Windows 8 Tablet alternative to the Surface Pro

donaghs

Hi, hopefully posting in the correct place. Just had a go of the Microsoft Surface Pro. Its a great device, a full Windows 8 Pro computer in a tablet with a detachable keyboard. USB (with ethernet adaptor), stylus, and ports for SD and HDMI. Can join Windows domain, etc etc.

However, the price at over €900 is off-putting. Can anyone recommend an alternative W8 (non-RT) device that's closer to iPad pricing?

I've heard of HP and Dell putting out devices now. I guess a touch-enabled ultra-book could be a possible alternative too. Thanks

54kroc

The Vivotab is pretty good value in Argos at the moment, no i5 cpu though.
Have a read of This thread.

Ronanc1

no i5 cpu though.

Not knowing how much you know bout these things, ill just highlight the above and give some basics the current windows tablets that feature full windows ie capable of installing programs such as Photoshop office etc, are coming in out currently in two variants on one side you have the intel core i3/i5/i7's these are more akin to high powered laptops and could run intensive programs such as Photoshop quite easily, the remainder of tablets are currently being released with atom cpu's, atoms get a lot of bad remarks made about them unjustly i feel due to there slower power saving nature, they can still run any old installable program just a lot slower so they limit productivity if you are say trying something such as Photoshop, that's not to say there slow in other aspects swiping and doing all other tablet like gestures and such perform excellently on atom powered devices.

The biggest division currently between w8 tablets featuring the two different cpu's is effectively battery life, atom tablets generally get battery lives of 8-10 hours and there are even some with docks containing extra batteries capable of running upwards of 15 hours , tablets containing core i3/i5/i7 cpus such as the surface pro (think its core i5) while capable of running all manner of high powered things such as Photoshop only really get battery lives of 4-5 hours (though I've seen one exception) they usually have higher displays 1080p etc and that all adds to the power drain.

So it really comes down to what you want the tablet for do you need it as desktop ultrabook replacement in which case itll be core i5 etc etc or just web browsing in which case an atom would do, one thing to note is we're also approaching the release of new intel architecture which will mean cpus with lower power output and increased battery life so holding off until a new crop of tablets (Kinks worked out too) are released.

Here's a site i frequently view for comparisons of windows 8 tabs:
http://techblog.tv/best-windows-8-tablet-comparison-chart-2012-2013-vs/

Also check out Mobiletechreviews video reviews on youtube i think there some of the best unbiased video reviews for highlighting new tabs and doing comparisons

Hope this helps and i'm not assuming too much by explaining some stuff

Alanstrainor

It really depends on what you want. For me I wanted full fat windows and a great battery life. Also a lower price helped too. For me a tablet without a 8/9 hour battery is a waste of time, if I wanted power I'd have an ultrabook.

Just bought an Asus Vivotab, and its great, I want talk too much about it here seeing that I made a longer post in my thread on this forum.

Also, typing on it is pretty great too, very surprised how fast I can type on it!

donaghs

Reckon Lenovo Thinkpad2 may tick all the boxes. Price point too. i5 may have more power, but will also kill the battery faster. ThinkPad2 has an Atom. And I think battery life is more important for me on a Tablet, than processing power.

Overheal

among the windows 8 pro tablets, the Surface really takes the prize biscuit. Simple docking keyboard cover, usb, microSD and Displayport and pen.

The ativ and the samsung slates are the next closest thing, but when you add the same functionality (like a keyboard dock) you're back up to the same cost roughly. Sometimes more.