Help Me Choose My Tablet - Thinkpad Tablet 2, Vivotab, Acer W700, Etc.

[wokaz80]

hi guys i really want to try a windows 8 tablet and i plan to buy it either by the end of this month or by next January. I am confused on what to pick though

First of all, the reason why I want a windows 8 tablet IS because i like the interface. but more importantly, i need metatrader and cTrader in legacy app as im a full time forex trader. I have metatrader in my iphone but you cant seriously compare that with the windows version (no tabbing, no lines drawing, no fibonacci, etc.). cTrader doesnt even exist there.

im looking to replace my macbook pro (which btw i also installed windows 8 on it through parallels virtual desktop) with a windows 8 tablet to support my trading while im outside

So basically I dont need a super i7 tablet or something. However, im curious to know how windows 8 atom tablets perform. I have seen enough reviews and some people says atom tablets perform badly in legacy apps. Question is, how bad is that bad? Does it lag so bad even though i dont need to run heavy apps like adobe? I only need to run these trading apps which btw are very light. You can compare them with MS paint i believe, just with constant connection.

would it do well in atom tablets? I dont want lags when i switch from win8 native apps to metatrader and cTrader.

next question - how does windows 8 tablet on-screen keyboard work with legacy apps? Would i have special gesture to show up the on-screen keyboard or it automatically appears when i touch the screen? I personally dont believe i would need a physical keyboard if the on-screen keyboard always show up at the right time (my biggest fear is that it won't show up when i supposed to type in legacy apps)

at the moment, here are what I currently want and my doubts about them:

1. Acer Iconia W700 - it comes with i3 so i dont have a single doubt about its performance. However, it's more than 1kg which is heavy. I also doubt the battery life despite it comes with bigger battery as compared to surface pro. My question about this tablet is whether it comes with scratch resistant glass such as corning gorilla glass or not? Because i cant find any information about it anywhere

2. Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 - it's my most preferred W8 atom tablet atm because it has smaller screen 10" which is perfect imo. My concern about this tablet has been stated above. I doubt about its performance as it comes with atom processor. I also have doubt if i dont buy the bluetooth keyboard, would it have any typing issues with legacy apps as i stated above?

3. Asus Vivo Tab - this is also another alternative for me. THe reason why I put thinkpad tablet 2 ahead of this one is simply because it's smaller. but i like the idea of having 2 batteries. Same question about this tablet. How about the performance?

*again, i dont need to run heavy legacy apps. i only need to run metatrader and cTrader which btw are light apps. how good atom tablets running light/medium legacy apps?

Thanks guys! Oh btw i dont list surface pro at all because it wont be released in my country. I have to go to neighbor country if i want to buy surface pro which i wont do because then it'll be hard to claim warranty

 

[wokaz80]

I forgot to add one more question. how responsive legacy apps (desktop mode) is to your finger? Do i really need a pen or it doesnt help either? Because acer w700 doesnt come with a pen so it's also a crucial question for me

 

[KingOla2nd]

1st off dont buy the asus tablet, because i have an asus eee slate running win8, good product, bad design and asus have the worst customer service.

and since you said you're going to running light app its okay you can get a tablet with an atom processor, most of these tablets have the 2010 atom processor so they are not as bad as people say.

i would say get this tablet >>> 500T1C, ATIV Smart PC

the battery live beats all the tablets you mention and also has 4g connection plus with bluetooh you can connect a wireless mouse and keyboard oh and samsung are offering 5 year warranty if you buy before the end of this month

or you could wait till jan for more windows 8 tablets to come out

 

[wokaz80]

hello kingola2nd, thanks for the answer.

the only reason why i didnt list samsung ativ smart pc is simply because i have heard several bad reviews about its lag and crash on the net. Im not sure though as I also have seen several positive reviews. Have you tested the device yourself? Is it really smooth for both metro apps and light legacy apps?

also what's the benefit of having smart pc 500T as compared to acer iconia w510? In my country smart pc 500T cost about $950 which is the same price with acer w700 while acer w510 is only about $600 so it's a huge difference.

and as regards to battery, ativ 500T comes with 30whr battery power while acer w510 with 27whr but then acer w510 has smaller screen size so i think battery life is about the same?

