Motion Readies Centrino Tablet PC

Motion Computing plans to unveil the new M1300 Tablet PC on May 12, equipped with Intel's new Centrino package of chips, the company has said.

Low Voltage Featured

The new Tablet PC will feature the ultralow-voltage version of the Pentium M processor running at 900 MHz, said Scott Eckert, president and chief executive officer of Motion Computing. It will ship a week to ten days after May 12 through Motion's network of resellers, and will also be available through Gateway and Dell, he said.

The device builds on Motion's first Tablet PC product, the M1200, launched along with Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC Edition last November.

The M1300 will come with a 20GB hard drive, 256MB of memory, three USB 2.0 ports, and Intel's Pro Wireless 802.11b wireless networking chip.

Enhancements Coming

Motion will make a version of the M1300 available with 802.11a or 802.11g wireless capability later this year, Eckert said. Intel was supposed to ship Centrino with 802.11a capability at the product's launch in March, but the company has delayed that release.

Motion is not releasing pricing or battery life information prior to the launch. The Centrino package is more expensive than the previous Pentium III-M chip used in its M1200 Tablet PC, so the newer Tablet PC will likely cost more.

Health care organizations have been the largest purchasers of Tablet PCs to date, Eckert said. Motion, based in Austin, Texas, is also seeing increased interest from colleges and universities, he said.