Yeah, I recommend going to the manufacturer's promo site for now, because it has better pictures:

http://www.thetoshibatablet.com/

For the pen, I want to see more than just doodling on pictures, or doodling on notes. The handwriting recognition was okay, but how about something that translates math formulas, or kanji? (Yeah, I know, very niche of me.)

I also want something more Photoshop-y, I suppose, since that's how I've used Wacom pens in the past. The 3-4 apps I've seen are nice, but I want to see more developers buy in to the technology.

A DS-style approach would be interesting, too. There's a lot of cool stuff you can do with a stylus, I'm sure, especially one that's pressure-sensitive. It offers a lot more finer shades of control than the finger does. (Unless you have really pointy fingers.)

I've had a Wacom tablet for 10 years or so. It's old tech, but there's a reason the stylus never really took off in the PC world-- people like using mice better for most applications on the PC. I like using tablets for graphics editing, and that's about it. Otherwise, give me a mouse. It's just faster.

I like black slab better as a name. ;p

In tablet mode I prefer stylus + multi-touch for that combination of point and click, coarse tactile navigation and direct, in-depth, precision interaction, but sure, in laptop mode or on a desktop I prefer mouse and keyboard. I like knowing, on my convertible tablet, that I can do it all at once, plus touchpad, if I want. ;p

Right now I'm looking into workflow-related scripts to make/use via RitePen and FireGestures. That video (re: SmudgeGuard) on the previous page had some helpful stuff.

Also, ‘just doodling on pictures and notes’ is pretty awesome. Looking at just those options I have right now, and what those around me are doing and have been doing with pictures and documents, I see so much wasted opportunity for awesomeness. I must brainstorm further as I get more experienced.

By the way, I love the accuracy and smoothness of Windows' Japanese handwriting recognition especially. Come to think of it, maybe I'll see about using it with Anki's typing function.

those are cool toys!


kinda related to topic but: I love the Windows XP Kanji Recognition more than other software. Even if you write the kanji ugly (but with correct stroke order) it still recognizes it!!

do you guys know if other software is as good as windows xp kanji recognition? currently ive tried nintendo ds games and linux's anthy, but xp is my favorite one ever! !

Yeah, the IME toolbox is actually pretty good, albeit a bit of a pain to use with a mouse. It's better at recognizing my awful kanji than my 電子辞書, mostly because it waits for me to finish my input, while the 電子辞書 will not wait longer than a 2-3 seconds if I pause in the middle of drawing a kanji, which is annoying.

The IME is also more accurate than the 電子辞書, too.... then again, it gives me far more choices. The 電子辞書 only gives me 10 or so choices, while the IME will give me a bunch more than that.

Android has some good 3rd party kanji recognition programs. Frankly, 99% of all Japanese don't need them, because they just use Simeji, type the word they want, then select the kanji they want from the list.

Here's the one I use in a pinch:

https://market.android.com/details?id=co...HanWriting

Otherwise, I just use Simeji as my main keyboard. You can type in Kana or English, doesn't really matter. You can also combine it with Emoji/Kaomoji programs to make it really handy. (or really annoying.) You can use it in keyboard or keitai mode.

https://market.android.com/details?id=co...put.simeji

Oh, you can pre-order the Motorola Xoom now at Best Buy, if you feel so inclined to drop $800 on something you can't even try before you buy. This isn't stopping a lot of people, for some reason. But I'm all about the Caveat Emptor and all that. Also, you *have* to activate it with Verizon in-store, and you have to subscribe for 1 month. (Boo.)

Wi-fi only model will be $600, and will ship "later." (Whenever that is.)

I just noticed that Windows Journal has a pair of 原稿用紙 templates. Just thought I'd mention that. Although now that I look at it, you could also create other types with http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/genkoyoushi/ and import them into Windows Journal or similar programs like OneNote (or use ritePen or something like that) to write on them with stylus.

Ooo, nice find. I tried writing with a mouse, and it was really horrible. I suppose it would be way cool with the right stylus. Save the trees and all that. That's precisely what I want.

