom-based Tablet PC that we will be discussing here. (Source: Chaz, TabletPCReview.com)