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Good morning
So ...the end of october is coming soon with all new microsoft windows 8 tablets and in this point i'm thinking which Win8 tablet to buy.
at first i was sure i will get the microsoft surface RT but then i found the Acer Acer Iconia w700 and i was amazed ....this machine is rocking!!! it's comes with a stand and bluetooth keyboard and the prices will start in 799$ to 999$ with ivy bridge i5 and 128Gb HDD.
So this changed my mind because i want to have the full Win8 on my tablet and the Surface Pro will only release in the first 2013 quarter.
I will be glad to hear what do you think...
http://youtu.be/lw_n-rrDLeU?hd=1
I'd avoid Acer. Most of their products look good on paper but have serious build quality, software, or battery flaws.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
+1
I would like to hear more about the W700 from people who have some knowledge about the tablet & have had any experience with previous Acer Windows tablets. I am hoping to sell my laptop & buy a Windows 8 tablet, so I really want to make an informed choice.
Another long term positive for the Surface will be accessories. Because manufacturers pump out model after model changing every spec on the machine, nobody really will invest in model specific accessories like the iPad and iPhone get. Because the Surface is being done by Microsoft itself, you'll probably see a lot of third party accessories and customizing for it. That's another major reason that I'm going with the Surface, even if HP, Dell, Asus, etc come out with something equivalent.
Tempest790 said:
Another long term positive for the Surface will be accessories. Because manufacturers pump out model after model changing every spec on the machine, nobody really will invest in model specific accessories like the iPad and iPhone get. Because the Surface is being done by Microsoft itself, you'll probably see a lot of third party accessories and customizing for it. That's another major reason that I'm going with the Surface, even if HP, Dell, Asus, etc come out with something equivalent.
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The best arguement for surface vs oems yet. still don't believe it will sell enough to justify any 3rd partys making accessories for it, though.
will Microsoft pump out some cool boom boxes, charging docks or protective shells? someone is going to have to build them.... hmmmm
The W700 has a cradle, not a dock, meaning that the keyboard is wirelessly detached. IMO, I think that the cradle looks hideous, and the detached keyboard is a dealbreaker for me. It's a shame.
I'm weighing up between the Surface Pro, Samsung Series 7, HP Envy X2 and ASUS Vivo TAB.
I've made a table in OneNote with all the tablets I deem interesting for myself, with known specs/dimensions/etc. There's missing information for some stuff, but here's a link anyway: https://skydrive.live.com/redir?page=view&resid=5304A0F127ADA4A1!6466&authkey=!APoZUZMhsksoqf0
Some notes: Colours and notes are subjective. Red text is a turnoff for me. Green text is very good. Orange is iffy. If there's a + next to storage, then there's a microSD slot. If there's a ++, there's a full SD slot. The number in brackets next to the pen type is confirmed sensitivity levels, but I imagine that most will be 1024 anyway. The note 'can close' means that the tablet is confirmed as being able to close just like a netbook if it is docked.
The bracketed number next to the i5 cores is the maximum turboboost speed. Intel's Clover Trail cores have a 0.1Ghz higher clock than the i5s, offer the same number of cores (including multithreading), offer much better battery life, have NFC (In all cases?), offer better graphics performance, but (AFAIK!) can't turboboost at all.
Right now, my decision really depends on how good the battery lives are. I guess we'll soon find out.
I have an acer w500 with win8 installed and it's fine.I've only had it for about a year (got around dec/jan). This is my first serious tab (wife has asus transformer) so I don't really have anything I can compare it to. I love being able to tether it to my phone and play my steam games for about an hour and still have decent (50-65%) battery left. Haven't had any problems so far.
redthunda69 said:
I'd avoid Acer. Most of their products look good on paper but have serious build quality, software, or battery flaws.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
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Idk what issues you had with acer but I had a a500 and it was a great tab. No issues at with at all and good build quality
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
i have been using acer for past 3 years, timeline notebook, W500 and a S3 right now, i will not buy another acer as my brand new S3 hard drive crashed in 2.5 months and again crashed in 3 more months later, now my S3 is crawling again, i have to change the HDD to SSD as soon as i get my Windows 8 copy, as Acre told me they will charge me $50 to create an image of my windows 7 as the SSD will be diffrent size then the HDD (so the back up is useless..
acer is cheap and good on paper but seems like its just cheap...
---------- Post added at 01:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:26 PM ----------
thundr51 said:
I have an acer w500 with win8 installed and it's fine.I've only had it for about a year (got around dec/jan). This is my first serious tab (wife has asus transformer) so I don't really have anything I can compare it to. I love being able to tether it to my phone and play my steam games for about an hour and still have decent (50-65%) battery left. Haven't had any problems so far.
