Thursday, February 16, 2006
M400 thoughts - Brrreeeport
I spec’d out an M400 Tablet PC for a customer – 2.0ghz, Core Duo, 100gb 7200 rpm harddrive, Dual layer CD / DVD, extended battery. $2744. I purposefully wanted as much tablet pc as I could get. Why get a 5400rpm harddrive when I could get a 7200rpm.
WOW! That is a lot of money for tablet pc. Granted I could have spec’d it lower, but the price differentials just didn’t seem worth it.
After sitting on it for a day or so, I canceled the order. Just for grins, I spec’d out an M4 Tablet PC (see both specs below. Same specs all around except for the following:
- 100gb hard drive on the m400 is 7200 rpm, 5400 rpm on the m4
- 2.0 ghz Core Duo on the M400, 2.0 Pentium M on the M4
- Integrated Intel 950 on the M400, Dedicated GeForce 6600 on the m4
- 12” screen on m400, 14” screen on the m4
- 667mhz FSB on the m400, 533mhz FSX on the M4
M4 price: $2211. Price differential: $533
So for $533 more, I get the Core Duo, faster memory, smaller unit, faster harddrive, but integrated video instead of dedicated card.
What would you do?
Toshiba Tecra M4-S115TD Tablet PC Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2.00GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP 2005 Tablet Edition, 1024MB (512MBx2) 533MHz PC4200 DDR2 SDRAM, 14.1" Diagonal SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) display, NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6600 TE with 128MB DDR SDRAM, 100GB (Serial-ATA, 5400rpm), 8X DVD Super Multi-drive (Double Layer), WinDVD Creator software, Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth® (Ver 2.0 + EDR), Li-Ion Battery (6 Cell, 4700mAh), 1-year Standard, Limited Warranty,
Toshiba Portege M400-ST9113 Tablet PC Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2500 (2.00GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB), Microsoft® Windows® XP Tablet PC 2005, 1024MB PC5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM (512MBx2), 12.1" Diagonal SXGA+ Wide View Angle Display (1400x1050), Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 8MB-128MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory, 100GB HDD (7200rpm, Serial-ATA), Ultra SlimBay DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive, Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth® Version 2.0 +EDR, Li-Ion Battery (6-cell, 4700mAh),
Brrreeeport
I don't believe that the as yet undemonstrated improvements in the M400 justify the price.
While I'm an early adopter by temperament I'll wait until Vista is being sold installed in tablets and we have reports on actual performance before I make my next large investment-although I might be convinced to purchase a Dualcor if it comes out close in price and performance to the current promises.
: 2:51 PM : 8:26 PM Yes, despite my challenges, it's an amazing Tablet PC. The 14" Screen at 1400 is great!
: 5:08 AM The M4 seems too large to me. I think the form factor of the M400 would be more to my liking.
I am actually trying to decide between an M400 and the Acer C204.
If you want a large laptop why not just by a fast cheap 15inch widescreen and not even bother with the tablet feature, because the amount of time the m4 would be portable for would be very limited.
: 7:47 AM If you want a large laptop why not just by a fast cheap 15inch widescreen and not even bother with the tablet feature, because the amount of time the m4 would be portable for would be very limited.
: 7:47 AM Personally at the moment I'm thinking about a x41t, since I much prefer TP software and support. ThinkVantage is very well engineered. However the M400 is tempting me greatly. Mainly the high resolution screen.
As other commenters have said, if I wanted a larger system I'm just stick with a laptop. I figure if I want a larger screen, I'll just get a external monitor.
: 3:34 AM Always buy what you will use today. (Or in this case what your customer will use.)
The Intel Centrino Core Duo T2500 processor (2M L2 cache 2 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) costs $492 in qty 1000. The Pentium M 755 and 760 (2M L2 cache 2 GHz 400 or 533 MHz FSB 90nm) cost $294 in qty 1000. The chipsets cost different amounts too. When you start to get into the specs most people really just want to know, "is it fast enough or good enough for what I do?" The newer boots faster, loads faster, runs more faster, etc. But there are also factors like battery life that come into play. The newer processor and chipset were designed to have better performance to battery life ratio. That goes a long way for business people and consumers.
Here's a set benchmarks (from Intel) http://www.intel.com/performance/mobile/benchmarks.htm
Answer those and you'll have it.
For me, I will stick with my M205 a while longer. I really want to run Vista glass so I want to see one that I absolutely know will run it and run it easily. I can do everything else I need to do with the M205 while I am waiting.
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