Opinions to help me decide

[jjmurphy]

Hi all,
Just looking for opinions. I'm really liking the Sony Fit/Flip 15a. It has a TB hybrid drive, and a 2GB graphics card. I'm also considering the Surface Pro 3.

With the surface, it's really got a lot of options. The dock, keyboard, tablet, pen, etc. I like the "up to 9" hours of battery life. But I do play the occasional game (league of legends or something similar).

With the Sony, I like the bigger screen. The size is fine with me, as is the weight. It also has a pen, and with a 2gb graphics card, I can drive 2 monitors easily at 1080p besides the main screen.

Any one have any insight? Also, the Sony is only $1249. The Surface Pro for similar hardware gets up to $1800 quickly.

Thanks!

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Nice! The Vaio Flip 15 is very nice device. At this particular state of availability of Modern UI apps, I think that using any Windows tablet is going to be a "work-in-progress" and inferior to iOS and Android tablets for all but the basic, general tablet usage. That's not to say that using the Flip in tablet mode is worthless, just that I don't think it will be as usable as it would be if the app situation was resolved.

And because of that, I don't think that the tablet weight/thickness benefits of a Surface Pro 3 will be fully realized nor the premium price justified. If there was parity between Modern UI apps and iOS apps, then the Surface Pro 3 is a no-brainer.

That 15.5" is a beast. The active pen capabilities look terrific too. I'm finding that 14" is a decent size for a full-function notebook. And when I'm ready to replace my stack of notebooks/netbooks/ and ultrabook-wannabe devices, I'll be giving serious consideration to the Vaio Flip 14.

 

[RajeevT]

And because of that, I don't think that the tablet weight/thickness benefits of a Surface Pro 3 will be fully realized nor the premium price justified. If there was parity between Modern UI apps and iOS apps, then the Surface Pro 3 is a no-brainer.

While desktop apps will of course look better on a 15.5" screen, by no means will they be unusable on a 12" one. I'm not saying the SP3 will be better in this regard compared to the Sony with the bigger screen, but comparing it to a restricted OS like iOS is pointless. If one's buying a Windows and not Windows RT device then x86 apps are obviously going to be used extensively, and iOS just cannot compete.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

While desktop apps will of course look better on a 15.5" screen, by no means will they be unusable on a 12" one. I'm not saying the SP3 will be better in this regard compared to the Sony with the bigger screen, but comparing it to a restricted OS like iOS is pointless. If one's buying a Windows and not Windows RT device then x86 apps are obviously going to be used extensively, and iOS just cannot compete.

That comment was directly addressing the opportunity to use the Surface Pro 3 as a tablet... as in touch mode. I apologize if I wasn't clear about that.

 

[RajeevT]

That comment was directly addressing the opportunity to use the Surface Pro 3 as a tablet... as in touch mode. I apologize if I wasn't clear about that.

Fair enough, but even on that note I wonder, can the pen be used as a mouse if required? If so that should mean desktop apps can be used without too many problems, and that will mitigate the lack-of-Metro-apps situation a lot.