Thoughts on what tablet to get???

[v10type-r]

So I am looking at getting a tablet for my wife and myself. This will be our first tablet, my wife was given an iPad 2 this past spring from her work, but we gave it away since we are "anti-apple".

Anyways, I have a pretty good PC that we use for all major things like Photoshop, Gaming etc. So we are looking to get a tablet for consuming media, checking email, surfing the web and small tasks like that.

I was about to order the Surface RT 64GB with touch cover, but the cost of it is $720 CDN for it. I really love the look and build of the Surface but I am hesitant on pulling the trigger on it especially when there are a few other options out there for that price.

I don't want an Android or Apple tablet, but I have been looking at the Samsung ATIV 500T ($699), Acer Iconia 64GB i5 ($850), Dell XPS10 64GB ($599) and the Asus Vivo Tab RT 32GB ($599).

I know the Samsung and Acer are more like laptops in terms of having full Windows 8, but are they worth it over a Surface?

I want to keep the cost down to closer to $700, the Samsung doesn't have a keyboard for $699, only the Surface and the Acer i5 have keyboards included...

I could use some advice here in making the purchase, any would be appreciated... I can't actually see a Surface in person as I don't have an MS store near me which is a bummer...

My 3yr old will probably be using it a bit for games and streaming cartoons, so it needs to be a little more robust which is why I was leaning towards the Surface...

 

[Coreldan]

Well, a 32 gb Surface with an SD card could be a bit cheaper. The only difference really is you wont be able to install apps on the SD card.

I just love my Surface so frigging much I cant honestly suggest anything else to you lol.

 

[v10type-r]

Thanks Coreldan,

I just read somewhere that the 32GB Surface was really only about 14GB or so after the OS is installed and shipped.. This is probably enough space overall, but I think it is just on the "tight" end of things just like I experienced with my Lumia 900.. Now that I have a 920 I don't have to worry about space with apps etc.

Do you have the touch cover or the type cover? The Black Friday sale takes $50 off either cover, tho it will be a second cover since it only applies to Surface's bundled with a cover initially

 

[jdevenberg]

I'm very happy with my Vivio Tab RT. I think the XPS 10 looks like a great device too, and probably would have gotten that over the Vivo had it been available at launch. Between the two, the Vivo comes with it's dock, the XPS 10 does not, and its dock is quite expensive. However, the XPS inludes more memory and a Wacom digitizer, which the Vivo lacks (and is the reason I would have liked the XPS). That said, I'd go for the Vivo Tab RT out of the listed options because it comes with a dock, and even though it has less memory than the XPS, a 64 GB micros SD (or even a persoal NAS server with remote access) for the Vivo is cheaper than the dock for the XPS

 

[dseiden]

The Surface is certainly more bomb proof than the Samsung tablet but the difference between RT and full Windows 8 is enough for some to make it worth the added expense to get the full version. If you are not going to be using any legacy applications then the Surface may fit your needs perfectly. I would take a look at the Windows 8 RT store and see if there is enough in there that you need. I would also try out the browser if you can and check the sites that you want to be able to use and make sure that this will work for you.

I personally love both versions. For media and general use the Surface is great. I need to use some legacy apps for work so having at least the Atom processor is a help.

 

[Coreldan]

Thanks Coreldan,

I just read somewhere that the 32GB Surface was really only about 14GB or so after the OS is installed and shipped.. This is probably enough space overall, but I think it is just on the "tight" end of things just like I experienced with my Lumia 900.. Now that I have a 920 I don't have to worry about space with apps etc.

Do you have the touch cover or the type cover? The Black Friday sale takes $50 off either cover, tho it will be a second cover since it only applies to Surface's bundled with a cover initially

I have a TouchCover. I think it's great for what it is. Allows me to type on a keyboard when I want/need to, while still feels like nothing more than a screencover when folded back.

And yeah, around 15gb is what you'll have left after installation. It sorta depends how much apps you tend to have. That's quite a bit room for apps, considering you can put everything else into cloud or to the MicroSD which is cheaper than getting the 64gb version. Naturally though if money wasnt much of an issues for me, I would've rather just got the 64gb model. That said, I sport just about no apps, so 32gb +MicroSD is no issue whatsoever for me.

 

[v10type-r]

The Dell XPS 10 looks promising, but I really cant find anything on it, even Dells website is lacking on info.

The Dell is $780 with the keyboard dock which includes an integrated battery which is nice..

This is a really tough decision..I like them all, I won't need any legacy programs installed on this tablet..

