Looking to buy windows tablet

Forums › Microsoft Windows › Looking to buy windows tablet - advise / review?

nakedmolerat

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#136783 8-Dec-2013 23:13

I decided that windows tablet is going to be the best tablet for me. I need the support for office etc.

Now, I am not interested in windows RT - I need full blown windows. I had a look at Surface 2.. My god! That tablet is thick! If it is half thick, with slightly less feature but runs on full windows 8 - I will be all over it today. Seriously microsoft, they need to get their act together

Asus vivotab has the 'right' size - can I download windows 8.1 on it? Any decent review out there? Most sites just compare the spec!

Any other suggestions? (no limit on budget)

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#947702 8-Dec-2013 23:20

I have an Asus Vivo tab with 8.1 on it for sale. Its about 7 weeks old. Been used very little, if your keen. Has an external keyboard and a full leather case that turns it off and on when you open it.

nakedmolerat

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#947705 8-Dec-2013 23:28

Which model is it? PM me with your price

jonb

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#947707 8-Dec-2013 23:30

Check out the new Asus T100. Look for a windows tablet that has a new generation Bay Trail Atom processor for much better performance.

3puttssuck

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#947708 8-Dec-2013 23:30

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/ipad-and-tablets/asus-vivotab-smart-me400c-review-50010400/

http://www.cnet.com/laptops/asus-vivotab-smart-64gb/4505-3121_7-35567074.html

http://www.digitaltrends.com/tablet-reviews/asus-vivotab-smart-review/

3puttssuck

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#947709 8-Dec-2013 23:37

nakedmolerat: Which model is it? PM me with your price

Its this model.....

http://www.mobilekiwi.co.nz/_/general/review-asus-vivotab-smart-r71

with the transleeve keyboard......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBghAGu4B6E

nakedmolerat

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#947743 9-Dec-2013 07:21

jonb: Check out the new Asus T100. Look for a windows tablet that has a new generation Bay Trail Atom processor for much better performance.

Looks like I can't get this laptop from Noel/jbhifi...

What do you guys think of Dell?

freitasm

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#947745 9-Dec-2013 07:26

I have an ASUS Vivotab, which I bought from another Geekzone user two weeks ago. I bought the sleeve/keyboard on Amazon and got it this week.

For a 2GB RAM tablet it's pretty good and speedy. Updated to Windows 8.1 out of the box (before even installing any update for Windows 8).

The Surface 2 Pro seems thick but remember it's really a tablet with laptop power. It doesn't have a keyboard out of the box but it's faster than my HP Folio 13.

The ASUS Vivotab is a good compromise in terms of power and price. Pretty happy with it.

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#947746 9-Dec-2013 07:28

slliwgd:
nakedmolerat: Which model is it? PM me with your price

Its this model.....

http://www.mobilekiwi.co.nz/_/general/review-asus-vivotab-smart-r71

with the transleeve keyboard......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBghAGu4B6E

I might be interested, PM me with a price.

nathan

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#947753 9-Dec-2013 07:34

nakedmolerat:
jonb: Check out the new Asus T100. Look for a windows tablet that has a new generation Bay Trail Atom processor for much better performance.

Looks like I can't get this laptop from Noel/jbhifi...

What do you guys think of Dell?

whats you budget?

Which Dell model are you looking at?

nakedmolerat

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#947758 9-Dec-2013 07:44

Hi Nathan, as mentioned above, no budget but I do need one that is portable. I read Dell Venue Pro 11 review this morning. I need to figure out if it is as bulky as surface pro

billgates

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#947825 9-Dec-2013 09:48

Surface 2 is thick because there is a full size USB 3.0 port in it. It's as thick as the actual USB 3.0 port, not because MS cannot make it thinner :-)

If you need an x86 tablet, you have couple of options available.

Quad Core Intel Atom BayTrail machines or Haswell machines.

