jkOnTheRun review- HP 2710p Tablet PC
HP has the undeniable honor of having produced the best Tablet PC I have ever used, the tc1100. That hybrid Tablet PC is to this day the most innovative mobile PC that has ever been produced. All of the subsequent Tablets that HP has produced have been just laptops with swivel screens, with the exception of the new 2710p Tablet PC. This new model is a design marvel that rekindles the love of using a Tablet PC, and that’s why I bought one.
I have been fortunate to have used an evaluation 2710p supplied me by HP for over a month (big thanks to HP). The evaluation was a good one from the unboxing and continued to impress me to the point that I pulled out my credit card and bought one myself. That one arrived yesterday and it’s time to write a good review of the 2710p with an emphasis of the out of box experience (OOBE) that I have recently lived through.
I won’t spend a lot of time covering the unboxing of the 2710p, you can just watch the video to share my experience. No, I will start after the unboxing and cover the device and try to help you understand why I like the 2710p so much.
Configuration
The 2710p I configured and purchased is the same configuration as the evaluation I used. I was very happy with the performance of the evaluation and I could see no reason to change anything. Here’s the details of my 2710p:
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo U7600 1.2 GHz 2 MB L2 cache 533 MHz front side bus
- RAM: 2 GB (4 GB max)
- Display: 12.1 inch Illumi-Lite WXGA anti-glare
- Hard drive: 100 GB 4,200 rpm (64 GB SSD available this year)
- Graphics: Mobile INtel GM965 (Aero capable)
- Radios: Intel 802.11 a/b/g/draft n; Bluetooth 2.0
- Ports: 2 USB 2.0; FireWire: Audio in/out; ExpressCard; modem; Ethernet (gigabit); VGA out; SD slot
- Keyboard: 102 keys, HP DuraKeys- clear coating to protect the finish
- Buttons: Front- power slider; screen latch. Left- Info button; wireless radio on/off; pen silo. Screen- web cam macro/ portrait; keyboard light; WWAN antenna; fingerprint reader; screen rotation (pen hole); ctrl-alt-del (pen hole); Above keyboard (all are touch sensitive buttons)- presentation mode; mute; volume slider
- Fingerprint reader: standard
- Web cam: 2 MP (1600 x 1200)
- Keyboard light: illuminates keyboard in low light conditions
- Integrated WWAN antenna: only used with WWAN option currently unavailable but will be AT&T and Verizon capable
- Dimensions (W x D x H): 11.42 x 8.35 x 1.11 in.
- Weight: 3.7 lb.
- Warranty: standard 3 years parts and labor
I also bought three accessories to allow me to get the most of my use of the 2710p:
- HP Smart Charger: works with A/C, car outlets, plane outlets
- Ultra-slim battery: ~.5 inch thick, ~ 5 hours life
- Ultra-slim expansion base: ports- Kensington lock, power, audio in/out, 4 USB 2.0, Ethernet (gigabit), VGA out, video out
Setting up
Getting the 2710p ready for my daily use was a typical Vista setup with a few steps specific to HP. The first boot up presented a choice of Vista for installation, 32-bit or 64-bit. I chose 32-bit even though I believe that 64-bit operating systems are better but I don’t know of any 64-bit software that I need and I have heard that there are still some driver problems with the 64-bit version. I am more than familiar with the 32-bit version of Vista so it was an easy choice for me.
Once that decision was entered the install was done which was very fast. Upon completion the HP Recovery and Backup utility ran and created the Recovery Partion, a process that took almost 30 minutes. It created a primary system restore point at this time so HP has taken pains to make sure that you can get back to the beginning as easily as possible in the event of difficulties, something I agree with. Once the OS was fully installed and ready to go Windows Update ran and found 33 updates to install. This took the better part of an hour which is not unusual given the fact that it had downloaded over 130 MB of updates. Once this was done and the system rebooted I was ready to go.
