Now It’s Time to Play :)

My Dell XT2 arrived late yesterday afternoon, so I’ve had just over 24 hours to play with it. It is amazing! It definitely beat my expectations.

The laptop is much more stylish than I thought it would be after seeing the limited number of pictures and videos on the internet. The slate effect chassis cannot be seen to well in pictures on the internet, but it looks and feels extremely nice and durable.

The display is much brighter and clearer than I expected, having used a tx1 in the past. True, the display is not as sharp and clear as most glossy screens, but that’s the trade off you get for a touch screen. There is also not the speckled effect I was expecting that some users of other touchscreens complain of. However, there is a very faint grid that can be seen on black backgrounds or when the machine is off, so the XT2 likely won’t be very good for those who like to watch movies etc. Nonetheless as a touchscreen computer, it’s display is pretty much perfect.

The feel between the felt (blue) stylus tip is the best for writing on this screen. After an hour or so I became used to writing on it, and now after 24 hours it feels natural. So for those of you eager to have a natural pen-paper feel, you won’t be too disappointed. When I ordered the XT2, I ordered some screen protectors from www.photodon.com which haven’t arrived yet, but they should further improve the pen-on-screen feel and I’ll write a short review of them once they are here.

As a laptop, the keyboard is a fantastic keyboard, especially for such a compact (and light) laptop. The keys are large, have a good grip and the keyboard leaves ample room for you to rest your wrists. One thing that is a slight disappointment is the trackpad and buttons. They are both pretty small, and the trackpad is not as smooth and responsive as many laptops (this may be because I’ve been used to MacBook trackpads).

The performance of the 128gb Solid State Drive is outstanding. The machine literally boots up in 10 seconds, even after installing all my software. I therefore recommend that everyone considers an SSD over a Hard Drive if their budget allows.

All in all, this is an excellent machine and if Dell was to give the XT2 better speakers, graphics and trackpad it would be perfect.

If anyone is considering purchasing this machine, please contact me with any questions you have and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Over the coming days and weeks I’ll be discussing how I plan to use software such as OneNote and Outlook to help me study this year, so stay posted.

On Its Way!

Well earlier today I checked on the progress of my Dell XT2 (ordered on the 29th July 2010) to find it's been shipped for delivery on the 5th August! This is despite an original estimated delivery date of 17th August, so I am extremely impressed with Dells service so far.

Now that my Tablet PC is on its way, I've begun to think about how I'm going to use all my technology to improve my second year at university. I'm also lucky to own an iPad, iPhone 4, HP TouchSmart Desktop PC and MacBook Air so I plan to use all these to organize myself this coming year.

I've started by making a list of ways I can use this technology, and although we all have different needs at college or university, I hope that the techniques I'll be discussing over the coming weeks will be of use.

Here are some of the things I'll be discussing shortly

• Microsoft Office, particulary OneNote and Outlook
• Synchronizing between different technology
• Organising desktops, folders and the like
• Using various education software such as flash card applications
• eBooks
• Applications aimed at my areas of study (Economics, Accounting and Finance)

If there are any other things you think I should write about, please contact me.

The Paperless Student

Well, after years of admiring the potential of Tablet PC's and despising the folders of notes and paper that I never make use of as a student, I finally decided to do something different this year. I've ordered a Tablet PC! On its way is a Dell XT2 and here's the specification I chose.

• Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 (1.40GHz, 800MHz, 3MB Cache)
• LED LCD Multi-Touch Display
• 4GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM (Actually received 5GB of RAM*)
• 128GB Solid State Drive
• 2x 6-Cell Batteries
• Intel WiFi Link 5300 (802.11 a/b/g/n 3X3) Wireless Network Card
• Windows 7 Professional

* I wasn't advised on the phone that the 4GB of RAM I ordered didn't include the 1GB of integrated RAM. So this was a little added bonus.

I admit that at over £1900, this isn't suitable for many students, but during my second year at university I hope it proves its worth. I decided to create this blog after spending hours and hours on the internet looking for the information I needed to do just that - Prove a Tablet PC is priceless for any student. 

The answers to my questions about Tablet PC's were scattered across forums and blogs. I wanted somewhere aimed at people like me, where ideas and methods for organising myself and maximizing my grades using technology were easy to find and discuss. Over the coming months I'll regularly provide updates on my progress and hope to convert more students to what should be a better and more exciting way to study.