 

[wokaz80]

nvm have seen reviews and long hands on on youtube videos. apparently it's just the same with any other atom clovertrail tablet out there. The only issue is just the hinge between dock and the tablet itself. Might consider getting this one but i still feel for such a high price it should have been made with aluminium or something. But if there's no other tablet (that will come this month or January) with 3G connection, i will definitely get this

 

[pseudoware]

Have you considered the Acer Iconia W510? Awesome battery life, sturdy hinge and tablet/dock connection, 10" screen.

In addition to being larger/heavier, the W700 doesn't come with a keyboard dock, only a desktop cradle. Great for use on a desk or table, but you don't get the laptop convenience, if that's important.
Sent from my Windows 8 device using Board Express

 

[wokaz80]

hello there. yes im considering acer but no 3g version in my country and i couldnt find information whether it will be available or not.

3g is a deal breaker to me. i dont see any point why i need to tether my phone everytime im outside and use my tablet just to check on forex chart

 

[wokaz80]

hey there robinmbers, i have asked acer rep in my country. actually acer w510 is a better option than ativ 500t.

why? Because even though it doesnt have 3G, the tablet is equipped with micro USB slot. i have micro USB to USB adaptor and we can easily use a standard hsdpa modem there. I know it takes extra step every time we awake our tablet but I think it's well worth it.

I dont feel comfortable with samsung ativ 500t because many bad reviews about its dock keyboard (also no battery) and the price is ridiculous for plastic and no gorilla glass. I dont like putting screen protector on my tablet as it will surely reduce the brightness. Im not sure about samsung special screen protector for the ativ, but then it costs $20-$30 + international shipping fee makes it even more expensive. Paying $1000 for ATIV + no battery keyboard (cant buy the tablet alone in my country) + screen protector doesnt make sense to me. dont get me wrong, i dont mind spending $1000 even more. in fact i paid more than $1000 for my MBP back in 2011. but i will only pay extra when ativ comes with gorilla glass and at least a battery reserve in its dock

Acer W510 on the other hand is way cheaper, has same specs, come with gorilla glass, and with 2 batteries. the only downside is the one i stated above, about 3g modem and micro usb to usb adapter

im also looking for other alternatives such as HP or lenovo but as far as i know most win8 tablets do not have any usb/micro usb slot on the tablet itself (always on the dock) plus they dont have sim card slot which defeat its purpose as a tablet for me. lenovo thinkpad tablet 2 might have sim card but even lenovo in my country isnt sure yet if it will be available. I am 90% certain now that i will go with acer w510 ^_^

 

[Chinocop]

Wokaz,

I'm a forex trader as well. I have not use any tablets for metatrader though. I do run mt4 on my ThinkPad using Windows 8. My personal preference would be the ThinkPad just because Lenovo makes great business machines. If the Surface could run mt4, I could give you feedback.

 

[wokaz80]

hello chinocop. yes i know about thinkpad. you mean lenovo thinkpad tablet 2 right? But it's only available next january and there's no information at all if it will be available in lenovo indonesia (i come from indonesia).

 

[Chinocop]

Yup, the Thinkpad tablet. But if you're looking for economy, then I would go for the other 2.

 

[elusionz]

wokaz,

Have you made a decision yet? I am in the same boat as you, deciding between the same tablets. I am most inclined to go with the Lenovo because of its exceptional build quality and thin/sleek design. My concerns about it: screen is a bit small (it will be replacing my laptop) and the processor may be too slow for multitasking. It would be nice if we could see the performance in some reviews on youtube, but so far I cannot find any. Other options I've been considering are the Asus VivoTab and apparently a new model from Vizio was just announced.

