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Went to Best Buy last night to play with the Xoom and some other tablets. Made some notes, but now they don't make sense.
What ports does the xoom have? There was also a piece of plastic on the top of the case about the size of a SD Card that when I poped it off it was looking at the board. What is that?
the slot on the top is for the micro sd card
the two ports on the bottom, one for hdmi, one for the mini usb (connecting to pc, camera kit, etc.) the charging port is also down there.
thebrenda said:
Went to Best Buy last night to play with the Xoom and some other tablets. Made some notes, but now they don't make sense.
What ports does the xoom have? There was also a piece of plastic on the top of the case about the size of a SD Card that when I poped it off it was looking at the board. What is that?
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If it was a wi-fi-only Xoom, you were looking at the slot for the micro sdcard. There is a small slot within that larger space to slip the card into. Additionally, for a 3G model, that space contains a placeholder for a 4G PCI something or another.
On the bottom of the unit you have your micro usb port and your mini hdmi post as well as power socket and the gold contacts for the charging dock.
So if any of you guys out there are like me, you're digging the surface pro, but not digging it's limited storage and lack of usb ports.
Well i found a case that adresses both problems, but it's not quite finished yet.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1759031369/prokase-a-professional-case-for-the-microsoft-surf
It adds 1 usb port for a total of 2 usable usb ports, and adds 2 micro-SD/SD card slots, which allows you to quite literally triple the space of your surface pro.
Check it out, I think it's a good idea, without being too big (3/8ths of an inch) but the biggest problem with the kickstarter campaign is publicity.
its certainly interesting, I will give them that.
But that USB cable is just awful, literally it took me 2 seconds to think up a viable alternative which would have been far slimmer.
It also makes what is already on the bulky end of the tablet scale even bulkier.
That just looks horribly bulky, imo. With all the thickness that that's adding you're approaching a laptop's thickness on the tablet, not to mention it looks like it takes a good 20 or 30 seconds to open up and set up.
And that USB cable, disgusting. They should just put a retractable flat cable (Like this one) with a small usb connector on one end, they could probably get it to be almost flush with the tablet.
I was thinking flat cable into a right angled usb connector, a very slim one. You don't need to have the full metal plug around the outside of a USB, a piece of PCB would do. That could be almost flush with the tablet then.
I have looked at this thing 3 times now and I keep thinking to myself that if somebody is going to expect me to add this much bulk for functionality, then it better double my battery life...but this doesn't seem to have an extended battery, so what is the purpose? Why not just make a desktop dock with similar functions?
No chance its going to make its funding requirement by the deadline.
I apologize, but I live 300 miles from any town with electronic stores to seek these answers, I also would be reluctant to trust a sales person anyway. I am a smart phone aholic and get tremendous amounts of good Intel on this site, so I came here.
I really need to update my laptop and am thinking of getting the new Surface. The way I understand it is you can buy a case with a hard keyboard, so you can use it like a laptop, and also take that off and make it a tablet. How do you install new software? Does it have a DVD, or do you connect to external? Is there any drawback to this device? Thanks
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If it's a Surface RT the only way to install software is through the Windows 8 app store. If it's a Surface Pro you can install any software you would on a PC including apps from theb Windows 8 app store. I'm pretty sure you could hook up an external DVD drive to it...
big70tom said:
I live 300 miles from any town with electronic stores
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I'm convinced you could only be living under a rock or a cave in the middle of nowhere. :laugh:
big70tom said:
Is there any drawback to this device?
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A Microsoft Surface is not a replacement for an actual laptop despite what anyone says. The answers to all of your questions is "Yes", however, you are still making a compromise. I love my Windows 8.1 Pro tablet, I use it daily, however you aren't going to be as "productive" as you would be getting an actual laptop?
The Surface (Pro) is a really good buy for the fun factor.
The thing you're thinking of buying is the Type Cover (the second generation one has backlit keys and is a bit thinner, but the first-gen one is cheaper and works fine). It's a full-size keyboard (that is, the keys are full-sized and at the usual spacing; it obviously doesn't have room for the full 104-ish keys of a desktop keyboard) plus a trackpad. It is not a case in any traditional sense, although it does work as a screen protector when "closed". It connects magnetically; removing it and reconnecting it is literally a snap (or perhaps "clack!") The magnets are strong enough you can fold the cover behind the tablet (although with the type cover this feels weird because the keys can move beneath your fingers, but at least they turn off automatically) or even dangle the tablet from the cover (not recommended but a cool trick anyhow).
Installing software is done the same way you would on any recent PC; you download it. The tablet has WiFi built in. There's a built-in store that can install and update "modern" apps, but you can also just download programs off the web/FTP servers/whatever. If you need to install off of an actual optical disk (CD or DVD) rather than a disk image (which Win8 can mount as a virtual drive), you will need an external optical drive that connects to the tablet using USB (there's a full-size USB3 port on the side of the Surface Pro). If you really need a wired network connection for some reason, you can get a USB Ethernet adaptor (they're only a few dollars) but that will take up the tablet's USB port. You can also use (USB) external hard disks or flashdrives with the tablet, as a way to transfer files including installers. I recommend getting a USB hub (ideally, one that can handle USB3) if you're going to use a lot of USB devices.
