Problem with 8/10 inch tablet choice. Need an advice

[sawo]

Hello. At the beginning, sorry for my english if some mistakes have been made.
I'm thinking about Win8 tablet from about 2 months. And I have no idea . I need to advise, so here is this topic.
I have a few options, and maybe you could give me an opinion about it.

Propably I will have option to buy used (few months) Dell Venue 8 Pro 32gb from my friend (maybe about 150-200$). If friend will not sale - 250$ for 32gb, but I saw, that now it's not so easy to find 32gb version. Not so big problem with finding 64gb version, but it's a little bit too expensive for this tablet to me. is
(Or it's just in my country situation like this. Maybe because end of the year, or something...)
It's a nice device, best price, and for +30$ stylus. But the oldest from my group. And no keyboard (like in next rival). All with finger (which can be not so easy on 8 inch device), or stylus.

I'm thinking the most about Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 with windows.
Best screen, nice design, best battery, nice holding (but in portrait mode. in landscape propably not so comfortable with this battery).
I'm not sure which one will be better. 8 or 10inch. Bigger version have keyboard with touchpad, and i think this is a big "plus". But it's not so much mobile as 8inch version. I need tablet for work, travel, or vacation (i have enough of taking my laptop on trips. not the best for my back).
Also about 450$ for 10 inch is something :/. 8 inch model is not available in my country yet, but propably will be about 300$.
I'm not sure about long working on 8 inch with only a finger. Maybe it's ok, but i didn't ever tried, and propably it's not so super comfortable.
That's why Yoga 2 10 is great, with this small keyboard. For writing with people, and posts, and etc. - best one. But the most expensive and the biggest :/.

Or maybe should I wait for example on Toshiba Encore 2 Write? No idea when will be availalble, but it can be a v. nice device.

It's my problem for a long time and no idea what to do :/. Please advice. All information and suggestion will be v. helpful.
Thanks a lot.

 

[amitnahar]

Lenovo one is my choice. Keyboard is a big plus.
Also have a look at Asus T100 and Dell Venue Pro 11

 

[sawo]

Dell Venue 11 definitely too expensive. Asus is a good tablet. I also thought about this.
I'm afraid or this Dell 8, cause of working with touch on 8 inch device. Is it a problematic, or not v. comfortable?

 

[emiel1976]

I have an 8" voyo a1 mini. Works great but for doing some work on it, it is to smal. For browsing, watching films/youtube and play some games from the store it is great.

I ordered the Lenovo yoga 2 windows and it is shipped today so I hope it is here this week.
I wanted the yogo 2 for the battery and doing a bit more work on it. Also the build in stand is together with the keyboard/cover also a big plus.

There comes also an 8" yoga 2 and I am thinking to get that one also. That because of the battery and the standard that is build in.
The battery of the voyo is good but as you watch a lot of video's and use also the wi-fi a lot than it is limited.

I hold the yoga 2 10" in my hand. It wad the android version but that are the same. In portrait it is just by far the best tablet to hold in your hand an probably the way I will use it the most if i am on the internet. In landscape mode it is not bad. Other tablets work a bit better but I watch movies that way and than I put it down and not hold it in my hand.

 

[sawo]

thanks 4 info. for basic stuff i belive, that working on windows 8, even in desktop mode (which i will propably use for 90% of time) can be comfortable.
i belive, for normal work, like on a laptop, or normal desktop, "yoga 2 10" with this keyboard+touchpad is the best one.
but this price... :/. i got some money from christmas . and i wanted to byt a tablet, but i also think about gaming console.
with "yoga 2 10" there is no way to combine this 2 ideas .
i also thought about "yoga 2 8" but same fears as with dell... no keyboard+touchpad.
i know... netbook. but i want to use it like tablet. and if i need, add keyboard (for gaming or more writing)

if you will get this yoga 2, please share some feedbacks about it

 

[emiel1976]

I will. I hope it arrives this week. Shipping takes 3 to 6 days.

 

[emiel1976]

There are some programs like a file manager that you can use in the other interface. I use there on my 8" tablet several apps in and they work great. I also switched to internet explorer after using chrome for a long time but ie on a tablet is the best browser there is. You can also pin websites to the start menu. Windows 8.1 is great on a tablet as you now how to use it and that is not so hard.

