Best 8" Windows 8 Tablet?

[1iam5mith]

I am looking for a Windows 8 tablet, probably an 8" model.

Does anyone know of any with a full size USB?
Or any with a metal frame?

​Really wanted a Surface Pro Mini, damn you Microsoft!

 

[iosub]

For me the ASUS vivotab , it has an active pen

 

[xandros9]

I don't think any 8" tablet has a full USB port.

 

[1iam5mith]

Damn it. And I'll take another look at the vivotab 8

Thanks guys

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[1iam5mith]

Thinking of holding out for an 8" tab with full USB. But next eave if announcements won't be until IFA, and then won't ship til Oct/Nov time.... Hmmm can't make my mind up.

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[Cortanapl]

From these 4 tablets, who is the best. The best quality, CPU performance.
- Toshiba encore,
- Acer iconia w4,
- Lenovo miix 2 8,
- Dell venue 8 pro.

What is the best 8" tablet?

 

[nasellok]

For the love of god - just do yourself a favor, and get one with 64GB MINIMUM!, AND HDMI out - miracast is not a true 2nd display option, it lags way too much, and the fact that OEM's tried to rely on it is just plain idiotic.

That being said, I do love my Dell V8P, but it does have its issues - namingly, the stylus is horrendous, bordering on barely better than capacitive. It is really the little engine that could - I run full software on it, like AutoCAD, Sketchup, and Photoshop, and it runs them all flawlessly. Even 3d modeling in sketchup is smooth like butter - just don't expect to render on it. I am extremely happy with the performance on the Atom chipset, and will be excited to see what the i7 in the Surface Pro 3 is capable of in a month.

If I could do it over, I would get the Asus Note 8, with Wacom pen instead. For some reason, I was chomping at the bit to get rid of my Surface RT. I got the Dell V8P on launch from Walmart (only place selling it at the time), and apart from some charging port issues, and 2x's back and forth with Dell repairs, its been running great.

 

[anon(8938849)]

Another vote for the vivotab note 8 here. I just got one a couple weeks ago. Runs everything I've tried so far, and the stylus is great. It's really the factor that makes it usable as a PC. So many things would have been a pain without a proper stylus. Trying to do everything by touch would be unimaginable.

 

[1iam5mith]

But isn't the battery life awful on the vivtab note 8?

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[anon(8938849)]

But isn't the battery life awful on the vivtab note 8?

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No. It's really good. I did just discovery one thing however that would make me not recommended it out any Windows tablet for that matter: Sleep mode.

Perhaps you guys are already aware of this but Windows tablets appear to not have the ability to turn off the display without going into deep sleep mode. This means no streaming or downloading unless you keep the display on the entire time.

To clarify, you can't rely on your power settings to automatically turn your display off but keep your internet connected. It will turn them both off, or keep them both on. Bad Windows.

 

[xandros9]

No. It's really good. I did just discovery one thing however that would make me not recommended it out any Windows tablet for that matter: Sleep mode.

Perhaps you guys are already aware of this but Windows tablets appear to not have the ability to turn off the display without going into deep sleep mode. This means no streaming or downloading unless you keep the display on the entire time.

To clarify, you can't rely on your power settings to automatically turn your display off but keep your internet connected. It will turn them both off, or keep them both on. Bad Windows.

Oh, there's a bit of a rift on that topic.

There is Connected Standby, a light sleep mode that isn't like traditional sleep. It's more like the sleep of a smartphone rather than a normal PC. However, its not on all Windows tablets. (and my 2008/Vista-era laptop doesn't have a chance of doing it)

My Dell Venue 8 Pro has it, and can receive notifications, download apps (I think, that's my impression at least, but I don't know for sure) and maintain a wireless connection while asleep.
But some tablets sleep "normally," like the higher end Venue 11 Pro models and pre-3 Surface Pro's.
Although if someone more knowledgeable than I am could chime in, it'd be appreciated.

Also its mainly hardware related I believe.

