Data Communications Options

The Tablet PC is one of the most mobile primary PC platforms available. Most Tablet PCs have built-in data communications capabilities, including Wi-Fi (wireless Ethernet 802.11), infrared, and even Bluetooth. Following is a discussion of how each of these capabilities can help you.

Note

There are numerous ways to get data back and forth from machine to machine. It's a good idea to understand the strengths and limitations of each method so you'll know which works best in a given situation.

If wireless data communications don't work well for you for one reason or another, there are other options such as USB flash drives, which are discussed in Chapter 17.

Wireless Ethernet

Wireless Ethernet lets you use the Internet and other network services without using wires. You probably have a network cable at your office (or used to), which provides access to servers and the Internet. With wireless Ethernet, you no longer need the cable.

The most common implementation of wireless Ethernet is 802.11b, also called Wi-Fi. This is 11 Mbps, which is slightly faster than the traditional 10 Mbps Ethernet connections, and quite a bit slower than the 100 Mbps "Fast" Ethernet and the 1,000 Mbps "Gigabit" Ethernet speeds. However, Wi-Fi does not require wires.

As with any kind of radio-based communication device, obstacles such as walls and large objects can reduce transmission quality. If transmission quality is impaired, the data transmission rate can drop down to 2 Mbps or less (or could even be dropped totally), so a good wireless infrastructure is helpful in keeping your Tablet PC connected. Wi-Fi transmission quality (reception) can be affected by other radio-based devices that transmit at the same frequency.

Some cordless phones, microwave ovens, and baby monitors operate at the 2.4 GHz frequency range, which conflicts with Wi-Fi and can cause trouble for the Tablet PC's Wi-Fi reception. Keep this in mind if you have problems connecting to a Wi-Fi network.

Even with all these limitations, Wi-Fi is still an enabling technology. With it, you can run a meeting and have up-to-the-second data streaming onto your Tablet PC without wires. Old-style meetings with laptops, cables, a network hub, and tons of power cords will hopefully become a thing of the past. As battery life improves, a full-day meeting with no wires and access to everything will be possible. In fact, a few manufacturers sell Tablet PCs that can run eight hours on a single charge.

Wi-Fi is available all around you. Airports, coffee shops, convention halls, office buildings, homes, and other places are ready for wireless connectivity. Some places require payment for using their network, others don't. With Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, you have a great platform that will automatically detect wireless networks around you and will help you get connected.

Caution

Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can be negatively affected by other devices, such as microwave ovens, baby monitors, cordless phones, walkie-talkies, and other items that use the unregulated 2.4 GHz band.

Learn how to connect to Wi-Fi networks so that you can do it quickly. You will inevitably visit somewhere when you need to have access to information and will need to know how to connect. Try connecting at the office, at the airport, in a coffee shop, and at your techie friend's fully wireless house. Better to tackle the learning curve when it's not necessary than when it is. Read Chapter 10, "Wireless Networking," for even more details about how to use wireless networking on your Tablet PC.

Infrared

There are a couple flavors of infrared: slow and fast. Fast operates at 4 Mbps, and slow is just plain slow. You'll find that numerous infrared devices are available, including printers and PDAs. Infrared is a good choice when you can point two devices at each other and leave them that way until all the data is transferred.

Infrared requires that the transmitter/receiver of one device is in the line of sight of the other device's transmitter/receiver. Know where your infrared transmitter/receiver is located on your Tablet PC. It is usually a smooth oval that is reddish-black and shiny. Your Tablet PC manual will tell you where it is. To transfer data via infrared, you will need to have your other IR device pointed directly at this port.

One of the benefits of infrared is that it is one of the oldest and more predominant wireless technologies. It's been in laptops for years. I would use infrared as a last resort, because other data-transfer methods are often faster. Even so, infrared is good in many situations, such as an ad-hoc sharing of contact information with a PDA.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is an excellent technology for Personal Area Networks (PANs). A PAN is the 5-meter radius circle around you that lets you connect everything within your vicinity. Bluetooth-enabled computers can communicate with Bluetooth-enabled phones, mice, keyboards, printers, and the like. The range is not as great as Wi-Fi, but it is great for short-distance communication.

If you decide to use Bluetooth, learn its strengths and weaknesses. Play around with its range and try to make it stop working (move your Bluetooth mouse until it is out of range). This will give you a feel for where you can have your components/devices in relation to your Tablet PC for effective communication. Also make sure you know how to force a connection between devices. Most Bluetooth devices automatically sense other Bluetooth components, but you will want or be able to turn the connection on or off. In addition, the first time you connect Bluetooth devices, you will probably need to know the security code of the other device. This prevents others from gaining access to your Bluetooth-enabled device without your consent.

Caution

Bluetooth can interfere with Wi-Fi, so understand the limitations of your machine. Some systems require you to switch between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth because they both use the same antenna. Other systems enable both to work together. Test your system to be sure you can have both working at the same time.

Bluetooth can keep you cordless, yet enable you to get the most interconnectivity out of your devices. For more details on Bluetooth, see Bluetooth in Chapter 17, "Hardware Options."

Now that you've learned a bit about configuring your hardware, you're off to Chapter 5, "Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Configuration," to learn more about software configuration and making the Windows XP interface work best for you.

The Absolute Minimum

This chapter should have helped you understand the hardware-configuration options for your Tablet PC. Here are the key points to keep in mind from this chapter:

• Set up the hardware buttons to meet your particular needs and method of using the Tablet PC.

• Set the power options to work the way you want: power, battery conservation, or a balance of the two.

• Understand the many ways you can interface with your Tablet PC: keyboard, mouse, pen, and voice.

• Understand the different data-transfer methods you have available to you and how each can best be used.