HP Pavilion tx1000 Entertainment Tablet PC

Designed from the ground up with ease of use and customer satisfaction in mind.

by Linda A. Epstein
April 2007

The HP tx1000 is a lean mean screaming machine. In fact with the In fact with the AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2 Dual-Core TL-60(2.0GHz/1MB) Processor, the HP tx 1000 is the fastest Tablet PC I have ever had the pleasure of using.

Designed from the ground up with ease of use and customer satisfaction in mind HP has done an amazing job of building a full blown Entertainment PC that will appeal to a wide variety of users and provides people with a user friendly, versatile Tablet PC that is portable, innovative and packed with features that enhance the user experience.     

The first thing that comes to mind in terms of the HP tx 1000 is that its fun to use.  I can't put my finger on exactly why its such a pleasure to have around or to use but it is.    What I can tell you is that it has a beautiful screen and the best sounding speakers I've heard on a tablet pc.  Combine that with with all of the easy to use features and it makes it hard to put it down once you start using it.  Another interesting thing I couldn't help but notice was that people using the tx 1000 always seem to have a smile on there face.   

From the hard core experts at the 2007 Microsoft MVP Global Summit to my friends 3 year old twins everyone who tried this machine enjoyed using it.

The photo on the right shows the detail in the exterior finish on the tx 1000  which is a high gloss black imprinted with silver swirls.   The interior is silver with silver swirls.  Both the interior and exterior are somewhat fingerprint resistant and ever after several weeks of use and travel the exterior remained scratch and scuff free.

The Hp Pavilion tx 1000 entertainment PC an is an excellent example of the convergence between mobile computing and digital entertainment.   Weighing just over 4 pounds the tx 1000 is designed to take you where ever you need to go.   The 180 swivel of the screen and the speakers make it an ideal machine in tight spaces such as an airplane.

Personally I am not a game player. In fact I can't even remember the last time I played a computer game other than those I use to teach my friends toddlers how to use a Tablet PC.   For some reason I couldn't resist clicking on the HP games icon and the next thing I knew i was playing "Lemonade Tycoon" New York edition!

With Vista Home Premium as the OS and the 6 cell battery installed I was able to get 2 hours 6 minutes of battery life with brightness on the tx1000 screen turned all the way up, the wireless and bluetooth on, no standby, hibernate disabled and the screen and hard drive set to always on.  There is no question that these setting are going to give you the shortest amount of battery life.  I need to know the absolute minimum battery life I can expect, that is why I run the battery test this way.

Please keep in mind that Using the HP tx1000 built in power saver settings you will get considerably longer battery life.  

What's in the Box:  (items may differ from those shown)

• HP tx1000 Entertainment PC with  
• 6 cell and additional 4 cell Battery
• Power Cord
• Quick Set UP Sheet
• 2 sets of ear phones
• Quick Reference Guide
• Tablet PC Pen & Tether  
• Corel Painter Essentials 3 CD
• Windows Vista Anytime Upgrade DVD
• Dummy for optical drive slot
•  HP Think of the Possibilities note pad
• cleaning cloth
• Service and Trouble shooting guide
• Worldwide Warranty and Technical Support Guide

The Pen and Ink Experience:   The pen and ink experience on the the HP tx1000 is not what I would have like it to have been.  Despite calibrating the tx100 the The ink doesn't flow as it should, making writing or taking notes in a meeting frustrating instead of a of productive one.  They did include two dedicated Tablet buttons, one for screen orientation and another for launching the new Mobility Center in Vista.

While the tx100 excels in every other category, the pen and ink experience is is far what what it should be, and not at all representative of the improved pen and ink features in Windows Vista.   

You maybe able to use it to jot down a note in one note from time to time or doodle on occasion, but I don't recommend this machine for anyone who intends on using the Tablet Features extensively or on a regular basis.    

Had HP just paid a little more attention to making sure that the Tablet PC user experience was as good as the entertainment experience and every other user features included on the tx 1000, they would have the best all around Tablet PC built to date.     That said I look forward to seeing how they do the next time around.     

Who is it For:   There is no question that the HP tx1000 will be an excellent choice for first time computer users, students, teachers, home users and family's who share the computer. Those who want ease of use, a built in DVD and media reich features will enjoy enjoy both using and owning the HP tx1000.

My Favorite Features:

12.1" WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Convertible Display (1280x800) - Panel rotates 180 degrees and folds flat to become a "slate" style Tablet PC.

Clean, clear and crisp enough to watch dvds or television on without straining your eyes.

 

The new touch pad & Scroll bar: 

Built in indentations give the new touch pad and scroll bar a unique feel and make it very easy to navigate.  conveniently located next to the new touch pad is are 2 additional rows of indentations that allow you to scroll with a touch of your finger.

 

Speakers you can actually listen to with out cringing!

Thanks to Altec Lansing speakers located under the display that turn to face you along with the display.

Enhanced entertainment
You get HP QuickPlay 3.0, which includes a mobile TV module that supports Internet TV streaming. You get Karaoke. We've enhanced the music, video, and photo features: create a single play list for all three. A mini remote stores in the Express Card slot. You get two headphone jacks; one supports S/PDIF.  

QuickPlay - one touch access to DVDs, Webcam, Media Files, TV, Karaoke , HP Updates  and windows desktop

HP Pavilion Webcam and Integrated Microphone
Turn your next instant message into a a live video chat with the integrated 1.3 Mega-pixel webcam, omni directional
microphone and VoIP solution of your choice. Or, take still photos and short video clips that you can edit and email

LightScribe SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
(Photos and text from the HP web site)

LightScribe is all about pizzazz! It'll kick your disc labels up a notch, whether you're creating discs for personal or professional use. LightScribe labels look factory-made. They are elegant, shiny (since the gold surface peaks through unetched areas), and beautiful.

Forget markers and adhesives. With this innovative technology, it's easy to make affordable, silkscreen-quality disc labels without a printer. LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling technology burns labels directly onto your CDs and DVDs with laser-etched precision, using the same disc drive that burns your data.

Your discs will be adorned with attractive gray-scale images similar to black-and-white photography .Efficiency

Once you are equipped to use LightScribe, you can create and label discs so easily!

• No need to purchase disc label sheets.
• No need to remove your everyday paper and insert the label sheets into your printer.
• No need trying to remember which side of the label sheet is supposed to be face-up in the printer tray.
• No need to un-jam CD-label sheets that get stuck in the printer rollers.

Additional Noteworthy Features

Ease of use Features:   Fun and Games  - Help  - HP Total Care Advisor

HP PhotoSmart Essentials : Photo organizing, printing, and sharing software that's easy to use.

HP Games:  includes both those installed on the tx1000 and links to online games .

With the HP Help Center - Help is just a click away

The HP Total Care Advisor has been designed to make the user experience as easy as possible.

HP Total Care Advisor. A free, interactive guide for support, system health and services. Just click HP Total Care Advisor on your desktop start menu and a 'cockpit' appears on the screen. This dynamic interface provides easy, centralized access to information about your business computer to help keep it protected and up to date.