PaceBook PaceBlade: The Tablet PC Arrives

Conclusion

The PaceBook's design is certainly revolutionary. Combining the design of a tablet PC, a notebook, and a LCD desktop, PaceBlade has drastically changed the concept of a PC. But does it work, is the real question. Will the PaceBook, in its current form, replace notebooks as we know them today? Because the PaceBook has problems in each of its three configuration modes, the answer is likely no.

Of all the three modes, the system most resembles a tablet PC no matter the use. The tablet design of the PaceBook is flawed in some aspects, however. At just barely under four pounds, the PaceBook can be a bit unwieldy at times. The system feels bulky in the hands and at over an inch thick it kind of is. It was rather difficult to hold the tablet in one hand and use the other for input: it was much more convenient to use the tablet while it rested on the lap or a table.

The design gripe is small, however, when compared to the software gripe we have about the PaceBook when in tablet mode. Tablet mode means that no keyboard unit is present. As a result, one would suspect that the unit would have some form of handwriting recognition to allow for quick input when in tablet mode. This is not the case. Instead of any sort of character recognizing software, the PaceBook makes use of Microsoft's on screen keyboard to provide text input. Typing web addresses, let alone sentences with the on screen keyboard is painful at best. Even PaceBlade's recommendation, that the Office XP handwriting support be used, proves not to do the job. Since handwriting input can only be done within an Office XP application, text has to constantly be copied and pasted from Office XP to the desired program, such as Internet Explorer. Handwriting software would certainly elevate the PaceBook to the next level of usefulness as a tablet PC.

As a notebook, the PaceBook also falls short. PaceBlade's idea is a good one and the included carrying case does get one by when using the machine as a laptop. The inherent problem with the case is that it will not stand up on non-flat surfaces since the support flap must be firmly upon a surface. This makes using the PaceBook on ones lap, as the name laptop implies, almost impossible. To sit on a couch or in a chair without a desk and use the PaceBook it almost exclusively has to be in tablet mode, a mode where we run into the problems mentioned above.

The final mode, the LCD desktop mode, is perhaps the mode that performs most as advertised. With the unit propped up and the keyboard any distance away, the desktop configuration felt very similar to a real desktop machine with a small screen. The only problem with the PaceBook pretending to be a desktop is that it is significantly under powered to do anything that a typical desktop would do. As the benchmarks show, the 600MHz Crusoe in the PaceBook performs like a 533MHz Celeron processor. You would be hard pressed to find anyone who considers a 533MHz Celeron desktop system fast today in comparison to what is out there.

The PaceBook is not without positives, however. Although we had some problems with the design, the idea is very enticing and clearly took a lot of development to get in its current state. The system's battery life was fairly good and the overall layout of the PaceBook was exceptional: with no connections ever finding their way to the bottom side of the system and buttons conveniently located for almost every need. The screen's 12.1" XGA display was also fairly generous for tablet PCs. The system is also positioned very well for the vertical market, where PaceBlade foresees law enforcement and medical professionals using the PaceBlade to run custom software on the go.

For a consumer product, however, the PaceBook system still needs some tweaking before it is ready to replace laptops. Almost everyone who saw the PaceBook while we had it commented "cool" upon first glance. The problem is that being cool does not sell a notebook, tablet, or desktop; being useful does. Although a good concept, PaceBook is a bit before its time. Hopefully Windows XP for Tablet PCs will change that.

The PaceBlade PaceBook starts at $2,095.00 and comes with a 600MHz Transmeta Crusoe processor, a 20GB hard drive, 128MB of memory, and a DVD-ROM drive. Each PaceBook sold also comes with the carrying case, a 3M screen cleaning cloth, and a microphone headset for voice dictation. Systems are available now through PaceBlade's online store.