February 11th, 2008Review of HP TX1016AU
We have with us the HP’s tablet PC, the TX1016 AU. And this is HP’s tagline for it More than a Notebook, more than a Tablet. Well, after my experience with it, I feel it’s a lesser tablet though otherwise it’s a fully characteristic and powerful laptop. Let’s have a closer look.
Functionality
Let’s obtain started on the tablet functionalities and finally move on to plan and other features. The most clear thing that comes to one’s mind when chatting about a tablet PC is its skill to take inputs from a stylus or even your fingers. It’s a nice and suitable digital way of taking down notes; also these tablets come with handwriting credit ability i.e. your handwritten notes are rehabilitated into computer produce text. But not all tablet PCs employ the same technology to take inputs from a pen or stylus.
There are two technologies in existence – Resistive and Inductive. In resistive digitizers, which are mostly used for PDAs and now smart phones, there is a thin membrane on the top of your LCD screen that registers inputs when pressing on it and then passes on the in sequence to the processor to execute necessary actions. Whereas in the inductive digitizers, the sensor sits underneath the LCD display and emits electro-magnetic signals which are then detected and react by a special electromagnetic pen or stylus.
Resistive technology is lesser costly and can also take inputs from your finger or any other object besides a stylus since the screen is on the top of the LCD. That’s the cause why it is also called a touch-screen. Whereas, with inductive technology one can only use the specialized electro-magnetic pen but on the positive side is not prone to accidental touches.
Since the resistive technology puts a thin membrane on the top the LCD screen, the quality of the display is reduced in the form of lesser contrast, reduced brightness levels and reduced clarity and this was very evident in the case of TX1016 AU too. Yes! The TX1016 AU uses the resistive digitizer for its tablet functionality. Also, because of the film there are transparent lines running diagonally across the screen affecting the clarity. Another thing to note is that with resistive technology it gets a little difficult to write as you have to uphold a incessant pressure while inputting and you most likely will end up missing parts of letters while writing fast which in turn will not be recognized by the handwriting credit software. That’s the cause why most tablet PCs use Inductive digitizers. In fact even HP sells tablets with inductive digitizers.
Design and Usability
The HP TX1016AU is an enormously handsome laptop, almost male in look. It comes with a black glossy lid with HP written in silver, making for a very classy looking laptop. The power button is intelligently placed on the outside in the form of a spring loaded slider. This is primarily done so that the power button is accessible even in the tablet mode, otherwise if placed along the keyboard, it would have been out-of-the-way. Even the Bluetooth cum Wi-Fi slider switch is placed on the outside. The keys on the keyboard are well laid out. With small form factor laptops like the 12.1-inch ones, some of the keys are eliminated, re-oriented or reduced in size. With the TX1016AU, the function and the right shift key is reduced in size which according to me is very much manageable. Otherwise all the other keys are laid out in a normal format and are at ease to work with. There are dedicated back-lit up, down and mute volume keys outside the keyboard panel. This is a suitable addition as finding the volume keys in the keyboard and then using them as a combination with the function key can get a little tedious, especially when watching a movie in the nighttime. And just for that the keys are backlit. Also the mute key turns orange in color when active. Then there is a hot key which when pressed brings up a panel with a whole lot of options including the intensity control.
All these things show that the designers have done their job right. Though I have one problem and that’s with the USB ports. I am a strong advocator of the fact that all ports and especially frequently used ones like USB, should be on the front or at the side of the laptop and not behind. In fact most laptop manufacturers adhere to what I have just mentioned. The TX1016AU has three USB ports out of which two of them are at the back. Now, in most conditions one USB port is used for a mouse and when you need another one, for example—to plug in a pen drive, in TX1016AU’s case you have to begin the blind hunt of locate the port at the back. It doesn’t appear that much of a big deal but if you can implement it which most manufacturers are doing, then why not.
The touch pad is not a separate entity and is in the form of dented dots on the body itself. It works perfectly fine and adds another stylish element to an already good looking laptop. The laptop weighs 1.88 Kgs with the 4- cell battery and weight saver. By weight saver HP means the optical drive, a Light Scribe DVD writer in this case, is uninvolved and put back by a lid, provided in the package.
