Post by Michael D. Nicola on Apr 12, 2005 14:50:32 GMT -5
Review: Taking The Motion M1400 Tablet PC For A Spin
Michael D. Nicola
During the later-half of our April 11th, 2005 class, we were fortunate enough to have Joseph Hofer, a former student of INDU902, drop by to see what this year's crop of students have been up to.
Joseph brought us news of some of his recent Industrial Design thesis work where he has been busy creating a new sail boat design, intended for the 25-35 year-old consumer. A truly spectacular design, incorporating several awesome (and very innovative) ideas. And while some parts of his thesis are still in-work, I have no doubt that the final product will be remarkable.
We were also regaled with stories of Joseph's current design position at RIM (Research In Motion), makers of the famous Blackberry PDA. As you'd expect from any good Industrial Designer, he didn't go into detail regarding future RIM products, but he did show us something that still has me reeling!
As a means of fulfilling his design duties, the good people at RIM have provided Joseph with a state-of-the-art digital drawing tablet PC. For any of you who've never seen one, imagine a laptop PC without a keyboard (making it nothing more than a screen) that you lay flat and draw on using a pen-like stylus tool. This tablet is made by a U.S. based company called Motion Computing, and features the same level of technology and performance found in virtually all new laptop PCs today. Features like a 1.1GHz Intel Centrinos mobile processor, 256Mb RAM memory, 20Gb hard drive, WiFi wireless internet access, voice recognition, BlueTooth enabled, finger-print recognition security, and Microsoft Windows Xp Tablet PC Edition put this tablet's performance in line with some of the best mobile machines on the market today. However, in addition to these basic features, Joseph's tablet also came equipped with Motion Computing's "Motion Pak" software bundle which included (among several other useful applications), Alias|Wavefront's award-winning Sketchbook Pro software.
After quickly demonstrating Alias Sketchbook Pro for us, Joseph handed over the stylus to several of our students to give it a try. The reactions from everyone had me intrigued, so I just had to give it a try myself.
All I can say is WOW!
It does take a bit of getting used to - primarily due to the fact that the smoothness of the tablet screen has a hard time immulating the "tooth" of real paper - I have to say, the experience was absolutely INCREADIBLE! I experimented with a number of the different tools and tried increasing the pressure I put on the stylus in order to vary my line quality, and even though it was the absolute first time I've ever used a digital tablet, I have to say that I was VERY impressed! Here's the drawing I created (remember, this is the first time I've EVER used a digital tablet PC to create a sketch):
But what brought home the fact that the digital realm really is the way of the future was when Joseph showed us some of his sketches that he had done using the tablet. It was all truly phenominal work (much better than what I did), and evidence that when given the time to get used to this new media, impressive results are very much possible.
The best part is that this tablet PC is very comparable in price to a decent laptop. The current price for a basic Motion M1400 tablet PC, direct from Motion Computing, is $1999US. Add an additional $79US for the Motion Pak software bundle (a $400 value) and you are still within the ball-park of any comparable laptop computer. Of course, you could also get a number of other options with this machine. Things like more RAM memory and greater hard drive space are all available. But from what we had experienced, I personally wouldn't bother. The base unit produces great results, with plenty of performance left over for all those mundane PC tasks.
I'll admit that Joseph's visit was bitter-sweet for me. Sweet because it's always good to see former students of mine, and I thoroughly enjoy hearing early stories of what I know will be very successful design careers. I also can't thank Joseph enough to brining in his Motion Computing tablet PC with Alias Sketchbook Pro software, and introducing all of us (well, at least me anyway) to the world of digital drawing and design. It has really opened MY eyes to some wonderful possibilities. Of course, the bitter part is that those of us who tried it, now want one. As each student left, I could hear musings as they tried to figure out how they where going to ration their spending in the coming months so that they might get one. I was no exception.
You're always welcome to come out to class Joseph, but next time, leave the toys at home!
I'm just kidding.
If you want more information on the various Motion Computing tablet PCs, and the available hardware and software options, click here to check out their website.
