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
So that brings us to the opposite end of the spectrum... Why would anyone want to spend a grand on a convertible like the Surface Pro or even $600 on a Surface? Well I already touched on two points, office tasks are an order of magnitude easier to tackle when you have a real office suite, and when you can snap windows and apps side by side, and when you can use existing desktop apps, etc etc. Note taking is also vastly superior with a real digitizer and better software.

Forget those two very specific scenarios for a second tho, let's take a step back and look at the ultrabook comparison while ignoring stuff like touch and note taking. There's a ton of people out there willing to make some sacrifices in aspects like screen size in order to use one device that meets most of their needs... Nevermind that there's plenty of 12" ultrabooks already so some of the 11.6" convertible tablets aren't much of a step down as it is. Some people would rather not switch devices constantly and if they can access all their current work and data on a single hybrid device then that alone is worth a ton to them. Other people might view it as a value or travel weight advantage, why pay $200-500 for a tablet when a convertible that can handle most laptop duties can also work as a tablet when I decide to kick back on the couch/bed? (or why travel with the extra 2-3 pounds)

Looking further past that, let's say you're not big on convergence (I'm not, as I said, I'd keep a smaller tablet even if I owned a 10-12" hybrid)... Does a hybrid device still offer something the 12-13" ultrabook doesn't? Well sure, I already pointed out stuff like note taking that works better on Windows, but there's tons of demanding usage cases that can still benefit from a touch interface and/or a slimmer keyboard-less form factor...

Things like RAW photo manipulation and even browsing are between iffy and impossible on a mobile OS (nevermind the demanding hardware requirements) but can benefit greatly from a quicker touch interface or on-the-go form factor if you're a professional showcasing work for a client or you're doing rough field edits to try stuff out. Sure, there's ultrabooks with touch screens, but have you ever tried to use one by reaching for the display constantly over the keyboard? I've gone thru it on my TF. It's not fluid or intuitive, never mind usingit while standing or handing it off to multiple people for viewing etc.

There's many other similar scenarios... Showing off or previewing blueprints, medical records and tests. Accessing server/network data while standing in front of the server or in your boss' office, etc. You wouldn't or couldn't fathom many of those usage cases because as you've confessed, you're not a big fan of touch screens to begin with, but they're out there.

Ultimately the whole thing is about having a choice of form factors. Some people want do it all convergent devices, others don't. Some people need 8lb gaming laptops, others can get by with an ultrabook. Some people want a single tablet, others have bought into the form factor and can actually see owning multiples just like PC enthusiasts have owned multiple rigs for decades. Some want a tablet first device, laptop second, others vice versa.

You can't pass judgment on what a device is universally worth if you lack the imagination to see how it would be used. I'm not sure if my longwinded post answers the question you keep posing in different ways, hopefully it helps steer the discussion forward tho.

That is my purpose is to move it forward, discussing all points. I can see how it can be used to its fullest, but how many people will after spending that amount, and do they need to spend that for what they need.
Touch screens with a pen is fine as it doesnt smear it all up. I love my keyboard on my phone and wouldnt own one without it. i wonder if I can get a keyboard cover like the surface for my nook!
 
That is my purpose is to move it forward, discussing all points. I can see how it can be used to its fullest, but how many people will after spending that amount, and do they need to spend that for what they need.
Touch screens with a pen is fine as it doesnt smear it all up. I love my keyboard on my phone and wouldnt own one without it. i wonder if I can get a keyboard cover like the surface for my nook!

So you've moved on from questioning the device's worth or possible usage cases to questioning whether people will actually take advantage of it after purchasing them? Makes sense I guess, trolling 101.

If you're gonna go down that slippery slope (and you're actually serious, a tenuous assumption at best) then you're just wasting everyone's time, cheaper tablets are just as likely to sit in a drawer unused... Newsflash, they're ALL a luxury. The vast majority of people don't need a tablet (whether $200 or $1,000) as a second/third device in the same way they need a phone for communication or a PC for basic work/school duties.

There's countless accounts of people that have bought Nooks and Fires and even IPads and then sold them six months later because they didn't use it much in favor of their phone or laptop. Could be due for a variety of reasons, not everyone sits on the couch and web surfs for a few hours, not everyone sits on the couch for a few hours period. ;)

That goes back to the value proposition I pointed out for some tho... If you can get a device for $600 that works as a basic laptop AND as a tablet why would you get two separate devices for more? There's arguments to be made either way, there's no single answer (unless you're Apple I guess and you profess to know better than your own users).