EDIT: have you considered the Lenovo Lynx? It seems comparable to the Tablet 2,but with a bigger screen. I think it's missing the stylus though, which is strange. Ahh...decisions, decisions.

-Alex

 

[Ridemyscooter86]

As another poster said, I would avoid ASUS. Their products are fine, but their service is awful. I bought my little brother one that the power jack keeps breaking on and I have to ship it off to them for them to replace the mother board and it takes like 1.5 - 2 months to get it back. Its ridiculous, no other company I've dealt with is that bad. Samsung is not much better. I sell computers and people come in asking for those 2 brands all the time and their service sucks. Dell, HP, and Toshiba are the best as they can usually overnight parts to you.

the new clover trail atoms are great, windows 8 runs very well on them, unlike the older atoms with windows 7, my hp envy x2 has silky smooth performance, a little lag like touch scrolling on the desktop, but good nevertheless. I bout an hp envy x2 and have loved it, great battery life, nice and light, and immaculately well built all-aluminum construction with good full-sized keyboard (keys are a little shallow but work fine and great touchpad).

I would avoid the Samsung ativ, service issues aside, not that I really trust user reviews on sites like newegg most of the time, but almost everyone that bought one seems like they have returned it because of terrible driver issues. Seems to be a problematic model if you read on various forums.

The Acer iconia w510 is nice, nice screen, great battery life at around 9 hours, a little plasticky (not cheap feeling, but a little plasticky) and the keyboard dock is cheap feeling and cramped, but seems to be a good model otherwise. I went with the x2 over this because of the keyboard dock and build quality. Both of them are a little pricey though, the hp is 850 and the acer is 750 both include docks, you can get the acer for 599$ with 64 gb w/o the dock.

The acer Iconia w700 tablet with ivy bridge seems to be the one to beat, decent battery life for an ivy bridge, around 6 hours, fantastic build quality and screen, we have sold a lot of these at the store and it seems to be a solid unit. I personally don't like the ivy bridge tablets because they are noticeably heavier that the arm or atom based tablets with quite a bit worse battery life. same thing goes for the surface pro, looks like a nice tablet with a 1080p screen and great build quality(at least the rt had great build quality), but the battery life is going to suck at like 4-5 hours. And I bet its going to be noticeably heavier like all of the ivy bridge tablets are. If you do want an ivy bridge tablet, the recently announced thinkpad helix looks great if you want to shell out 1500$ starting price (I almost died laughing when I heard that, I bet its a great product but man is that expensive).

I looked at the thinkpad tablet 2 but because the dock doesn't have a battery, it defeats the purpose for me. If that's not very important to you, I would go with the dell latitude 10" tablet because it looks prettier, is probably built every bit as well, maybe a little better, but it has a removable battery which might be the only tablet other than the dell streak with a removable battery. Thatss a very nice thing to have, but still no keyboard dock with battery, which is why I didn't buy it.

 

[drasticza]

I am a big fan of Windows 8.
Have you made a purchase yet?

We are using some at work so I have done a fair amount of research. I have purchased and used the 500t Pro, 700W, and thinkpad tablet 2.

My favorite of the 3 is the thinkpad tablet 2. The build quality is higher than the samsung. I really like the ACER but no support for a pen is a deal breaker for me. I also prefer something which is not so heavy.
I considered the dell tablet, I think that looks good and normally I would purchase a dell over a lenovo product. Unfortunately the dell tablet does not have storage for the pen. That might not be a big issue with the right case but between that and the shipping delays it made me stop looking at the dell. Dell only supports HSPA+ but the lenovo also supports LTE.

The atom processor is faster than expected. We are running through tests this week to determine if it is fast enough for mobile employees to use as their primary computer. I think it will be.

