When doing these tablet reviews, I’ve noticed that most of the devices on the market seemed most directly aimed at either general business users (or enterprise) or just more-casual, everyday Windows users.
There are many more types of users than that out there though, so I’ve made it my mission to score the net for other devices that target other groups.
Today’s device, the Motion LE 1700, is certainly one of these devices. Just from first glance you can tell it is a different animal than most of the tablets out there.
For one thing, it looks and feels more like a convertible slate that just happens to be missing the keyboard part. The second big thing, it runs Windows XP instead of a more modern version.
So what does this slate do and who is it targeted at? We’ll find out after going through the specs first:
- Intel Core 2 Duo Low Voltage L7400 (4MB of L2 cache, 1.5 GHz, 667MHz FSB)
- Intel® 950 Graphics Accelerator
- 12.1” UltraView Anywhere SXGA+ display
- 256MB of video ram
- Intel Hi-Def Audio
- Active digitizer pen with integrated eraser and right mouse-click button
- Industry-standard CardBus controller
- 2GB 667MHz DDR2 memory, upgradeable to a max of 4GB
- 80GB HDD
- Integrated Atheros SuperAG (802.11 a/b/g)
- Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
- Integrated Bluetooth
- Motion Speak Anywhere Technology
- Multi-directional array microphone
- Two Integrated speakers
- Two USB 2.0 ports
- DVI-D custom connector
- IrDA port
- External VGA port
- Motion accessory port
- RJ-45 connector
- Docking connector
- Secure Digital (SD) slot
- One Type I or Type II PC card slot
- SIM card slot
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- TCG Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2
- Universal lock slot
- Weight: 3.3 pounds
- Dimensions: 11.65×9.64x.0.75-inches
- 6-7 hour battery life
Look And Feel
Like mentioned before, the Motion Le1700 does look quite a bit different from the slates we’ve come to expect. It has a very convertible-esque style. It is far from gorgeous but it does stand out as different at least.
There are also a variety of hardware buttons on the side of this device that make using Windows just a bit easier. The downside is it is a bit hefty, at about 3 ½ pounds, though with a 12.1-inch screen it is somewhat expected I’d suppose.
So who is this thing really aimed at, with its odd design and large screen?
A Knack For The Arts
The style of the Motion LE1700 is much better for laying in your lap and working on tasks like drawing. It’s highly integrated writing/stylus experience makes this a great portable art studio.
Additionally a Core 2 Duo processor means that it can handle even some of the more sophisticated art programs, though you’ll certainly want to throw in the max amount of RAM (4GB) to really give it the edge to handle some art programs.
Of course this older Core 2 Processor and even 4GB of RAM won’t handle it all, but you can bet it will work better than most of these Atom processors out there.
The LE1700 has Wacom technology, and pen w/eraser. The pen is a nice thickness and weight, and has a very natural feel to it. It slides inside the tablet unobtrusively and has a tether in case you’re prone to losing your pen.
The tablet itself has 256 levels of pressure sensitivity, more would probably be better but it still seems to work pretty effectively.
On a test with a newer version of Photoshop, there was too much lag in use with 2GB of RAM for any great use though. I hope 4GB would eliminate this lag but I make no guarantees.
That being said, Sketchbook Pro 2 does seem to work flawlessly without any lag at all on this model.
Battery Life
Not a ton to say here: 6-7 hours isn’t bad for this kind of tablet but not perfect. Overall, it is certainly a workable battery length though.
Hardware Performance
Although I already pretty much covered this, I’ll say it again: the Core 2 Duo is a nice step over a typical Atom processor. This is an older model though, and so don’t expect blazing performance either. If you are a gamer, many older games from 2009 or earlier should work without any major hitches on lower settings, but its awful graphics processor is rather limiting in the long run.
Summing It All Up..
These aren’t new machines but they are still relevant today and since you can get them as keep as just $395 used at Amazon, they can certainly be a heck of a cheap Windows 8 solution.
Of course you’ll need to use a special resolution hack to make Windows Metro work with this, but this isn’t that difficult.
If you want a lighter machine that has either more power or more style, save your money. Still if you want to do basic art and drawing, mobile browsing, and light gaming this isn’t a bad choice at all.