 

[emiel1976]

My yoga 2 10" arrived today.
I have it now a few ours but no time to use it a lot. Updated and installed office 365 and my apps that i use.
I will write more about the tablet as i used it more and have set my language to english because now i have it in dutch and my english is not that good.

I can say a few things already about the tablet.
It looks great and lenovo did a great work in desighn and build quality with the tablet.
speakers are loud for a tablet.
Screen is just impressive. Clollers a bit dull but it is sharp and looks verry good.
The keyboard is just impressive. All my previous keyboards that i have with my tablets were not that good as this one.
My asus transformer TF300T has a nice keyboard but doesn't responts as this one and it also doesn't feel that good as the lenovo keyboard. I use the keyboard now were i didn't do it with the other 2 keyboards i have.
There is 1 thing that could be better and that are the edges. they feel a bit sharp but it is for me not such a big problem.

I will write a better revieuw later after i used it more so i can test more things.
But untill now it suprissed me verry positif.

 

[emiel1976]

here is what I think about the yoga 2. I divided it in 2 parts, the part of the tablet and a part of the keyboard.
The tablet:
The build quality is just very good. looks nice and feels good. you can push the back plate in a bit but that is normal and doesn't give any problems. The material on the back plate feels good and much better than the android version. it is rubbery but not to much and it gives some extra grip.
the standard looks nice and works good. As you bent the tablet a bit back it will hold him but you can't push to hard because than the standard will close and the tablet falls backward. It is not a big deal but it would be nice as they had added 1 or 2 more locked positions to it. To open it, it works easier without the keyboard attached to it and I have now the feeling on how to open it but it is getting used to it.
Holding it in portrait mode is just great and easy to use. The weight of a 10" tablet is higher than an 8" but I find that I can hold it good and for a long time because of the way it is build and were the weight is.
The touchscreen responds very well and the screen just looks great with the high resolution. I found out that after tweaking some energy settings for the screen, that the screen became brighter and the colors looked better. Still as I compare it with my Ativ S than I see that the colors are not that bright as my phone but to notice it I need to compare it. When browsing and watching video's it is for me not something that I see. The screen is very sharp and I like how it is.
There was only one thing. I noticed that my screen changed automatically from brightness, even as I had set it on max. I found out that in the energy settings the screen was on auto brightness and after changing that the screen started to look way better. I have for battery everything on 50% and it is brighter than with the savings on, on max.
Holding the tablet in landscape mode is an other thing. the connections for the usb and hdmi sit very low and can be in the way as you use it to charge or have it connected to a big screen. turning the tablet around works but than it feels top heavy. After some testing I find it, it on his best with battery down and the rounded part in my palm of my hand. There comes an other small problem and that is the on off button that you can press than but the way it is in my hand it doesn't give a problem.
The volume rockers feel good. The start button on the tablet is something I am not used to because my 8" has a button on the side of the tablet. I noticed that I use most of the time the windows key on the keyboard and the windows button n the charms bar. Still it works good but because I don't feel the button I press sometimes next to it and than it will not responds. That is more a user error than a hardware error.
The sound is loud for such a small tablet. I did not expect this loud and were I had to put down the audio of my tv by the 8" to hear some times the speakers, I had to put down the speakers on my yoga to hear the tv. The quality of the audio is just good. it is not the best but for what my experience is with audio from different tablets, it's one of the best and loudest. I can't compare it with my pc or speakers from my media center that I have but that is normal as you see what they cost and that these speakers are in a tablet that is cheaper than that sound system. The headphone jack I did not try yet because I almost never use that. I have a Logitech G930 headset and that I can connect to my tablet with usb and that works great.
HDMI works also very well. I have used the cable that I got from asus for my transformer TF300T and it did a good job. The screen stopped when the battery went low and that was also I didn't now because on my 8" that doesn't happen, it just stops with the tablet. I think that it is a setting but I leave it that way so I can still use my tablet for a wile as it happens.
Charging a phone with the usb connection works and I could even sync my phone with the tablet using the usb cable and that I did not expect. On my 8" I need an usb hub with his own power supply.
Battery life is just impressive. I can't say other wise than just the best battery I have ever seen in a tablet, laptop or netbook. I charged for a short wile my phone, used a lot of youtube on 1080p, surfed the web a lot and updated my tablet with the latest updates and after 9 ours the battery was still on 18%. I believe as I did not charge my phone and did not need to update my tablet and used it as I normally do, that the battery last with my way of using ad least 12 ours. I don't now of it cost extra battery life as the tablet is connected with the tv by HDMI because 60% of the time that was also the case just like the Bluetooth tablet that was connected almost al the time. Charging the tablet takes time they say but I don't now. after I went to bed I connected it to the charger and when I wake up this morning it was fully charged. One thing to say about the charging and that is the ring of light that blinks. I a bedroom next to your bed it can be annoying because the light is bright.
The Bluetooth connection never failed and the keyboard connects very fast as it is paired with it.
The software is windows 8. not much to tell about that I think. It runs smooth, don't use it for heavy things and it will just run very nice. there is no problem with running several apps ad the same time and office starts up fast. For me just a positive experience.
Before I forget it, the camera. The front facing camera for Skype works good. the rear camera is for a tablet not bad. I have a Lumia 1020 so it is no match for that but taking a picture to ad in a document or send it to some one to show something, it is just fine. don't expect big things from it.
I like the position of the micro SD. it is in the back and still easy to reach but it is save there.