I have to admit, the concept of a Win7 tablet with a stylus is starting to appeal to me. I'd get full-blown anki, Windows Journal with my 原稿用紙, full Photoshop, plus other goodies I already know/love. It'll depend on the price/battery life/SSD size, though.

I tried the Xoom... it was okay. Not worth $800, though. The lack of a full-sized SD card slot, as well as a full-sized USB port was a deal-breaker for me. (And apparently the mini-SD slot doesn't work yet... it won't work until Google comes out with a new update for Honeycomb.)

I'm very very happy with my tm2. Looks like it's 20% more expensive now than when I bought it very recently, I must've gotten it on sale.

Since the WiFi Xoom is coming out this weekend, I think I'm going to pick one up for a 2-week test drive, mainly because 2 weeks is the standard return period for these things these days. I've tried them out in the stores, but it's so hard to tell from the ones that have been screwed around with by everyone to ones that have been tweaked properly.

From poking around on the Motorola forums, it looks like a lot of the things that annoy me about it can be remedied by hacking software settings. (Stuff like the browser being stuck in mobile mode for no apparent reason-- that's temporarily fixable in chrome, or permanently fixable if you use Firefox.)

The mini-SD slot not working is still a Google problem. (In other words, any Honeycomb tablet you buy now *cough* will have the same problem with not reading SD cards, according to Motorola.) The price of mini-SD cards isn't the issue I thought it was, though. They've really come down to the point that it's not the deal-breaker I thought it would be. Of course, Google has to make the stupid cards actually *work* first, but for now, the Xoom has 32GB, so that's enough for now.

As for USB... I'm going to see what I can do with the port they have on the device.

What this mostly is is a rationalization to buy some sort of tablet to help me review now, because it looks like the tablet I want won't be available for a while. Toshiba looks like it won't be ready until June (if they're lucky-- I wonder how the quake will affect that date), and the Windows tablets are still too heavy, too expensive, and the battery life is still terrible.

Then again, after 2 weeks with the Xoom, I may run to the Microsoft Store to order the Asus 121. We'll see. My main hope is that I can do reviews on it, though.

[ファブリス]

Just came across ... Android on Crack !!

All I could think of when I saw that little dude was, "I hope he earned his Reeeed Stripe!"

Hooray Beer!

Picked up a WiFi Xoom today... it's a nice tablet. Overall build quality feels solid, if a wee bit heavy. People will argue over what "heavy" means, of course, but over a long period of use, I can see how this will become slowly heavier and heavier, like the little red demon? Nah. It will build muscles in your flabby computer using arms!

Don't expect an orgasmic unboxing experience here. It's spartan. You don't even get headphones.

The form factor is nice, although I'm not in love with the proprietary charging port. (Really, Moto? Really? Another thing I have to pack? Really?) You can't charge over microUSB, so don't even bother.

I have big hands, so I'm also not in love with the thin bezel. It's almost too thin. I could use more grip area. It's not a dealbreaker, yet. I've got 2 weeks to decide if it annoys me that much.

The OS itself, however, is radically different from Gingerbread, and yet not. Things are slightly non-intuitive at first, but diligent poking is rewarded. Usually. Sometimes it's punished. You may need to look some stuff up to figure out what's what. It's a little frustrating at first, but once you figure stuff out, it's pretty neat.

The coolest thing is that once I logged in to my Google account, it synced up all of my apps from my Nexus One, even the ones that have been removed from the market. (Andy-85, noooo!) And it synced them in their old, crappy, un-updated glory. (Some apps should not be updated, because the updated versions are just terrible... Like Astrid Tasks.)

This bit might be problematic for people who have an old version of something on their phone that they like, but need a new version that will run on the tablet. I'm not sure how Google will handle that-- if it will force you to update both, or allow you to keep the updates separate.