If you'd like to find out more about the Alias|Wavefront line of design software, click here to check out their website.
Michael D. Nicola
During the later-half of our April 11th, 2005 class, we were fortunate enough to have Joseph Hofer, a former student of INDU902, drop by to see what this year's crop of students have been up to.
Joseph brought us news of some of his recent Industrial Design thesis work where he has been busy creating a new sail boat design, intended for the 25-35 year-old consumer. A truly spectacular design, incorporating several awesome (and very innovative) ideas. And while some parts of his thesis are still in-work, I have no doubt that the final product will be remarkable.
We were also regaled with stories of Joseph's current design position at RIM (Research In Motion), makers of the famous Blackberry PDA. As you'd expect from any good Industrial Designer, he didn't go into detail regarding future RIM products, but he did show us something that still has me reeling!
As a means of fulfilling his design duties, the good people at RIM have provided Joseph with a state-of-the-art digital drawing tablet PC. For any of you who've never seen one, imagine a laptop PC without a keyboard (making it nothing more than a screen) that you lay flat and draw on using a pen-like stylus tool. This tablet is made by a U.S. based company called Motion Computing, and features the same level of technology and performance found in virtually all new laptop PCs today. Features like a 1.1GHz Intel Centrinos mobile processor, 256Mb RAM memory, 20Gb hard drive, WiFi wireless internet access, voice recognition, BlueTooth enabled, finger-print recognition security, and Microsoft Windows Xp Tablet PC Edition put this tablet's performance in line with some of the best mobile machines on the market today. However, in addition to these basic features, Joseph's tablet also came equipped with Motion Computing's "Motion Pak" software bundle which included (among several other useful applications), Alias|Wavefront's award-winning Sketchbook Pro software.
After quickly demonstrating Alias Sketchbook Pro for us, Joseph handed over the stylus to several of our students to give it a try. The reactions from everyone had me intrigued, so I just had to give it a try myself.
All I can say is WOW!
It does take a bit of getting used to - primarily due to the fact that the smoothness of the tablet screen has a hard time immulating the "tooth" of real paper - I have to say, the experience was absolutely INCREADIBLE! I experimented with a number of the different tools and tried increasing the pressure I put on the stylus in order to vary my line quality, and even though it was the absolute first time I've ever used a digital tablet, I have to say that I was VERY impressed! Here's the drawing I created (remember, this is the first time I've EVER used a digital tablet PC to create a sketch):
But what brought home the fact that the digital realm really is the way of the future was when Joseph showed us some of his sketches that he had done using the tablet. It was all truly phenominal work (much better than what I did), and evidence that when given the time to get used to this new media, impressive results are very much possible.
The best part is that this tablet PC is very comparable in price to a decent laptop. The current price for a basic Motion M1400 tablet PC, direct from Motion Computing, is $1999US. Add an additional $79US for the Motion Pak software bundle (a $400 value) and you are still within the ball-park of any comparable laptop computer. Of course, you could also get a number of other options with this machine. Things like more RAM memory and greater hard drive space are all available. But from what we had experienced, I personally wouldn't bother. The base unit produces great results, with plenty of performance left over for all those mundane PC tasks.
I'll admit that Joseph's visit was bitter-sweet for me. Sweet because it's always good to see former students of mine, and I thoroughly enjoy hearing early stories of what I know will be very successful design careers. I also can't thank Joseph enough to brining in his Motion Computing tablet PC with Alias Sketchbook Pro software, and introducing all of us (well, at least me anyway) to the world of digital drawing and design. It has really opened MY eyes to some wonderful possibilities. Of course, the bitter part is that those of us who tried it, now want one. As each student left, I could hear musings as they tried to figure out how they where going to ration their spending in the coming months so that they might get one. I was no exception.
You're always welcome to come out to class Joseph, but next time, leave the toys at home!
I'm just kidding.
If you want more information on the various Motion Computing tablet PCs, and the available hardware and software options, click here to check out their website.
If you'd like to find out more about the Alias|Wavefront line of design software, click here to check out their website.