I've read some mixed reviews on the Surface in terms of video performance and loading times.. seems good/bad... Is the quad core tegra chip not good enough? how does it compare to the other ones (S4, Intel Atom)..?

Youtube, Excel, Word, email, skype and general web browsing will be 95% of the tasks required for our needs. My PC does all the rest of the hard work.

All I know is that the 64GB Acer Iconia with i5 tablet includes the keyboard and has full windows 8 for $850.. That's only $130 more than the 64GB Surface RT and only $70 more than the Dell XPS 10.. I have never owned an Acer anything so I don't know what the quality would be like, and with an i5 processor will it get hot and not be as easily portable as it will surely be heavier than the RT tablets.

 

[v10type-r]

Really, had I had a Microsoft Store near me, I could probably make this decision quite quickly.. "sigh"

 

[sketchy9]

IMO you need to ask yourself some questions:

1. What are your size requirements? As is you're considering 11.6", 10.1", and 10.6" screens. Having owned both 11.6" and 10.1" tablets, I felt there was a big difference in day-to-day use as a tablet. 11.6" is really on the cusp of "too big" to comfortably hold as a tablet. If the primary use will be as a tablet (and not docked at a desk), this is a big consideration.
2. Do you need Windows 8 or will Windows RT suffice? Are there any legacy programs from Windows that you think you'll want to install? That can be things like media players, photo editors, etc. Windows RT will have all of those I'm sure, but you're going to be limited to whatever is in the Windows Store. x86 has hundereds of thousands of programs available today (not touch-optimized obviously). Only you can answer what your anticipated use scenarios are and which OS you'll need (as an example, I wanted to be able to use my camera's included RAW software as well as play recorded Windows Media Center TV shows aka .wtv files. Both of these tasks are only possible on full Windows 8, so it was an easy decision for me). If you want full Windows 8, you need to decide how important performance vs. size and heat are (i.e. decide if you want a Clover Trail or core i3/5/7 processor)
3. Once you decide on size, OS, and processor, the decision is pretty easy simply because of limited availability at this point. Windows RT tabs are the Vivo RT and the Surface. There's a bit more choice with Windows 8 tablets, although Clover Trail tablets are still pretty hard to come by.

Hope that helps

 

[Oldmajor]

Based on the things you've said you needed, a 32gb service should be more than enough. The largest app I've downloaded was about 193MB IIRC. Its movies, pictures and music that takes up all the space but a cheap 32gb or 64gb solves the media storage.

 

[v10type-r]

Thanks everyone, I think I am going to get a Surface, either 32 or 64gb. I don't want an ultrabook, Win8 tablet due to heat, price and I don't care for full blown win8 on my tablet.

I just need to see if the Surface is as good as I want it to be in terms of performance etc...

 

[coolqf]

Tell us your impressions after giving it a run!

 

[csiguy1]

I bought 2 of the HP Envy 2 machines and am very pleased with them.

 

[bpcooper14]

I'm all in for the ThinkPad Tablet 2. I'm not a power user but the ability to run legacy apps with the digitizer and pen included sold me. That and the price gives me a solid machine that should handle anything that I am planning on doing with it.

 

[socialcarpet]

The Surface isn't ready for prime time yet in my opinion. I'm using a Nexus 7 in the meantime. I'll be happy to trade it for a Windows RT tablet once they've gone through a generation of evolution or so and there is a decent library of apps tho run on them. I'd recommend getting a Nexus 7 or Nexus 10 or iPad for now, unless you are OK with having just Office and IE and very little else to run on your tablet.

 

[snaqvi91]

The Surface isn't ready for prime time yet in my opinion. I'm using a Nexus 7 in the meantime. I'll be happy to trade it for a Windows RT tablet once they've gone through a generation of evolution or so and there is a decent library of apps tho run on them. I'd recommend getting a Nexus 7 or Nexus 10 or iPad for now, unless you are OK with having just Office and IE and very little else to run on your tablet.

I think I'll keep my Nexus 7 which I got because of the light weight and small design which is great for one handed use, say when you're trying to fall asleep. Unless some equally food and cheap small tablet comes along I won't be catching my nexus 7 anytime soon even if I end up getting a Surface.

 

[Shindou]

Get a Surface bro, and depending on whether you need to run desktop apps then get the Pro version which is due in January. Samsung Ativ tablet is always a great choice too, but Surface is brilliant.

 

[Lumis90]

Surface PRO/RT