HP Compaq tc4200 PV984ET

This neutrally designed tablet will appeal to serious business users

The neutral looks, superb mouse buttons and Trackpoint controller of the HP Compaq tc4200 series will no doubt appeal to business users.

This PV984ET model uses a fast 1.86GHz Pentium M processor with 512MB of DDR2 memory and a 60GB hard drive.

While it’s priced at an attractive £1,175, it is clear HP Compaq hopes you will lay out extra cash on some accessories.

There’s no optical drive supplied as standard, so you’ll require either a USB Multibay II or another external drive to make use of the recovery CDs or the versions of Sonic Recordnow 7 and Intervideo Windvd 5 – both are included in the software package.

You may also consider buying the HP Docking Station, which raises the back of the tc4200 to give a more natural feel when you are typing.

The HP Wireless Assistant button on the left side enables and disables wireless and Bluetooth in a single operation, which is another tick in the box for business users who don’t want to mess around in System Properties before a flight.

Spinning the screen round and laying it down flat results in the display automatically switching to portrait mode.

There’s a button at the base of the screen specifically intended for presentations. This is to open the application of your choice and select a suitable power scheme.

The HP is the lightest of the three big tablets in this round-up, but still weighs over 2kg so you’ll soon tire of carrying it wherever you go.

This article is part of a group test. All articles in the test are as follows:
Intro
Acer Travelmate C202TMi
Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook P1510
HP Compaq tc4200 PV984ET
Motion Computing LS800
Toshiba Tecra M4
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
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