Surface Pro is not the only choice

[sakai135]

The Japanese battery life numbers are under unrealistic conditions. It is the average of a video loop and idle battery rundown with all wireless off and at the dimmest brightness.

On a related note, Fujitsu announced their new tablets Arrows Tab QH55 and QH77. 55 being a 10 inch Baytrail powered tablet with a 2560x1600 16:10 screen + digitizer. 77 is a Core i5 powered 12 inch 1080p with digitizer. Both are water and dust proof. Battery is rated at 15hrs and 16hrs and weighs about 1.5lb and 2lb, respectively. Shipping end of November starting at around $1100 for the 55 and $2100 for the 77.

So expensive, but the specs, especially for the QH55, are awesome. Almost makes me want to import one.

 

[chfhyh]

How much memory does the 55 have? I wonder why the OEMs are not taking advantage of bay trail's 4GB ram support... that would be so awesome.

The Japanese battery life numbers are under unrealistic conditions. It is the average of a video loop and idle battery rundown with all wireless off and at the dimmest brightness.

On a related note, Fujitsu announced their new tablets Arrows Tab QH55 and QH77. 55 being a 10 inch Baytrail powered tablet with a 2560x1600 16:10 screen + digitizer. 77 is a Core i5 powered 12 inch 1080p with digitizer. Both are water and dust proof. Battery is rated at 15hrs and 16hrs and weighs about 1.5lb and 2lb, respectively. Shipping end of November starting at around $1100 for the 55 and $2100 for the 77.

So expensive, but the specs, especially for the QH55, are awesome. Almost makes me want to import one.

 

[chfhyh]

Update:
If you are following the discussion, the race for me was between Sony Flip 13A and the Surface Pro. Thanks to yanglee, I was able to get the information I need about 13A from Sony’s Japanese website. The 13A weighs 1.31kg, the battery life is comparable to vaio pro 13, and the 8GB/128GB version is at least $1200. The battery life is not going to do it for me, so pass.

My decision is made and I have pre ordered 128GB version of the surface pro. Personally, I think the 4GB ram will be sufficient for my family 95% of the time. Given how fast things are moving, I doubt if it is really worth it to spend anything more than $1000 on a device, unless it is absolutely necessary.

I even considered a 4GB RAM bay trail device for the battery life, yet it seems not many OEMs are making this kind of device yet. For the surface pro. with more power, more RAM and a real SSD, I think the extra money will worth it. The only thing is that I wish MS included a free keyboard or a free Office Suite.
Surface pro is really one of a kind. Its portability, versatility and power are unmatched.

 

[sakai135]

The QH55 has 4GB standard (2x2GB LPDDR3-1066) with the Atom Z3770 CPU running Windows 8.1 32-bit and includes Office Home and Business. Storage starts at 64GB and goes up from there. Has WiFi a/b/g/n, BT 4.0, NFC, GPS, SIM slot (but probably Japanese bands only), dual mic array, 8MP back camera with LED flash, 2MP front camera, fingerprint reader, microSDXC slot, and a full USB 3.0 port. They'll also offer slim keyboard cover ($148), dock with more ports ($84), non-keyboard cover ($63) and charging cradle ($53).

 

[coip]

Surface Pro does not support Connected Standby, this is a deal breaker for me.

What is connected standby and what is so good about it? I am looking to buy a new PC (probably some type of convertible / tablet / hybrid thing) this month and am really overwhelmed in choosing one.

 

[chfhyh]

connected standby: computer is connected to the internet and data is updated while hibernating. it is not supported on the 64bit Windows 8. MS is supposed to fix it Q1 2014.

there is a lot of choices for sure. please ask freely. i think people on this thread will be more than happy to answer the best that they can.

What is connected standby and what is so good about it? I am looking to buy a new PC (probably some type of convertible / tablet / hybrid thing) this month and am really overwhelmed in choosing one.

