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Windows 8 Laptop/Tablet

AQ_OC

2[H]4U
Joined
Jan 23, 2011
Messages
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I've seen several showing up for review on CNET, so I'm going to be in the market for one as long as it is

1) under 3 lbs. I need a light machine.
2) has a digitizer pen/screen so I can write on it.
3) Not too expensive. If I have to pay $1200, I'll do without.

Have any dates been formally announced yet?
 
Samsung announced prices and an Oct. 26th release date for it's hybrids: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=6554&news=samsung+series+5+series+7+slate+pc

The Series 7 is $1200 and only 4GB RAM and 128GB SDD but a full 1080P display with a Core i5, with the keyboard dock that's not a bad price for what it is. The Series 5 is the Atom version but from what I'm hearing Windows 8 on these new Atoms is MUCH better than prior versions of Windows with the older Atoms. And with game engines coming to Windows RT these things should even game pretty well. 64GB SSD 2GB RAM $650 without the keyboard and $750 with it. Plus these Atoms have great battery life and the Series 5 is like 3 ounces heavier than an iPad then only a 1366x768 display.

The Series 7 is at the top of my list for a launch device, seems to have everything I want, just hope it is better built the Series 7 I bought last year and maybe a bit better battery life but 5 solid hours is being reported.

But if not at launch going into 2013 I think you're going to see devices like the Series 7 go under $1k and that's really a very good price for something like this. Does everything in one package. S-Pen Wacom compatible digitizers in both with 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity. Lot's of cool hardware coming and the prices are low but they seem to pretty competitive for the capabilities.
 
Looks like the 26th of October (and just before) is the big date, it's going to be an interesting couple of months.

Put me down for a tablet with a detachable keyboard and stylus.
 
HP is also coming out with their Envy touchscreen laptops.

If they can add touchscreen for the same price as today's ultrabooks, it could sell.

However, the big issue I see with these touchscreen laptops is the hinge/screen wobble while you have it attached to the keyboard and try to use the touchscreen at the same time.
Try it. Touch your laptop screen. It's a bitch, aint it?

I wonder if these OEM's have addressed that.
 
HP is also coming out with their Envy touchscreen laptops.

If they can add touchscreen for the same price as today's ultrabooks, it could sell.

However, the big issue I see with these touchscreen laptops is the hinge/screen wobble while you have it attached to the keyboard and try to use the touchscreen at the same time.
Try it. Touch your laptop screen. It's a bitch, aint it?

I wonder if these OEM's have addressed that.

Actually I think that have addressed that issue. I've been look at video reviews of some of these devices and this is a question that most of them have looked at and it looks like the hinges on these things are quite sturdy.

Even if one hates Windows 8 there will still be advantages for PC folks, the hardware that's coming out if MUCH better than the crap that OEMs have been putting out for too many years.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKMAVA4bUWM

you have to be extra gentle, almost to the point of making it unresponsive.

notice how a light tap wobbles the screen.

current tablet + keyboard docks have a kickstand in the back to address wobble.

Like I said, I was looking at some of these hybrid devices and video reviews from IFA and hinges on the docking mechanisms were very stable. People were picking them up by the screen and the keyboards weren't even moving on some of them. I don't think it's going to problem overall.
 
Like I said, I was looking at some of these hybrid devices and video reviews from IFA and hinges on the docking mechanisms were very stable. People were picking them up by the screen and the keyboards weren't even moving on some of them. I don't think it's going to problem overall.

Have you not tried the current flock of ultrabooks? :p

The only device I'd consider with a touchscreen if I were using a touchscreen would be a thinkpad because of just how sturdy their hinges are. The TN panels certainly don't help any, particularly as they're bouncing back and forth you get the added effect of your colors washing in and out.
 
Samsung had his Ativ tablet with Win RT at IFA.... looks much, much better then the Note 10.1 - brushed aluminium, good design, no more cheap plastic, almost like no Samsung :p From other crazy Win 8 stuff, there is the tabletop PC from Sony that has 20" screen :), but calling that thing portable is a bit over the edge :)
 
Have you not tried the current flock of ultrabooks? :p

The only device I'd consider with a touchscreen if I were using a touchscreen would be a thinkpad because of just how sturdy their hinges are. The TN panels certainly don't help any, particularly as they're bouncing back and forth you get the added effect of your colors washing in and out.

