Windows 7 Tablet (slate) PC suggestion

[chesh]

Ok guys, I've been doing a ton of research over the last couple of days and I'm now throwing this out there to any of you that have experience with this. I'm looking for a tablet. I'm not talking a convertible laptop, but an actual tablet. I don't want a iPad or Android tablet, as they're just the overgrown counterparts of the cell phone versions and I already have a Nexus One. Here's what I'm looking for: HDMI, ability to play HD video, and preferably some HDD space (this can be forgone for SD/microSD/thumbdrives). I've been looking at the Hong Kong import stuff, but most of them seem to all have Atom N450 and N455 chipsets with integrated Intel video (gag). I know the Asus EEE Slate EP121 just got released, and it's one hell of a tablet, but a little on the expensive side and you can't upgrade the SSD's over 64gb. Anyone got any other suggestions? I also want it to be Win7 because that means you can install just about any OS you want on the thing, including but not limited to: Chrome OS, *nix, OSX, and MeeGo.

If you haven't seen the Asus EEE Slate, here's a review that gives me a lil chub: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6AdaT8WyDE]YouTube - Asus Eee Slate EP121 Review[/ame]

Anyway, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to post them.

[Yuki]

Given the lack of portability (weight, poor battery life) that the EP121 has, maybe you should look at some convertibles as an alternative?

I have a HP tm2 and whereas it's not ideal for permanent slate use due to the thickness and poorer quality screen it features the exact same pen+touch digitizer and is both lighter and more powerful than the Asus. You can order several configurations including an i5 470um with 512MB discrete graphics and up to 8GB RAM. What's more, it comes with a 500GB WD Scorpio Black as standard and will last at least 5 hours with a conservative brightness setting. Not to mention it starts at about $250 cheaper for the base model and is still about $100 cheaper with a fully spec'd CPU and GPU.

[chesh]

How is it when using it as a tablet? It looks like it weighs 2lbs more then the EP121. My major turn-off on the EP121 is the fact that it uses the eSSD drives, so you can't even upgrade it with a 2.5 sata laptop drive. Only 32gb and 64gb SSD (bleh). I also have a fairly bad taste in my mouth from dealing with HP over my Mini 311 (had to send it back to them 3 times to fix a screen under warranty).

Also, what do you use it mainly for? I really just want something that's an always on solution (or at the very least, quick bootup and then leave it on for the rest of the night). I just spec'd one out with the i5 and 4gb of RAM (single stick) and everything else I'd want, and you're right, $943 before tax and shipping. Not bad at all.

Can you write up a personal pros/cons list? Also, how long have you owned yours?

Edit: Ok, so after reading tons of positive reviews, and finding a 25% off coupon, I got the i5 w/ 4gb (single stick...let's face it, memory is cheaper if you get it yourself), 500gb 7200RPM HDD free upgrade, and defaults for everything else. Shipped: $843 Not too f'n bad. Thanks for the heads up. Still interested in your take of the computer though.

[Yuki]

How is it when using it as a tablet? It looks like it weighs 2lbs more then the EP121. My major turn-off on the EP121 is the fact that it uses the eSSD drives, so you can't even upgrade it with a 2.5 sata laptop drive. Only 32gb and 64gb SSD (bleh). I also have a fairly bad taste in my mouth from dealing with HP over my Mini 311 (had to send it back to them 3 times to fix a screen under warranty).

Also, what do you use it mainly for? I really just want something that's an always on solution (or at the very least, quick bootup and then leave it on for the rest of the night). I just spec'd one out with the i5 and 4gb of RAM (single stick) and everything else I'd want, and you're right, $943 before tax and shipping. Not bad at all.

Can you write up a personal pros/cons list? Also, how long have you owned yours?

Edit: Ok, so after reading tons of positive reviews, and finding a 25% off coupon, I got the i5 w/ 4gb (single stick...let's face it, memory is cheaper if you get it yourself), 500gb 7200RPM HDD free upgrade, and defaults for everything else. Shipped: $843 Not too f'n bad. Thanks for the heads up. Still interested in your take of the computer though.

I have a UK version (no customization ) from February 2010 and as such it uses a 1.3GHz Pentium Dual Core instead of a Core i series CPU. This obviously can't touch the i5 as far as performance but it's still notably more responsive than the 1.6 Turion X-2 in my old Compaq laptop.

I mainly use mine for note-taking and watching videos on my TV over HDMI - OneNote is a joy to use and the battery life is generally enough to last a whole school/work day, especially if WLAN and Bluetooth are disabled. Being an older model, HDMI output on mine requires switching to the discrete GPU (yours should work on both the Intel HD and ATI) so this isn't as practical as far as battery life, but it'll have no problem at all lasting the length of a couple of 1080p movies.

The only problems I have experienced are due to immature drivers, most notably with the Sound card. A fix has been out for a while, but there was a bug where if you shut it down with headphones plugged in then booted it up with them unplugged a load of critical services would fail to start and you'd have to reboot again. With yours being newer hardware, I doubt you'll experience this level of problems. That being said, the Tablet PC Review forums are good to look over if you need any user-made bug fixes or useful apps.

I would like to see an improved screen (IPS) on a future model, but this change is more likely to be put into a Probook Tablet than a consumer model. Apart from that, the hardware is very sound and great value for money.

[chesh]

Well, HP managed to be the worst in customer service once again. Once I filled out the order (which mind you, the only thing I changed was it to be an i5, no Office software, and 1 4gb RAM stick instead of 2x 2gb) it was going to take till April 14th to ship. To make it worse, they said it could take an extra 2wks past that date and it'd take 5-14 days for it to arrive. So, I order this on March 23rd and they're essentially telling me that they can charge my card the same day, but it might be May before I receive my product. I can't believe this company. When I called their customer service line, they couldn't give me any better of a time frame and pulled the excuse that they take extreme time and consideration when custom building computers. BUILDING A TABLET? Are you f'n kidding me? They have to remove a piece of software and swap out the RAM. Anyway, I cancelled the order. I can't believe this company. I tried to give them another chance, and this is how they treat people. Absolutely ridiculous. So, I guess it's back to the drawing board of finding a new computer. Ugh, oh well.

[Yuki]

Well, HP managed to be the worst in customer service once again. Once I filled out the order (which mind you, the only thing I changed was it to be an i5, no Office software, and 1 4gb RAM stick instead of 2x 2gb) it was going to take till April 14th to ship. To make it worse, they said it could take an extra 2wks past that date and it'd take 5-14 days for it to arrive. So, I order this on March 23rd and they're essentially telling me that they can charge my card the same day, but it might be May before I receive my product. I can't believe this company. When I called their customer service line, they couldn't give me any better of a time frame and pulled the excuse that they take extreme time and consideration when custom building computers. BUILDING A TABLET? Are you f'n kidding me? They have to remove a piece of software and swap out the RAM. Anyway, I cancelled the order. I can't believe this company. I tried to give them another chance, and this is how they treat people. Absolutely ridiculous. So, I guess it's back to the drawing board of finding a new computer. Ugh, oh well.

There should be several online resellers who keep stocks of customised models ready to deliver - I was contemplating using one but I'd rather not have paid import duty so I decided otherwise.

You obviously wouldn't get the HP specific discounts but more often than not these resellers will have their own offers, including warranty services so you don't have to deal with HP at all

If you think HP support is bad be glad you don't have to deal with the likes of Advent and EI Systems, they don't even have support sites as they're only sold through a big chain of stores in the UK called Dixons Group. I should imagine you get similar "el cheapo" brands in Best Buy etc. over there.