Gateway E-295C/C-140 Tablet PC First Look Review

Gateway's newest Tablet PC, the E-295C/C-140, has been the hot topic of discussion in our Gateway forum and today we finally got our hands on one. Users everywhere are talking about this 14-inch tablet. I mean it is a beast. It runs a 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo processor and has a 60GB hard drive. It's a little on the heavy side, but it is full of features and has plenty of battery options to give you power all-day.

The Gateway E-295C in notebook mode. (view large image)

The Gateway E-295C/C-140 Tablet PC specs as reviewed (price as tested $1,877.98)

• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7100 1.8GHz
• Intel GMA X3100 Graphics
• 14.0" WXGA TFT Active Matrix (1280 x 768 max. resolution) w/ Gateway Executive Stylus (by Wacom)
• Expansion Slots: One type II PC card slot
• External Ports: 3 x USB 2.0, VGA, IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
• 60GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• 7-in-1 media card reader  
• 1GB DDR2 SDRAM (2-512MB modules)
• Integrated Intel 3945 802.11a/b/g wireless networking
• Integrated V.92 56K modem
• Integrated Intel 10/100/1000 Ethernet Adapter
• OS: Microsoft Windows XP Tablet Edition
• Microsoft Works 8.5
• 8x Multi-Format Dual Layer DVD-RW with DVD-RAM
• Primary 8-Cell Lithium Ion battery w/ 1 Yr. limited battery warranty
• Notebook Value Service Plan - 3 year part/labor/no on-site/3 year technical support
• Optional 12-Cell Lithium Ion battery w/ 1 Yr. limited battery warranty
• Optional 6-Cell Lithium Ion battery w/ 1 Yr. limited battery warranty

Design and Build

The E-295C has a solid design and I like the matte black finish because it hides all those annoying fingerprints. The E-295C and C-140x are the same Tablet PC. The E-295C is just targeted toward the education sector and the C-140x is for the consumer market. They have the same design and features, just a few different optional features and upgrades.

The E-295C converting into tablet mode. (view large image)

Like I mentioned before it is a heavy tablet, but you are getting a 14" display, an optical drive and many other features. The price is very reasonable as well. I don't know if I would recommend carrying it around with you all day, but it would be great for note-taking in a few classes or used for an office presentation.

The 14" WXGA TFT Active Matrix display is nice and easy to read. The brightness can only be adjusted to three different levels, but on the highest level the colors are crisp and vivid. There wasn't much graininess to the screen either. Even in tablet mode I had no problem with screen glare or viewing angles. The screen doesn't automatically change orientation though, which would be nice, but it does have a button on the screen for you to change it yourself.

The E-295C in tablet mode with Wacom pen. (view large image)

The chassis is solid and so is the keyboard, but there is flex in the screen due to the hinge. The screen wobbles a little, not side to side though, just front to back. Nothing you will notice unless you are moving your tablet around a lot.The Wacom pen works great and was easy to write with. I wish the pen had an eraser on the end of it, but you can click that function to make the pen erase.

Benchmark

The E-295C did very well on the Super Pi benchmark, I can't wait to see what it does on PCMark05 and 3DMark05.

Super Pi

In the below results of Super Pi, where the processor is timed in calculating Pi to 2 million digits:

First Impressions

Overall my first impressions of the E-295C/C-140 are good. Performance wise I had no problems browsing the Web or running multiple applications. There isn't much of a hard drive on my review unit, but you can upgrade for more space. If you are looking for a small lightweight tablet this is not for you. It's not meant to be an ultraportable travel tablet, but it could make a few trips.

Stay tuned next week for our complete review of the E-295C, with all benchmark tests and hands-on video. I will have some complete battery information as well since I have three batteries to test, a 6-cell, 8-cell and 12-cell. After using the 8-cell, which is in the pictures, I know you could use this tablet all day because I was getting over five hours with it.

Photo Gallery

Top view of the E-295C. (view large image)

The E-295C keyboard. (view large image)

Front view of the E-295C. (view large image)

Left side view of the ports. (view large image)

Right side view of the ports. (view large image)

Back view of the E-295C. (view large image)