The lack of quality OEM tablets is shocking

[paulm187]

I'm in the market to purchase a Windows 8 tablet to replace my Windows RT Surface 2. The obvious choice is the Surface Pro 3 which is superb but I want to wait till next year for the inevitable fanless designs based on the Core-M chips. So as a stop gap I have been looking for a cheaper OEM tablet to purchase. So far I'm shocked by the choice and quality of all the OEM tablets I have looked at. There is not a single tablet that can compare or come close to the build quality of the Surface. If anyone got any recommendations please let me know.

 

[Karthik Naik]

I'm in the market to purchase a Windows 8 tablet to replace my Windows RT Surface 2. The obvious choice is the Surface Pro 3 which is superb but I want to wait till next year for the inevitable fanless designs based on the Core-M chips. So as a stop gap I have been looking for a cheaper OEM tablet to purchase. So far I'm shocked by the choice and quality of all the OEM tablets I have looked at. There is not a single tablet that can compare or come close to the build quality of the Surface. If anyone got any recommendations please let me know.

check out the dell venue series they are well built and cheap

 

[vinscg]

Thinkpad10. Lenovo

 

[xandros9]

Dell's Venue line definitely comes to mind, I hold them highly.
Also Lenovo's ThinkPad tablets, also nice.

I think the quality is nice IMO. Design? maybe not, but theyre still solid.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Dell's Venue line definitely comes to mind, I hold them highly.
Also Lenovo's ThinkPad tablets, also nice.

I think the quality is nice IMO. Design? maybe not, but theyre still solid.

I finally held a DV8P in my hand yesterday for the first time. It certainly looks and feels like a quality tablet. Unfortunately, the store (Officemax) didn't have any in stock otherwise I would've bought one ($199 on sale).

I think that another big issue is the lack of physical units (OEM Windows tablets) in B&M stores. In my area, rural Arizona, between 3 Walmarts, Sams Club, Costco, Best Buy, Staples, and OfficeMax, only OfficeMax had a single Windows tablet (DV8P) on display... and none had any in stock.

The DV8P and Asus VivoTab appear to be the only actively sold 8" tablets with an active digitizer. Toshiba may release their Encore 2 Write to the U.S. at some future date.

I may need to be more aggressive in seeking a DV8P on sale because the new wave of tablets is going for lower prices not functionality.

 

[coolqf]

I highly doubt it will be fanless. The new chips will dissipate heat a bit more than the current atom Pentium chips, and those come with a fan...