Whos buying a a W8 Tablet?

Which W8 Tablet?

  • Windows RT

    Votes: 37 14.5%

  • Windows 8

    Votes: 28 10.9%

  • Windows 8 Pro

    Votes: 114 44.5%

  • None

    Votes: 105 41.0%
  • Total voters
    256
LeviathanZERO said:
What did you get?
Some stores here have no W8 Tablets, I wanted to look at the Sony and Samsung ones even though the one I want (S20) wont be out till November anyway...
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I got the Sony Vaio Duo 11 the Surf Slider tablet as sony calls it with the i7 and 256GB SSD. I love it, its fast, quiet, light (well lighter than my old laptop), screen is good the keyboard is a little small but really easy to learn after a few hours and it just feels premium. I didn't get the 700T because of no expandable battery, Fry's didnt have the i7 version with the 256GB ssd since neither of these can be easily replaced my only choice was to get the Duo which is kind of expensive but still I feel its worth it. Otherwise both the 700T and the Duo are great little machines that can really replace a laptop and a tablet and do more than the sum of both.
 
windows tablets are stupid expensive.

the asus RT tablet is $600. $100 more expensive than the Surface.

no one is gonna buy that.
 
Asus includes the keyboard dock at 599. Not such a bad deal with that figured in considering the second battery and ports.
 
I'll buy a Windows 8 tablet when I can get one with an x86-64 processor and a GPU powerful enough to play games like World of Warcraft.
 
heatlesssun said:
But they all have Intel HD 4000 graphics which isn't bad but not very powerful.
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He wanted it for WOW play. The hd4000 should get you 30fps on medium settings. Yes WOW is cpu bound, but it will be fine. I played WOW on my MBA and it was sandybridge.

Of course I prefer my desktop for games so a laptop will never compete with gtx680 and [email protected]

If you can wait then the haswell gpus will be twice as powerful I think.

int%20wow%201920.png
 
Portable (size/battery life) or powerful, they are opposites you know. :p Concessions have to be made.
 
DPGX said:
Asus includes the keyboard dock at 599. Not such a bad deal with that figured in considering the second battery and ports.
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Are you sure? I have only seen the tablet for $600. Got a link?

Edit: nevermind it's on the Asus website. That's actually a super hot deal! I think I'll pick one up this week even. . .
 
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I suppose really the problems becomes support.

It seems Windows 8 on the tablet shipped with 10.3 flash in IE10. When I try to update this flash it seems to think it is RT flash. This kind of makes sense as the gpu is a traditionally match with ARM devices. I think the clovertrail and tegra3 flash share a code base if its identifying itself as RT.

I tried the standard 10.4 flash and it had no hardware accel working.

So what does this mean? Use IE10 for flash currently.

We need good support in apps like VLC and flash to use that gpu. I imagine we will see it since this is an INTEL chip and it is being used in almost all w8 tablets currently.

Without hardware accel the atom chip can still handle 720p hi10 at about 60% cpu.

1080 sorta works at low bit rates but at around 90% when the bitrate climbs the cpu tanks and you drop frames.

1080 is going to need gpu accel.

UPDATE: Downloaded Power DVD 12 (Samsung came with power dvd 10) Since it advertises windows 8 tablet experience. I am happy to report that version 12 can use the gpu. I am playing 1080p hi10 at like 15% cpu.

Why did Samsung gives us version 10? lol (upgrade to 12 is like $60 ouch!, I will wait for VLC to support gpu :p )
 
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Well I seem to have gotten a defective 500T. I had every thing pretty well setup, really was working great until I started to get a lot video corruption and video driver restarts, I refreshed and restarted and still the same issue. I think I still want on of these, full x86 desktop that while not the fastest still works very well and the 9 plus hours battery life in 1.65 lbs is an awesome feature.

So Shadohh, is yours still working well for you? Thanks!
 
Still working good.

A defective one is not surprising. I bet they rushed these off the line.
 
DPGX said:
Asus includes the keyboard dock at 599. Not such a bad deal with that figured in considering the second battery and ports.
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which asus includes the keyboard dock for 599? just the RT?
 