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i got the W500 when it came out and as it has SSD its working great, i have win8 preview on it and works perfectly, or should i say great... just thich and heavy... my son loves it...
Now that pricing has been revealed. Who's still going to buy? I was on board, but I might wait for the pro since those prices are close to the full Win8 pc's I saw at Best Buy over the weekend.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/16/3271243/microsoft-surface-tablet-pricing-availability
nuprotocol said:
Now that pricing has been revealed. Who's still going to buy? I was on board, but I might wait for the pro since those prices are close to the full Win8 pc's I saw at Best Buy over the weekend.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/16/3271243/microsoft-surface-tablet-pricing-availability
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Y u no start a poll using the poll function?
Ncyde47 said:
Y u no start a poll using the poll function?
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sorry. had to think of some good polling questions. its up now! lol
This is too high considering the tablets out and the AMD powered tablets coming.
No buy.
About a year and half ago I bout my wife a (comparable) Asus Transformer for the same price....1.5 YEARS AGO. Currently I am using an Acer w500. My keyboard has 2 extra usb ports, an ethernet port, serves as a cover and (fwiw) "Clicks". cost: $0.
I was really looking forward to buying a surface pro, but if these prices are indicative of the pricing for the pro, I'll have to pass. Nevermind the fact that the only real "feature" that we know about these tablets is the keyboard. With RT I pretty much have not much else to go on, at least with pro, I can still use my existing software.
All that said, I know why they did this - to keep the OEMs happy. They're trying to get those consumers who want a premium product at any price and I'm just not in that camp. I have my Acer w500 with win 8 so I'm not in any rush. Maybe in a few years...
I'll just wait for the Pro. Buying the RT now and the Pro later is going to by some serious $$$$. I'd rather just make one purchase. Most of the stuff I would do on the RT I can do on my phone especially when the Win 8 Phones come out. I like that the Pro has a 1080 screen, displayport out, and USB 3.0. It will take the place of my laptop and it can function as a tablet. Win-Win.
That said, I'd still like to have an RT for longer battery life and for using as a reader at home. I'm sure there will be some people with buyers remorse or will just sell the RT when the Pro comes out. I'll pick up a refurb or used one by then.
thundr51 said:
No buy.
About a year and half ago I bout my wife a (comparable) Asus Transformer for the same price....1.5 YEARS AGO. Currently I am using an Acer w500. My keyboard has 2 extra usb ports, an ethernet port, serves as a cover and (fwiw) "Clicks". cost: $0.
I was really looking forward to buying a surface pro, but if these prices are indicative of the pricing for the pro, I'll have to pass. Nevermind the fact that the only real "feature" that we know about these tablets is the keyboard. With RT I pretty much have not much else to go on, at least with pro, I can still use my existing software.
All that said, I know why they did this - to keep the OEMs happy. They're trying to get those consumers who want a premium product at any price and I'm just not in that camp. I have my Acer w500 with win 8 so I'm not in any rush. Maybe in a few years...
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I guess we have to wait on reviews. I was really really looking forward to purchasing one. I guess $499 is competitive to the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity and the Ipad 3. But those two ecosystems have tons of apps and proven. SurfaceRT is windows w/o being able to install Windows apps. It'll be a real hard sell. My heart was broken over those prices. lol
However, I believe Microsoft knows what their doing and maybe the reviews will show its worth that pricey tag. I went to bestbuy.com and read the reviews for the Asus Infinity and their all pretty positive and it's priced at $499. However, its Android, and I can bring ALL of my droid apps to that tablet. I'm so lost. lol
Tempest790 said:
I'll just wait for the Pro. Buying the RT now and the Pro later is going to by some serious $$$$. I'd rather just make one purchase. Most of the stuff I would do on the RT I can do on my phone especially when the Win 8 Phones come out. I like that the Pro has a 1080 screen, displayport out, and USB 3.0. It will take the place of my laptop and it can function as a tablet. Win-Win.
That said, I'd still like to have an RT for longer battery life and for using as a reader at home. I'm sure there will be some people with buyers remorse or will just sell the RT when the Pro comes out. I'll pick up a refurb or used one by then.
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What if you already have a very nice, powerful, long battery life Windows laptop? Would the Pro still be worth the wait? I'm torn between the RT and the Pro. I have two very high end desktops I built, a powerful Windows laptop and not sure if I should break down and bust out $599 for the Surface RT or wait and sell my laptop and get the pro.
nuprotocol said:
What if you already have a very nice, powerful, long battery life Windows laptop? Would the Pro still be worth the wait? I'm torn between the RT and the Pro. I have two very high end desktops I built, a powerful Windows laptop and not sure if I should break down and bust out $599 for the Surface RT or wait and sell my laptop and get the pro.