Same argument for the Pro, just a different scale. If you don't need a larger screen why not have a relatively high powered laptop that can also work as a tablet/pen input device? I think after Haswell the lines get even more blurred.
 
Btw, there's this nifty little thing called microfiber cloths, should give it a try some time... :rolleyes:

Even a moist soft cotton rag can clean a tablet screen in a couple of wipes. I don't see how it's any more of an issue on a tablet/convertible than on your phone. I actually wipe my phone clean way more often than my tablet and it's not because I'm in a particularly dirty environment, hell I pretty much never slap it to my face during a call anymore to avoid face oils/sweat (I just press it against my ear's edge or use Bluetooth)... And I cringe whenever I loan it to a woman. #firstworldgeekproblems
 
Btw, there's this nifty little thing called microfiber cloths, should give it a try some time... :rolleyes:

Even a moist soft cotton rag can clean a tablet screen in a couple of wipes. I don't see how it's any more of an issue on a tablet/convertible than on your phone. I actually wipe my phone clean way more often than my tablet and it's not because I'm in a particularly dirty environment, hell I pretty much never slap it to my face during a call anymore to avoid face oils/sweat (I just press it against my ear's edge or use Bluetooth)... And I cringe whenever I loan it to a woman. #firstworldgeekproblems

I already have the cloths, but why waste my time,I would rather not keep wiping the stupid thing off, when a keyboard and touchpad is better for me. I am glad my phone has the keyboard.
 
Is the Surface Pro officially rated at 4 hours of battery life? It has identical specs to the W700 and the 700T yet those tablets advertises 8~9 hours of battery life.

Maybe Microsoft gimped it so it wouldn't hurt other tablet manufacturers?
 
Is the Surface Pro officially rated at 4 hours of battery life? It has identical specs to the W700 and the 700T yet those tablets advertises 8~9 hours of battery life.

Maybe Microsoft gimped it so it wouldn't hurt other tablet manufacturers?

The difficulty there is they claim a "maximum battery life" of 8 hours. Also, there are two configurations for the W700; 1.8GHz Intel Core i3-3217u and 1.8GHz (Turbo to 2.6GHz Intel Core i3-3317u. I'd imagine this would change battery life as well.

The Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T (dumb name, seriously) seems compelling with a lower weight than the Surface Pro. I couldn't find any specifics on how they came up with that battery life number but I would assume it would be similar to the above "maximum"
 
Talking as if it's a keyboard. Which it is.

Reviewers have found it less than favorable.

Keyboard and a cover. For a tablet, not your desktop. Expect to pay.



And seriously, I do not listen to reviews anymore. I watch unboxing videos and see how well the build quality is.


I mute almost all youtube videos. Because its their opinion. No facts, just bias psychobabble. You can tell when they are being a fan boi too, quite amusing. And they never use the product long enough to even make a proper judgement call.
 
Not officially.


You can reliably determine the quality of a keyboard by watching muted YouTube videos.

Alright.

Quality of a keyboard is not watching someone elses typing habbits. We can all get used to typing on a different style of keyboard.
 
After trying out the Touch cover I couldn't believe Anandtech's Surface article had been so positive about it, to me it seemed absolutely atrocious... I can't remember if Anand wrote that part or if their normal laptop editor was involved (Jarred I think? he's usually way more critical of keyboards). AT's reviews are the only mobile device reviews that I feel come close to the depth of coverage the devices deserve.

I'm not super picky about keyboards, but I doubt I'd try another pressure sensitive board after playing with the Touch cover. The Type cover is such a vast improvement that I really don't understand why they produced both, I mean, they cost nearly the same and the dimensions are really similar so what's the point?

I do think that native solutions like those covers or ASUS' dock are a much better solution than any sort of third party cover or Bluetooth accessory you may find tho... For one thing you get a much better fit and/or attachment mechanism, plus with the dock you get several side benefits (battery/ports); nevermind the fact that they'll be better integrated with the device and provide hardware specific shortcut keys etc.
 
After trying out the Touch cover I couldn't believe Anandtech's Surface article had been so positive about it, to me it seemed absolutely atrocious..

I agree, it was a really awesome idea in concept but I absolutely hated typing on the thing. My brother, on the other hand, didn't have nearly as much of a problem with it as I did.

I'm not super picky about keyboards, but I doubt I'd try another pressure sensitive board after playing with the Touch cover. The Type cover is such a vast improvement that I really don't understand why they produced both, I mean, they cost nearly the same and the dimensions are really similar so what's the point?

I didn't play with the Type cover, but I don't think you can fold it behind the Surface like you can with the Touch cover. I REALLY wanted to like the Touch cover for that aspect alone. But, I ended up taking the Surface RT back and finding an ATIV 500T which I'm really very pleased with. I just hope once I can find the keyboard dock for the thing that it won't make my fingers weep blood.
 