Sold my ipad 3. Now looking to pick up the Samsung ATIV 500t. Staples has the cheapest price at $599 but just about anywhere will price match. However I can't find them in stock anywhere so hopefully some stores will get some shipments in tomorrow and i'll go get one.
 
Archer75 said:
Sold my ipad 3. Now looking to pick up the Samsung ATIV 500t. Staples has the cheapest price at $599 but just about anywhere will price match. However I can't find them in stock anywhere so hopefully some stores will get some shipments in tomorrow and i'll go get one.
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Yeah, I have to return mine, pretty obvious hardware issues with the GPU (hope see some stock this week as well), but while it was working I was very impressed. It's all the PC and tablet that most people will need. The performance was actually pretty solid, doing basic multitasking like a web browser and video playing worked fine and the battery life is incredible and Office 2013 ran great on it. It could chug a bit when installing software desktop software and web browsing, but that's not something that would really be a common issue.

I believe that Atom devices are the key to the success of Windows 8 on tablets because they are the baseline systems that office full desktop and Metro apps in one package, unlike Windows RT and it looks like the battery life is roughly equal.
 
the asus vivo tab rt is on ebay for $550 + $13 shipping. to get the free keyboard dock from asus it doesn't look like you need to show an invoice. I would go through the process just to make sure. but looks like a way to save $50
 
DPGX said:
Here's the link for the free dock with the Vivotab RT. You do in fact need to provide a copy of the receipt though which is not mentioned on the below link. The Asus VIP site has been up and down all weekend though.

http://event.asus.com/Vivotab/Mobile_Dock/
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Just an update, I filled out the form over the weekend requesting my dock, and had visibility to the order. I logged in this morning just to confirm everything was going smoothly and the application tab for the free dock is completely gone from the support portal. If you're hoping to get the dock for free you may want to hold up on this. Now that I carved my box up as Asus requests, I'm a little concerned that my application has vanished because I can no longer return my device if I do not receive my dock...I purchased it with the understanding the dock was to be included / free.
 
So, I ended up getting a Surface for my wife this weekend (2nd to last sale unit left at the Microsoft store) and I have been loving the interface so far. I was able to remote in to my desktop without issues and I went around plugging every USB device I could find into it without an issue. I did have a little funkiness with a friend's iphone but it still charged it.

I used a spare HDMI cable to hook up a monitor with no problems and the ease of changing the interface (mirrored, 2nd screen, etc) is really super easy. My wife is loving the device and I saw her watching youtube and editing an excel file for work in split screen last night. It is a perfect device for her as she WANTED a consumption device but NEEDED a device she could use to edit and create office files and needed a replacement for her aging laptop.

Upsides so far:
The screen is superb. I can't express how truly remarkable this screen is. The viewing angles are great, the lack of glare is great, the brightness and darkness are great, it is super accurate and responsive, and it is simply beautiful.
USB support is exactly like my desktop, fantastic even for old legacy usb printers and cameras.
The W8 interface is great on a tablet and when I connected a USB mouse and keyboard it worked really well with the scroll wheel.
The device is very smooth which was a little surprising because having used Android tablets on similar Tegra hardware I experienced dropped frames or slight lag when going through the menus or when shutting an app down and quickly starting another.
It connected to all email accounts without issue and the wireless reception is fantastic. Let me expand on that: The Surface sees more wireless networks than any device I have ever owned. Even my wife's Iphone 4s. which has fantastic wireless capability, was out matched by the Surface. At a friend's house I saw more networks than his Ipad 3.
The Surface really can be used on your lap contrary to what TheVerge complained about in their review. You can either have the kickstand out with it resting on your legs and the keyboard forward in your lap or you can use the keyboard as a base (some may find this more comfortable) and type on the on screen keyboard.
Speakers get loud and are stereo with a total of 2 speakers and they do not get 'tinny' at max volume. Even so there may be some that wish they were even louder but in a normal room it should definitely be loud enough.

Downsides so far:
I didn't notice until last night that the Surface has no Kensington Security Slot so it can't really be locked like 95% of laptops can.
The keyboard takes getting used to as I have large hands. My wife seems to love it though as she is used to small laptops.
I originally had some slight stutter issues when I tried to tax the system with hulu and youtube going at the same time but an Oct 26th windows update appears to have addressed this.
The power cable faux-magsafe is pretty lame. It always seems to take 2 or 3 tries to get it placed perfectly. Maybe the magnets should be stronger for the next generation.
 
