Review of my HP TX1003AU Tablet PC
I recently bought HP’s new tablet PC - the TX1003 AU. I’ve been using it for about a month now and it’s been quite fabulous. The basic features are:
| Processor | AMD Turion(tm) 64 X2 Mobile TL-52 (1.6 GHz with 1 MB Level 2 cache) |
| Memory | 1024 MB (1 GB) DDR2 667 MHz (max. 2 GB) |
| Hard Disk | 120 GB SATA 5400 RPM |
| Optical Drive | Lightscribe Super Multi DVD Writer (+R/-R/+RW/-RW) with Double Layer support |
| Card Reader | 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards |
| Modem | 56K High Speed modem |
| LAN | 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet |
| Wireless Technologies | 802.11 a/b/g WLAN |
| Bluetooth | Integrated Bluetooth |
| External I/O Ports | 1 VGA port; 3 USB 2.0 ports; 1 RJ 11; 1 RJ 45; S-video TV out; 1 Microphone-in; Stereo headphone with SPDIF, Additional headphone jack, Expansion Port for xb3000, 2 Consumer IR |
| Expansion Slots | One ExpressCard/34 slot |
| Display | 12.1″ WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display with Integrated Touch-screen |
| Display Resolution | 1280 x 800 |
| Video Adapter | NVIDIA(r) GeForce(tm) Go 6150 |
| Control Panel | HP QuickPlay dedicated menu controls, music and DVD buttons along with a remote contol. |
| Internal Audio | 3D Sound Blaster Pro compatible sound 16 bit integrated |
| Speakers and Microphone | Altec Lansing(r) integrated speakers with Integrated Microphones |
| Keyboard | Next Generation 12-inch Compact Keyboard |
| Pointing Device | Touch Pad with On/Off button and 2-way scroll with 8 Quick Launch Buttons |
| Webcam | HP Pavilion WebCam |
| Security | Fingerprint Reader |
The first thing I did was upgrade the memory to 2 GB. The sad thing is that this baby comes pre-loaded with Windows Vista and there are no drivers available for any other operating system, even on HP’s site. Anyway, once I got past that fact the features of this tablet have kinda swept me off my feet.
First of all the integrated Finger-Print Reader saves me a lot of time everyday, cause I don’t have to type in my password to log into Windows, websites, messengers and many other applications that may require authentication. After the initial setup, all I have to do is swipe my finger and I’m logged in.
Another great feature is that the volume controls are a separate set of buttons just above the ESC, F1 and F2 keys. Unlike my older laptop, where I have to hold a key combination to mute or increase/decrease the volume, it’s much easier to have access to specifically assigned buttons to do this job.
The integrated speakers on the TX1003AU are attached to the bottom of the screen. Manufactured by Altec Lansing, the sound quality is quite amazing - crystal clear and loud. They lack a little bass, but heck - it’s a tablet PC - not a boombox. There are 2 microphones integrated at the top of the screen, which are supposed to provide better clarity or something, but I’ve not noticed much of a difference from my older laptop which has only one microphone. Anyway, the mics are well positioned and optimal for voice chatting or making VoIP calls.
The mini Remote Control is an awesome feature - just great to watch movies or play music sitting away from the tablet. I just plug it to my Creative sound system and 19″ TFT 
and it’s movie time!
Now, for the best part - the screen of the HP TX1003AU, that normally looks like a laptop, swivels 180 degrees and goes flat down to become a tablet. Pop out the stylus and I have full touch screen control, including handwriting recognition and drawing capabilities. The touch screen features can be used even when the tablet screen is in it’s normal position - but it becomes useful when it’s swiveled into a tablet. The screen is remarkably sharp and is great for my long hours of work.
The WiFi ON/OFF switch is located on the right hand side, on the front panel and is easily accessible. The range seems quite good right now, I get network signals from 2 houses away through the walls - but that could be because they have wooden houses here in Toronto. I will have to check the strength again when I’m back in Goa.
There is a small touchpad ON/OFF switch just above the touchpad and is quite useful when typing, so that the cursor doesn’t jump, if I accidentally touch the pad. It is a very unique touchpad that blends smoothly into the body of the laptop and only has dots on it to show its existence.
There are 2 headphone sockets on the front panel - so 2 people can watch a movie or listen to music at the same time, while in a quiet zone, like a plane or the like.
Lastly, the battery - after about a month of charging and discharging the battery, as I use the tablet on battery as much as I use it on AC power, I still get about 3 hours of battery time. If I’m running some heavy application like playing a DVD or a game, then I get a little less than 2 hours of battery time.
