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Microsocft MVP: Tablet PC
The Student Review of the Gateway M280/CX200X
5 March 2006Posted By: TracyPosted in: Choosing a Tablet PC
This Tablet PC you’ve likely seen on TV in a Gateway or Best Buy commercial. It’s the Gateway M280, or CX200X. For the past two days I’ve had one in my possession to play with so I’m taking a chance to share my thoughts about this popular computer.
Read the full review after the jump (I don’t want to clutter the front page with a lot of pictures and text). At first glance, the appearance is very aesthetically pleasing. The black and silver coloring creates a nice look. The status lights are the Gateway blue and pink; a nice change from orange and green of my Toshiba.
There’s a nice touch of a black border surrounding the screen, letting your pen reach all the way to the very corner without hitting a ridge. My M200 has this and it’s very useful even though you wouldn’t think of it.
I was happy to see a directional button on the screen, unlike the previous Gateway M275, along with a settings quick launch button. The locking power button on the screen is also nice; the Acer c300 series and the M275 both had it on the edge and once a month I’d hit it accidentally.
Oh my goodness, that latch makes it hard to open! I’m not sure it that’a good thing or a bad things, but it’s really hard to open the computer!
The screen, like the M275, turns the opposite direction (counter clockwise) from every other convertible I’ve tried, which is tough to get use to after so long with it one way. Not a big deal but I’m afraid I may forget and hurt the hinge one day, heh. It would be nice if the default settings auto-rotated the screen when I turned it to tablet mode.
The keyboard and mouse area are decent. Keyboards are one of those things you just have to readjust your typing to with every new computer, so I won’t dwell to much on the fact that I keep hitting the Caps Lock key. The key layout is more natural than that of the Toshiba and mimics the layout of a standard desktop keyboard. The keys are a little stiff and make a louder click than I‘d like, but again, I’m still use to the sensitive, soft keys of my Toshiba.
It’s strange not having any plugs on the back of the computer (that’s where the battery is), but I do like the positioning of the headphone and microphone plugs at the front of the computer.
I’m not a fan of the pen placement. It’s essentially on the bottom of the computer, so to take out the pen, I have to lift up the tablet, press the eject button located under the computer, and then pull out the pen from the front of the computer. Seriously, what’s the point of that? So many better places to put the pen release.
The pen itself is alright. It’s better than a generic plastic pen, but I wouldn’t consider it a model for future generations. It’s thicker and heavier than a standard plastic pen, but to me it looks like the Cross pen’s beta design. It just looks unfinished and it feels off balanced. I also wish it had an eraser.
Now for the big stuff (literally). This battery is huge! Humongous, enormous, gigantic. I have the 12-cell that lasts 8-10 hours. The battery life is WONDERFUL; I love not having to worry about plugging in all the time. I’m just not sure it’s worth this insanely heavy and awkward design. There are times where the battery’s bulk is appreciated; it creates a nice grip, it makes for a nice typing angle, and it keeps the computer from slipping off my lap. I don’t like how weird it is to use in tablet mode because of the battery. It’s just…unusual and unnatural. The hump of the battery digs into your leg after a while, the slope makes for bad angles of viewing if you don’t like to rest your hand on the hinge, and the extra width the battery adds makes for a long AND wide writing surface, which is awkward to begin with. Add the weight, and you’re really losing the “natural writing surface” feel.
The screen, however, is great to work with. I didn’t think I’d like the wide screen on a tablet, but I really do. The wide screen really makes for the best of both worlds in that I can see all I want to see but it’s still in the “smaller” screen category. If this computer found a way to make the battery much smaller and not stick out the back, it would feel lust as small as my 12” Toshiba. In other words, I would much rather have a long computer to carry around all day than a square computer. The wide screen is really the way to go if you’re going for small but still usable. I’d love to see this design incorporated on some smaller devices.
The screen on this Gateway would really be wonderful if it was a wide SXGA instead of a wide XGA, and if it had the 180 degree viewing of the Motion and Electrovaya, but we’re going in the right direction. I don’t see any point putting an indoor/outdoor screen on here since I couldn’t see standing outside using a 7 lb computer…
I won’t go into the system specs and speed and such since that will change with the wind depending on configuration and the latest technology, but I will say it’s perky and the fan doesn’t turn on half as much as I expected it to.