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I'm not in that camp. My personal laptop is an older 17" HP that I gave to my daughter anyway. I have a work laptop that I use but it's a Dell 17" laptop. I'm looking for something smaller. I'm done with 17" laptops and 2 hour battery lifes and that's on a good day.
Unfortunately, I need legacy program support, specifically Microsoft Access. MS Publisher support in RT would be nice too. If MS ever offered that as part of the RT package (even for more money) I'd be all over the RT.
If you already have a powerful, long lasting laptop, I personally would just get the RT since it wouldn't make sense to duplicate the legacy functions anyway. Unless you don't want to lug around two machines (Laptop and Surface RT).
A lot of decisions. Plus, I'd really like to try out that new keyboard before committing to it.
My original plan was to get a slim laptop like the Asus UX31A and the Surface, but I think that's overkill. I see less and less reason to have a full laptop anymore since it's not really what I'm using. I don't use CD/DVD drives anymore, and the new smaller hi-res screens work good for me (I have great eyesight). Might as well just combine them together, and when MS announced the Pro version, it pretty much answered all my needs.
How is it possible that the warranty is just 1 year instead of 2? Even on the european pages of Germany and UK is limited to 1 year...it is actually too weird...
Tempest790 said:
I'm not in that camp. My personal laptop is an older 17" HP that I gave to my daughter anyway. I have a work laptop that I use but it's a Dell 17" laptop. I'm looking for something smaller. I'm done with 17" laptops and 2 hour battery lifes and that's on a good day.
Unfortunately, I need legacy program support, specifically Microsoft Access. MS Publisher support in RT would be nice too. If MS ever offered that as part of the RT package (even for more money) I'd be all over the RT.
If you already have a powerful, long lasting laptop, I personally would just get the RT since it wouldn't make sense to duplicate the legacy functions anyway. Unless you don't want to lug around two machines (Laptop and Surface RT).
A lot of decisions. Plus, I'd really like to try out that new keyboard before committing to it.
My original plan was to get a slim laptop like the Asus UX31A and the Surface, but I think that's overkill. I see less and less reason to have a full laptop anymore since it's not really what I'm using. I don't use CD/DVD drives anymore, and the new smaller hi-res screens work good for me (I have great eyesight). Might as well just combine them together, and when MS announced the Pro version, it pretty much answered all my needs.
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Thanks for the advice!
Uk Prices http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msuk/en_GB/pdp/productID.257929400
Cheaper to get in in US even with sales tax.
I just got a shock! After reading the specs below it seems there is no NFC!!! I am so disappointed. I want a tablet that is future proof. Seems the Asus Vivo Tab is the best right now.
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msuk/en_GB/pdp/productID.257929400#tab5
Very sad to see such a high price. Will fail. I won't be buying now, even the pro.
I'll wait for Google Nexus 10.1 with 2560×1600 pixel screen 299ppi versus the new iPad’s 264ppi. What's the point of these ****ty screen? 1300 x 728 on a 10 inch?
Oh and I am sure there will be ports of the RT version to other arm tabs...
Seems too high, I will wait for the Pro prices.
$299 Awesome. $399 Awesome. $499 with the touch cover? Awesome.
$599 for a bottom of the line with a touch cover? DOA.
I was spreading the word of these Win8 RT tablets like they were the gospel but if price gouging is going to be the M.O. then I guess there's no reason to slow down the iPad app development.
Balls in your court, MS. Try not to zune this up :crying:
mdomino said:
$299 Awesome. $399 Awesome. $499 with the touch cover? Awesome.
$599 for a bottom of the line with a touch cover? DOA.
I was spreading the word of these Win8 RT tablets like they were the gospel but if price gouging is going to be the M.O. then I guess there's no reason to slow down the iPad app development.
Balls in your court, MS. Try not to zune this up :crying:
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I don't think it's DOA, but I agree that being just $100 cheaper would have opened up even more sales. $499 with the touch cover would really be the sweet spot for a lot of people. However, I wouldn't be surprised if MS drops the price $100 after the holidays to keep interest in the Surface throughout 2013. I think it would be a smart move by MS to cash in on the early adopters (like Nokia is cashing in on me for the Lumia 920). Around March to May next year, MS should drop the price and watch them fly even more.
Since MS is only selling it online and through their stores, they are pretty much selling to those who already knew about the Surface and wanted it anyway. Once you start seeing the Surface at Best Buy and other retailers is when MS will need to adjust the price point.