Pre-installed software
I am impressed with how little crapware HP chose to pre-install on the 2710p. The only program that I immediately removed was the Norton Internet Security suite, something I absolutely detest. It removed very easily so I only wasted a short amount of time with this. I understand that OEMs feel they must include some form of anti-virus in the box but I hate Norton’s solution. I would rather they would choose one of the lighter free solutions that are available as I think the consumer would be better served.
The configuration I ordered came with OneNote 2007 included, one of my favorite programs so I was happy with this. The initial system image had this already installed saving me a lot of time. Here are the major programs that were also pre-installed
- Microsoft Office 2007 trial
- HP Protect Tools
- HP Credential Manager (fingerprint reader)
- HP 3D DriveGuard
- HP Backup and Recovery Manager
- HP Broadband Wireless Modules
- HP Quick Launch (Q button)
- HP Update
- HP Webcam
- HP Wireless Assistant
- Intervideo WinDVD
- PDF Complete
- Presto BizCard
- Roxio suite
Most of these are utilities to keep the 2710p running smooth and safe with the exception of the obvious programs. As near as I could tell the Office install was a trial but since I already had my own Product Key I entered that and it saved me from having to install it. WinDVD is a program to let you play movies using the expansion base drive. The surprise of the bunch for me is PDF Complete, an alternative to Adobe Reader. I had never used it before and I must say I really like it the way it works with PDF files. It’s very fast and much lighter than the pig from Adobe and I am happy it is there. Presto BizCard is the program that works with the special feature of the web cam that lets you capture business cards. You snap it with the web cam and BizCard does OCR and puts the contact information into the database. It also sends the card to Outlook on demand and while it’s not 100% accurate it is pretty cool and I could see this being a big plus for sales folks.
What I installed
To give you a feel for how I use the 2710p here’s a list of the programs I have already installed for my daily usage:
- Roboform (browser password handler)
- Firefox
- Bonjour- Apple utility to let me print to a Canon printer connected to the Airport Extreme
- eReader Pro
- Live Writer- blog editor
- Ink Plugin for Live Writer- even though you won’t let me ink blog
- Microsoft Save as PDF- I use Office to create my PDFs and this plugin is gold to me
- MindManager Pro 7
- MiniScroller- utility to provide page up/down and other functions on-screen
- PDF Annotator
- iTunes
- Skype
- SnagIT
- TimeTTracker MX
- VZ Access Manager- used with the v740 ExpressCard EV-DO modem
This is my core program toolkit and it only took me a couple of hours to install and get working. The HP is very fast even though it has the slower 4,200 rpm hard drive and I am impressed how snappy this build process went. It kept my OOBE very positive and I had not a single problem getting all of this loaded. Once I had my core programs loaded I used the Belkin Easy Transfer cable to bring my data, music, and settings from the evaluation 2710p. It transferred over 20 GB of files, most of it my music and podcast collection, in less than an hour. Once this was complete the new 2710p rebooted and came back up configured exactly like the evaluation unit. It is the best thing that Microsoft put into Vista and I highly recommend one of these cables.
The HP 2710p experience
I have been as vocal as anyone how poor the Vista experience is on just about every mobile device I have used so how is it on the 2710p? I must say that if the 2710p was as bad in this regard as most Tablets I have tried I would not have ordered one with Vista pre-installed but happily that is not the case. In fact I can state the HP has created the best Vista integration with the 2710p that I have seen on any device. The performance is nice and snappy even with the slower processor and hard drive and I think it must be due to how good a job HP has done on the drivers for Vista. I experience super fast sleep and resume, typically about 2 seconds, and the 2710p doesn’t participate in a lot of the shenanigans that I have experienced with every other Vista mobile PC. I don’t think I am alone with that opinion, as Dwight Silverman of The Houston Chronicle stated in his review of the HP 2710p, "But HP more than redeems itself with the 2710p, which is the best Windows Vista notebook I’ve tried this year." That sentiment sums up my experience and no doubt contributed heavily to my decision to buy one.