I didn't play with the Type cover, but I don't think you can fold it behind the Surface like you can with the Touch cover. I REALLY wanted to like the Touch cover for that aspect alone. But, I ended up taking the Surface RT back and finding an ATIV 500T which I'm really very pleased with. I just hope once I can find the keyboard dock for the thing that it won't make my fingers weep blood.

Congrats! I that the 500T as well. So what do you think of it's performance? If you've used an older Atom platform device how well to you think the 500T compares to that?
 
I agree, it was a really awesome idea in concept but I absolutely hated typing on the thing. My brother, on the other hand, didn't have nearly as much of a problem with it as I did.



I didn't play with the Type cover, but I don't think you can fold it behind the Surface like you can with the Touch cover. I REALLY wanted to like the Touch cover for that aspect alone. But, I ended up taking the Surface RT back and finding an ATIV 500T which I'm really very pleased with. I just hope once I can find the keyboard dock for the thing that it won't make my fingers weep blood.

The Touch Cover should've been called the Tap Cover, because for whatever reason when I had the word touch in my mind it was hard to acclimate to. Then when I realized you really need to tap the keys with a little more pressure than just a touch, all of the sudden I was awesome at it. I think the word Touch actually sabotages it a little bit and people aren't giving it that tiniest little bit of extra pressure to make a sure keystroke. If you actually tap the keys then it works amazingly well.
 
Hey 500t owners, lots of new drivers today. bluetooth/graphics/wifi/chipset

Graphics driver really improves performance. WEI for graphics went up 0.2 points. 3.5>3.7
 
Hey 500t owners, lots of new drivers today. bluetooth/graphics/wifi/chipset

Graphics driver really improves performance. WEI for graphics went up 0.2 points. 3.5>3.7

Thanks for the info! The graphics driver came out a couple of days ago, it looks like these drivers cover the areas of issues that have been commonly reported for the 500T.
 
The Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T (dumb name, seriously) seems compelling with a lower weight than the Surface Pro. I couldn't find any specifics on how they came up with that battery life number but I would assume it would be similar to the above "maximum"
Unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of complaints about defects and build quality on the Notebook Review forums about this device (plus it's hard to find.) Granted, the people who post on forums are more likely to complain than give praise, but this seems like an unusually high amount and given the build quality of some of Samsung's previous laptops, it wouldn't surprise me all that much if their complaints are legitimate.

User reviews have been praising the battery life, but I have too many concerns about the body and heat. Plus I really wish they had included a better keyboard. Some people are complaining that it loses its connection with the tablet fairly often, and not including an extra battery or at least a better keyboard is a mistake imo. Asus really set the standard for tablet keyboard docks, now they just need to make a device with a Wacom stylus that isn't the Taichi. A Vivo with an i5/8GB ram would do quite nicely.
 
Yeah, Samsung's build quality isn't very good, that was the number one issue with the Series 7 Slate I bought last year, but the device overall was quite good, 4 to 5 hours of battery life for general use, under two pounds, nice screen though "only" 1366x768 (actually I think that is a good resolution for this size of device that also has a desktop that you can use with touch), and not a lot of heat and noise.

The 500T I have is much better built than the S7S but still plastic and that stupid glued on stencil lettered "SAMSUNG" logo that's just going to peel off.
 
Plastic doesn't have to mean bad build quality, it doesn't even have to feel cheap if done right... Samsung tends to fail miserably at the latter tho. I actually like the textured plastic back of my Transformer, it feels nice and grippy and it's pretty much never gonna scratch (unlike aluminum), ASUS logo is a separate embedded little piece too. :p

It still creaks quite a bit after a while tho, since it's a hybrid plastic back with a metal edge/frame design. A unibody design like the One X or recent Nokias would be interesting on tablets.
 
Yeah, Samsung's build quality isn't very good, that was the number one issue with the Series 7 Slate I bought last year, but the device overall was quite good, 4 to 5 hours of battery life for general use, under two pounds, nice screen though "only" 1366x768 (actually I think that is a good resolution for this size of device that also has a desktop that you can use with touch), and not a lot of heat and noise.

The 500T I have is much better built than the S7S but still plastic and that stupid glued on stencil lettered "SAMSUNG" logo that's just going to peel off.

