Author Topic: Get a tablet or Surface or ??  (Read 3902 times)

albireo13

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Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« on: October 05, 2018, 03:14:08 PM »
I used to own an iPad mini but sold it 2 years ago. Now I want to get something I can use while traveling or going to the library and using. The mini got to be frustrating due to display
size. 

Now I'm thinking of a full size tablet or even a Microsoft Surface.  I like having a real key board with the Surface.  I use an iPhone but am not married to the iOS universe.  Android or MS would do.

Would love to hear what other folks use.  Recommendations, suggestions?
I know it's not very Mustachian. 

Thx

ketchup

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2018, 03:18:33 PM »
I still don't see what a tablet can do that a small laptop couldn't do better.  I'd get a 2-3 year old 12" Dell Latitude.

albireo13

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2018, 04:25:45 PM »
It's more about, size, weight and portability for me.
Laptops will be bulkier.

Freedomin5

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2018, 04:47:36 PM »
I really like my Surface Pro. I use it as a laptop. Super lightweight. It’s sometimes glitchy switching from laptop mode to tablet mode — that is, when I yank off the keyboard, it will go to tablet mode but occasionally the touch screen doesn’t work properly then. I don’t usually use it as a tablet since I have an iPhone which is easier to carry around. Also, there’s only one USB port.  Other than that, I personally think the Surface Pro makes a good work computer.

katsiki

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #4 on: October 05, 2018, 05:09:40 PM »
I really like my Surface Pro. I use it as a laptop. Super lightweight. It’s sometimes glitchy switching from laptop mode to tablet mode — that is, when I yank off the keyboard, it will go to tablet mode but occasionally the touch screen doesn’t work properly then. I don’t usually use it as a tablet since I have an iPhone which is easier to carry around. Also, there’s only one USB port.  Other than that, I personally think the Surface Pro makes a good work computer.

+1

My work "laptop" is a surface.  It is docked mostly at a desk with external devices.  It is a great device to do real work and take into meetings to take notes.  I do not use it much as a tablet, so I can't comment on that.

MayDay

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #5 on: October 05, 2018, 05:47:18 PM »
My work laptop is a Surface. I love it.

ETBen

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #6 on: October 05, 2018, 07:18:43 PM »
I have an older Surface and like it. I use it when I travel instead of my company laptop, which is really heavy. I have an old iPad set up in my kitchen for things like recipes, news, music, etc. I prefer the Surface for work though bc Microsoft Office products seem easier on it.

ItsALongStory

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #7 on: October 05, 2018, 08:35:12 PM »
The new surface go could be a good compromise, it's got the portability of the surface pro but is cheaper and lightweight. If I'm not mistaken either the surface pro and/or the surface go have optional 3g/data connectivity as well. I own a surface laptop and really like it but it is definitely bulkier than my surface pro 3 from work.

I would not opt for the surface book because of cost and the weight.

10dollarsatatime

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #8 on: October 05, 2018, 09:10:45 PM »
I love my surface pro 3.  I bought if on ebay at a steep discount, and also immediately purchased a case for it.  The 3s have notoriously fragile screens.  So far, so good.  i love the size, the keyboard, the touchscreen.  If it were to die, I'd buy myself another right off.  Maybe.  My boss just realized I'd been using it for work and decided that wasn't ok.  So he's buying me a surface pro 4.

ItsALongStory

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #9 on: October 05, 2018, 09:43:53 PM »
Funny, we have BYOD policy and I just had the work image installed on my personal device so I could use it instead of my aging Surface Pro 3.

When my refresh comes up in 2019 I am hopeful that I'll be able to upgrade to the Surface Pro 6 that was announced a few days ago.

alsoknownasDean

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #10 on: October 05, 2018, 11:27:38 PM »
The Surface Go seems pretty good, especially the higher spec model as it has more RAM and faster storage.