What is it about the HP 2710p that makes the usage experience so enjoyable? I have spent a lot of time thinking about this and I believe the main reason is in how thin the 2710p is. It is so comfortable to use no matter how it is configured. In laptop mode it’s very thin and the design is no compromise with a great keyboard and it’s easy to use this way. It’s a breeze to unlatch the screen and swivel it around for slate usage and because it’s so thin it is very comfortable to use this way. It feels very nice in the hands in either configuration, and it is largely why I enjoy using it so much. Tablet PCs need to excel in two areas, performance doing the things we do every day and comfort in doing them. The 2710p is so comfortable to use that it is actually enjoyable to do so. That is great in my book.
HP put a lot of thought into the device design, that much is readily apparent. From the thin form to the rounded corners, everything about the 2710p shouts "professional yet personal" so the HP design team should be commended for pulling this off nicely. Some may find the lack of buttons on the screen bezel to be a negative while in slate mode but to me that was the proper decision to take in the design. This design helps insure that the device does not get in your way when you’re using it and I find that to be great as I use it in slate mode for note taking a lot each day. Kudos to HP for keeping it simple yet functional. The only thing I wish HP had included in the design is a jog dial similar to that on the tc1100 which would make paging up and down easier in portrait mode, but I have a little utility to make up for that so it’s not a deal breaker. I would like to see HP include one if they do a refresh of the 2710p down the road.
In real world usage HP has integrated some things that are not seen on other Tablet PCs and I am finding them very useful. The first is the integrated 2 MP web cam located above the screen in landscape orientation. I use this for Skype video calls and it works very well. A very nice touch is how the cam rotates with the screen orientation, so if I make a Skype call while in portrait slate mode (something very cool to do sitting in a coffee shop) the cam rotates too. I tested this with a video call to Kevin and rotated the screen during the call twice and it successfully rotated the cam too. Useful and innovative in my book. HP has also included a keyboard light that pops out next to the web cam and gently lights the keyboard in low light conditions. You just push a button on the top of the screen and out pops the light. At first I thought this was gimmicky but quickly found this is actually useful and something that business travelers will get good use out of on planes.
The 2710p has a trackstick instead of a trackpad for navigating while in notebook mode, and this will either be a love or hate thing for most. I personally prefer a trackstick when it is well implemented like on ThinkPads, and the one on the HP is exactly like those so I use it a lot. The mouse buttons don’t get in my way when I am typing and I find that a plus too, something that happens on other devices.
To sum up my usage experience with the HP 2710p I will simply state that it is very easy and comfortable to use. That comfort coupled with stellar battery life makes for a worry-free work day for me. I routinely get between 4.5 – 5 hours of battery life using the standard included battery under the Power Saver setting, and I keep the optional ultra-slim slice battery in my bag. When the internal battery gets too low I just pop the ultra-slim battery onto the bottom of the 2710p, which I can do without even going into Sleep mode, and I get another 5 hours of life. I realized how important this was yesterday as I used the 2710p all day in 6 different locations and realized that not once was I worried about battery life. This lack of concern left me to concentrate solely on my work at hand and that went a long way to providing an enjoyable usage. At the risk of becoming redundant, the 2710p is enjoyable to use and that makes a big difference to me. The ultra-slim battery is only 1/4 inch thick and adds about a pound to the device weight but due to the thin design of the device and the battery it is still comfortable to use in the hands.
When I am in my home office I pop the 2710p onto the expansion base, a very nice docking solution that makes the DVD drive available to me. This drive is only 7 mm thick and is quite impressive to use. It is how HP kept the dock so thin and light, something I demonstrated in the unboxing video. It is thin and light enough to travel with yet not give anything up and big kudos to HP for the design of the base. The design also allows the user to drop the ultra-slim battery into the base by itself and have it charge while still using the 2710p elsewhere. This is so very useful that I find it greatly enhances my usage experience. If the ultra-slim battery is connected to the 2710p you can still drop it onto the base and have both batteries charge at the same time. It is a design to provide the most utility and flexibility to the user.