 

[anon(8938849)]

Oh, there's a bit of a rift on that topic.

There is Connected Standby, a light sleep mode that isn't like traditional sleep. It's more like the sleep of a smartphone rather than a normal PC. However, its not on all Windows tablets. (and my 2008/Vista-era laptop doesn't have a chance of doing it)

My Dell Venue 8 Pro has it, and can receive notifications, download apps (I think, that's my impression at least, but I don't know for sure) and maintain a wireless connection while asleep.
But some tablets sleep "normally," like the higher end Venue 11 Pro models and pre-3 Surface Pro's.
Although if someone more knowledgeable than I am could chime in, it'd be appreciated.

Also its mainly hardware related I believe.

Yes, I spent some time in best buy today and actually caught someone knowledgeable about Windows and he explained it a little. I found that the Sony tap 11 had the full power options like a laptop. Although that and the surface 3 are out of my price range unfortunately. I can't believe something so simple is so overlooked. It's mind boggling.

 

[theefman]

Yes, I spent some time in best buy today and actually caught someone knowledgeable about Windows and he explained it a little. I found that the Sony tap 11 had the full power options like a laptop. Although that and the surface 3 are out of my price range unfortunately. I can't believe something so simple is so overlooked. It's mind boggling.

Nothing mind boggling about it. If a Windows 8 system doesnt support connected standby it wont run apps in the background when the screen is off and to date there are practically no Core powered tablets that support CS apart from the SP3 and possibly one or two others. Atom powered tablets however have supported CS since their release in 2012 so support this scenario. Even then if you're using a desktop app to play your music that will shut down when the screen turns off. This is working as designed to give an always on experience similar to competing platforms so the power options that people are used to from older generation PC's wont be present in a CS device. Going forward its likely all Windows tablets will be CS enabled so it will be harder to find a Windows device with those legacy options.

 

[anon(8938849)]

Every other modern mobile os can keep things running with the screen off. It is mind boggling that I have to keep the display on to stream or download, and the folks at Microsoft don't seem to see it as a priority.

 

[anon(8938849)]

And I realize I'm not technically running a mobile os but Microsoft turned Windows into a dual desktop/touch based mobile os they should have ironed out a kink as simple as this. You can't put an os on a tablet and make it not work with the screen off that's just idiotic.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

And I realize I'm not technically running a mobile os but Microsoft turned Windows into a dual desktop/touch based mobile os they should have ironed out a kink as simple as this. You can't put an os on a tablet and make it not work with the screen off that's just idiotic.

Microsoft has never produced a tablet with a tablet/mobile OS. From the first tablets back in the 1999/2000 timeframe, to UMPC (aka Origami) in 2006-2010, to the Surface (both Pro and non-Pro), Microsoft has always slapped a desktop OS on their tablets. Some people are too young to remember that, and for them, this is their first opportunity to learn about Microsoft's tablet philosophy.

 

[1iam5mith]

Yeah I like streaming music from Deezer to a Bluetooth speaker, I'm gonna be gutted if I have to leave the screen on.... What if I just lock the device instead of making it sleep?

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[anon(8938849)]

Yeah I like streaming music from Deezer to a Bluetooth speaker, I'm gonna be gutted if I have to leave the screen on.... What if I just lock the device instead of making it sleep?

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I couldn't find any way to do anything with the display off. Ended up returning my tablet today. What a waste. Looks like I'm going to get an Android tablet. Damn Microsoft seriously.

 

[xandros9]

Yeah I like streaming music from Deezer to a Bluetooth speaker, I'm gonna be gutted if I have to leave the screen on.... What if I just lock the device instead of making it sleep?

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Don't know how it translates to tablets, but my old laptop, i sometimes lock the screen when its busy and the screen times out, but still remaining active. Dont know how different the activity is on tablets if at all.

 

[Cortanapl]

The best 3 8" windows 8.1 tablets are: Dell venue 8 pro, Asus vivotab note 8 and Lenovo miix 2 8? Yes?