I think these W8 Tablets Coming out recently is the true idealization or what the ipad and android tablets try to be but fail.
 
I went to the store to play with a Samsung ATIV 500t. It locked up a lot. Mail would stop letting me select different messages but scrolling would still work. Then that would lock up too and i'd have to go out and back in. The travel app locked up on me as well after about 30 seconds of scrolling.

They didn't have any in stock.
 
Archer75 said:
I went to the store to play with a Samsung ATIV 500t. It locked up a lot. Mail would stop letting me select different messages but scrolling would still work. Then that would lock up too and i'd have to go out and back in. The travel app locked up on me as well after about 30 seconds of scrolling.

They didn't have any in stock.
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Might have just been an issue with the demo unit. I have one and it's been working great. It's no speed demon, and does have it's issues, but I've been able to use without too many hiccups. In fact, the Metro apps have worked great, as have all my desktop apps (Office, Steam, Spotify). The only hiccups I get are when I try (and fail) to launch certain 3D games from steam (Sanctum, CivV, etc).
 
Just got a replacement for the 500 that was defective. So far so good. Right now I'm installing Office 2013 RTM, running the Store App with 29 in progress and inking this post and while there are stutters few stutters in the inking overall it is very smooth and responsive, not too bad.

Hopefully this unit is solid but I think Clovertrail tablets might be the ticket for a lot of folks. Fast enough for most standard business productivity software but very light and great battery life.
 
Can't find any in stock anywhere in 70 miles form me. Nor any available online. :(
 
Archer75 said:
Can't find any in stock anywhere in 70 miles form me. Nor any available online. :(
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Yeah, I guess I'm not surprised. There were two left at one Staples in my area, the only one that had any. I was able to return it to that store which was a different one that I bought my first one, no hassle, except them trying to pedal me an extended warranty.

So far so good, I have it hooked up to an external monitor mouse and keyboard on battery and it's running great. Visual Studio for Windows 8 even runs decently enough to code on this thing on an external monitor. I'm seriously getting impressed by this thing.
 
Archer75 said:
I went to the store to play with a Samsung ATIV 500t. It locked up a lot. Mail would stop letting me select different messages but scrolling would still work. Then that would lock up too and i'd have to go out and back in. The travel app locked up on me as well after about 30 seconds of scrolling.

They didn't have any in stock.
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Someone probably broke the demo unit already lol.
 
heatlesssun said:
Yeah, I guess I'm not surprised. There were two left at one Staples in my area, the only one that had any. I was able to return it to that store which was a different one that I bought my first one, no hassle, except them trying to pedal me an extended warranty.

So far so good, I have it hooked up to an external monitor mouse and keyboard on battery and it's running great. Visual Studio for Windows 8 even runs decently enough to code on this thing on an external monitor. I'm seriously getting impressed by this thing.
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The hiccups maybe from being new. I think windows 8 might be indexing or something in a low level out of the box.
 
feverlax said:
Might have just been an issue with the demo unit. I have one and it's been working great. It's no speed demon, and does have it's issues, but I've been able to use without too many hiccups. In fact, the Metro apps have worked great, as have all my desktop apps (Office, Steam, Spotify). The only hiccups I get are when I try (and fail) to launch certain 3D games from steam (Sanctum, CivV, etc).
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I think most of the hiccups can be fixed with drivers/firmware/support.

The only real problem I have had is the pen digitizer breaks when waking up from sleep. A simple reboot fixes it. I imagine it has to be a driver issue.
 
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Hm, I wonder if these problems are 500T specific. I havent had any issues that needed any type of reboot yet. My gripes lay with the lack of apps here.
 
///AMG said:
Hm, I wonder if these problems are 500T specific. I havent had any issues that needed any type of reboot yet. My gripes lay with the lack of apps here.
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Yes an no, the pen getting disabled is a fairly common problem on windows tablets. Samsung has been generally good with support for the Series 7 Slate so I would expect numerous fixes coming.
 
heatlesssun said:
Yes an no, the pen getting disabled is a fairly common problem on windows tablets. Samsung has been generally good with support for the Series 7 Slate so I would expect numerous fixes coming.
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Reason why I ask is because I havent seen any of those issues pop up on my Duo yet.
 
