TechEd05 day 2: You've got questions...

I worked the exhibit booth today, and got a bit better sense of the questions people are asking about Tablets.

• Which Tablet has support for higher resolutions?
  A: Look for Tablets that are implementing a separate graphics solution (e.g. nVidia's toGo or ATI's mobile solutions). Tablets relying on the integrated Intel Extreme Graphics are limited in most cases to 1024x768.
• When is Dell going to make a Tablet?
  A: Dell will decide when Dell will make a Tablet. That's not something that we individually have any bearing on.
• What's the price delta between Tablets and non-Tablet notebooks?
  A: Typically, the price delta is decreasing. Around $100-$250 difference depending on what OEM you're looking at.
• Do Tablets run Virtual PCs?
  A: YES!! Tablet PCs run Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005, a "pure superset" of XP Pro. Anything that will run on XP Pro will also run on a Tablet. If you're intending on running VPCs though, make sure to get as much RAM as you can possibly afford, and consider upgrading your hard disk to a 7200rpm model

Tablets in academia is also a subject that is heating up. I know that our business development team is working hard at nurturing several projects that are aimed squarely at the education market. Stay tuned for that.

The IBM Thinkpad X41 Tablet announced yesterday has drawn a lot of attention at the booth. Toshiba is also in high demand, particularly the M4 model. Unfortunately, I only have the R15 and m200 models at the booth, so if you're at TechEd, you won't be able to see one here. Only at your local Toshiba distributor :)