In actual usage the HP 2710p is very responsive and easy to use. I find the performance of the device in real mobile usage to feel as good as the performance of much faster devices. I believe it is because of how tightly HP has integrated the device with Vista and the 2710p feels responsive as anything else I have used. I haven’t hooked up an external monitor yet as I don’t find I need one with the widescreen resolution of the 2710p so I am not exposed to Vista’s inferior handling of them, so that might have something to do with my overall happiness with Vista’s performance of the device. I do love the additional utility that Vista brings to the Tablet PC functions and I am glad that HP has gotten this right.
The way I use my Tablet PCs in my daily work demonstrate to me how comfortable and easy to use I find the 2710p. I can drop it in my gear bag, my nice small Booq bag, pull it out when I get where I need to work and get to work in about 2 seconds. This is huge to me and I love how easy to use this device is for me. I have programmed the power button to enter Sleep mode so when I am ready to move on to the next location I push the power button and in 2 seconds drop the device back into the bag. This doesn’t sound like much but it is big to me and yet another reason I am so happy with the 2710p. It is the most mobile device I have used to date, and I include smaller devices that I have in that statement. The overall experience is what makes the device more mobile as I just described.
Conclusion
It is no doubt apparent that I am very pleased with what HP has brought to the tablet with the 2710p. It is not only a great Tablet PC but also a stellar thin and light notebook computer, something that other OEMs have attempted to do but none as successfully as this in my book. The hardware components are a decent compromise for providing great battery life while still providing very good performance, even under the resource hog that is Vista. HP has done a good job making sure that the entire package works as flawlessly with Vista as anything I have seen yet. The thin and light design is stellar at providing a great OOBE and daily usage. While the 2710p is pricey if you use the HP configurator on their web site, I was able to purchase this one using a "Smart Buy" that priced this top of the line configuration at just $1,749 which is a great price for this hardware. Check the HP site before you make a purchase decision as they usually have good configurations priced attractively this way.
Darn you James! You just cost me another 1,729! I ordered this laptop yesterday in the same configuration and I can’t wait to use it. As always, thanks for your informative reviews and fun videos. I had to have one after watching your unboxing video. I too am coming from (2) tc1100(s). Did you ever notice that HP has somewhere on their site, hpOnTheRun? Wonder if they stole that from you.
Could you comment about the keyboard? Is it confortable? Do you use it?
Thanks a lot for your review
This is a great write up James, how would you say performance compares to the TC4400?
Nikoo, I use the keyboard all the time and it’s a very good one.
Mike, I haven’t used a TC4400 but compare the processors and they should perform about the same with the same one.
Hi Mr. Kendrick. In regarding to tablet use, is the fan loud and does the tablet get heated up pretty often?
I am curious, what is that you are doing when you feel the need for an external monitor? Or what resolution does that need occur most often? I am wondering if I will have difficulty working with a WXGA screen given that I am currently working with an SXGA screen. Have you used a tablet or laptop with SXGA in the past? Ifso, was the switch to lower resolution a big deal? Are these reasonable questions?
Thanks for your review!
Okay …now don’t hold back. Tell everyone what you really think of the machine…
Great review. I have been waiting to see what Dell is going to come out with but I’m liking the 2710 more each day.
Quick question. Where is the fingerprint reader located? Is there software that can make the reader act as a scroll device?
James: I read your post with great interest, as I plan to purchase a new Tablet in the next month or so. That 4200 rpm hard drive is really worrying me, though
. I’ve been comparing the HP to a Fujitsu, and the hard drive speed is the point I’m having the most trouble with. LOVE that 3 year warranty, though!
Hi James, nice review. UK machines seem to come with 1 gb memory installed as standard. How easy is it for a user to install more RAM?