Ok, found one in stock at office depot and got them to price match the staples website. So I just now got home with my new Samsung ATIV 500T for $599. Now off to play!
 
Thats great lol, I wonder if I can find one for my father now. He will love it, he saw me using my Duo and said he'd want something like it. I am goig to see if my local office depot has one I can PM.
 
Anyone purchase or have some hands on with a Microsoft Surface tablet with the keyboard. My main goals are to mainly use it as a tablet, light office work, and remote access to work via SSH or RDP. I don't need lots of horse power, thats what I have my desktop for.
 
Vengance_01 said:
Anyone purchase or have some hands on with a Microsoft Surface tablet with the keyboard. My main goals are to mainly use it as a tablet, light office work, and remote access to work via SSH or RDP. I don't need lots of horse power, thats what I have my desktop for.
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You might want to take a look at Clovertrail x86 Atoms, they are going to be a faster than the Surface RT and have the ability to run x86 software within the performance constraints of the device. Some of the Clovertrails are spot on in price with the Surface RT, though the Surface RT is better built piece of hardware and lighter than any Clovertrail with a dock by about a pound.
 
Vengance_01 said:
Anyone purchase or have some hands on with a Microsoft Surface tablet with the keyboard. My main goals are to mainly use it as a tablet, light office work, and remote access to work via SSH or RDP. I don't need lots of horse power, thats what I have my desktop for.
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http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1039274777&postcount=219 for my thoughts on the Surface I got.

Remote access is pretty cool. If you remote into a Win 8 system you can control it with touch gestures. The frame rate seems very stable for my fiddling around with it. The fact that you can HDMI out to a 1080p monitor is very cool as well.
 
Mine has all sorts of bugs. Occasional screen flickering. Audio quality has gone downhill. After a while videos won't play well, they stutter. All system sounds will stop and I have to reboot. Sometimes when asleep the windows key brings it to the lock screen and sometimes to a logout screen and other times nothing.
There are inconsistencies throughout the OS itself. Will only utilize my first google calendar but not the rest. It certainly needs more polish.

So far i'm regretting my purchase. But I can only exchange it. The return policy won't let me return it just because I don't like it. There's no more in stock for me to exchange with to see if I just got a buggy unit so i'll have to wait for that.
 
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Yeah, that sounds like a bad unit, hopefully a new one will solve these issues. How long do you have for an exchange?
 
Also disappointing that it's a 64gb unit and out of the box only has 30gb available. I installed VLC to test some video and the player is half off the screen. It won't let me grab the title bar to drag it back over. There are strange times where I can't select specific items on the screen no matter what. Just specific parts of specific apps. Strange.

I have 14 days to exchange it. Purchased from office depot. Thought i'd take it back tomorrow but like I said, they only do exchanges and don't have any in stock for at least 20 miles.
 
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Archer75 said:
Also disappointing that it's a 64gb unit and out of the box only has 30gb available. I installed VLC to test some video and the player is half off the screen. It won't let me grab the title bar to drag it back over. There are strange times where I can't select specific items on the screen no matter what. Just specific parts of specific apps. Strange.

I have 14 days to exchange it.
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Oh, you're talking about the 500, I thought you were talking about the Surface RT. The problems you're describing sound exactly like the ones I had before I exchanged my unit. This far everything as been working well for the last day. I can get the thing to bluescreen when connected to an external monitor and running the Netflix app on the external monitor. I have had to restart it once for a weird issue that popup up running Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8 when it came out of sleep.

Looks like a few issues with video driver stability and sleep, nothing serious. But geez, the battery life on this thing is just amazing. I've been using the thing constantly since just before lunch, maybe about 2 hours off at tops and after 12 hours the battery is still at 19%. For this set of capabilities in a 1.65lbs x86 with this level of performance, it's just amazing.

I hope you can get an exchange, like I said, sounds exactly like the problem I had with my first one, sucks that that there's may be an issue with these, but there's other Clovertrail devices on the way and if they are getting this kind of battery life and performance I think a lot of people are going to love these things.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
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