I am not going to pay 599 USD for a tablet that is just running WinRT.. For a few hundred bucks more, I can get a tablet running full-fledged Windows 8 and I would rather buy that. While there may or may not be many apps for the Metro-style interface, I can get pretty much all applications I want for the standard Windows which can also handle the Metro-apps anyways.
So,too bad for you Microsoft.
the blogs and comments I've read say the same thing: Microsoft misinterpreted interest in the surface and prices it badly. they expected lines around the corner like an apple event, and are going to find out its not happening for rt.
hopefully they didn't poison the well for the future x86 tablets.... cause when users lay this much money for a device with windows all over it, they expect it to run windows programs. all of them.
Probably not. You won't see lines around the corner for this or other Win8 tablets. However, over time, I think it will eventually surpass the iPad and definitely Android. As more and more Win8 (both RT and Pro versions) machines are sold, the creation of apps is going to skyrocket as people try to cash in on being first. Some iPad and Android developers may initially balk at RT but when they see their competitors getting more and more of the lion's share, it will become a "me too" attitude as they jump in. Despite the naysayers and gloom predictions, I would bet that three years from now when MS is ready to release Win9, the RT ecosystem will be supporting 100,000's of apps. More importantly, it will begin to support big name apps. Imagine a Photoshop RT version from Adobe. Why concede the photo market to some other third player? Granted, it will take time, but I believe it will happen.
The real good news is that Win8 Phone uses pretty much the same OS and system so once those apps get created, it will be very easy to port them to the phone. Basically, you create one app and you get up to four target markets: desktop, laptop, tablet, and phone. No other provider or OS will have this advantage.
But, I might be wrong...
I am fuming at the price! Americans think its bad check out the UK price! I am a huge MS fanboi I admit that openly I own a Zune I have had 3 Windows Phones I have xbox my wife has windows phone I use windows on desktop and laptop and at work including server AD Exchange etc.
I love it all but I will not and cannot accept this price! MS is really taking the p**s now! This was my gripe with Apple and now MS has joined them. Looks like its time to build bridges with Android.
I have decided to buy a windows pro tablet.. I need the functionality of a laptop and the portability of a tablet. I'm a die hard fan of android, and had numerous tablets. But for work and studies it seems only a PC that's a option.. Surface rt is not an option as I would rather use a android tablet if I'd wanted another ARM based device.
CES is coming up, surfaces pro is soon arriving, and I guess we`ll see a lot of competition/alternatives in this segment.
I need the computer to be able to transform to a tablet(screen only, keyboard off) and battery life is important. I don't care about ultra performance, gaming etc..
What's your 5¢? Go surface pro or is there anything else worth my money? I do care about developer support to my devices though..
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
buljo said:
I have decided to buy a windows pro tablet.. I need the functionality of a laptop and the portability of a tablet. I'm a die hard fan of android, and had numerous tablets. But for work and studies it seems only a PC that's a option.. Surface rt is not an option as I would rather use a android tablet if I'd wanted another ARM based device.
CES is coming up, surfaces pro is soon arriving, and I guess we`ll see a lot of competition/alternatives in this segment.
I need the computer to be able to transform to a tablet(screen only, keyboard off) and battery life is important. I don't care about ultra performance, gaming etc..
What's your 5¢? Go surface pro or is there anything else worth my money? I do care about developer support to my devices though..
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
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Id suggest the Lenovo yoga....if you have the moolah that is...
mrappbrain said:
Id suggest the Lenovo yoga....if you have the moolah that is...
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But the yoga isn't detachable from its keyboard.. Moolah?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
I discarded the idea of Core i-series based tablets mainly because of the battery life and fans. I like the Atom based tablets more because they can be lighter, go several hours longer on a charge, and still offer reasonable performance.
Also I wanted a tablet that could dock into a keyboard for a more traditional laptop like form factor. I don't like the Surface tablets with their kickstands and keyboard covers. I want something I could rest in my lap and type on if wanted.
I ended up getting the Samsung Ativ Smart PC 500T. Mostly because it was the only thing available (other than the Acer 500W). I'm satisfied with the Atom performance in the 500T. Things take longer to load, but usually works well after it has. Office 2010 works great. Chrome works okay (IE works better). I can even run some low end desktop games from Steam like Torchlight.
It seems like most of the Windows 8 Atom tablets seem to have various glitches, probably mostly due to early drivers. I've mostly been reading the Samsung and HP forums, the HP Envy X2 is something I somewhat considered exchanging my Samsung for. But it sounds like the keyboard on the HP isn't that good, and there are issues with the trackpad not working after waking the tablet up (have to redock to get it working). My issues with the Samsung is the screen doesn't tilt back far enough, the back is slippery. And software issues, sometimes wifi and Bluetooth to play together nicely, and it has a problem sleeping when in the keyboard dock and closed.