OK here goes:
I do not hear the fan ever and it does not get hot or even very warm.
I don’t use an external monitor with this device. Some people like them though.
Fingerprint reader is located on upper right side of screen when in landscape. Works OK but there is no way to use it as a scroll bar as far as I can find.
The drive is fast enough for me, I don’t feel I am penalized by it. Right now I am encoding video just shot of the new Verizon phones and the system is snappy as ever.
You should be able to add more RAM pretty easily but to be honest I haven’t looked at how easy it is.
Great review James. Not having a touchpad is almost a deal breaker for me. I’m waiting to see what dell comes out with. I’m just hoping that when it’s all said and done, I won’t want to cut the dell in half (as dell likes to do with the competition).
I have pretty much signed the order for when the UK finally gets a decent version of the 2710P. Currently we have a 1GB version with no webcam, which means all I can do is read your review James and weep.
Come on HP UK gives us a decent choice.
James
How do compare the inking experience of the HP 2710 to some of the other tablets you’ve used?
The inking is wonderful, it feels like pen on paper.
Heya James,
Thanks for this great review =)
I’m greatly interested in this tablet but… I’m a Linux user. Would you be able to dump a Linux on it (Ubuntu or whatever you like) and tell the world how well it works ? Thanks !
James – You’re killing me. Two questions, both pretty obvious I believe, but since I followed you into P1610 bliss, I want to confirm before I follow into 2710p bliss (as my P1610 hasn’t been as cranky as your apparently was with Vista).
1 – Would you say this runs cooler than the P1610 as a frame of reference to your comment about fan and heat above.
2 – I assume the price you quoted above was just the machine, and the extra battery and dock were in addition to that price, correct?
Thanks!
Sorry Ross.
1. It runs as cool as the P1610 which is coolindeed.
2. That price was indeed with just the 2710 unit. The dock was $299 and the battery was $179.
This is now my work machine so no Linux for you.
Thanks anyway =)
I have the Thinkpad x61t and some problems regarding pen accuracy and lag, otherwise it is fine though. Could you relate pen experience on the 2710p to the x61t?
thanks, Peter
Peter, I spend about 80% of the time in slate mode and find pen mode to be excellent. I’m in slate mode now, matter of fact.
this is to Peter, what are the specs of your x61t, & what OS are you running? i can honestly say that your comment is the first i’ve heard about the x61t having lag or accuracy issues?
@DRTigerlilly: I picked up this issue here:
http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2007/10/techblog–lenov.html
and I can attest that the x61t has pen inaccuracy (1-2mm) and lag but this might be Vista/Wacom related. I have the SXGA+ model and already posted details of my pen issue here: http://www.gottabemobile.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4311). Would like to hear if the 2710p is any different in this respect.
sorry for double posting, this is the URL of my pen issues post:
http://www.gottabemobile.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4311
great review i hear 2 things….. 1) it is difficult to open and
2) that the latch is poorly designed so the screen taps up and down when in the slate mode and one is writing because it isnt securely fixed underneath….is that true?
thx
GM, 1) I don’t find it difficult to open and 2) I don’t have the screen moving when I write.
here they report about “Pen tracking a little off on 2710p” http://www.gottabemobile.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4323
Same with your device?
Peter, no problem with pen calibration and function.
I should add that the no pen problems applies to the X61 too.
James,
Please provide comments regarding screen visability in full sunlight for both the 2710 and 1610. This is essential information for me as my job requires a lot of outdoor activities.
Thanks,
Bill
Bill, I just took the 2710p outside in bright noon-time sun and as long as I turn the brightness up it’s totally workable.
James:
Initially I was going to repurchase, but am now considering the 2710p, especially with the rave reviews.
Great review, thanks. My beloved P1610 was stolen last week
My question concerns your comfort with Vista. You wrote a pretty blistering summation a few months ago that Vista will never work on a mobile PC, but you seem very happy with it on your 2710. Can you explain? Do you now suggest Vista over XP -at least on this machine?