As for drawbacks, the biggest one is arguably that it's small. It's thick for a (modern) tablet, but at only 10.8" (about 28cm) diagonally, the screen is on the small size for a laptop. The case also doesn't have room for a lot of ports. You've got the aforementioned USB3 port, a miniDisplayPort, a headset (headphones+mic, like for a smartphone) port, a microSD card slot, the magnetic power connector (which is also where the stylus rests), and the magnetic cover port (which is how the covers send keyboard and mouse input to the tablet). No VGA (you can get a converter for the miniDP port, though), no surround sound output (the built-in speakers are ok for a tablet but nothing special), no serial or parallel ports (you can use a USB adaptor), no PS/2 port (USB adaptor), no wired Ethernet ports (USB adaptor), no card-reader for anything bigger than microSD (USB adaptor), nowhere to install additional storage or an optical drive (USB...), and only one USB port (hence the recommended USB hub). The Type (or Touch) covers offer very usably-sized keyboards, but a lot of keys are missing or require you to hold the Fn key at the same time. The next-biggest drawback is probably the price-to-specs ratio; while very attractive compared to other "ultrabooks" and high-end x86_64 tablets, you can get a more powerful actual laptop for half the price. The first-gen Pro also has a pretty mediocre battery life (5-ish hours) and a kickstand which only opens to one angle (which some people find to be not the correct angle for them). None of the internal components (battery, CPU, RAM, Flash storage, etc.) are removable/replaceable/upgradable, and the max specs of the original Pro (5GB of RAM, 128GB of internal Flash storage) aren't very impressive. There's also no dedicated graphics processor; the integrated Intel graphics are OK for light-to-moderate gaming, but not for serious gamers or any task requiring much GPU acceleration.
With all that said, it's a very nice, compact, lightweight 64-bit Windows computer with an excellent display (for the size), excellent stylus and touchscreen, very durable body (even without cover, though you really should get one anyhow), and good manufacturer support. It's usable as either a tablet or a laptop, and while it can't be said to be ideal for either, it's pretty good.
To give you any more advice on whether it's suitable would require knowing a lot more about why you're thinking of buying one and what you'd be doing with it.
Which I had read and understood a review like yours before I made a compulsive purchase on Christmas night! I purchased an RT 64GB version, not realising that it is not very well supported on the available app front.....no Google chrome and very few other apps that I have become to consider standard with my Samsung Android tablet. I think note in hind sight I should have purchased the pro version but the price difference from Tesco was GBP 400 vs GBP 950 for the pro. I agree that you should definitely get the cover keyboard and the old version (mk I) is on special offer at GBP 45 vs GBP 99 for the mkII with back light keys.
Oh and there is no onboard GPS receiver so forget navigation!
Sent with desire from My One
I'm thinking about buying a windows 8 tablet, but I'm having trouble deciding which one to get. There are a couple of options that I'm considering:
The Asus T100- The main reason I am considering this tablet is the included dock+keyboard and the fact that it has a full site USB port, which I would like for my FreedomPop USB dongle and my xbox controller wireless receiver. The screen is mediocre and the build quality is shoddy by several accounts. The processor is not the top of the line 3770, but the lower specced 3740.
The HP Omni 10: This is what I wish the Asus tablet was. This has a full HD 1920x1200 screen, compared to the t100s 1378x700 screen resolution. It also includes the best bay trail processor available, which is considerably faster than the t100. It also has a micro-hdmi port, which I would like for displaying movies in my college dorm tv. The only thing missing is that full size USB port. It has a micro USB port, but I don't know if a micro-USB to USB converter would be able to support things like the FreedomPop dongle, the xbox wireless adapter, and maybe an external hard drive. If it does support it, my problems are solved. If not, what are your suggestions? Do you know if those accessories can run under a micro-USB to USB adapter?
FroZebra said:
I'm thinking about buying a windows 8 tablet, but I'm having trouble deciding which one to get. There are a couple of options that I'm considering:
The Asus T100- The main reason I am considering this tablet is the included dock+keyboard and the fact that it has a full site USB port, which I would like for my FreedomPop USB dongle and my xbox controller wireless receiver. The screen is mediocre and the build quality is shoddy by several accounts. The processor is not the top of the line 3770, but the lower specced 3740.
The HP Omni 10: This is what I wish the Asus tablet was. This has a full HD 1920x1200 screen, compared to the t100s 1378x700 screen resolution. It also includes the best bay trail processor available, which is considerably faster than the t100. It also has a micro-hdmi port, which I would like for displaying movies in my college dorm tv. The only thing missing is that full size USB port. It has a micro USB port, but I don't know if a micro-USB to USB converter would be able to support things like the FreedomPop dongle, the xbox wireless adapter, and maybe an external hard drive. If it does support it, my problems are solved. If not, what are your suggestions? Do you know if those accessories can run under a micro-USB to USB adapter?
