battlelancer

tm2

My tm2 1090eg

Just figured out you can do a right click by holding down one finger and tapping with a second one while reading old Windows 7 developer blogposts.

So I got myself one of HP’s newest babys, the tm2 1090eg. It’s the best Tablet they have made, yet (the new Core i3 version is rocking I hear). It’s way more quiet and colder than my beloved tx2500, has an Intel ULV chip and therefore insane battery life (5 hours with ease).

• The switching between ATI graphics and integrated Intel graphics is bad, lot’s of flickering and time involved
• It gets hardly warm, although when used intensively it does a little. But not burning-your-skin warm as the tx2500 does tend to
• It vibrates, subtle, but it can be disturbing sometimes. But hey you wanted that 7200rpm WD notebook drive.
• Windows 7 by default, awesome.
• Lovely multitouch screen, although you have to get used to writing on a really hard surface… and believing it won’t brake while you do. (it feels very solid though)
• The partial-aluminum case is AWESOME.
• more when I have time…

Freshly unpacked tx2500

tx2500

Windows 7 Status:

• 32bit Windows 7 Professional German RTM works fine overall.
• Issue: Fingerprint Sensor software only works in English versions so far (does not recognize finger swipe on setup). This has been fixed with a driver update late december, hooray!
  

Ubuntu Status:

Well, as of Ubuntu 8.10 the notebook part works really well, the tablet part not so much. You have no support for touchscreen and stylus. Everything else including wireless and ACPI should work just as expected out of the box. I would keep my fingers off Ubuntu till it properly supports the built-in Wacom tech and sports a decent note-taking application like OneNote. (9.10 Karmic should improve on touch, but not for sure)

The little things:

• HP really ships the tx2550eg with a screen protector! Look at the edges of your screen and you will notice that there is a thin layer above your display.
• I have to clean it often, although I have to say I use it in university aka on the go (college for you Americans). Might not be that big of a problem if you use it just at home (which it is intended to be)
• I already got some slight scratches on the glossy black, but everyone knows this happens with shiny gadgets all the time…
• Serious: It gets hot, yeah, really hot. AMD did a reeeaaaly bad job with this platform. Next time: Intel Core 2. Update: It helps if you blow air through the vents after some months of usage and use the energy saver power profile (even when on power)!