This machine is pretty kickass.
For the price, I got a very good laptop that just so happens to have tablet functionality.
On the weight: it's not that heavy to me. Then again, I have huge arms with a muscle-to-bone ratio of about infinity. Plus, I do not walk around with a tablet in my arms - most of the work I do is at a desk (whether at work or at school)
On the screen size: it's perfect! The screen, although only 1280x768, feels so much larger than my old M1200's (same vertical resolution and slightly larger actual pixel dimensions), and I can without hesitation say this goes along with the tablet form factor like peas and carrots. Tablet PC use is all about the feel of the screen, and this one definitely has a very open feel to it. I still autohide my task bar out of habit, though. :) Writing on the screen is taking some getting used to (and at the moment I'm out of a pen, but will shortly replace that come Monday - UPS has it and will deliver it on the 22nd). Overall, the writing experience with the Finepoint tech is much better in my opinion than the Wacom
On the physical size: again, perfect! I have large arms, large hands... I'm just large in general, so I take well to using this larger system. Many have had complaints that it's bulky and unwieldy, but it feels right to me. Maybe it's just because I've never owned or even used extensively any kind of laptop. My M1200 was the first mobile device beyond a cell phone that I'd ever owned in my life, and while it had its advantages, it became cumbersome to hook it up to its hardtop keyboard and consequently tear it down when I had to pick up and leave. My work and school are both now aiming towards heavy typing tasks, so I chose to get one with a nicely sized keyboard and I have to say I can stand getting used to this. It's still small, and I can't manage to type at full speed on it simply due to the miniscule keys, but I definitely like it better than the Motion Hardtop keyboard or the flexible keyboard I bought for the M1200.
On the battery: beautiful... I love the standard 5 hour battery life with the 8 cell (and yes, it DID last me 5 hours) and the fact that I can easily bring it up to 8-9 hours continuous by upgrading to the 12-cell and adding the 6-cell bay battery. If not for the fact that I can hardly afford food right now after chachinging another $1100 in credit card debt, I'd really love to get them right now so that I could go a full work day without pulling out the cumbersome, long AC power adapter. Unlike many, it seems, I actually like the hump on the battery. It seems practical, especially for a unit that has to have a fan cooling it down occasionally, to have space between the surface and the system so that some air can flow through. Also, it's great to use as a handle. It feels pretty sturdy when the battery is locked in, and I can lay the system at a more natural writing angle (secondary portrait, where the battery is on the left side - i'm right-handed)
On the fan: tolerable. It only seems to come on once every 5-10 minutes when I'm plugged in and almost never comes on while I'm on battery. Speedswitch says the processor is running at 800mhz when I'm on battery, and I haven't yet noticed any serious performance hits. Clocking back at 800mhz saves me a few watts, so I may stay there even when plugged in (I'd like to minimize my power bill as much as possible - call me a freak, but I even unplug everything I'm not actively using :P)
On the touchpad: why the hell didn't I think of getting this sooner?! I've never used one before, but now I don't know how I lived without it. This should be a requirement on every computer, even a desktop system with a full sized mouse and keyboard. It's a Synaptics EZPad, and they definitely put the EZ in "JEEZ this is a sweet HID" - programmable tap zones, scroller edges, configuration settings out the wazoo... Right now I've got the tap zones set to do Ctrl-F4 to close a Firefox tab, Ctrl-tab to move to another, then the all too useful minimize and maximize. I am quite the web browser and computer user now! :D The drag configuration settings are very nice, with the thing about holding down on the edge of the touchpad while dragging to keep dragging in that direction. I'm kind of teeter-tottering between that and lock-drags at the moment, trying to decide which is less of a pain in the ass. Ideally I'd do it with the pen, but ... it won't be here til Monday :P
The wireless range is pretty good. I'm picking up wireless networks that previously I could only get by taking my M1200 upstairs with a Linksys B PC card in it. Actually this is now the only computer I can get to connect to any wireless network within range of my apartment. (I don't actually have my own internet connection, but have some generous and/or technically uninclined neighbors) - the Linksys PCI card in my desktop won't pick up the only one left working at the moment. So, that part is pretty impressive.
I haven't had occasion to test the external monitor stuff yet. I don't really want to unplug the CRTs I have hooked up to desktop computers in my home.
The USB stuff is pretty standard by now (I'm glad I now have USB 2.0 though, my memory stick was dog slow at 1.1); don't have anything firewire to test that part out though it is nice to have it available (like on my old M1200)
The unified 5-in-1 memory card device is pretty nifty! I have an SD card I use in my new camera, and was pleased with the fact I can just stick it in the front of the computer and Windows picks it up instantly like a disk drive. I've never had any kind of memory card reader/writer before, so I could only hook my camera up to my computer via USB to manipulate the pictures. I find now that it's much faster to just take out the memory stick.
The DVD burner is nice. I didn't have any optical drives with my M1200, so it was a pain to get some programs that I only had on CD to go onto it. The convenience factor much outweighs the weight and any drain on battery life (although I measured the electricity while it was going and it really wasn't all that bad, topping out at about 2.5 extra watts while reading or burning... about 8 extra watts for a few seconds when you just insert a disk though) I've burned a couple DVDs with it already, at 4x, and one CD at 24x. Pretty impressive for how small it is.
I've been anxious for a while to have a full-featured mobile system, and I've found it. Now all I need is the pen to complete it. (And of course I'd really REALLY like the other two batteries, but damn..$280 total, after I just spent $1100 on the computer itself...)
I am also debating with myself on whether to try and find enough money for the $360 Best Buy accident coverage & service plan for 3 years. It's a third of the system's cost, but essentially entitles me to a new tablet PC when this one breaks in 2.5 years.
That was a lot of typing, but I felt like I should get some of those things off my chest, like some of the things that irk other people, but I actually find preferrable. There is a market for big heavy computers with pens & I feel fine still calling em tablet PCs.