SOUND INTERNET SOLUTIONS
By John Ashenhurst
An ongoing discussion of the strengths, weaknesses,
and possibilities of this promising new technology
The Tablet PC appeals to people--perhaps because it's more like what we've always imagined computers ought to be--a magic form of paper.
In my January 2003 column, I discussed the Tablet PC--based on research from live demonstrations, published reviews, and a liberal dose of imagination. Since February I've used a loaner Tablet PC every day--as my only computer. I've looked at some insurance-specific applications and have conducted some demos of my own to flight attendants, teachers and, most important, insurance people. Almost everyone seems attracted to the Tablet PC, at least initially, perhaps because it's more like what we've always imagined computers ought to be--a magic form of paper.
The question I'm interested in--and you may be as well--is whether the Tablet PC can play a practical, productive role in the life of the agency--or whether it's really just an attractive toy or inappropriate wonder. I don't have a definitive answer but I can provide you some details below. Later this year I hope to be able to offer some real-life agency case studies for your consideration.
A quick review
Released last fall, Tablet PCs are ultra mobile personal computers that both use operating system software and conform to specifications developed by Microsoft. About a dozen different companies offer first generation versions of the Tablet PC. According to Microsoft, the second generation will appear in a greater variety of configurations and within five years will dominate the portable computer class.
Tablet PCs run a superset of the Microsoft XP operating system and thus can run any typical office or insurance desktop application--though it's important to note that typical Windows applications can't take full advantage of the Tablet PC. Besides typical XP functionality, the Tablet PC version supports what Microsoft calls Ink, a brand new data class that supports data entry with a stylus (special pen). Ink support means you store handwritten notes or sketches and can write or block-print input and then have it converted to text (as if typed). All Tablet PCs have wireless, Ethernet, and modem connectivity, long-life batteries (more than three hours), a high capacity hard drive, and speech recognition. Generally speaking they weigh three to four pounds.
Manufacturers package the Tablet PC in one of three different configurations. Toshiba sees the Tablet PC (Protégé 3500) as a special kind of notebook computer--a clamshell with keyboard and screen that can rotate 180 degrees to serve in typical notebook position or upside down and covering the keyboard to become a slate. Fujitsu sees the Tablet PC (ST400P) as primarily a slate. The keyboard and stand to hold the slate-as-monitor are physically separate and typically left home when the Fujitsu slate is taken out on the road.
Compaq/HP decided to have it both ways--as clamshell and slate (TC1000). The slate portion can be attached to the keyboard, making a typical notebook, or swiveled to cover the keyboard like the Toshiba. But the slate can be removed entirely from the keyboard and used that way, much like the Fujitsu. On the downside, the Compaq screen area is smaller, less bright, and is grainier than either the Fujitsu or Toshiba and the processor chip--though adequate--is slower.
Compaq offers an optional docking station that can include a CD-RW drive and serves to prop up the slate (with keyboard hidden underneath) so it can act as a monitor. I use the docking station to hold the Compaq when I'm in my office and connect a full-size keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Since I can use the Compaq display and additional monitor simultaneously, the size of my Windows desktop is effectively doubled.
Note that my list of manufacturers isn't meant to be exhaustive and I don't know enough yet to recommend one brand over another. Other manufacturers include NEC, Acer, Motion Computing, Gateway (sells the Motion machine), Electorvaya, PaceBlade, ViewSonic, Xplore Technologies, Walkabout, FIC, VIA, Aplux, and Panasonic.
Most Tablet PCs start at about $2,000 though some versions, with extras, can cost closer to $3,000. Microsoft Office and other application software must be purchased separately.
I saw seven Tablet PCs in use at the ACORD Conference in Orlando in May. Five were Compaqs and two were Toshibas. The two Toshiba users said they would rather have Compaqs. About half the users I talked to were very enthusiastic about their Tablet PCs. The other users found themselves occasionally frustrated and said they hoped for improvements in subsequent models. Please note that my sample is much too small to mean much.
Using the Tablet PC
Because my experience has been almost exclusively with the Compaq version, that's what I'll report on here, but most of what I have to say should apply to other Tablet PCs as well. I won't bother describing characteristics also common to notebook computers and accessible through the keyboard. We'll be looking at the Tablet PC as a slate, that is, sans keyboard.
Stylus: Every Tablet PC has a stylus, a pen-like device that lets you interact with the screen--for navigation and data entry. Earlier pen-type computers had pressure sensitive screens and anything could operate, if poorly, as a stylus, even a fingernail in a pinch. But pressure sensitive screens have some real disadvantages--especially on a large screen. Having your hand touch the screen while you write confuses the device. More important, pressure sensitive screens can't pick up your gestures, that is, how you go about writing, that are so important for the success of Ink. So the Tablet PC has an electronic stylus and the mouse cursor will appear under the stylus point when it's close to the surface of the screen even before it actually touches. You don't want to lose or break your stylus because only it will allow you to interact with the screen.
