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Mobile devices Toolkit

Motion LS800 Tablet PC: a first look

Michelle Thatcher CNET

Published: 11 Jul 2005

About the size of a paperback book and weighing 1kg, the slate-style LS800 Tablet PC from Motion Computing occupies the grey area between a Pocket PC handheld and an ultraportable notebook. Like the Sony VAIO VGN-U50, the Motion LS800 runs a full version of Windows XP. But unlike the VAIO VGN-U50, the LS800 runs Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, so you can navigate menus and take handwritten notes with a stylus.

The £1,095 Motion LS800 Tablet PC has an A5 footprint and an 8.4in. screen. It's a Sonoma-platform system running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.

With a 1.2GHz ultra-low-voltage Pentium M 753 processor and hard drive capacities ranging from 20GB to 60GB, this tablet promises the power of an ultraportable notebook in an even more portable case. Employees in the field can stay in touch with the home office using the Motion LS800's many communication options, including Bluetooth, Ethernet and integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. Companies can keep their data safe with the latest security measures, such as a fingerprint reader and Trusted Platform Module. Back at the office, the Motion LS800 can connect to a range of peripherals via VGA and two USB 2.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, and a docking connector.

The Motion LS800's compact case is an advantage for portability, but its 8.4in. screen isn't as comfortable for handwriting as a full-size slate tablet's. The tablet's £1,095 price tag isn't for amateurs, and the MobileDock docking station, which makes the LS800 suitable for desktop use, adds £119 to the overall price. At that price point, you could buy a Pocket PC as well as a desktop system with which to synchronise it.

The £119 MobileDock stand allows the LS800 to be used in desktop mode.

With its highly portable case and its high price tag, the Motion LS800 is most likely to appeal to workers in the medical, manufacturing and utilities industries -- or any specialised field that requires employees to fill out forms, take handwritten notes and send data back to a central office. Still, its small dimensions and full Windows XP functionality will certainly catch the eye of gadget enthusiasts and other everyday users with special needs. We look forward to evaluating it in more detail, and will post a full review soon.

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Featured Talkback

Put simply, what is the compelling reason to pay ~$200 extra for an Eee with Windows XP? A Windows Eee won't come with any useful applications and you'll have to buy anti-virus software to boot. The truth about low cost computing is that nobody really cares whether the machine is running Windows or Linux as long as its cheap, its easy to use and it works.