So, overall, a great buy at just Rs. 63,000 - a whole load of features and amazing performance. This tablet seems to be just perfect for my business and personal life.
July 6th, 2007 at 11:03 am (IST)
AAARRRGGHHHH MAN!!!! m soooooo jealous!!!
m jst hoping the google guys give me one of those!!!!
else im gonna break in2 ur house when ur back!!!!!
July 6th, 2007 at 11:09 am (IST)
haha! seriously one of my best buys tho man!
am very pleased with myself.
July 6th, 2007 at 11:42 am (IST)
Well here in the company M2SYS Technology where I work at, alot of our executives use HP Laptops, including me. I agree with alot of things with the author of this article, that this laptop has everything, including awsome speakers from altec lansing, Geforce Video Card and my favorite a fingerprint reader. But one thing I would like to add more or replace the current processor with a Dual Core 1.8 or above, or something atleast 2MB plus level 2 cache. I think it will improve the performance of the laptop by more then 10% to my opinion. But rather then that Go HP!!!!
July 6th, 2007 at 11:44 am (IST)
meanie… just wanted to rub our faces in it :((
*sigh*
July 6th, 2007 at 12:26 pm (IST)
@Sumeira
yeh, i guess more L2 cache wudn’t hurt.. but i’m a die-hard AMD fan.. i got 5 machines - all AMD, so i wouldn’t really change my AMD for an Intel
@Natasha
u got quite a nice machine too! don’t complain. my tablet wouldn’t serve your purpose right now anyway!
July 6th, 2007 at 1:11 pm (IST)
Well.. could we please stop discussing WaRRen’s assets??!?!?
Makes me feel like my machine is something from the antique collection!!!
July 6th, 2007 at 3:20 pm (IST)
like I said earlier … wicked …
July 13th, 2007 at 5:16 pm (IST)
man…….. i loved it….. i want it…. pls someone gift it to me…
July 14th, 2007 at 8:22 pm (IST)
I have been trying to get a review on this notebook since its launch…I am glad to have read it…Inclined towards buying it…But can somebody tell me..what does it cost to upgrade it to 2MB ram??…and if there is some option to go in the same serious of HP TX….which might have something more advanced….:):) thinking since I dont want to feel being using outdated if HP launches something new soon after I purchase this one…!!!
July 14th, 2007 at 8:44 pm (IST)
RAM prices keep fluctuating now-a-days. I got the extra 1GB of 667Mhz DDR2 laptop RAM for Rs. 2350. You’ll have to convince your retailer to remove the existing 512MB x 2 chips and insert 1GB x 2 chips.
There is also the option of the HP Pavilion TX1016AU, which costs about Rs. 15000 more. The differences in hardware are:
- TL-60 2.0Ghz processor instead of TL-52 1.6Ghz
- 2GB RAM instead of 1GB RAM
- 160GB Hard disk instead of 120GB Hard disk
Frankly, I don’t think these differences in hardware are worth the price difference. But then, it’s upto your preference of hardware and way of thinking
July 17th, 2007 at 3:42 pm (IST)
This laptop has every thing what you want,the quality of the Graphics ,cam,fingerprint reader ,bluetooth.But one problem what i noticed while using is that it gets heated up fast as compared to other laptops.
:)
But on the whole toooooooooooo good!!!!!!!!!!!
July 24th, 2007 at 8:44 pm (IST)
well i have also got this 1003au.. everything said in the review is ok except regarding battery life. in hp recommended power scheme after using it for 1hr 40 minutes only 7% battery was left… and about the price i got it at Rs57190/-
July 24th, 2007 at 9:51 pm (IST)
i hope you charged the battery fully before your first use - usually about 8 hours.
secondly, if you change the setting to Power Saver, that’s when you should get longer battery supply.
third - if you’re going to be using any laptop for many hours on AC power, then it’s advisable to remove the battery while using the laptop. this way the battery will last you longer.
July 24th, 2007 at 9:59 pm (IST)
@ abhinav - this tablet does get heated up more (and faster) than the older laptops.. but notice the power difference too!
besides, even the new Intel chips heat up as fast as this AMD, so i wouldn’t say it’s a minus point for this tablet..
July 25th, 2007 at 1:08 am (IST)
@Md Salman: A laptop with unmanaged software that are accessing hard disk all the time and without any reason, does reduce thist Tablet’s runtime by about 30%
Initially I was having a backup of just an hour and a half. I did a Vista clean install using installation DVD of a friend and downloaded and installed the drivers from the net.
