Slate vs. Convertible Tablet PC in the medical world

Friday, July 31, 2009


If you work in the hospital or a medical office, do you prefer to use a slate tablet PC or a convertible tablet PC? Maybe you don't even use a tablet.

I find that as people realize the efficiency of pen-based computing, they end up using the pen more than the keyboard. As a result, it may be better to train physicians to use tablets so they can quickly navigate and enter information using the pen. One nice thing about a dedicated slate tablet is that it is generally thinner and lighter. Convertible tablets have traditionally been at least 0.5 pounds heavier than a slate. However, there are fewer slate tablets to choose from. The leading manufacturers for full-size slate tablets still seem to be Fujitsu and Motion Computing. TabletKiosk is also out there selling slate tablets. HP used to make some slate tablets, but I haven't seen anything new from them. Lenovo never made any dedicated slates. The X-series tablets have all been convertibles.

Are we going to see more slate tablets emerging in the near future? Or is the tablet PC industry truly dying? My hope is that the increasing uptake of electronic health records (EHRs) will revive the tablet PC industry. However, EHR vendors really need to properly leverage the power of pen-based computing and push that message across to those who decide to adopt an EHR.

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About Dr. Joseph Kim

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Dr. Joseph Kim is the founder of MobileHealthComputing.com, an independent website owned and operated by Dr. Kim. He is also the President of Medical Communications Media, Inc. (MCM). MCM is an education and publishing company that develops continuing medical education activities in joint sponsorship with medical universities, hospitals, and medical associations. Dr. Kim is a digital entrepreneur and technologist who has a passion for health information technology, mobile health, and social media. He frequently speaks at conferences about non-clinical careers for physicians, continuing medical education, mobile health technology, and social media in medicine. Dr. Kim holds a bachelor of science in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a doctorate of medicine from the University of Arkansas College of Medicine, and a master of public health from the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health.
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