The software glitches will be resolved in time. The hardware issues I can probably live with. So I'm guessing I'll probably stick with my Samsung. Still think it's a better choice than the considerably more expensive Surface Pro or other Core i-series tablets.
Ravynmagi said:
I discarded the idea of Core i-series based tablets mainly because of the battery life and fans. I like the Atom based tablets more because they can be lighter, go several hours longer on a charge, and still offer reasonable performance.
Also I wanted a tablet that could dock into a keyboard for a more traditional laptop like form factor. I don't like the Surface tablets with their kickstands and keyboard covers. I want something I could rest in my lap and type on if wanted.
I ended up getting the Samsung Ativ Smart PC 500T. Mostly because it was the only thing available (other than the Acer 500W). I'm satisfied with the Atom performance in the 500T. Things take longer to load, but usually works well after it has. Office 2010 works great. Chrome works okay (IE works better). I can even run some low end desktop games from Steam like Torchlight.
It seems like most of the Windows 8 Atom tablets seem to have various glitches, probably mostly due to early drivers. I've mostly been reading the Samsung and HP forums, the HP Envy X2 is something I somewhat considered exchanging my Samsung for. But it sounds like the keyboard on the HP isn't that good, and there are issues with the trackpad not working after waking the tablet up (have to redock to get it working). My issues with the Samsung is the screen doesn't tilt back far enough, the back is slippery. And software issues, sometimes wifi and Bluetooth to play together nicely, and it has a problem sleeping when in the keyboard dock and closed.
The software glitches will be resolved in time. The hardware issues I can probably live with. So I'm guessing I'll probably stick with my Samsung. Still think it's a better choice than the considerably more expensive Surface Pro or other Core i-series tablets.
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I have had this for a while and most of the software issues are resolvable via 3rd party apps - particularly the on screen keyboard not appearing in text boxes (I use Comfort Keys - $30 but worth every penny). You may want to visit tweaks.com and bleepingcomputer.com for some good info
And I agree - it's well built - I had a Surface RT - crap, buggy software and the covers were cheap garbage.
Just get rid of the Samsung bloatware and you'll be fine
I've had my runs with Samsung, but can't say I'll jump for joy when I think about it.. But thanks alot for your input, appreciate it.. The envy is something to consider..
I dont need the brute force the i series gives, also fans is a turnoff on a tablet.
Any thoughts on Asus vivotab?
Or this? http://www.asus.com/vivo/en/transformerBook.htm
Asus is throwing out a whole series.. Looking good.
Sent from my LT25i using xda premium
buljo said:
I have decided to buy a windows pro tablet.. I need the functionality of a laptop and the portability of a tablet. I'm a die hard fan of android, and had numerous tablets. But for work and studies it seems only a PC that's a option.. Surface rt is not an option as I would rather use a android tablet if I'd wanted another ARM based device.
CES is coming up, surfaces pro is soon arriving, and I guess we`ll see a lot of competition/alternatives in this segment.
I need the computer to be able to transform to a tablet(screen only, keyboard off) and battery life is important. I don't care about ultra performance, gaming etc..
What's your 5¢? Go surface pro or is there anything else worth my money? I do care about developer support to my devices though..
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
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I'm using the Toshiba T925u. It is rather pricey ($1100), but it is i5 and makes about 5 hours on a charge (more if you tweak the settings). It is a bit large at 12.5 inch screen. The keyboard slides out from under the screen.
stevedebi said:
I'm using the Toshiba T925u. It is rather pricey ($1100), but it is i5 and makes about 5 hours on a charge (more if you tweak the settings). It is a bit large at 12.5 inch screen. The keyboard slides out from under the screen.
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I just got my Acer W510 - and I'm loving it so far!
The fact that its cheap can be felt at some point, but given the price of it I certainly can live with it.
The battery life is really great, even without the dock.
Its worth to consider ?
//M
m.klinge said:
I just got my Acer W510 - and I'm loving it so far!
The fact that its cheap can be felt at some point, but given the price of it I certainly can live with it.
The battery life is really great, even without the dock.
Its worth to consider ?
//M
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thanks, will look into it..
decisions decisions...
The vivotab has a better screen than the ativ, which I have and love. 600 nits is nuts, the ativ is around 400 which most tablets are. The ativ is way cheaper. Arounf 750 for tab and keyboard. 819 for just the tablet on the vivo 810. Dock is another 200. As mentioned, the best thing to do with the ativ as soon as you get it is reinstall win 8 and erase everything then do all the updates. Great stuff.
From an unlocked Note 2. Hmm...... Can you hear me Verizon, out on Uranus?