I have a Lenovo x220t convertible and use the touch screen on the time in tablet mode. There's some bonce with it but this is swivel convertible, just one 1" wide connection to the base and the screen and its not that bad really. These new detachable keyboard hybrids look to have much studier hinges.

And I've not yet heard about a single Windows 8 tablet of hybrid with a TN panel. There just aren't going to be any.
 
And I've not yet heard about a single Windows 8 tablet of hybrid with a TN panel. There just aren't going to be any.

You are living in a fantasy world. These are Microsoft's OEMs we're talking about... The question shouldn't be whether there will be anything outside of IPS but whether you'll see an IPS panel at all. In fact, Microsoft's RT tablet is a TN panel at 1366x768. Way to set a standard for the rest of them to follow. A tablet where you can't alter up and down angles and it's using a cheapo TN panel.
 
You are living in a fantasy world. These are Microsoft's OEMs we're talking about... The question shouldn't be whether there will be anything outside of IPS but whether you'll see an IPS panel at all. In fact, Microsoft's RT tablet is a TN panel at 1366x768. Way to set a standard for the rest of them to follow. A tablet where you can't alter up and down angles and it's using a cheapo TN panel.

This completely contradicts your claim of the Surface having a TN panel.

Right now, Microsoft reps are refusing to clarify the resolution for either the RT or Pro Surface tablets. For now, then, suffice to say the 16:9 display is indeed crisp, but you know what's even more impressive? The viewing angles. Try following along with a demo, standing off to the side while someone else has his turn taking photos from dead-center. Turns out, it's no so hard. Factor in that kickstand and you've got the ingredients for some easy movie watching between friends.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/18/hands-on-with-microsoft-surface-for-windows-rt/

I've been researching pretty much all of the upcoming Windows 8 tablet and hybrid devices because I plan on buying several and I have not seen ONE indication that ANY of the devices I've researched have a TN panels.

So unless you actually have some specific specs to point to please refrain from making things up that are direct contradiction with the information that reviewers that have seen the hardware have reported. This is people's hard earned money we're talking about and they deserve facts, not just made up statements from someone who doesn't like something.
 
Acer W700 is basically a Macbook Air with a better screen and in tablet form factor:
- Ivy Bridge ULV
- Thunderbolt port
- 1080p IPS
- 4gb ram
- claims 8hr battery life

I believe tablet with Thunderbolt port has more potential than ultrabooks. We're looking at Thunderbolt graphic solution in the near future as well as 17w~25w (?) Haswell quadcores. :) Death to giant stand-still tower PC!
 
On top of the Surface that Microsoft is coming out with which has USB3.0, Micro SDXC, mini display port and pen input, you could get

Thinkpad tablet 2 ( My favorite so far)
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/tablet/thinkpad/thinkpad-tablet-2/

or the yoga which has dual hinges and folds in to a tablet if you need it to and can be had with an RT or a fulblown I5 cpu

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105...ases-windows-8-reversible-yoga-tablet-laptop/


That thinkpad is looking sweet. I wonder what it will cost and how much it will weigh? The Yoga is even better. I think he said $1400.
 
That thinkpad is looking sweet. I wonder what it will cost and how much it will weigh? The Yoga is even better. I think he said $1400.


I know Yoga will have a base price of $1199 with the I5 processor and SSD as standard. If you decide to get the ARM cpu I am sure the price will drop. I unfortunatly cannot because I need to compile signals in Matlab and VHDL files in Quartus II on the go they are pretty CPU dependent and I don't want it to take forever.

As far as thinkpad goes, I don't know the price but I know that you can have it with an I5 or an Atom cpu. If Atom has any guts that will let me do my thing, that it it will be my choice.
At that point I will have a tablet that gets 10 hours of battery life, runs full blown win8 with hypethreading, also has Pen input and comparable weight and thickness to an Ipad. Something that I have been waiting for for about couple years.
 