Still no native JP keyboard from Google. (Whyyyyy?) So I'm stuck with Simeji. It looks okay in portrait mode, but it's awful in landscape mode. It does, however, scale up very nicely... for Simeji. *shrug* Someone needs to write a better JP keyboard app for tablets.

Andy-85 turns the Xoom into a HUGE freakin' TI-85 calculator, but the buttons aren't mapped properly, I'm sad to report. Oh well. Maybe the author can work out a licensing deal with TI, and bring the app back to the market.

I haven't had a chance to play with Ankidroid yet... but the web client works just fine in Chrome. Use larger text to make it more readable, and you'll get nice big buttons.

Another nice thing-- my Chrome bookmarks from my Nexus One were sitting there waiting for me when I opened my browser. (Albeit out of order, but that's okay.) Downside is that it's stuck in mobile mode, not desktop mode. (But there are ways to switch it to desktop mode... it's just a bit of a hassle.)

In general, since it's a new OS, some things will work, and some won't. That's just how it goes. I'll update as I have a chance to play with it more. Right now, I have an awful cold going on, and I think I'm slightly feverish. @_@;;;

EDIT: Ankidroid 0.6 beta 11 seems to work just fine at first blush. Just messing with the country capitals deck for now, as I don't want to risk my Main Deck yet. Looks nice.

Okay, a few more things about the Xoom after 4-5 days:

Ankidroid 0.6 beta 11 works great. Using the RTK 3007 deck, and I've been abusing it, and it seems to take the punishment well. Turning on the whiteboard function with the tablet and using it with an RTK deck is a *really* good idea. You can doodle the kanji, then see if you get them right. Sync works just fine with desktop v.1.2.7. (1.2.8 came out just as I was testing this, but I didn't upgrade because I don't know if Ankidroid is compatible with 1.2.8 yet.)

Editing cards is a little tricky, because the font size for the card browser is a bit on the teeny-tiny side. It's easy to fat-finger it and hit the wrong card.

But I can really see a use case for a Honeycomb tablet and Ankidroid 0.6 when it comes out of beta. (Should be soon.) With the whiteboard, it makes reviews pretty easy, and kinda fun. (Draw kanji with your fingers!) The only weakness is the lack of decent JP fonts in stock Android.

I updated Andy-85, and now it runs beautifully, with the keys mapped properly. Sadly, it has been pulled from the market. *Sniff* But those who already had it could get the update. Yeah, weird. The calculator fills the entire screen with TI-85 goodness.

Of course, RealCalc looks pretty sexy as well, and it's still available, and free.

Vertical Text Viewer works okay. Aoisora also works okay. So you can read those books you might find somewhere.

DroidWing, however... well... it does web searches just fine. (Copying the search strings is a pain, though.) But EPWING searches come up in scrambled text for some reason or another. Not sure why. I'll have to fiddle with that to figure out why.

In general, some apps will work just fine, while others will just crash into a pile of smoldering wreckage, forcing you to wait for an update to Honeycomb compatibility.

The battery holds its charge for about 8 hours or so, maybe a little longer, but not by much. It doesn't matter, because I can't go through a whole charge in a day, anyway. The sound on the device is surprisingly good, too.

At almost the halfway point of my 14-day return window, I'm leaning towards keeping it.

I do know one thing for sure-- if I do return it, I won't buy any tablet that's *heavier* than 1.5 pounds.

1.5! You need to get more protein. I add little weights to my tm2 that also widen it, so I have better grip strength for jiu jitsu. I use it while holding various yoga poses.

Yeah, I know it's sounds weak, but if I just hold it by the bezel with my thumb, it actually hurts my thumb and digs into the webbing between my thumb and index finger, and after 30-40 minutes, everything starts to get really painful, etc.

Lifting it isn't an issue. I could fling it very far if I wanted to, but then I'd be out $600+tax. It's more of an "awkward gripping thing," due to too many smooth surfaces and too short of a bezel.

It's compounded by the lack of grippy surfaces. There's only one grippy side, and that's up top by the camera and the wifi antenna. So if I grip the grippy top side, I lose signal.