I DO Not reccomend the surface for a few reasons:
1. The trackpad is awful. Truly. And the keyboard isn't very good either. And the onscreen keyboard is garbage for productivity. In addition to all these facts, I find that the 'form factor' of getting stuff done, is sitting upright, with the keyboard in front of you and the tablet standing up. This is all well and good, but you can find the same form factor in the much better zenbook touch which costs about the same price as the surface(if you include the surface keyboard).
2. The zenbook touch not only has a full sized, better keyboard, and a better trackpad, the touch screen is 13 inches and is HD.
3. Developers have no incentive to make apps for windows 8. Apps they have been developing for w7 work on w8 so there's no reason to switch over to the abysmally selling OS. This means using desktop apps, which aren't amazing for touch. This is where you use a trackpad, and again, the one on the surface is awful.
All in all the zenbook touch offers a WAY better package in the same price range.
atticusmas said:
I DO Not reccomend the surface for a few reasons:
1. The trackpad is awful. Truly. And the keyboard isn't very good either. And the onscreen keyboard is garbage for productivity. In addition to all these facts, I find that the 'form factor' of getting stuff done, is sitting upright, with the keyboard in front of you and the tablet standing up. This is all well and good, but you can find the same form factor in the much better zenbook touch which costs about the same price as the surface(if you include the surface keyboard).
2. The zenbook touch not only has a full sized, better keyboard, and a better trackpad, the touch screen is 13 inches and is HD.
3. Developers have no incentive to make apps for windows 8. Apps they have been developing for w7 work on w8 so there's no reason to switch over to the abysmally selling OS. This means using desktop apps, which aren't amazing for touch. This is where you use a trackpad, and again, the one on the surface is awful.
All in all the zenbook touch offers a WAY better package in the same price range.
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i agree with all your points. but its a bit like comparing oranges and apples where the surface is a tablet and the zenbook is a laptop.
I am changing out my android tablets for a windows pro machine, as said in first post i need the PC functions.. but want to keep the tablet factor.. possibility to take of the screen and use it as a tablet.
as a first glance the vivo series looks like a winner for me.
buljo said:
i agree with all your points. but its a bit like comparing oranges and apples where the surface is a tablet and the zenbook is a laptop.
I am changing out my android tablets for a windows pro machine, as said in first post i need the PC functions.. but want to keep the tablet factor.. possibility to take of the screen and use it as a tablet.
as a first glance the vivo series looks like a winner for me.
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The vivo series runs RT. not pro.
atticusmas said:
The vivo series runs RT. not pro.
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Actually the vivo 600 is rt. The vivitab 810 has the atom processor and runs 8 pro.
From an unlocked Note 2. Hmm...... Can you hear me Verizon, out on Uranus?
yeps, as he said.
but what is the difference between vivotab and vivotab smart? what makes it so "smart" other than screensize?
http://www.asus.com/vivo/en/vivoTab.htm
the transformer book looks awesome, but i5/i7 with fans, and it seems to be steeply priced.. but 13" screen would have been nice.
acer w510 is essentially exactly what you're looking for...
It feels bit cheap but I actually like it - and the white trim/silver back looks very clean.
It's 10.1" (better than 11.6" IMO) - its lightweight, and it has the docking attachment.
I bought my 32gb version for $399 at microcenter. You add the dock from acer for $150 and for near $580 with tax, there is nothing that is touching it for a full windows 8 tablet that is portable, great battery life. Windows 8 RT is a joke compared to full windows 8.
There are some bugs but man its hard to beat right now.
dale_cooper said:
acer w510 is essentially exactly what you're looking for...
It feels bit cheap but I actually like it - and the white trim/silver back looks very clean.
It's 10.1" (better than 11.6" IMO) - its lightweight, and it has the docking attachment.
I bought my 32gb version for $399 at microcenter. You add the dock from acer for $150 and for near $580 with tax, there is nothing that is touching it for a full windows 8 tablet that is portable, great battery life. Windows 8 RT is a joke compared to full windows 8.
There are some bugs but man its hard to beat right now.
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Yeah, a buddy got one and I have say it is pretty awesome. Pound for pound best deal for the money. I guess in comparing the two it would come down to screen size which is more of a preference thing than anything. You wouldn't think going from an 11.6 to a 10.1 would make such a difference in portability, but it really does.
From an unlocked Note 2. Hmm...... Can you hear me Verizon, out on Uranus?
buljo said:
I have decided to buy a windows pro tablet.. I need the functionality of a laptop and the portability of a tablet. I'm a die hard fan of android, and had numerous tablets. But for work and studies it seems only a PC that's a option.. Surface rt is not an option as I would rather use a android tablet if I'd wanted another ARM based device.