I've got a 2017 iPad that I picked up earlier this year as an Apple refurbished model. It's a nice tablet but obviously the iOS platform has it's limitations.

ketchup

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #11 on: October 06, 2018, 07:06:15 AM »
It's more about, size, weight and portability for me.
Laptops will be bulkier.
That's why I recommended a small laptop instead of a full-size one.

My Dell XPS 13 is 11.98" x 7.88" x 0.33-0.6".  A Surface Pro 5 is 11.5" x 7.9" x 0.33".  Slightly smaller, but pretty dang close.  You've probably made up your mind there, just letting you know the facts.

I'd definitely pick a Surface over an iPad/Android tablet so that you at least get x86 processors and a real OS (Win10) like you would on a regular PC.  A Surface is definitely the first tablet I'd even consider for myself at all for that reason.  It also looks like the keyboard folds over the screen like a laptop, so the display is protected at rest unlike a typical tablet.

iPads and Android tablets to me just seem like giant smartphones that can't fit in your pocket.  I already have a smartphone, and it does fit in my pocket.

I've heard chatter of Microsoft making an x86 Surface-branded smartphone that runs full-fledged Windows and could be docked like a laptop, and that would be quite interesting.

albireo13

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #12 on: October 06, 2018, 07:34:47 AM »
Haven't decided yet. 
I use MS at work all the time and have all Apple at home.
Wouldn't mind having a WIN machine for diversity in retirement.

Something like an Apple Air but, running MS would be nice. 

ketchup

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #13 on: October 06, 2018, 07:39:56 AM »
Something like an Apple Air but, running MS would be nice.
A current-gen Macbook Air is 12.8" x 8.94" x 0.11-0.68".  Slightly larger than the Windows laptop I mentioned I use.

albireo13

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #14 on: October 07, 2018, 06:35:50 AM »
That Dell XPS 13 looks very nice. Hmmm ....  I would consider one. Need to do more research.
Now that I think about it, I would rather have a 2-in-1 or very, very thin laptop with touch screen than a tablet.

Which model XPS did you get?

ketchup

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #15 on: October 07, 2018, 06:48:10 AM »
That Dell XPS 13 looks very nice. Hmmm ....  I would consider one. Need to do more research.
Now that I think about it, I would rather have a 2-in-1 or very, very thin laptop with touch screen than a tablet.

Which model XPS did you get?
Mine is an XPS 13 9360, last year's model but with an 8th gen i7.  This year's model is the 9370.  There is also a 2-in-1 available (9365/9375).  An important thing to note is that the 9370 doesn't have any full-size USB A-type ports.  It went all USB-C, Apple-style so you'd need to use an adapter to plug in standard USB-A devices.  Also, all of these have soldered-in RAM, so don't expect to be able to upgrade that later.

Available at decent prices on the Dell outlet: https://outlet.us.dell.com/ArbOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&brandid=2201&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7UdTntWtOIzgf1fOT7ZCVOd%2fQji%2b1wj5IfkSCX2u5SVbSvkG6WS1AX5rKBIvFQagAcyo%2blBQllckPnxWUafC9xrQAWnJ6fnUisJ7z0bI9%2faQteOa08ukpDEryhaZnJ7Wnr3%2fPvn7rRxXakhWJU7YFwph6LP5NEwuQK7P41Um6WmND1w6DoXecenoBz6Sc061EJvzdnXoVeQ2HpwlGnXRbaZwvqH6GIS1EiIGyJezImrwzVOpB%2bVcmEPUa1J5NHaBMuIvnIWu5cKZZx

Ecky

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #16 on: October 07, 2018, 07:40:26 AM »
Something I've found with tablets - because the keyboards don't have resistive (?) hinges attached to the screen, you can't really use the keyboard unless you have a table or other hard, immobile surface to set them on. Laptops you can flip open on a bus or use on your lap in a chair, but with a tablet you're stuck holding it. YMMV, but I find holding up a very large tablet to be uncomfortable after a short time. Many of these devices weight in at 1.5-2lbs.