Conclusion Overall, the Gateway M280/CX200X makes for a great laptop and a poor tablet. I can easily see why it was advertised as a laptop with tablet functionality, because that’s what it feels like. This is for the person who plans to spend less than 50% of their time in tablet mode, such as if they only planned on using it during meetings or for conveying a quick concept through a drawing. I don’t think it’d be the best bet for a student who planned on using it for notes, homework, and studying, but the price point may make it the only option for some.
My idea of the perfect tablet (for me) has now morphed into the Toshiba M200 + the Gateway M280: wide screen SXGA 14” (same dimensions as M280)or a wide screen on a smaller scale, 3.5 lbs, media bay, 8-10 hour battery, nVidia graphics card, and then topped off with a 180 degree viewable screen from the Motion/Electrovaya bag of tricks.
This is “the busy week before Spring Break” for me, so I can’t spare too much more time on this review. If you have any other questions on the device, or if you want to comment on anything I said, please post a comment as I’d love to hear it.
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March 5th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
Nice review, Tracy. Your sentiments on this convertible match mine - nice laptop, poor tablet. Sounds like your ideal ( m200 + m280) is the Toshiba M4…
March 5th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
The Gateway M280/CX200X
The Gateway M280/CX200X is reviewed by The Student Tablet PC: At first glance, the appearance is very…
March 5th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
I’ve looked at that, and it’s close. What kept me from getting it is it’s 6.2 lbs. It’s also a square 14″, not a wide 14″ so it’d be bulky like my Acer 302 was. Nice tablet though. I’ve customised one to be ultra powerful and under $2300.
March 5th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
Nice review Tracy, thanks! My only additional problem with it would be the name on the label— Gateway. Our college uses Gateway as its standard system vendor, and laptops or desktops (no difference) we end up with more hardware problems than we should.
March 5th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Great Review Tracy! I like you were up front and to the point clearly pointing out where they went wrong. Also when recomending Tablet’s to students your reivew is much more valuable, since you’re a student, than those big magazines and review sites.
March 5th, 2006 at 10:36 pm
Thanks for the review, I have been looking at the Gateway at a local BestBuy and just haven’t seen any reviews - not that I was looking for any. It sounds as though if one were to use this as a tablet more than a laptop one would find it fairly uncomfortable. That’s too bad because I have been formulating what my next tablet iteration contraption would be and a larger screen sounded nice. I’m thinking that maybe the Motion LE1600 or the R15 might be the front runners right now. I’m leaning towards a slate, but you never know, price always seems to dictate your spending habits, heh.
March 6th, 2006 at 2:25 am
I’ve got this machine and I like it but I am probably the target market for this machine. I need a really well powered full sized laptop with only occasional use of the tablet function. For me, the other tablets were just too small for for my needs and often underpowered for their price point.
The only thing I am unsure of is the battery. I love it that I can use the machine for 5h or more without a cord, but in laptop mode the battery shape is weird. In tablet mode the battery makes a great way to hold onto the PC so in that respect it is great. The battery does make it hard to put the machine in a bag.
I personally like the pen, but I also favor bigger heavier pens. Pen placement is odd for righties, but great for lefties, it is just a pain to pull out when sitting on a desk as you have to tip the machine up and this is my only complaint about placement.
Tablet mode works just fine for me in college classroom style lecutre halls (rightie minidesks-I’m a leftie). It is a bit heavy to lug around, so if I weren’t a grad student and really only going to seminars, the weight would be an issue. I usually lean the machine up against the minidesk in lecure halls to get a good viewing angle. The screen is suprisingly bright and in dark seminar halls I have to really tone down the brightnes so as to not bother others.
If you are in need of ultramobility then this is not the machine for you, but if you are really looking for a laptop, but on occasion want to have a tablet then give the machine a look.
March 6th, 2006 at 6:05 am
Tracy Hooten’s Student Review Of The Gateway M280/CX200X
Tracy Hooten of The Student Tablet PC has posted a review of the Gateway M280/CX200X Tablet PC with some interesting pictures and a fascinating conclusion. Her review’s student perspective is a keen way to take a look at a Tablet
March 6th, 2006 at 6:12 am
Tracey, I remember alot of the original reviews of the cx200x being negative about inking on this machine.(due to the non wacom digitizer) How would you compare inking to your m200.Is it as responsive?