Yeah, I'm quite interested in the Samsung Series 5 Slate, or if the Thinkpad Tablet 2 has a pressure-sensitive pen that one possibly (EDIT: looks like it has an included pen per engadget which appears pressure-tipped? and optional dock? very nice!), in Atom form (though I may just splurge the extra amount for the i5 version). I do like the dock though that the Series 5 offers. My main question is if the new Atom will have the horsepower to deal with digital painting for textures. I'm sure it will be ample for writing some code and quick testing.

I'd love to add this to my stable of tools (and it could double as a personal tablet/notebook :p) if it can handle it. I currently use a normal tablet w/ stylus for painting but I still always have that disconnect between the drawing space and the screen, which is especially annoying when trying to switch colors/tools/etc. and slows down my productivity.

EDIT 2: Yep, it has a 1,024-level pen apparrently with Wacom tech... http://www.trustedreviews.com/lenovo-thinkpad-tablet-2_Tablet_review looks beautiful. It seems to be included. There's also going to be a dockable bluetooth-connected keyboard with the Thinkpad mouse-nub, as an option. This thing's definitely a contender alongside the Series 5, as it appears the Atom Z2760 they pack will be strong enough for drawing work from what I'm reading in previews.
 
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I know Yoga will have a base price of $1199 with the I5 processor and SSD as standard. If you decide to get the ARM cpu I am sure the price will drop. I unfortunatly cannot because I need to compile signals in Matlab and VHDL files in Quartus II on the go they are pretty CPU dependent and I don't want it to take forever.

As far as thinkpad goes, I don't know the price but I know that you can have it with an I5 or an Atom cpu. If Atom has any guts that will let me do my thing, that it it will be my choice.
At that point I will have a tablet that gets 10 hours of battery life, runs full blown win8 with hypethreading, also has Pen input and comparable weight and thickness to an Ipad. Something that I have been waiting for for about couple years.

I run MATLAB too though I have several other options to run it. Still, if is is possible to get a full up Win8 PC in a tablet format with 8+ hrs of battery life and ~2lb, I'll jump. The weight is really a big factor for me.
 
I run MATLAB too though I have several other options to run it. Still, if is is possible to get a full up Win8 PC in a tablet format with 8+ hrs of battery life and ~2lb, I'll jump. The weight is really a big factor for me.

Yeah, I think it'll be more like 1.5lbs or less since the Series 5 Slate (11.6") is 1.65lbs and the Thinkpad Tablet 2 is going to be a 10.1" screen. The more I think about it the more that one makes sense to me, lower weight, surely lower cost, etc. It appears to include the stylus standard, so if that's the case, I'm picking that as my top contender for purchase on October 26th ;).
 
The Surface Pro is listed as having a "Full HD" display, which, if following industry-standard terminology, means 1920x1080. The Surface RT, listed as "HD", is therefore 1280x720, again assuming industry-standard terminology.

Personally, I'll be going with a Surface Pro unless another manufacturer introduces something more compelling.
 
I don't need any media capability except being able to play youtube videos/ other video files
I think I will at least attempt at taking notes with it so hopefully the digitizer is nice and high resolution. Except that all I need is battery power, low weight, computing power, ram and low heat output.

Engineers end up being one with their computers during the course of a day and my current laptop seriously makes me sweat, even if I just hold it up in my hands.
So thinkpad2 is also going to be my choice unless something ridiculous happens between now and then.
 
The Surface Pro is listed as having a "Full HD" display, which, if following industry-standard terminology, means 1920x1080. The Surface RT, listed as "HD", is therefore 1280x720, again assuming industry-standard terminology.

Personally, I'll be going with a Surface Pro unless another manufacturer introduces something more compelling.

HD can also refer to 1366x768, a lot TVs these days called "HD" that are below 1920x1080 sport this resolution. Since 1366x768 is the minimum required for snap view in Windows 8, Surface RT devices will probably have this resolution which is the resolution that all other RT devices that I've seen announced to date.
 
HD can also refer to 1366x768, a lot TVs these days called "HD" that are below 1920x1080 sport this resolution. Since 1366x768 is the minimum required for snap view in Windows 8, Surface RT devices will probably have this resolution which is the resolution that all other RT devices that I've seen announced to date.

It's called HD because it is HD (actually slightly higher than 720*1280), Broadcast formats are 720p and 1080i. 1080p is not a broadcast standard and is reserved for consoles and BD-Rom content.
 
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