Orientation: The Tablet PC can be held in the crook of your arm, on a knee while you're seated, or on a table top like a legal pad. In some cases or for some applications it makes sense to use the Tablet PC in landscape mode, that is, with the long side horizontal. In other cases, portrait mode, with the long side vertical, is more appropriate. The Compaq unit has a hot spot on the front side of the case you can touch with the stylus to toggle orientation.
Journal: The Tablet PC includes an Ink-sensitive application called Journal that can be launched by touching the stylus to a hot spot on the case. The Journal looks and acts like an electronic version of a legal pad. You can write on it and draw diagrams, scrolling to add pages as you need them. When you're finished with a session you can save the pages as a file and call them up later or begin a new "pad." Tools in the Journal let you round hand-drawn circles and square squares so you can tidy up your diagrams. You can use different colors for different purposes. Other people (with Tablet PCs) can annotate your Journal files. And Journal handwriting can be converted to text and pasted into Word documents, for instance.
Input Panel: You can't use your stylus to write data into a traditional Windows application, like Word or your management system. They're not set up to recognize Ink. You need to use the Tablet PC Input Panel in one of its three modes: handwriting, virtual keyboard, or overlay. In each case, whatever you "type" or "write" will show up at the current cursor location (field in a form or line in a Word document). In Ink-enabled applications, on the other hand, you can write directly into the target field, not indirectly as with the panel. The overlay mode acts like a transparent covering over the application so you (almost) appear to be writing into it directly--but you can't control the cursor location so in effect it's the same as the handwriting panel.
Navigation: Though stylus data input takes a little learning, you can master navigation immediately. You simply touch the stylus point to the object of interest and then move it in the desired direction or tap an icon when a mouse click would be appropriate.
The realities
Journal: When I first heard about the Tablet PC and imagined how I might use it, I pictured myself no longer having to use legal pads to take and store notes. Though inexpensive and convenient, full legal pads tend to sit on a shelf and become increasingly resistant to queries as they age. The Journal would let me keep and search for notes easily year on year. I've tried to move to the Journal and toss my legal pads but haven't been able to force myself to make the switch. The Tablet PC screen can't contain as much information as a standard sheet of paper. The computer must be turned on and booted before it can be used to take notes. The battery lasts only three hours or so. Thus far the convenience of a paper note pad outweighs the potential advantages of electronic storage and retrieval.
Handwriting: Several months back I imagined myself writing this article with the stylus instead of the keyboard. Wouldn't that be fun! But alas, it's no fun at all. I'm a slow typist and I make lots of mistakes but I'm still much faster keying than writing and correcting with the stylus. Life is too short to try to write more than a phrase or two or make choices in a form with the stylus. On the other hand, surfing the Web or reviewing and short-answer responding to e-mails works well.
Two monitors: I do like having two monitors when I'm working at my desk. I sometimes keep e-mail and my browser open on the Tablet PC screen (as it sits in the docking station) and write into Word through the external monitor. But I could do the same with a notebook computer.
Wireless: I usually pull my Tablet PC out of its docking station when I quit for the day and walk from my office up to the house. I have wireless in the house so in the evening sometimes, or first thing in the morning with breakfast, I power up the Tablet, check e-mail and read the New York Times. Setting up wireless in my house cost $79, a wonderful investment. But I could have wireless portability with a notebook computer just as well.
The right use
So far, my experience has led me to the unsurprising conclusion that the Tablet PC as a slate can't substitute for a notebook computer--but I don't think Microsoft ever claimed it could. So if you're going to get a Tablet PC for agency use, you'll very likely want one that can do a good job as a notebook as well as slate. That doesn't mean that slate versions wouldn't be perfect for some applications, for instance for field adjusters.
Applied Systems demonstrated ACORD form input into a Compaq Tablet via stylus entry at the ACORD conference in mid-May and expects to make the software available to Diamond, TAM, and Vision users later in the year. Because the ACORD form application was written for Microsoft .NET, extending it to accommodate Ink and stylus navigation was straightforward and required a modest amount of effort. Applied hopes to be able to report on agency experience by this fall.
Initially when I looked at and then began to use the Tablet PC, I imagined it being a useful tool for producers out in the field, especially when making sales calls--as a source and collecting point for information. The only way to really tell whether that makes sense would be for a vendor to do some experimenting.
In any case, you might find the Tablet PC the right choice for your next notebook computer. One Tablet enthusiast I know likes to sit in his easy chair in the evening at home reading and answering his e-mail. Not a bad way to work.
If you've had some Tablet PC experience I'd love to hear about it. *
The author
John Ashenhurst publishes Sounding Line, an electronic newsletter focused on insurance technology, as well as a Weblog, johnashenhurst.com. For more information, see www.soundingline.com. He can be reached at johnashenhurst@soundingline.com or (360) 376-1090.