I installed only the softwares that I need the most and disabled the settings and features that I did not need. I also disabled the hardwares that I use less (the integrated webcam, wired LAN and bluetooth.) I also keep my DVD Drive unplugged from the system and keep it in my carrying case.
Now, running on Power Saver profile while on batteries, give me above three and a half hours of battery life.
Also note that upgrading to 2GB ram increases battery life by 5% (due to lesser disk access.)
Also, upgrading the laptop to the latest 7200 rpm NAND and Platter hybrid harddrives will increase battery performance by about 15%
@abhinav: Yes this laptop does get overheated compared to other AMD X2. And the heat generated makes it unbearable on your lap. However, on battery, using the settings I said above, the heat is comparatively negligible.
@Warren: All points on your review are perfect. I too am very happy with my TX1003au. However, just curious, HP website says that TX1016au has its display “optimized for pen input.” Any idea what it means or how it helps?
July 25th, 2007 at 3:53 am (IST)
as far as i’ve figured out.. there are 2 main kinds of touch screens - capacitive and resistive.
the former - capacitive, has electronic signals running on the screen and it requires another capacitive device (including the human body, which stores electrons) for it to be able to sense a touch. a very slight touch is enough for it to sense the touch. these types of screens are fairly expensive but are more user-friendly.
the latter - resistive, is the type this tablet uses and it requires considerable amount of pressure for the screen to sense a touch. you can’t touch the screen using a finger (except for a nail maybe ;)) thus, i guess it’s optimized for pen input.
September 5th, 2007 at 7:19 pm (IST)
Hi there,
I got the same notebook like a month back but the speakers and the fingerprint reader had problems. the finger print prob was solved by my friend but he coudnt get through the speaker problem. Most of settings and stuff he chked the speaker seems to be working but there is no sign of any sound, He tried everything and gave up finally. The device driver is installed and working fine. The properties show the speaker is working fine but when it comes to the sound nothing absoultely nothing. Can you pleas ehelp me on this matter.
cheers
Preetish
My email Id is binnuofline@yahoo.com
September 13th, 2007 at 3:35 am (IST)
hi preetish, if the device drivers are installed fine, then there are 2 possibilities - sound may be ‘muted’.. do check that out, else someone’s forgotten to connect the speaker wires from the inside - take the laptop to an HP service center and get it checked
September 17th, 2007 at 11:57 pm (IST)
well i had a similar prob .. u can simply click on da sound icon in the task bar and go 2 mixer,select device.. there u hav 2 options
1.speakers( realtek high definition audio)
2.Real tek digital output
select da first option.. i guesss it will solve problem…
September 17th, 2007 at 11:59 pm (IST)
i m havin prob with batt.. i m using it 4 around 4 months but da battery is hardly giving me bakup .. it last 4 max 1 hr…
suggest…
October 7th, 2007 at 3:09 pm (IST)
hello, i also purchased this laptop about a month of ago.. i was unable to use finger print reader request u to help me in this regard
Regard
Chakradhar
October 24th, 2007 at 3:58 pm (IST)
hey
i have also purchased it and for the past day i had been trying to use the s-video out port of the laptop to my tv. i m tryin to use the tv display as an additional external display.
but there is nothin on the tv screen although some noise is there and the tv screen flickers but thats it.
hv tried configuring primary and secondary displays but no help.
can u advise on the matter?
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:52 am (IST)
Hi there,
Iam planning to buy HP Pavilion TX1003AU tablet pc this week n I will be running some softwares like AutoCad 2007, 3D studio max, Stadd Pro in short Iam an Civil Engineer and wanted to use it as both the working n entertainment, What do u suggest shall this tablet will cure me???
February 24th, 2008 at 9:00 am (IST)
Pawan@ you better check you 7 point cable trying replacing it with a new one.
Some time cable dooes not work properly.
Rod, I have on equestion: can i install IEEE card in express card slot for capturing video from my sony handycam?
May 10th, 2008 at 5:50 pm (IST)
Well I;ve got it and no complaints, except……it really heats up! or is it only my piece? Since it can get really hot and could put your pants on fire! I got to know that laptops are really not meant to be operated on your lap. Did you know that???
October 1st, 2008 at 9:54 am (IST)
i have the same tx1003
can i upgrade my graphic card….
or is it integrated in the motherboard.
and is 2gb the max ram,it can be upgraded to…