CES is coming up, surfaces pro is soon arriving, and I guess we`ll see a lot of competition/alternatives in this segment.
I need the computer to be able to transform to a tablet(screen only, keyboard off) and battery life is important. I don't care about ultra performance, gaming etc..
What's your 5¢? Go surface pro or is there anything else worth my money? I do care about developer support to my devices though..
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
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Have you considered and ipad and bluetooth keyboard ?
Maybe a note2 and bt keyboard ?
The only reasons I ask are current application a hardware support for these devices. They're both more mature in software and hardware segments right now. A few professionals I know that tried big tablets like the surface have returned then and gone back to laptops that fold flat like heavy tablets, or ipads. Their reasons were app development not mature enough and the size of the surface opposed to its not-quite-a-laptop functionality pushed them back to convertable laptops. Just something to keep in mind.
ohgood said:
Have you considered and ipad and bluetooth keyboard ?
Maybe a note2 and bt keyboard ?
The only reasons I ask are current application a hardware support for these devices. They're both more mature in software and hardware segments right now. A few professionals I know that tried big tablets like the surface have returned then and gone back to laptops that fold flat like heavy tablets, or ipads. Their reasons were app development not mature enough and the size of the surface opposed to its not-quite-a-laptop functionality pushed them back to convertable laptops. Just something to keep in mind.
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Are you sure they did run a full win 8 and not just the winRT? With the full win 8 you can basically install whatever you like - which renders the missing app situation an invalid point.
Having an iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard myself I'm shocked that professionals actually use that as a working tool!? I've tried it myself but when working with a sleightly locked down it infrastructure you're pretty much reduced to Citrix or remote desktop which renders the missing app situation an invalid point...
Once more I'd vote for the w510 - its cheap, reasonly well build and really kicks ass for lightweight tasks
//M
Microsoft Surface Pro, Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro, or the newly announced Lenovo Thinkpad Helix for me at this point.
All have a digitizer and pen, which I'm looking for in my tab. I'll be watching the Helix close as the 256GB SSD + i7 + extra juice are attractive to me, but the Surface Pro with a 10.6" screen w/ an i5 seems a bit more portable.
The Samsung allows for taking the keyboard off and running in pure tablet mode as well, but what do you do with the keyboard when you're not at home / at your desk? Seems clunky to me. Hense the attractiveness of the "Rip and Flip" concept of the Helix =)
We'll see how price and performance plays with this in the coming weeks / months though...
A little disappointed not seeing a new surface with Tegra K1 or mini sized model.
That's why I am thinking to buy Surface 2. I want a tablet with the full functioned Office and I can check and edit documents easily outside. Is it still worth to buy a Windows RT tablets right now? Do you guys think Microsoft is still developing Windows RT?
Can someone who have Surface 2 share you experiences? :fingers-crossed:
My honest opinion, not worth it. I honestly don't think RT is around to stay and some of the atom tablets manage to get to similar enough price points yet run full windows 8.1.
SixSixSevenSeven said:
My honest opinion, not worth it. I honestly don't think RT is around to stay and some of the atom tablets manage to get to similar enough price points yet run full windows 8.1.
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That's what i think too. I really hope Microsoft would bring out a surface-liked, atom equipped, 10.1 inch Windows 8.1 tablet in the future
I have a Surface RT, I mostly use it for watching episodes of shows, school work, and emails. For basic usage it's fine with 8.1 RT, M$ still does windows updates to fix whatever.
The surface 2 Pro & SP3 both have the same i5 Haswell that's about 1yr old now. I honestly don't see why the SP3 didn't wait for Broadwell...
Transmitted From Burning Gundam
For me, the lack of a published jailbreak for RT 8.1 would be a deal-breaker on the Surface 2. Hopefully that will change as I believe a jailbreak is still in the works, but I wouldn't bet on it anymore when x86 devices are at or near the same price point. If you don't care about running desktop software other than office, and find a really good deal on a Surface 2, then it might still be worth it. I really like the Surface hardware and form factor, just Windows RT is somewhat disappointing out of the box. I've had my Surface RT and type cover for a bit over a year now and it is a really useful device.
I have a Surface 2 for about 7 months now and I still love it! Love it much more than any Android or iPad tablet. It's very good in terms of performance and the kickstand is just amazing! I love the 16:9 form factor because I always use my tablet in landscape (On a table or most of the time on my chest when I am in bed ) Internet Explorer 11 is amazing, much better than Chrome or Safari are except for one annoying bug that is when I try to go back to a page it takes almost forever to load it again! (Microsoft if you are reading this, please fix this bug, it's very very annoying). I love watching movies in there as well and the design is fantastic! But yours movies will have to be mp4 as there aren't AFAIK any good free mkv players (VLC team if you are reading this, we are still waiting for VLC in ARM!!! Please do it!!!)
