I am not sure anyone "needs" a Tablet PC. Certainly I could get by with a traditional laptop, just as I do now, albeit much faster etc. That said, I have chosen the Tablet PC because I believe the few hundred dollars pricing premium will be more than made up via productivity improvements. By enabling me to quickly jot down ideas, diagrams, presentations and notes, I will save many hours alone in digital recapturing. Yes, if I am going to purchase a new mobile computer, it must be a Tablet PC.

What about the requirements? In short it boils down to value and future-proofing. Lets start with the memory requirement. A limit of 2 GB is almost a non-issue as nearly every Tablet on the market meets this requirement. Simply put, I need that much memory today in order to efficiently run developer tools like VMware or Virtual PC. Moreover, if the limit is lower than 2 GB, then the useful life of the device will be cut short during the Windows Vista era.

The new mobile device I choose must also have a DirectX 9+ compliant video card. Why? Again, Windows Vista. Yes, I know the oft delayed OS is not out but when it finally arrives a DirectX 9 compliant card will be needed to support all of the new eye candy such as Aero Glass. I do not want to spend thousands of dollars on a new computer only to have it not perform well 8 months later with a new OS. By the way, this applies to nearly all of the current Tablet PC owners... I am sorry to say that most of you will not be able to take advantage of Windows Vista visually because the video cards in current devices are not DirectX 9 compliant. Check out this Microsoft blog for more information.

Finally we are left with the most pesky of my requirements, that being 64-bit processing. Again this boils down to being future-proof, namely Windows Vista. Why would I want to buy a product that Microsoft says is legacy. Sure, 64-bit is not getting you much today; there are few mainstream applications that are currently 64-bit, but that is changing by the day. With the release of Visual Studio 2005, .NET developers now have the ability to create x64 applications, which will help push things along. Finally, all indications are that Windows Vista will really be optimized for 64-bit. When Windows Vista is launched, I do not want to have a product that is legacy after a few months... To me, that is not acceptable; 64-bit is required.

That brings me to AMD and Intel. I have read the lack of AMD Tablet PCs relates to heat. As I understand it the AMD chips are currently too hot to comfortably hold as a Tablet. I do not understand how this is plausible... What about other Turion based based light weight laptops? According to the heat theory anyone with a Turion should have a hole burned in their pants. I have been unable to find a real answer about this... if anyone know why or when there will be a Turion and or AMD based Tablet PC, please let me know. I also wonder about the validity of this argument with the convertible form factor. These devices will many times be table bound, due to their laptop size/ weight, thus not comparable to a slate Tablet. Regardless, I would like a definitive answer.

Finally, I leave my wrath for Intel. Let me explain... I think it is best to start off with the following quote from Intel VP Dadi Perlmitter (via TG Daily):

TG Daily: What is your reason for not including support for 64-bit technology in Yonah? Why is it going to be supported only in Meron?

Perlmutter: Like everything in technology or life, it is all a matter of timing. Integrating unneeded features into a processor means a waste of power consumption. Our assumption was, and still is, that 64-bit extensions are not the most important thing required from a processor, not even in the beginning of 2006. We believe this will change with Windows Vista, when applications start migrating to 64-bit, and we want to be ready then, and not a minute earlier.

TG Daily: So it would be accurate, then, to state you simply didn't want to break Yonah's power envelope?

Perlmutter: Yes. A very important aspect of such a development is carefully examining the trade offs. This is not only about what to include, but also about what not to include. When you put in more features, it costs you in money and in power.

I currently have an AMD based desktop as my primary desktop computer. Why? Because it has 64-bit built in and I purchased it when Intel refused to support x64... When Windows Vista launches, I will not have to throw it out the window in order to develop and test x64 applications. When AMD launched the x64 architecture, Intel downplayed the whole thing... Even when Intel decided to throw its chips into the ring it has taken the slow road, even going so far as naming their implementation EM64, as if the only thing 64-bit computing is good for is extended memory (greater than 4 GB).

To me however the most insulting part of Mr. Perlmitter's quote is that Intel will not release a 64-bit mobile until Windows Vista itself is ready. What does that mean? I read that as meaning that anyone buying a new mobile product with "Intel inside" up until the Windows Vista launch is being treated as nothing more than a fool. Why? Because you have been duped into buying an already obsolete product at a premium price. Intel is knowingly pumping a product (Centrino) that has an expiration date of Windows Vista. Assuming Windows Vista arrives in 2006, by 2007 your less than one year old laptop or Tablet PC is not capable of running all of those new killer apps that are optimized for x64. What will you do? Buy the new x64 Intel chips of course... and that is what I think they are banking on. Me, I am not going to fall for that! They predicably note that putting in more features costs more money and power, but give me the choice! Let me choose if it is worth the extra cost and or loss of a half-hour of battery life. I will also point out that the Intel integrated graphics solution found in the majority of Tablet PCs (and many laptops) are not DirectX 9 compliant... Even if you do not care about the 64-bitness, you are still stuck with visual degradation. The attitude of this quote wreaks of arrogance, manipulation and an outright lack of respect for the consumer. I digress but will perhaps revisit this another time; it is just too aggravating to overlook.

That brings me to the conclusion - is there an answer? In a word, no. If you want a 64-bit, Windows Vista proof Tablet PC, you are out of luck. Like me, you are stuck with your outdated, painfully slow-for-development traditional laptop. You have a choice though - you can purchase an AMD based laptop sans Tablet PC capability, or you can plunk down your ~$2000 for a pretty good performing Intel Tablet PC with all of the requirements except 64-bit. This is quite a conundrum for which every solution has a trade-off providing a less than stellar answer and there is no way to buy your way out of it.

Is there a 64-bit Tablet PC on the way? There are many of us who would love to know.

Ben
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