March 6th, 2006 at 6:56 am
Nicely done Tracy. As I know you know, we’re at opposite ends of the opinion spectrum on the Gateway but that works because we’re also on opposite ends of the usage spectrum. I have two students in my family and I wouldn’t get this Tablet for either of them - it’s too big to lug around all day.
For an office worker with less lugging and more generous table surface to work with (I always hated those little student desk chair things as I’m 6′2″ and more legs that torso), the Gateway is a great replacement for a conventional laptop or desktop. Properly configured, this Tablet is more powerful than anything else out there for the same $$ except maybe the Tecra M4.
So while it is an unlikely choice for a highly mobile student or road warrior, it’s a terrific blend of power, battery life, great video, and excellent bang for the buck for folks like me who shuttle mostly between work and home.
March 6th, 2006 at 8:07 am
Now I know where my sugar bowl went! lol Mom
March 6th, 2006 at 8:13 am
Hi Tracy! This is my first time posting to your blog, although I’ve found it incredibly useful reading since I bought my tablet a few months ago. I actually bought the Gateway CX2610 convertible. I work at home and own my own writing & training business. The tablet is great for meetings and conferences, but I use it more as a laptop. (I am fascinated by the applications of a tablet for learning!)With the tablet, I can access all my files, notes, sound bytes, calendar, etc, during a meeting when I need it most. I can even assign action items to people and email them right then and there, if need be, all while still taking notes. I like the battery a lot when using it as a laptop. It sits on a Podium Pad to keep it ergonomic and cool, and the battery just hooks right on and I don’t worry about it slipping. It does make it seem slightly off-kilter when in tablet mode though. I agree with a previous poster about the positioning of the pen. As a lefty, I rather like where they stuck it. I did have to turn off the right-click button on the pen though, as i kept clicking it unintentionally, perhaps due to my left-handed grip. Finally, I changed the rotation order of the screen in the Tablet properties so that it doesn’t go counter-clockwise. It goes in the order I prefer. Again, I’m probably Gateway’s target market on this - small business and not a student. But for anyone in my situation, it’s a great little PC and makes meetings much easier. Great review!
March 6th, 2006 at 8:17 am
Sorry, I was so surprised to see my sugar bowl(I was wondering what happened to it) that I forgot to add, that the Gateway would be perfect for me since I sit in my chair when I use my tablet and I love the wide screen. Not a hint, but feel free to use it as a hint if Dad happens to ask you what I wanted for my birthday
March 6th, 2006 at 10:20 am
A neat feature on this tablet that I haven’t seen on others yet is the BIOS has a setting to remind you to dock your pen and i think from the one I played with for a couple of hours you can set the pen on the left hand side of the screen and it will stay there via a magnet embedded in the pen and screen. Not a neccessity on tablets but a neat little feature.
March 6th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Thanks for the review Tracy! Your site inspired me to buy a tablet, and I bought the Gateway. The Gateway has in turn inspired me to start my own blog, with the first task being to review it. Now I won’t need to post photos ;-). I am a college professor, and think that as long as you are placing it on a desk or table, it’s the perfect machine for a student or teacher! To answer a previous question about inking experience - it’s great, as long as you have a stylus that works properly; more about that to come in my blog (click my name) over the next few days.
March 7th, 2006 at 1:22 am
I enjoyed your review Tracy, but as Mark Orchant said, “we are at opposite ends of the opinion spectrum.” I use my Gateway everyday in my office. After reading Michael Linenberger’s books, I decided to follow his lead and make my Gateway my desktop computer also using a port replicator. It has all the power necessary to pull this off, including using Dragon Naturally Speaking Voice Recognition software (which is a resource hog). I use it for meeting with clients, taking notes in depositions, and during court proceedings. In the three months or so that I have used it, it has never let me down. Like some other posters, I am a leftie and I like the pen location. I always know where it is (assuming I put it back where it belongs). I also like the size and feel of the pen.I have used the little, skinny pens and find them difficult to use over a long period of time. The battery “hump” is also useful because it gives me the right angle to write on. If I were a student, however, I might have an issue with the weight if I had to lug it from one end of the campus to another every day. I think for the money, it is tough to beat the Gateway.