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What do you plan on using this tablet for?
Well, I have the Dell Lat10 with win8 pro. I got it back in the spring. It works fairly well, but I don't really use it often. I would suggest you make sure that no matter which you get, you might want to spring the extra for the full Windows 8, not RT. I know a bunch of people who got the RT and realized they couldn't do anything they wanted to do and were limited to the Windows Store for options.
GipsyDanger said:
What do you plan on using this tablet for?
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Basically, I want to lug it around in my backpack around college for taking notes, recreational purposes in the dorm, like watching movies, plugging it into the big screen, some light gaming with the xbox controller. I would also appreciate the better screen and more powerful processor. And I figured out the USB otg cable does work on the omni, so the obvious choice is the omni. Now I just need a good tablet holder so I can type using an external keyboard.
And by the way, to that other dude, don't answer just to answer haha. None of these tablets have windows RT; they both have full windows 8, the omni is $50 more expensive than the t100 at $400., they both sport a micro SD card reader and a micro USB, the omni has a micro hdmi port, the t100 has a full size USB port. The t100 has a keyboard dock included in the cost, while the omni has a full HD 1920x1200 screen compared to the 1378x780 screen. The omni also has a decently faster processor than the t100. So the omni for me is the clear choice.
Anyway, about that tablet holder: I just need something that will be able to stand on a lecture hall flimsy desk. Any suggestions?
I would look into the Dell venue pro 11.
Replaceable battery
Stylus with ntrig
Accessories available
Matches hp omni specs closely
Taking class notes on a tablet is rough without a stylus and palm rejection. You might want an ultrabook or hp split. Anytime you want to draw, write a formula, or place a device on uneven or small area input gets hairy.
FroZebra said:
Basically, I want to lug it around in
my backpack around college for taking notes, recreational purposes in the dorm, like watching movies, plugging it into the big screen, some light gaming with the xbox controller. I would also appreciate the better screen and more powerful processor. And I figured out the USB otg cable does work on the omni, so the obvious choice is the omni. Now I just need a good tablet holder so I can type using an external keyboard.
And by the way, to that other dude, don't answer just to answer haha. None of these tablets have windows RT; they both have full windows 8, the omni is $50 more expensive than the t100 at $400., they both sport a micro SD card reader and a micro USB, the omni has a micro hdmi port, the t100 has a full size USB port. The t100 has a keyboard dock included in the cost, while the omni has a full HD 1920x1200 screen compared to the 1378x780 screen. The omni also has a decently faster processor than the t100. So the omni for me is the clear choice.
Anyway, about that tablet holder: I just need something that will be able to stand on a lecture hall flimsy desk. Any suggestions?
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Click to collapse
FroZebra said:
Basically, I want to lug it around in my backpack around college for taking notes, recreational purposes in the dorm, like watching movies, plugging it into the big screen, some light gaming with the xbox controller. I would also appreciate the better screen and more powerful processor. And I figured out the USB otg cable does work on the omni, so the obvious choice is the omni. Now I just need a good tablet holder so I can type using an external keyboard.
And by the way, to that other dude, don't answer just to answer haha. None of these tablets have windows RT; they both have full windows 8, the omni is $50 more expensive than the t100 at $400., they both sport a micro SD card reader and a micro USB, the omni has a micro hdmi port, the t100 has a full size USB port. The t100 has a keyboard dock included in the cost, while the omni has a full HD 1920x1200 screen compared to the 1378x780 screen. The omni also has a decently faster processor than the t100. So the omni for me is the clear choice.
Anyway, about that tablet holder: I just need something that will be able to stand on a lecture hall flimsy desk. Any suggestions?
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The omni seems like a pretty good tablet. I'd say wait until Black Friday and Cyber Monday to see if there are any good deals on more high end tablets, maybe you can find a deal on a Surface Pro.
HP Omni 10 otg?
I would also like to know if the HP Omni 10 has OTG-usb support and 3G dongle support, via an otg cable.
I found in internet the specifications and says: MicroUSB2.0 typeAB connector (Support Host Mode Only)
Does anybody knows if this means it may supports OTG via otg cable?
The Omni 10 has much better screen because is Gorilla 3, anti-glare and anti-smudge. I would like it had a keyboard included, but I hope a usb-keyboard can be connected.
Another interesting win 8.1 tablet is the Lenovo miix 2: 8''. According to internet comments it seems it supports otg.
Can anyone confirm the hp omni 10 has microusb that support otg?
anddroidz said:
Can anyone confirm the hp omni 10 has microusb that support otg?
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Really late, but I can confirm It supports OTG
I have a note 10.1 at the moment and I love the charging keyboard dock. I have it at work and just place my tablet in the dock when I get to work so it charges up and I have lots of nice physical keys to press.
I can't find any other devices which have something like this, can you think of any?
I would like a device with a high resolution as I like to read on it and the low-ish resolution is a bit annoying for that.
I was going to wait for the transformer duet as I thought android + windows 8 would be cool but it looks like that wont ever be released.