Battery life is not very good when you use it for web browsing (about 6, 6.5 hours) but for watching movies it's very good! If you want for Office though, keep in mind that the Office RT version doesn't have VBA...
I love the virtual keyboard, it's really really responsive, never failed me...
And there is a USB socket where I can plug my pen drive with my movies and it's really a very good thing to have and you'll never have that in a iPad.
The cameras are ok, not the best but also not the worst. The front is good enough for skype calls.
The audio could be a little better though with speakers on front instead of sides, maybe for surface 3.
And another thing, there are still missing a lot of apps in the store. And the charger is a little tricky to get it plugged in.
I think Microsoft might have a killer tablet Windows RT tablet if they have:
- Have the speakers on the front
- Have a better GPU (Tegra K1 )
- Have a little bit more bright in the screen and a 12 inch screen like Surface 3
- Improve the battery life for web browsing
- Fix the increasingly annoying bug in the Internet Explorer 11 back button.
The dream is to get a Surface Pro 3 with all this. I believe what's really missing in Surface Pro 3 right now is a really powerful GPU to play games. When Microsoft makes that, then the game is over for every other tablet!! Imagine able to play Watch Dogs at a decent framerate/quality everywhere!! Just plug in a mouse, a keyboard or maybe a 360 controller and you are done.
I'm set to get the Surface 2 in a few weeks coming from Japan, as Microsoft have rare distributors around, with my region having only one who overprice by over $200 to $300 for the Surface Pro series. They absolutely don't carry the Surface 2.
The Surface Pro are really expensive, and I have a powerful but heavy Alienware laptop to do heavier loads for 3D rendering when I need to. So, the Surface 2 comes to mind for my masters thesis writing needs with a great keyboard cover and lighter to carry around.
I'm a heavy Galaxy Note user, was really tempted to get the Note 10.1, or the 12.2. My decision for choosing the Surface 2 instead were:
1. That wonderful built-in kickstand. I don't like leather covers.
2. Fantastic Type Cover 2 for my fast typing and with backlighting.
3. 200GB of OneDrive for 2 freaking years!
4. Full Office.
5. Snappy OS, with practically no viruses I've heard of.
6. Half the price compared to the Pro series, and I'm getting the 64GB version, all within $700 with the Type Cover 2.
7. Full connectivity with USB 3.0, Wifi, Bluetooth, miracasting, and HDMI for extended screen at home.
8. A promising RT future - I know people doubt RT is ever getting the pickup it truly deserves and the news that MS is going to merge RT and WinPhone into one is something. I do not need Instagram, or any of those games most are playing. I mean to see this as my writing and reading tool.
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Hey guys,
I am a Senior in Mechanical Engineering right now and I stumbled upon a friend who had one of these (he actually has the original Surface) and I thought it was awesome how he took his notes on it. I have an iPad (I am not an Apple fan but it was a high school graduation present) and taking notes on it is horrendous.
Anyways, the i7 version of the Surface is out of my budget at $1500, but I was thinking about the i5 128GB version. Am I missing out if I don't get the i7? I mean really...I have an Alienware M14X laptop as well and I don't game. I can't imagine the need for an i7, but correct me if I am wrong. Like I said, the i7 is out of my budget anyways, but it kills me to not have the best of the best (haha).
Should I wait for a newer version of the Surface to come out? (if that is even anytime soon)
Let me know what you think. Thanks a lot.
CC268 said:
Hey guys,
I am a Senior in Mechanical Engineering right now and I stumbled upon a friend who had one of these (he actually has the original Surface) and I thought it was awesome how he took his notes on it. I have an iPad (I am not an Apple fan but it was a high school graduation present) and taking notes on it is horrendous.
Anyways, the i7 version of the Surface is out of my budget at $1500, but I was thinking about the i5 128GB version. Am I missing out if I don't get the i7? I mean really...I have an Alienware M14X laptop as well and I don't game. I can't imagine the need for an i7, but correct me if I am wrong. Like I said, the i7 is out of my budget anyways, but it kills me to not have the best of the best (haha).
Should I wait for a newer version of the Surface to come out? (if that is even anytime soon)
Let me know what you think. Thanks a lot.
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The sweet spot for price/performance/battery life is actually the Surface Pro 3 core i5/256GB/8GB version. Don't get the 128GB version as it comes with only 4GB of RAM. You will be thankful for the extra RAM especially if you are going to do design on it. If you budget permits it...get the core i7/256GB/8GB version.
Yea I suppose the i5 8gb 256 will be the one I get...The i7 is really pushing the budget