 

[elusionz]

drasticza,

I've had my eyes on the thinkpad tablet 2, but the screen is a bit tiny for my liking. The second option I've been considering is the Lenovo IdeaTab Lynx as it has an 11.6" screen and it's slightly thinner and lighter than the thinkpad tablet 2. Only problem is that it doesnt have a digitizer or stylus. I doubt I would go with Acer or Dell...i've never liked the styling of their products. I wish the Samsung 500t had better reviews, because it has everything I want...11.6" screen, pen, sleek design, optional keyboard dock. Have you had a good experience with it? does it freeze up, have wifi problems, or keyboard connectivity problems? why do you like the tablet 2 better? Thanks.

 

[Ridemyscooter86]

I'd go with the HP envy x2, sure its 100$ more than the ideatab lynx but I think its by far the best looking dockable tablet. I just bought one, it has a solid aluminum build quality, decent keyboard dock, and also has an active digitizer that can be purchased optionally. I'm going to order the stylus soon and try it out.

 

[wokaz80]

hi guys sorry for the late reply. I rarely go to forums just so you know!

Btw, i have bought acer iconia w510 since about 3 weeks ago or something. and yes im happy with it! The only issue i've been experiencing so far is the audio. sometimes (although rarely) it doesnt work but a restart would fix it. oh also, during the first few days, sometimes wifi seems not detected but apparently either windows update/driver downloads fixed that issue.

But in overall im happy with it. the ONLY reason i bought it over other win8 tablets is simply because it has micro USB port inside the tablet itself. The other win8 tablets that are available in my country (so far) have no micro USB port at all so I cant use converter and then a modem for the tablet. and tbh, i dont see a point using a tablet if there's no way for us to use a modem (wi-fi only? please....)

Of course Samsung ATIV 500T has sim card so it shouldnt be an issue with Samsung ATIV but I didnt buy that one because it was 50% more expensive than acer w510 while the specs are totally the same (except the screen size. and also, iconia w510 has gorilla glass while ATIV has not). So I chose to buy acer iconia w510 and im happy with it.

Oh one more thing, the tablet that i bought had no keyboard dock with it. There was simply no keyboard dock in the acer store i came to, so i only bought the tablet for about $600 or something. I also decided to buy typical ipad/galaxy note stand/cover for my tablet and it was only $15. i use knife to make a hole on it for micro USB port lol

and yes, i was too eyeing for HP Envy X2 but again i want to use tablet as tablet and not netbook so I was eyeing a tablet with either a SIM card slot or a micro USB port in the tablet itself (not in the dock). and iconia w510 is the best choice for that (im not sure about lenovo thinkpad tablet 2 but it is not available in where i live)

 

[wokaz80]

and also i would like to address that Windows 8 shut down/boot time is not as fast as it seems. People like to talk about how fast it is to shut down but actually it is not the case. For example, it only took me 5 seconds from the "shutting down" screen to be totally turned off. But you will realize this is just for the screen to be turned off because if you try as quick as possible to turn it on again (from the button at the top right) you wont be able to do so unless you have waited for about 40 seconds after the display gets turned off. Im not sure if this is acer only problem but considering most brands have similar manufacturers and specs, i dont think it is their problem. It is how windows 8 works to make themselves look better.

in overall it works great though. Just make sure you dont install any desktop apps that require startup on its own (like dropbox or a 3rd party AV) it will slow down your tablet and make it freeze at times

 

[Ridemyscooter86]

I think the w510 was a great choice, I was going to say that I did get to play with the idea tab lynx. Honestly, I think it looks bad, it felt very cheap and plasticky, and it was ugly, screen and performance were on par with other tablets. I bet the dock is fine knowing that its Lenovo, it probably will have the best keyboard dock out of all of them but I didn't like the tablet itself. The Acer iconia w510 is a good example of a plastic tablet that is built well, it feels sturdy unlike the lynx

 

[drasticza]

Sorry for the delayed response.

The only big issue we have had is with wifi when bluetooth is also turned on.

My other issue with the samsung 500t is the plastic construction just feels cheap.

With all of that said the people in our office love it.