In the past week the the Sahara Tablet PC has accompanied me to the New Disney Concert Hall the Hollywood Bowl and everywhere in between.
Visually it's simple and elegant design sets it apart from all the other Tablets out there. While ascetics don't mater to everyone, they do mater to a good number of professionals who have people in and out of their offices.
The pre production unit I have has a Intel Pentium M 900mhz with 597 MHz, 248 MB ram. The Production units will have 1.3GHz Centrino Banias processor, 256MB
Ram (expandable to 1.0GB) and a 40GB HDD (expandable to 120GB+.
For those who don't purchase a Docking station (something I always recommend for slate users) the included stand is nice and sturdy and the portfolio case that is included in the box is nicer than any other I've seen shipped with a Tablet PC.
Buttons are easy to get to and located so that your not hitting them by accident when your holding it. Another nice convenience is the scroll wheel located on the said that lets you scroll up and down It has a nice screen and even at 900 MHZ in the pre production unit its fast. (it boots in under 30 seconds) The wireless has excellent range and stays connected when ever i take it.
There are four buttons on the side that access menu, mail, lamdscape/portrait and task manager. The menu button pops up a window that lets you quickly adjust the backlighting, access Journal, connect to the internet or send an email. The unit also has 2 USB, 1 Firewire, head phone and microphone inputs.
So far the Sahara i213 no only looks great, but it performs as well as it looks. I am very much looking forward giving putting the production model through its paces and using it in the docking station.
L. A. Philharmonic Sound Designer Fred Vogler and Michael Cooper, Audio/Video Department Head at the Hollywood Bowl with the Sahara Pen Tablet i213
The battery: and impressive 3:46 minutes in always on mode, wireless on, no standby, no hibernate and the screen and hard drive on.
The cons for this unit are minor, there is no pen tether and it doesn't auto rotate between portrait and landscape. (I do not know if this is the same on the production model)
To say that so far I am impressed with the Sahara Pen Tablet i213 would in fact be an understatement. The unit I have here isn't even a production model but with an un interrupted battery life of three hours and forty six minutes with every thing on, its good looks and light weight, the more I use it the more I like it. And so does everyone who sees it.......
I will be back with a full review of a production unit along with the docking station and accessories later this month.
For more information or to order click on the Sahara logo