 

[coip]

connected standby: computer is connected to the internet and data is updated while hibernating. it is not supported on the 64bit Windows 8. MS is supposed to fix it Q1 2014.

there is a lot of choices for sure. please ask freely. i think people on this thread will be more than happy to answer the best that they can.

Well, originally I was leaning towards the Yoga 2 Pro as it seemed very versatile and a lot of nice improvements over the original model. But it's a little heavy, a little expensive, and someone mentioned that the RAM sucks. The Surface Pro 2 seems enticing, but it's a little small for me (I already have a Surface RT, so the 13.3" screen on the Yoga 2 Pro seemed like a nice step up). So, I guess I'm looking for something in the 11" - 14" range is light, portable, versatile, and powerful, and well priced! Hah, impossible to get all of that, I know.

 

[chezm]

connected standby: computer is connected to the internet and data is updated while hibernating. it is not supported on the 64bit Windows 8. MS is supposed to fix it Q1 2014.

.

connected standby is really a major selling point for you? Its a nice feature but I hardly consider it a selling feature...but hey that's me.

 

[xbilly]

What's the story with the single channel RAM on the Yoga Pro 2 ? Has anyone got the an official spec sheet for the product.

Similarly, do we know that the Surface has dual channel memory ?

 

[yanglee]

What is connected standby and what is so good about it? I am looking to buy a new PC (probably some type of convertible / tablet / hybrid thing) this month and am really overwhelmed in choosing one.

Just as chfhyh said. Here is a video demo:

Sony Vaio Duo 13 Connected Standby Demo

More info: Connected Standby - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[yanglee]

connected standby is really a major selling point for you? Its a nice feature but I hardly consider it a selling feature...but hey that's me.

Because I want to use it as a true hybrid of tablet and notebook (so that I don't have to carry two devices).

Surface Pro (I don't have one but tested it in the store) does not have Connected Standby, so each time I switched it on it took 2~3 seconds. And when turned it off, the music/podcast were also stopped. For me these are not acceptable as a tablet.

 

[eugie]

There are many windows8 tablets u can choose not just surface from Microsoft or other improvised windows 8 from other hardware manufacturer like samsung,sony, dell, toshiba,acer etc....

 

[chfhyh]

Lenovo's official site says: Up to 8GB DDR3L 1600 MHz, 1 SO-DIMM slot (2GB / 4GB / 8GB)

This means it is single channel, and it is probably can be upgraded by users. The Yoga 2 Pro was actually the front runner on my list, until I found out about about the memory. The impact to the GPU would be around 25% to 30%. A youtube video shows the 3DMark11 scored 681, compare to 950+ from Dell XPS 12. I would rather get a bay trail than this one.

MS officially says it is "4 GB or 8 GB of RAM — dual-channel LPDDR3". They could lie, but there is a good chance they did not. You can wait for the review.

What's the story with the single channel RAM on the Yoga Pro 2 ? Has anyone got the an official spec sheet for the product.

Similarly, do we know that the Surface has dual channel memory ?

 

[chfhyh]

I would say Dell XPS 12 or Sony Flip 13A. The sony is lighter and has a larger screen, but Dell is already available and it has a better transform mechanism. Also, the Dell probably has a longer battery life. I would pick the Dell honestly.

Well, originally I was leaning towards the Yoga 2 Pro as it seemed very versatile and a lot of nice improvements over the original model. But it's a little heavy, a little expensive, and someone mentioned that the RAM sucks. The Surface Pro 2 seems enticing, but it's a little small for me (I already have a Surface RT, so the 13.3" screen on the Yoga 2 Pro seemed like a nice step up). So, I guess I'm looking for something in the 11" - 14" range is light, portable, versatile, and powerful, and well priced! Hah, impossible to get all of that, I know.

 

[chezm]

I've had bad experiences with Dell desktops in the past...have you guys owned Dell laptops and willing to drop a big dollar on one with the same confidence quality as a Pro 2? I'm not saying Dell is a bad choice, just curious to get more opinion on the feedback on their devices.