Radagast

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #17 on: October 07, 2018, 12:12:03 PM »
That Dell XPS 13 looks very nice. Hmmm ....  I would consider one. Need to do more research.
I have a Surface 3 (noPro) and I only ever use it with the type cover, except when the type cover stops communicating with the screen which does happen about 1/10th of the time. Based on that, I see no reason for a Surface over an equally light, small, and thin laptop. That said, my observation is that Surfaces were still a work in progress at the time of the 3 and new versions may work better.

Sloeginfizz

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #18 on: October 07, 2018, 01:10:02 PM »
I know there’s a lot of hate for them on the forums, but I love my iPad. I know people say they are like smartphones but bigger. It’s the bigger screen that makes it better. My eyes get tired after too much phone use. What a tablet does that a smart phone can’t is display things larger than the palm of my hand.

There are a few things I can’t do on the iPad, but I have an old craptop for that. Mostly  it’s printing things and I could probably print from the iPad if I cared to buy a new printer that has Bluetooth. I have post market Bluetooth keyboard that makes writing long blocks of text as easy as on a laptop.
If I needed to do actual work at home it might be different, but for what I do, I would rather have my iPad than a small laptop. I don’t think I can use excel or similar, but the built in word processor program does all I need.

What I do find annoying about the iPad is that after a while, Apple stops supporting the old versions and you can’t really update them. However, the hardware is still fine. I have a first gen iPad that crashes every time you try and use the internet, but is going strong otherwise. It has a nice retirement life as a digital photo frame.

albireo13

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #19 on: October 07, 2018, 04:19:24 PM »
My wife actually has a Surface and loves it.
I like it too but, I am seeing the advantage of a slim laptop.  The detachable keyboard doesn't get me going.

I want to minimize moving parts.  That's the strength of a tablet. 1 piece ... no moving parts.
However, after using iPhones, and iPads, etc I have gotten frustrated with purely touchscreen control.
I'll sometimes keep swiping away because my finger is too dry or some other reason.
If I accidentally brush the screen, it goes off toe who-knows-where.

The Surface or something like it seems great.  I need to check out the newer surfaces (Go and 6).
 

albireo13

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #20 on: October 08, 2018, 06:45:01 AM »
OK, I am thinking either Dell XPS 13 or the Surface Pro.
It will depend on what price I can get.     Stay tuned ....

MayDay

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #21 on: October 08, 2018, 07:45:49 AM »
I will say, I never take the keyboard off, and I never use the touch screen. I use it purely as a thin laptop. So I would probably be just as happy with a thin laptop.

Freedomin5

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #22 on: October 10, 2018, 04:23:06 AM »
I never take the keyboard off, but I love the touch screen. So easy to scroll through documents and click buttons. I also use it to make documents bigger and smaller so I can find things easier on pages. Unfortunately, that means I occasionally touch the screen of my desktop at work to try to scroll down a document, which makes me look like a moron especially when I’m with a client.

BlueMR2

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #23 on: October 13, 2018, 02:35:52 PM »
Absolutely love my Surface Pro work computer.  Doesn't really get used much as a tablet though.  At home I've got an old Lenovo Windows tablet (no keyboard) which I rarely use.  Basically it's my throw away device for trips because if it's lost/stolen it wouldn't even make me sad.  At home it just sits there waiting for the next trip...

At home I'm 95% (web surfing/e-mail) on a Chromebook.  5% (spreadsheets I don't want stored on the cloud) on an ancient Ideapad I picked up for $100 a few years back.

big_owl

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Re: Get a tablet or Surface or ??
« Reply #24 on: October 14, 2018, 06:34:51 AM »
I had a SP3 I just gave to my wife and I bought a brand new one for myself because it's so damn awesome. I can even play lite video games on it, the thing is a workhorse.  It's my only computer and I love it.  When I think back how much easier life would have been in college with a surface... No lugging a huge CRT, tower, keyboard, mouse, external speakers back and forth every semester...

I don't ever use it as a tablet though.  I don't see the need. If I want to dick around with tablet apps I just use my android phone for that sort of thing.  I use the surface with the type keyboard.  It works great on your lap with the keyboard.