I brought my brand new tablet pc with me when I went home for Thanksgiving.

It so impressed my parents that they went out to purchase one of their own.  So this review is a comparison of two tablets, the Averatec 3500C and the Toshiba S810.

I have the Averatec 3500.  I really think it is cool, with great features and excellent usability.  But is isn’t without it’s problems, which are highlighted when comparing the Averatec to the Toshiba.

This Toshiba has a better digitizer integrated with the screen.  Where the Averatec seems to have trouble with the calibration of the pen to the mouse pointer around the edges of the screen, there is no such issue on the Toshiba.

The Toshiba comes with the Intel Centrino wireless Ethernet hookup while the Averatec uses a Ralink wireless setup with its AMD processor.  I have noticeably weaker connections to the wireless access point in the back room as compared to the Toshiba.  Sitting in the living room in their house, I would frequently lose my connection based on where on the sofa I was sitting.  Not  a problem for the Toshiba.

            The biggest difference is in battery life.  I don’t know what the Averatec advertises as far a battery life, but I know that I get about an hour and a half.  Part of the problem might be the heat – the Averatec 3500 does get uncomfortably hot, and this heat might be affecting the battery life.  I turned down the screen brightness and turned off the wireless NIC to extend the battery life (not sure how much this buys me, but it does make a difference).  The battery doesn’t charge extremely quickly, so this is my biggest complaint.  The Toshiba is remarkably better – with more than three hours on a charge and a speedy recharge.

            One other thing I should mention is that the Toshiba comes with some better software offerings.  My favorite is the Sensiva Symbol Commander – sketch a symbol on the screen with the pen to launch a command (lower case “e” = e-mail).  Both machines came with full copies of Microsoft Office OneNote.  OneNote is really cool, but I haven’t figured out how I want to integrate this into my life yet.  Both also come with the standard compliment of Tablet PC software, including InkBall (pen based game), Microsoft Journal and Sticky Notes.  The Toshiba also shipped with half a dozen demo programs which take advantage of the Tablet features.  I didn’t really like any of them but they do show people what’s out there.  The Averatec came with a flyer informing me about a program aimed at students (OneNote seems like a better program that does the same thing).

            Put all of this together and my conclusion is that the Toshiba is really a better machine.  But here’s the thing, the Toshiba cost over $1,000 more (and this is AFTER rebates).  With my biggest complaint being the battery life and the weaker wireless connections, I can’t personally justify paying the extra $1,000.  The Averatec is an excellent machine with an AMD XP2200M chip (seems to work as fast as the Intel 1.5 Ghz chip in the Toshiba).

            So that winds me down to my advice.  If you are looking at buying a new computer, buy a laptop.  The portability of a laptop vs a desktop is a far better advantage compared to the extra processing power a desktop machine can give you.  If you are going to buy a laptop, do yourself a favor and check out the tablets.  I think that pen-based computing has finally reached enough maturity that it’s ready for everyone to use.  Even my mom.  If cost is a concern when you buy a new machine, look into the $1300 (before any discounts/rebates) Averatec.  If you can afford the extra money, get the Toshiba and you won’t be sorry.  The extra features are worth the extra money, if you can afford it.

-- Matt Ranlett