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Motion Computing is now shipping its M1300 Tablet PC, the company's first product to use Intel's Centrino package of chips.

As expected, the M1300 comes with the ultra-low-voltage 900-MHz Pentium M processor, Intel's 855 chip set, and the Intel Pro/Wireless 2100 chip that connects to 802.11b wireless networks.

A base configuration of the M1300 costs $2099 and comes with Intel's Centrino package, 256MB of memory, a 20GB hard drive, two USB 2.0 ports, a USB keyboard, and a six-cell lithium ion battery. It is available through Motion's Web site and resellers in North America and the United Kingdom.

More to Come

The M1300 is a slate with a 12.1-inch display--basically the same design as Motion's inaugural M1200 Tablet PC, which is powered by an 867-MHz Pentium III-M processor.

Acer America introduced a convertible Tablet PC based on the Centrino technology last week. Convertible Tablet PCs can operate like a traditional notebook with an attached keyboard or like a slate Tablet PC when the user swivels the display to cover the keyboard. A slate device requires the user to place it on a stand to use a keyboard or mouse, but doesn't have any external moving parts, such as hinges, that can fail.

Eventually, customers will be able to get the new Tablet PC through Dell and Gateway, said Motion Computing president and chief executive officer Scott Eckert, describing the new model in April. The two PC companies resell Motion Tablet PCs under their own brand names.

Centrino Action

Intel's new processor improves the performance of the M1300 by 30 percent and increases the battery life by 10 to 15 percent compared with Motion's M1200 Tablet PC, the company said.

Intel introduced the Centrino architecture in March, and several vendors immediately supplied notebooks and other portable devices implementing the new technology.

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