Is a tablet pc worth the money for field adjusting?  I'm still working off a reg. laptop, but concidering a tablet pc.  Any advantages/disadvantages.  I also estimate with Xactimate.  Thanks for the help!!

Jeannie, I have several friends that work off a Toshiba tablet and love them. They also have xactimate on their tablets. It would be very useful when working a loss  if you wish to complete it on site. They do have smaller screens, but their batteries last much longer. If i were younger and going to be in this business for a long while more, I would get one. They are a little pricey. Right now I prefer a good tic sheet and inputing to a laptop PC.

I don't claim to be an expert, but I chose the Fujitsu Lifebook T series T4215 (the latest is the T4220). Reason 1: I can put a second battery in the DVD modular bay giving me about 4 real hours of working time. This was the most important criteria for me. If I plug in while driving, and I don't keep it on all the time I can get a full days work out of one set of batteries. Reason 2: It has the fastest chips to run Xactimate, Dragon Naturally Speaking, mapping software, etc. Others offer a lower voltage, but slower chip, but don't get much more battery time. Reason 3: Fujitsu makes a custom fit "bump case" that allows me to scope/write while I walk through the house. I wanted a way to carry the tablet even when I am climbing roofs. Reason 4: Fujitsu offers a useable indoor/outdoor screen - so I can work almost in any lighting condition. Reason 5: It has a keyboard so I can enter text on site easily. Other things I like: small easy to pack docking station, built-in SD card slot (for downloading photos immediately), Fujitsu's reputation, and last but very important, it weighs 4.5 lbs even with the second battery.

Xactimate 25 runs easily on this machine. Xactimate requires at least 1024 X 768 monitor resolution, so a smaller PDA's screen won't display the whole picture. I run Vista and Xactimate 25 with no problems.  Using the pen to sketch is easy, and using "bloated" macros in line items makes typing unnecessary.

Using macros in  Xactimate like tick sheets, deleting items you don't want, I can scope and write in about the same time it takes to scope.  I think this is more accurate because I am not transferring notes to computer (entering data twice), and because I am finishing everything before I leave the site.