The keyboard.
This is a story on it's own. to start with, it is by far the best keyboard I have for any of my tablets. I started to use my Logitech keyboard on the other tablets but that one on the couch or in bed is just not a good experience. This keyboard works just great. Good feeling of the keys, very good reaction and the typo's are mine and not because I hit the wrong keys by typing.
The Bluetooth works very good and after 1 or 2 seconds putting it on I can type.
The track pad feels good and responds good. It is nice that they build in the clicking part for the left and right button. I can scroll using 2 fingers and it reacts even better than on my laptop. swipe from the left will show me the left bar ad from the right the right bar.
The material on the top of the keyboard feels good. A bit rubbery but it has a good feel. This material is also on the touch pad.
The bottom of the keyboard is smooth but I would like it more as it was like the back of the tablet. Still it looks good. The edges on the keyboard look good but the edges are a bit sharp. That is the only real negative thing about the keyboard. It is not a big problem for me but there could Lenovo improve the keyboard.
The magnets are good. I can lift the keyboard with the tablet, not the other way around.
As you are on a table or something you can place the keyboard under a slight angle like the surface pro 3. Also it is nice that it works without being connected. I tried it on my lap together and it works but it is not the best way. It works better with something flat under it or with the tablet disconnected.
The keyboard as cover works but can slide around a bit. I still think it gives a good protection. An other thing that I found out and like a lot is that when you fold the keyboard and the tablet together, that the screen goes of and as you open it, it goes on again and you just need to swipe up and you can work from were you were.
The on of switch is small and not very easy to use. it is also hard to see if it is on or off.

Still with all the cons, the tablet is just great and by far the best tablet I own. Build quality that from the high-end tablets, looks is taste but I find it one of the best looking tablets that there is. easy to use in different positions thanks to the stand that isn't perfect but is still very good. Touchscreen is responsive and looks good. Keyboard one of the best with a few little things to improve. Battery is the best out there and that you can sync your phone with it and even charge it is nice to have.
Good speakers that are loud.

I hope that you can something with it, it is my opinion and I mention my problems with it that are for me small things but maybe for you big things. But I think that as you look for a tablet with a good keyboard, that this is a better choice than the Asus T100 that is also a very good tablet for that price. I only think that the keyboard, screen and build quality are better on the yoga 2.

 

[emiel1976]

omg sorry for the long text. did not think it was so long.

