X-bit labs

Acer TravelMate C111Tci Tablet PC Review

Category: Mobile

by Galina Sudareva

[ 04/30/2004 | 12:11 PM ]

Today we would like to offer you our first review of the tablet PC. It is going to be a beautiful solution from Acer, combining best features of a notebook with those of a tablet. This digital assistant supports handwrite and voice input, alongside with the whole bunch of other attractive opportunities. Overall, it will suit perfectly for those people who are working on the run. Are you one of them? The n why not take a look at this device now!

Table of contents:

• Package and Accessories
  
• Software
  
• Design and Ergonomics
  
• Configuration
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Performance
  
• Conclusion
  

The ever-increasing tempo of modern life imposes its terms and conditions on us. We’re always running out of time – sometimes every minute is precious as gold – and this is where mobile devices enter the scene. Phones, PDAs, notebooks are now indispensable helpers of a business (I’d say digital) man and they will be only gaining their ground in the future.

Work in some specialized field (medicine, inventory checking, presentations delivering, press conferences, inspections and so on) involves the use of portable PCs, which should be easy to handle both in office and in field conditions. Sometimes that’s not enough, though. The notebook should be designed in such a way as to offer you numerous functions, which you can use while holding the device in your hands (for example, it’s rather difficult to type in text quickly with only the fingers of one hand).

The recently-appeared tablet PCs with LCD sensor screens allow working without keyboard – they support handwrite input and make our life somewhat easier.

The Acer C111TCi is a curious engineering and designer solution, being a lucky mixture of a notebook and tablet. We were even more curious to test it, as it was the first tablet to come into our test lab.

Package and Accessories

The Acer C111TCi model comes accompanied with a small external power adapter, technical documentation, a user’s manual, a pack of drivers and utilities, a phone cable, an adapter, a stylus, a transportation cover, and a special napkin to wipe the notebook’s screen clean.

You also receive an external DVD/CD-RW drive with an external power adapter and a set of cables and an external FDD, so you don’t have to worry about purchasing them in the future.

The leather transportation cover is designed like a small folder with a pocket on the outside, into which you can put either a pen or the stylus (this cover is a handy and practical thing that helps to keep the C111TCi away from dust and dirt, scratches and “curious eyes”).

The software pack contains all necessary drivers and utilities, system restore programs and a disk with antivirus software.