April 20th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
You were right on with most of your review. The battery is cumbersome and the ports are in a wierd spot. The bad thing is that when I take notes in class either the jacks are in my lap or the super hot fan is! I love mine but I do use it like you said - sparingly as a tablet, mostly laptop.
May 22nd, 2006 at 6:27 pm
I own this computer, and indeed there is a magnet on the left hand side of the screen to hold your pen in place … neato!!
I am a student, but I have a 1h train ride to/from school everyday and the seats are too cramped to type comfortable, however a tablet pc rocks on the train, that and I like being able to flip the screen around and hold it to use as a portable tv (Using the tv shows I download off the net).
Performance is great especially with the x600video card and that 1GB of DDR2 ram seems to help as well, I just have the basic battery and I seem to get a little over 3h with it, all in all I;m very satisfied with this tablet. That being said, I got it more for the rotating screen that to use as a table, I don’t really use the tablet functionality all that much.
May 30th, 2006 at 3:39 am
Why isn’t there written info about the darn buttons on the cx2618 gateway tablet pc? Like how to turn the screen, bottons on the bottom of the screen. The Geek Squad at BestBuy couldn’t even tell me what all the buttons on the screen were for.
July 28th, 2006 at 2:14 am
i would like to know if you can use the top of your stylus as an eraser cos i read somewhere else that gateway tablets dont include this feature, tho i think it was an old post and i am not sure but i might have read somewhere else that in fact you can use it as an eraser..
July 28th, 2006 at 2:17 am
hi, i wanted to know if you can use the top of this particular stylus as an eraser
September 2nd, 2006 at 3:48 pm
Thanks for the posting of the gateway tablet pc. I own the cx2615 and I enjoy it very much. The computer is easy to use. In response to Andrea’s question unfortunately the stylus does not have an eraser, that is the one thing that I wish the pen had.
September 14th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
I bought a replacement battery for my Gateway laptop about a month ago from www.laptopsforless.com and it works great. Is there any reason to think that a replacement Gateway laptop battery would be any less reliable than the manufacturers? My concern is the laptop battery fire risk; would this be a risk with a replacement battery?
October 25th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
I got the Gateway M280E last week (refurbished on eBay) thanks to the many articles including this one on the flexibility of this device.
However, my pen stopped working 4 days later. The pointer works but no screen taps (clicks nor writing). I think the spring mechanism is gone in the pen.
Is there anyway I can open the pen and fix it? Thanks in advance!
November 16th, 2006 at 2:24 pm
Tracy I loved the artical I’ve been useing it in reverse ladscape in class and that how it lives best in class.
December 19th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
A great review!!
January 14th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Great review! I finally got mine last month and it is the best. I am looking forward to taking it into class with me this Spring semester.
Thanks for the magnet tip. I didn’t even know it was there.
April 7th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Hey im Jared from tumalo community school in bend oregon. My sixth grade class had recieved a grant from intel and gateway and had chosen this tablet PC for our school there very useful and cool.
May 1st, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Hi,
I got my cx210x( 1.83ghz core duo 2, ati radeon x1400, 1gb ram, 80gb hdd) for christmas. i have been using it in class for the entire spring semester now. and i have to say i am pretty impressed with this machine. i get a good 4.30-4.45 hrs on a single full charge which is good enough for me since i have a big 2 hr gap between 2 lectures. that gives me enough time to grab a lunch and charge my baby up. the graphics are pretty impressive too. to give u an idea i can run the flight simulator x on highest graphics with amazing graphics and 0 lag. i like the screen it just big enough take to class and small enough compete with the size my engineering books. it has that great extended battery which also acts like a handle when writing in standing position. the cored duo 2 and good RAM also come handy. yes i think the machine is a little heavy but i dont mind carrying it around coz it has replaced almost all my notebooks and textbooks so my backpack actually feels lighter
August 27th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Gisele, you have to bye a new pen i think they cost only fifty dollers at best buy