BayTrail machines seem to be limited to 2GB RAM. The Atom CPU inside these is no joke, It's pretty good. I would recommend Asus T100 if you need a ultrabook style hybrid or a Dell Venue 8 Pro if you just need a 8" size tablet only.

If you need full power with Haswell CPU and 4GB RAM+ tablets/hybrids then Surface Pro 2 or Dell Venue 11 Pro.

If you want, I can PM you discount codes for Dell tablets. 8% off if you choose if the $1299 or $1399 one. 12% off if you choose the $1699 one. Dell's are also 3 years NBD warranty.

http://www.dell.com/nz/p/dell-venue-11-pro/fs

Do whatever you want to do man.

Atlanta55

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#948179 9-Dec-2013 15:59

Ok its more of a laptop hybrid then pure tablet but I love my HP Envy X2 since I purchased in July, its got plenty of power for the business and medical imaging applications which I run and is fantastic for travel and airplane use with roughly 10 hours of battery time and a slim build. The screen is great and it transitions very easily from laptop to tablet with the 10" screen size making it great for Kindle and Web use, snap the keyboard back in and you've got the convenience of a laptop.

Was reviewed here on GZ a while back:

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=12123

My only qualm is it being 32bit and not much good at running VMs but apart from that its a lovely device. I've always used HP laptops at work and was a trained Compaq laptop technician so I guess I'm somewhat biased towards them too.

stevenz

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#948190 9-Dec-2013 16:12

The Toshiba Z10 and Lenovo Helix are both very nice. They also both a tad on the chunky side because they're basically full noise i5 Haswell notebooks without keyboards.

Just FYI though, the trackpad on the Lenovo dock is garbage IMO.

@KnightNZ

nathan

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#948203 9-Dec-2013 16:28

Atlanta55: Ok its more of a laptop hybrid then pure tablet but I love my HP Envy X2 since I purchased in July, its got plenty of power for the business and medical imaging applications which I run and is fantastic for travel and airplane use with roughly 10 hours of battery time and a slim build. The screen is great and it transitions very easily from laptop to tablet with the 10" screen size making it great for Kindle and Web use, snap the keyboard back in and you've got the convenience of a laptop.

Was reviewed here on GZ a while back:

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=12123

My only qualm is it being 32bit and not much good at running VMs but apart from that its a lovely device. I've always used HP laptops at work and was a trained Compaq laptop technician so I guess I'm somewhat biased towards them too.

great machine

64 bit is kind of irrelevant since Clovertail ATOM only supports 2GB anyway

The only real benefit I see on 64bit for machines like this is to standardise your corporate desktop build across everything, laptop, desktop, tablet etc to be 64bit only

Baytrail ATOM is out now, but 64bit Baytrail wont be here until March/April

nathan

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#948205 9-Dec-2013 16:30

billgates: Surface 2 is thick because there is a full size USB 3.0 port in it. It's as thick as the actual USB 3.0 port, not because MS cannot make it thinner :-)

If you need an x86 tablet, you have couple of options available.

Quad Core Intel Atom BayTrail machines or Haswell machines.

BayTrail machines seem to be limited to 2GB RAM. The Atom CPU inside these is no joke, It's pretty good. I would recommend Asus T100 if you need a ultrabook style hybrid or a Dell Venue 8 Pro if you just need a 8" size tablet only.

If you need full power with Haswell CPU and 4GB RAM+ tablets/hybrids then Surface Pro 2 or Dell Venue 11 Pro.

If you want, I can PM you discount codes for Dell tablets. 8% off if you choose if the $1299 or $1399 one. 12% off if you choose the $1699 one. Dell's are also 3 years NBD warranty.

http://www.dell.com/nz/p/dell-venue-11-pro/fs

The Dell Venue 11 Pro machine is an awesome machine, very impressed with it

But I'm loving my Dell Venue 8 Pro, the baytrail chip in a 8" thin and light formfactor running Windows 8.1 is incredible

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