 

[sawo]

no need to apology more info = better.
thank you v. much for this review it's very helpful 4 me. you should put it into "user's tablets reviews" topic, if there is one here .
i just have a few question about tablet.
1) do you have microsd card? 32gb is not v. much. i wonder if there is no problem for installing desktop programs or games on sdcard. i will propably use more of desktop .exe programs as store app's, and i'm a littlebit affraid, because i will not be able to install all of it only on internal memory.
is there any problem to use microsd like a next partition of hdd?
2) if you connect keyboard with tablet, there is no problem to put a tablet on table, or desk and use keyboard on bed for example? no need to have this 2 things together?
3) did you tried to connect keyboard by BT with something else? IDK... maybe smartphone? of another tablet.
4) did you used some desktop programs or games? no problems detected? (well... with keyboard shouldn't be)

 

[emiel1976]

1) do you have microsd card? 32gb is not v. much. i wonder if there is no problem for installing desktop programs or games on sdcard. i will propably use more of desktop .exe programs as store app's, and i'm a littlebit affraid, because i will not be able to install all of it only on internal memory.
is there any problem to use microsd like a next partition of hdd?

After all the updates and the apps I use, c cleaner and Office 365 I have 9,63GB space left on my C partition. I use also a 32GB micro SD and knowing from my 8" tablet that has only a slower cpu, the programs run from the micro SD without any problem. It is a bit slower but for the programs I use that is not a problem. Don't expect that you can run steam games on the tablet, a few will work that don't need a lot of GPU and CPU power but most won't run that well. You can install the old sega emulator and that runs great. I tried the game cube emulator on my 8" tablet and the graphics worked but the audio was not working that well. Older game consoles will work good and I installed the games on the micro SD to save space on my C partition. Also this way I can use a SD for games and an other SD for other things.

2) if you connect keyboard with tablet, there is no problem to put a tablet on table, or desk and use keyboard on bed for example? no need to have this 2 things together?

No you can use your keyboard on your bed and put the tablet on the table. It works great. Bluetooth has normally about a reach from around 10 meters. I don't now how far it is with the keyboard but it didn't gave me any problem. Connection works good and I didn't have any connection or lag problems with it.

3) did you tried to connect keyboard by BT with something else? IDK... maybe smartphone? of another tablet.

I tried it with my phone and that did not work. I think that other tablets will not give a problem because it is Bluetooth. But because I use it now a lot with my Yoga 2 and not only as cover, I don't connect it with my other tablet. I have for my 8" also a keyboard but that thing is so small that typing doesn't work that good as this one. Also the 8" tablet is easier in the hand and typing works good with it on the tablet it self. Also is it so small that I don't use it for working on it as I do on the Yoga 2.

4) did you used some desktop programs or games? no problems detected? (well... with keyboard shouldn't be)

With office 365 I didn't had any problems. Office opened faster than I expected and it worked with no problems. Games not tried yet but I tried the Dolphin emulator on my 8" that has a slower cpu and that worked not 100%. The audio gave some problems but I am going to try it on the Yoga 2. I now that the Sega Dreamcast works with no problems. I installed the games on my micro SD to save space on my C partition and I tried it on C and SD and it gave on my 8" the same audio problem but the graphics worked fine. Some steam games worked like pinball fx but that is there also in the windows store. Don't expect a lot of desktop gaming because it is not build to do that.
Here a video of the performance of the Yoga 2 windows.

I tried pinball fx from the Windows store and that one runs with no problems. Also Youtube with 1080p runs very good after changing my wireless modem. I must still setup my own wireless router because the one I got from my internet provider is just crap.

I am now installing the Game cube emulator that also runs wii games. I will let you now how it works.

Edit: just tried the gamecube emulator and have the same audio problems.

 

[emiel1976]

I can write a full review, but English is not my main language. Also does it need images and a lot more text and info.
This was just what my opinion is on the tablet.
What for things do you want to do with it, what software do you want to run on it?

 

[sawo]

awesome! thakns for all information. like i said - very helpful!
i will use it for work, for travel, to use it when i'm with family, without my PC.
i need a few programs, like skype, aqq, browser, something to music, something to video, antivirus, ccleaner, torrent, maybe dropbox, or steam (if cs 1.6 will work). also a few small games, and that's all. internal storage will not be enough. also need space for few movies, or music.
32gb microsd is a minimum.

 

[emiel1976]

Cs go I don't now, the other things are no problem.
64GB SD is better. My 32 is full with movies because my nas is not connected. Hope that maligning room is finished next week so I can connect it again.