Finally, is there a central location for a list of Vista tweaks that the moderately geeky could use? (I’m not comfortable messing with the registry but sounds like there are some options that could be turned off…)
Nancy, sorry about your 1610! As for Vista, my feeling about Vista is that the Tablet bits are much better than XP’s and I prefer it if the device runs it well. Most devices with 2 GB of RAM (or more) generally run Vista well enough and Core 2 Duos help too. That said, the 2710p runs Vista better than any other device I’ve tried, and that includes the Lenovo x61. I haven’t needed to do any tweaks on the 2710p and it is the best Vista device I’ve tried yet. That’s not just my view, Dwight Silverman said in his review on The Houston Chronicle that the 2770p is the best Vista notebook he’s used.
This is why I bought one.
James thank you so much for the review. I have a Toshiba M400 with a core duo T2700 2.33 ghz and a 7200rpm hardrive. I’m going to sell my M400 and get a new tablet. I notice the P2700 seems to be less fast in both the cpu and hard drive. I think though that you work much as I do and the fact that you like the P2710 goes a long way. I spend my day in Oulook, Mindmanager, and Explorer for the most part. That being said, I was leaning to the X61 and waiting for the Dell. Not impressed with the Dell, but because of the reviews I’ve seen, very impressed with the P2710. I think you mentioned an SSD drive coming too so that should even be faster and better. Thank you for your “day in the life” reviews. I travel a lot and work in Starucks, Panera, and Barnes and Noble a lot. battery has been hurting me but this P2710 with the slice seems to be perfect. Thanks for your help.
i like to buy the three accessories you have bought but i cant find the code.can you give me the code of this three items:
HP Smart Charger: works with A/C, car outlets, plane outlets
Ultra-slim battery: ~.5 inch thick, ~ 5 hours life
Ultra-slim expansion base: ports- Kensington lock, power, audio in/out, 4 USB 2.0, Ethernet (gigabit), VGA out, video out
Thanks
Hi James,
I was wondering if you could do a video review about the day to day start up times on various programs.
I’m reading some gripes about lag times when using the 2710p, so could it be possible to shoot a video of you simply starting up various office programs, surfing with Firefox, switching screen orientations and so on…just to show us how long it takes to start programs.
…And one more thing…do you know if HP has a updated version of the 2710p coming soon.
I would love some buttons on that screen
Cheers and Merry Christmas
//Peter from Sweden
Hi Peter, I might if I find time, something there is always a shortage of. I’m curious where you saw those gripes though, I find no lags using the 2710p myself.
Hi and thank you for responding so quickly.
Not to bash anyone and you probable know her, Sierra Modro.
This is a quote from one of her reviews of the 2710p
“Fundamentally, I still really, really like this system. The size, weight, and battery life all please me.”
“It isn’t as fast as I’d hoped. Part of this is Vista’s fault – Vista just takes more CPU cycles and much more memory. But with a Core2 Duo processor and 2GB of RAM, I expected more.”
“I hover around 30-50% processor usage on average. I expected to be closer to 10-20% usage.”
Whole article here:
http://www.gottabemobile.com/60DaysWithAnHP2710p.aspx
Again, this is not intended to draw any negativism towards Sierra, she is one of the main reasons I consider buying the 2710p and I trust her knowledge completely.
Reading what she wrote and reading what you write it would be nice to see for myself how slow/fast this machine is before buying.
There are quite a few video reviews out there but none that simply shows the 2710p in everyday use.
Cheers and thank you for your time,
//Peter
Crazy winter weather up here in the north, plus 7 degrees Celsius a few days before Christmas, it should be somewhere around -15 this time a year.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=sv&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=kyrkogatan,+LULEA+SWEDEN&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=43.578243,79.101563&ie=UTF8&ll=65.512963,22.148438&spn=108.67074,316.40625&z=2&iwloc=addr&om=1
Sierra’s stuff is good. I just don’t find the 2710p to be slow in any way. You could make one faster by putting in a bigger CPU but that just drains the battery faster. I find the 2710p to be quite snappy.