I just got a series 7 slate used on ebay for $580, the 128gb version. my slate feels like its built well, its a year old but the last owner hardly used it. I think it was the best bang for buck device for win8. 1366x768 is plenty in desktop mode, I couldn't stand any higher. I do notice text pixels, but its not bad. I think 1080p would be a pain in the ass to use in desktop mode, certainly you would have to resize text which would end up looking out of place. I was playing around in paint with the digitizer pen, but it was picking up my palm on the screen. it'd be nice if it would ignore everything except the pen's input.

another thing is the press and hold to right click feature in desktop mode works when it wants too. I'm curious if its buggy for everyone? the square animation either just blinks and I don't have enough time to let go, or it never shows up at all, and just thinks my finger is repeatedly tapping pressing the screen. I can drag shortcuts around, so I don't think the screen is having trouble recognizing long presses.

also, is there a way to enable the mouse curser on the desktop or in metro? theres a website I use that shows info on something when you hover over with the mouse, which seems impossible to achieve right now.
 
The press and hold issue was fixed with a BIOS update: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/XE700T1A-A04US

As for touch interfering with the pen, make sure that you keep pen within about 1" of the screen before resting your hand on the screen and you should be good. Takes a little practice but in time it should become natural. There are some utilities for enabling and disabling the touch digitizer in Windows quickly if you around. It can be done in the "Pen and Touch Settings" Control Panel applet as well but that takes a few steps.
 
The press and hold issue was fixed with a BIOS update: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/XE700T1A-A04US

As for touch interfering with the pen, make sure that you keep pen within about 1" of the screen before resting your hand on the screen and you should be good. Takes a little practice but in time it should become natural. There are some utilities for enabling and disabling the touch digitizer in Windows quickly if you around. It can be done in the "Pen and Touch Settings" Control Panel applet as well but that takes a few steps.

hm, I did update the bios. maybe it only fixes it for win7. thanks.
 
The Acer w700 is getting amazing reviews!

Wish it had pen input.

It's odd because back in October they announced the W700P which comes with an active digitizer.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Acer-Iconia-W700P-W510P-Windows,18560.html

If you go to the US page for the W700P, there's no mention of a stylus anywhere. On top of that, there's nothing that differentiates the W700P from the W700.
http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model-datasheet/NT.L0RAA.005

But on the Arab Emirates page, it's listed.
http://www.acer.ae/ac/en/AE/content/model-datasheet/NT.L0REM.003
 
hm, I did update the bios. maybe it only fixes it for win7. thanks.

Try the touch Sensor Firmware here: http://www.samsung.com/global/windowspreview/

I'm pretty sure this is it, I had the same problem and there was an update that did fix it, thought it was a BIOS update but this is the one I believe.

I never got that rotation sensor update to work properly, some have but for me it would cause the screen to randomly rotate so beware of that update.

Hope this helps.
 
Try the touch Sensor Firmware here: http://www.samsung.com/global/windowspreview/

I'm pretty sure this is it, I had the same problem and there was an update that did fix it, thought it was a BIOS update but this is the one I believe.

I never got that rotation sensor update to work properly, some have but for me it would cause the screen to randomly rotate so beware of that update.

Hope this helps.

that update fixed it right away, thanks! I haven't had an issue with the rotation sensor. I believe my auto rotate lock button wasn't working till I updated the bios or installed a windows update, I forget which fixed it.

I don't understand why only 10 tabs are allowed in metro IE.
 
It's odd because back in October they announced the W700P which comes with an active digitizer.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Acer-Iconia-W700P-W510P-Windows,18560.html

If you go to the US page for the W700P, there's no mention of a stylus anywhere. On top of that, there's nothing that differentiates the W700P from the W700.
http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model-datasheet/NT.L0RAA.005

But on the Arab Emirates page, it's listed.
http://www.acer.ae/ac/en/AE/content/model-datasheet/NT.L0REM.003

hmmmmm

No clue. I doubt they would add an expensive piece like a digitzer and not advertise it.

Probbaly removed for monetary/battery issues.
 
It's odd because back in October they announced the W700P which comes with an active digitizer.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Acer-Iconia-W700P-W510P-Windows,18560.html

If you go to the US page for the W700P, there's no mention of a stylus anywhere. On top of that, there's nothing that differentiates the W700P from the W700.
http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/model-datasheet/NT.L0RAA.005

But on the Arab Emirates page, it's listed.
http://www.acer.ae/ac/en/AE/content/model-datasheet/NT.L0REM.003

On the included leather case there is actually a little hole for you to put a stylus, so as the other poster said there might have been some last minute changes. The W700Peven even have its own drivers page, but it includes only the same driver as the models.

The anabdtech video review listed it as having a lightning port but it turned out to be a micro usb instead, although I've heard that the P model has a sd card slot and a lighting port.
 
