One thing about tablet PC's that you won't get with the Cintiq is the pressure sensitivity. Or at least I think it doesn't exist on any tablet pc's that I know of. I was playing with the idea of getting a tablet PC as well for the exact same purpose. The ones I'd like are pricy. I'm still not a fan of the limited battery life of any laptop though. Apple has also made some noise that they may be coming out with a tablet. That should be interesting to see what they come out with. The thing that annoys me most is that tablet pcs seem to have some dorky specs compared to other laptops of cheaper price. I wonder if the Microsoft tax is pretty high for these machines. They probably don't exist much anymore but you might want to stear clear of Carusoe (transmeta) chiped devices as there is a bit of speed penalty which can affect the responciveness of the machine. Or at least with my toying with them in the shops it seemed to be the case.