James now that you’ve used it for quite a while is there anything you really don’t like about it? Anything bothering you? I am waiting for any CES announcements before purchasing a 2710p myself. To echo the question above have you heard of any refreshes coming?
Thank you!
The only thing a bit annoying about the 2710p is the location of the fingerprint reader. It’s easy to hit it accidentally when handling the tablet in slate mode.
I do not believe that HP is going to refresh this at CES. I am privy to what they are announcing and a 2710p refresh was never mentioned.
The story of a “geeks” life…waiting for something better.
Well, the Dell was a disappointment pricewise and considering the outer dimensions, HP is really the only option if you want something that really fits your urban lifestyle.
I was at a point into buying the Lifebook T4220 but even though the specs are impressive the Lifebook is simply too large (and butt ugly)…
2710p is one fine machine and I’m once again back in the HP track saving up my for my first Tablet PC.
Thank you James. If that’s the only irritation, that’s really, really good. I thought it would be a little soon for a refresh but I saw a statement from somewhere that HP we supposed to come out with something very exciting early in the year. The writer didn’t say what he was referring to but said “this may get me excited about Tablets again.” or something close to that. Guess I’ll wait until after CES and then order the HP. It just sounds like the perfect machine for me. I was also hoping I could order it with an SSD drive. I’ve been waitin for that and would pay the premium.
Thanks to you all and Merry Christmas!!
Quest, you didn’t hear it from me but HP will announce something cool at CES. I’ve played with it and am excited too.
I was just wondering if anyone knows if the 2710p has a quick scroll up and down button when you are visiting long web pages? I wasn’t sure since it doesn’t have the scroll area but instead has the touch scroll feature.
Also, when in tablet mode, does it require quite a bit of pressure on the screen for it to write like the other hp tablets? I noticed that the fujitsu tablet has especially sensitive and easy to write tablet feature. Just wanted to see how the 2710p was.
Thanks
John, there is no scroll button on the HP, something that would be very useful. I use the Miniscroller utility to provide an on-screen solution. Google on the site and you’ll find it.
The screen on the HP requires no extra pressure to write than on any other Tablet I have used.
Hi,
I’m wondering if this is what you are reffering to when you say that HP will announce something cool at CES:
http://www.tabletpcreview.com/default.asp?newsID=1055
Cheers,
Just a quick observation.
The DELL Latitude XT got 1,561 PCMarks !?!
The HP 2710p have 2,453 PCMarks….
do the math *smile*
http://www.tabletpcreview.com/default.asp?newsID=1056
Ive had my eye on Sony’s Vaio SZ laptop model, but it wasnt until i stumbled upon HP’s 2710p tablet, and now i’ve become obsessed with getting my hands on one. however, im a little confused about the 2 accessories that come with the 2710p. Does the docking station have a battery as well or is it just a platform? Also, is the 2710 a touch screen? Thank you for your valuable review.
The docking station does not have a battery. I use the slim battery with it however. The 2710p is active digitizer only, not a touch screen.
James…
Your photos of the 2710 next to the Apple thin mint got me thinking again of just how happy you seem to have been with the HP. I’m getting tempted again. One big pro would be finally moving to Vista (since you say it’s very Vista friendly) and getting the Vista handwriting improvements. A big downside for me is that it’s a trackstick, and I’m a touchpad person. But I could live with it.
The defining question, I guess, which I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere, is the microphone; namely, is it any good for speech recognition in tablet mode? I can’t imagine using a tablet without Naturally Speaking, and I’ve been very wary ever since Toshiba placed their duplex mikes on the *front* of the keyboard, where no sound could get to them in tablet mode. Have you used the mike much? Do you know anyone who’s used it for speech recognition?