I'm ordering two W700s off Amazon this week. Any first-hand reports from owners at the [H]?
 
I'm ordering two W700s off Amazon this week. Any first-hand reports from owners at the [H]?

Wow, thats incredibly well priced. I want one with a 256GB SSD just to try. Pretty much on par with the i5 version of my Vaio Duo for $150 less.
 
I'm ordering two W700s off Amazon this week. Any first-hand reports from owners at the [H]?

It's more or less flawless if you manage to get a perfect device with no construction faults. Mine was flawless out of the box but it had developed a loose touchscreen so I'm waiting for Amazon to restock it so I can make an exchange.

Apparently the digitizer is just taped to the casing and mine is a little loose near the top so tapping it would result in a little noise being made from the glass hitting the aluminum. Doesn't really instill any confidence since it's a $900 device but I probably just got an oddball.

There are also some light bleed near the home button as many owners are reporting and it's from the glass touching the screen. Mine had minimal light bleed that I could only see on dark backgrounds so it didn't bother me much. All of the IPS panels I've owned had light bleed so it wasn't that much of a shock.

But other than that it's an awesome device. Truly worthy of being the next generation of mobile computing. Engadget also has a review up and they absolutely love the W700.


Wow, thats incredibly well priced. I want one with a 256GB SSD just to try. Pretty much on par with the i5 version of my Vaio Duo for $150 less.

According to an amazon reviewer the W700 uses a msata ssd so you can upgrade it if you can stomach gutting a $900 device.
 
It's more or less flawless if you manage to get a perfect device with no construction faults. Mine was flawless out of the box but it had developed a loose touchscreen so I'm waiting for Amazon to restock it so I can make an exchange.

Apparently the digitizer is just taped to the casing and mine is a little loose near the top so tapping it would result in a little noise being made from the glass hitting the aluminum. Doesn't really instill any confidence since it's a $900 device but I probably just got an oddball.

There are also some light bleed near the home button as many owners are reporting and it's from the glass touching the screen. Mine had minimal light bleed that I could only see on dark backgrounds so it didn't bother me much. All of the IPS panels I've owned had light bleed so it wasn't that much of a shock.

But other than that it's an awesome device. Truly worthy of being the next generation of mobile computing. Engadget also has a review up and they absolutely love the W700.




According to an amazon reviewer the W700 uses a msata ssd so you can upgrade it if you can stomach gutting a $900 device.

Really wish this came out before. I bought the Vaio Duo i7 for $1500 over the cheaper $1200 i5 ver just for the SSD since none of the launch convertibles had confirmed upgradable SSDs... Could have saved a good $400 buying the W700 and a bigger SSD...
 
heatlesssun, I just noticed about 15 spots of light bleed in the bottom of my screen. all the spots were the same size and brightness, so it didn't look typical light bleed. then all of a sudden they went away. have you heard of such a thing?
 
heatlesssun, I just noticed about 15 spots of light bleed in the bottom of my screen. all the spots were the same size and brightness, so it didn't look typical light bleed. then all of a sudden they went away. have you heard of such a thing?

Hmmm, I've never heard of this before happening on a S7S but I've heard about this before, can't recaIl where exactly. So what were you doing at the time? I've never had any issue with light-bleed on mine.
 
Hmmm, I've never heard of this before happening on a S7S but I've heard about this before, can't recaIl where exactly. So what were you doing at the time? I've never had any issue with light-bleed on mine.

I had just turned the slate on after it was in sleep mode. I've had it in sleep mode before and this is the first time that's happened. the lights turned off after a minute.
 
I had just turned the slate on after it was in sleep mode. I've had it in sleep mode before and this is the first time that's happened. the lights turned off after a minute.

Do you have Auto Brightness turned on? Have you installed the Easy Settings app? I have the Easy Settings app installed and Auto Brightness turned off. As I said I've not seen this particular issue but I've had issues with brightness control and doing these two things solved the issues.
 
Do you have Auto Brightness turned on? Have you installed the Easy Settings app? I have the Easy Settings app installed and Auto Brightness turned off. As I said I've not seen this particular issue but I've had issues with brightness control and doing these two things solved the issues.

I have auto brightness turned off and no easy settings app.
 
is there a way to turn off the screen while I'm playing a movie via hdmi? and a way to fit the picture to a 1080p tv, edges are cut off.
 
If you hit Win+P (or use the device charm) you can set it to second screen only which turns the main display off.

As for the image getting cut off, that is a setting on your TV. It is overscanning the image and not fitting it properly. Fiddle with your TV settings and you should be able to fix it.
 
Back
Top