Looking for a tablet

bloodline76 · 16 Nov 2012 at 00:16

My wife is looking for a tablet, ideally with MS OS as she would like to use it for her work sometimes. She has been having a look at the Surface, anyone got one or suggest an alternative?

Thanks

a03dugga · 16 Nov 2012 at 01:05

Someone bought a surface tab into work the other day and i was impressed, if not that would she be comfortable using open-office type processing? I.E. non MS word processing application etc?

How much is she looking to spend ideally?

bloodline76 · 16 Nov 2012 at 02:35

Unfortunately she does all her work in MS.

Surface price is ok but ideally I would like her to go lower lol

a03dugga · 16 Nov 2012 at 03:07

bloodline76 said:
Unfortunately she does all her work in MS.

Surface price is ok but ideally I would like her to go lower lol

Personally the surface is the only ms tab worth having at the moment, unless she can wait a few months for MS Office for android, which would be sweet on a nexus. Keeping in mind that up until then she could be using an open alternative which should still offer most of the functionality as well as compatibility with MS Office.

If its for Christmas and there isn't any leeway for waiting, then I personally would get a surface. If she could wait, or it it isn't for Christmas, then I'd say get a nexus 10 if a bigger display is needed or a N7 otherwise.

Some devices to look out for: Lenovo Think pad 2, Surface, Nexus 7 or 10, Asus 600 or 810.
The think pad and Asus tabs, including the surface tabs are more high end but fit your needs for being Window's tablets. The droid tabs would be a compromise that would be more cost efficient.

bloodline76 · 16 Nov 2012 at 03:48

Thanks appreciated!

squarehead94 · 16 Nov 2012 at 04:04

There is a tab called the Acer w500... its dual core and 1.2ghz if I remember right and can run both droid and windows 7. With some tweaks (turning off stuff you wouldn't need in windows 7 to make it lighter).it runs like a dream. Scores decent reviews, screen is good, not brilliant. They've been as low as 250 quid recently. With a Bluetooth keyboard that'd be good.

DeathStorm · 16 Nov 2012 at 10:34

To me the Surface makes most sense if you intend to be mobile with it, its price premium comes from being well made and compact.

theheyes · 16 Nov 2012 at 15:14

Don't forget that Windows RT doesn't run x86 applications, although if she only uses Office it's not such a big deal as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and one note are included. Windows can be an advantage if she wants to use certain accessories - printers for example.

RSR · 16 Nov 2012 at 15:16

theheyes said:
Don't forget that Windows RT doesn't run x86 applications, although if she only uses Office it's not such a big deal as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and one note are included. Windows can be an advantage if she wants to use certain accessories - printers for example.

Most printers are supported in Windows RT I believe.

mitze90 · 16 Nov 2012 at 15:21

squarehead94 said:
There is a tab called the Acer w500... its dual core and 1.2ghz if I remember right and can run both droid and windows 7. With some tweaks (turning off stuff you wouldn't need in windows 7 to make it lighter).it runs like a dream. Scores decent reviews, screen is good, not brilliant. They've been as low as 250 quid recently. With a Bluetooth keyboard that'd be good.

I think this is the best option, especially if you then upgrade the Acer W500 to Windows 8 for £25.

theheyes · 16 Nov 2012 at 18:03

[RXP]Andy;23179789 said:
Most printers are supported in Windows RT I believe.

Yeah, compatibility should be very good although if you have an MFP with lots of features you might find only the basic print options are covered.

RussD · 18 Nov 2012 at 22:45

I'd FORGET WindowsRT if I was you. Unless you and your wife like to be TIED In with windows. MicroRubbish will control you like you never been controlled before. Worse than the Ipad.

theheyes · 19 Nov 2012 at 10:17

RussD said:
I'd FORGET WindowsRT if I was you. Unless you and your wife like to be TIED In with windows. MicroRubbish will control you like you never been controlled before. Worse than the Ipad.

So what would you recommend?

InertProtocol · 19 Nov 2012 at 10:19

RussD said:
I'd FORGET WindowsRT if I was you. Unless you and your wife like to be TIED In with windows. MicroRubbish will control you like you never been controlled before. Worse than the Ipad.

Don't bash without valid reason(s).

I'd also vote for the Surface, makes sense if she will be using Office applications.

Del Lardo · 19 Nov 2012 at 12:55

RussD said:
I'd FORGET WindowsRT if I was you. Unless you and your wife like to be TIED In with windows. MicroRubbish will control you like you never been controlled before. Worse than the Ipad.

What a nonsensical comment.

With all three platforms you are tied into the ecosystem as you need to get new applications through the App store which is something to bear in mind with Windows 8 RT vs. Windows 8 Pro, i.e. you can't install all you old software. The Surface is currently the only tablet that offers the MS Office experience and if that is what she is after then it's a simple choice. The alternatives e.g. Open Office are very good 99% of the time but I always found that if I used them for long enough there would be an annoying 1% scenario that would leave me begging for an MS implementation.

I have an Asus Transformer (with keyboard dock), an iPad2 (with Bluetooth keyboard) and a Surface RT (with touch keyboard) sat in front of me and the only one I would consider picking up if I actually wanted to get some work done would be the Surface. It's far from perfect but it's by far the best IMO for the usage scenario you've described.