Thanks, as always
Steve
Dear James,
I have just purchased a 2710p. Have had it for 2 days, but I’ve noticed something odd and wonder if you have had the same experience– drift of the pen when pointing or writing very near the right side of the screen. About 1/2 inch from the screen’s bezel, the pen drifts very much to the right of where I point. It makes using the scroll bars of any application while in portrait mode difficult.
I’m wondering whether I need to return this one to HP for an exchange.
Thanks for any feedback on your experience.
Dear James,
I’ve seen and played around with the hp 2710p, the pen is great, better than the tc1100 that my friend has (i think), and everything you’ve mentioned from all your posts, i’ve tried it all… the 2710p is g-r-e-a-t. However, a little thing bugs me (i cant help being a perfectionist), exactly how much does the keyboard light exend? The one i played around with at my local dealer only popped out about 2-3mm…to me that didn’t seem enough to illuminate the keyboard. i was expecting it to pop out at least 5mm given the thickness of the screen (or is it just my imagination)?
Thanks a lot
I have also noticed the scrollbar issue on the right hand side of the screen. This has also been noted by Pam B. Does anybody else have this experience? Is there a solution?
Great review, and continued responses…
I have a question that does not seem to be addressed anywhere.
I know Wacom is responsible for the inking solution on this model and I have just gotten a Wacom Intuos3 drawing tablet and it is great…
Have you tried an art application on your 2710p that changes the brush thickness based on the tablet pressure sensitivity? If not, is there anyway you could try out something? Maybe like: Corel Painter X? Thanks!
I have it just few days and I am almost desperate from it – there is a high pitched noise from left side of notebook which is almost inaudible in BIOS but as soon as it start in graphic mode (Windows) it intensify. It’s definitely nothing what you can hear when you listen music or work between other computers but once you are in a quit room you can hear it and it is annoying. Did someone experienced the some modem-like noise (which isn’t from modem, speaker, fan, nor hard disk) from this tablet or it is just faulty one? Thanks for your comment.
If you want linux on this, check out http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_HP_Compaq_2710p
This is my work unit.
I have had mine for about 6 months now and I love it! I got it with Vista preinstalled. I later reformatted it with Vista 64 since I added 4GB to it. Unfortunately, I’m still not a Vista fan. Currently, I’m dual booting Ubuntu 8.04 and XP. With “most” of my apps running in either Wine or CrossOver, I’m probably not far from dumping the XP partition altogether.
The fast sleep and wake features are definitely in the hardware. Regardless of Vista, XP, or Linux, it is just fast! IMO, it runs the fastest with Linux due to the stream-lined OS that it can be. About zero-to-desktop in about 90 seconds!
Hi
I am a yr10 student and I use my currnet laptop witch is a 2.6ghz core2 duo asus with 4gb of ram and it is a quick computer but it is way to heavy to use for day to day use, would i be disapointed with with the 1.2ghz cpu out of the hp 2710p as a laptop that i would be typing and brousing the web all day?
thank you for your reviews.
Beau, the 2710p will serve as a very nice notebook but it is going to be a lot slower than the laptop you have now. If you need the Tablet PC functionality then the 2710p will be a nice gadget for you.
This tablet works well with Ubuntu Hardy (after a few tweaks, most issues are fixed with recent updates) Suspend works well. graphics, 3D seems good in many areas. It feels like a super charged TC1100, I don’t really miss the hybrid form factor, but wish HP hadn’t dropped it cold. If you use Ubuntu with it please share your experiences on the Ubuntu Laptop Testing Team Wiki:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam/HP2710p_Hardy
How is this for reading
PDF’s and ebooks in potrait mode? Thanks in advance. sd
Hello,
I was curious to know your thoughts about how this tablet PC matches up with the tx2500z series. I bought the 2500 series today and will be receiving it shortly in the mail, but I’m starting to think I may have been hasty in my decision.