Need help deciding Tablet PC for Photoshop CS3

[Ryvaleus]

Hi,

I've basically narrowed down my choices to two tablet PCs, the Fujitsu T4220 and the Dell Latitude XT.

The T4220's specs:
- Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2GHz
- 1GB DDR2 667MHz (which I'm planning to max out to 4GB afterwards)
- Intel's X3100 integrated graphics
- XGA 1024x768 screen resolution
- Wacom active digitizer touchscreen technology
- Better battery life than the dell
- 120GB 2.5" 5400rpm HDD (plan to upgrade this to 250GB maybe)


The Latitude XT's specs:
- Core 2 Duo U7700 1.33GHz
- 3GB DDR2 667MHz
- ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 integrated graphics
- WXGA 1280x800 screen resolution
- N-trig capacitive touchscreen technology (something like iPhone's touchscreen I hear, haven't really seen it for myself)
- Weaker battery life than the fujitsu
- 120GB 1.8" 5400rpm HDD


Both laptops come with Windows Vista Business 32-bit. There are other specs I left out from both which I don't consider important.

Anyway, based on what I could gather from the net, the Dell supposedly has one of the clearest screens for a tablet PC, but the Fujitsu is no slouch either, if perhaps slightly behind the Dell from the sound of it. But I can't find any direct comparisons between them.

Specs and price wise, the Fujitsu will come to a couple hundred bucks cheaper compared to the Dell where I'm planning to get it from despite all the upgrades I have in mind. The only thing holding me back is the screen resolution.

Do note that the primary reason I'm getting the tablet is actually for overseas studies I'm going for soon so I do not want to buy a larger screen laptop, and cannot wait for new models to come out, unfortunately. But I do want something which will enable me to work with Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom comfortably.

So if it were you, would you go for Dell's better screen clarity and resolution, or Fujitsu's better specs?

 

[Zohan]

Photoshop has 2 big requirements. CPU speed and RAM. Looking at the specs, the Fujitsu doesn't cut it.

 

[chisiang]

Why don't you just get a wacom tablet?

my personal experience with tablet notebook was a disaster

All things will give you some trouble one way or another. My company's tablet notebook developed some problem with the touch sensor during a oversea trip and render the entire notebook useless because even if we plug in a mouse it is still useless.

So if you are going overseas for studies, I think reliability is more important. I had to drive 3 hours (one way) to the Acer service agent in England during my studies. :what:

 

[Prismatic]

Not sure about the technology now, but I once considered getting a tablet notebook with photoshop too. After trying out a few, changed my mind. The touch screen isn't very pressure sensitive, nor is it very accurate in the touch location. It's more for notes taking and doodling rather than photoshop editing. It's definitely not similar to a proper touch screen for graphic applications like the Cintiq.

If I have to choose, I will get the Fujitsu cos of the multi-level sensitivity of the Wacom Active Digitizer. You should try ask them if you can upgrade the RAM. From what I read about N-Trig digitizer, it's a zero-pressure touch-screen, not sure if that means that it doesn't have multi-level sensitivity.

 

[Ryvaleus]

Thanks for the input guys, although admittedly it's a tad too late by now since I've confirmed my order for the Dell almost a week ago. :sweat:

Photoshop has 2 big requirements. CPU speed and RAM. Looking at the specs, the Fujitsu doesn't cut it.

Well neither of them actually cut it as far as specs go. But I've realized that I've got to make a compromise somewhere and I'm not about to compromise on my studies which is the no.1 priority (and hence the real decision for a tablet PC). Just hope I made the right choice and that PS CS3 runs well enough on my chosen tablet. I'll find out soon enough once it arrives.

Why don't you just get a wacom tablet?

my personal experience with tablet notebook was a disaster

All things will give you some trouble one way or another. My company's tablet notebook developed some problem with the touch sensor during a oversea trip and render the entire notebook useless because even if we plug in a mouse it is still useless.

So if you are going overseas for studies, I think reliability is more important. I had to drive 3 hours (one way) to the Acer service agent in England during my studies. :what:

Yup, as you said, nothing is 100% reliable. I can only hope Dell will last me throughout my 1-year course at least.

Having a separate wacom tablet would be quite hard to use in lecture halls where desk space is probably very limited, hence why I went the tablet PC route. I've tried taking notes with a normal laptop when I did my degree last time around, but often got slowed down and left behind when it came to graphs and weird characters that are not immediately accessible on the keyboard.

Not sure about the technology now, but I once considered getting a tablet notebook with photoshop too. After trying out a few, changed my mind. The touch screen isn't very pressure sensitive, nor is it very accurate in the touch location. It's more for notes taking and doodling rather than photoshop editing. It's definitely not similar to a proper touch screen for graphic applications like the Cintiq.

If I have to choose, I will get the Fujitsu cos of the multi-level sensitivity of the Wacom Active Digitizer. You should try ask them if you can upgrade the RAM. From what I read about N-Trig digitizer, it's a zero-pressure touch-screen, not sure if that means that it doesn't have multi-level sensitivity.

The Dell Latitude XT is quite sensitive to touch according to various video reviews I've seen over the net. You don't need to exert much (if any) pressure at all unlike most tablet PCs on the market today - which is why they call it zero-pressure touch screen. Only drawback is I don't think the N-trig digitizer has the multi-level sensitivity function.. hopefully I won't miss that function too much.