HP Puts the Finishing Touch On Your Graduate’s Notebook

Have you seen the new HP EliteBook 2740p Tablet PC? I don’t write about hardware very often. Yet, during my travels, I get lot of questions about Microsoft and the future tablet computing.  

The general question is are we still in the Tablet PC business?  The simple answer is yes.  The longer answer is we never left.

The Windows Tablet PC features are standard in the Windows 7 operating system. They have been there since Windows Vista.  The decision to get a Tablet PC versus a traditional notebook is your choice. 

With the HP EliteBook 2740p they have built a lot of great features for high school and college students.

• It’s a convertible notebook. So you have all of the functionality that you are used to in a laptop and the ability to use it as a Tablet PC. 
• You can use your pen stylus for handwriting recognition or your can use your fingers for multi-touch gestures on the capacitive screen.
• Microsoft’s recent identity announcements are best supported here for multi-factor authentication.  Multi-factor authentication requires something you have in your possession (e.g. smartcard, fingerprint, secure-USB key, etc.) and a secret you know (e.g. pin, password, name of your first pet, etc.) That’s important for online identity federations that might require more than a username and password to validate who you are. Schools use a student ID card with a smart chip to authenticate students to financial records and grades.
• The display screen features anti-glare and outdoor viewing options for reading eBooks under the tree in the Commons.  Since it runs the Windows 7 OS, you can view all eBooks and digital textbooks.
• One of the more interesting options is the GPS-enabled Mobile Broadband module.  I’m thinking road trip!  (Just kidding. Not really.)  A GPS-enabled module would allow for personalized, location-based services connected with student identity.
• Since it has a 2MP Webcam built-in, you are ready for distance learning and team collaboration, almost out-of-the-box. 

This would be a great replacement to my much heavier EliteBook mobile workstation that I carry!  I’ll wait until it ships to discover the price.