Quote:
Originally Posted by Faterson
...I find Windows 8 devices unusable for serious purposes at this point due to the lack of apps, so that Microsoft's offerings cannot be called "the most capable"....
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Here I really have to defend my beloved Surface Pro(s).
I own dozens of tablets. But, before Surface Pro, all of them had been mere toys.
Yes, I loved iPad 1 in May 2010, when taking it with me on vacation, fresh out of the mail. Yes, the App Store was an evolution and you could spend days mindlessly stumbling around and testing thousands of apps (at one stage, I had about 11.000 apps in iTunes). But: I never have used my iPads productively. Okay, the occasional email of course and even some quick presentations.
But I never would have generated a presentation, OneNote draft or text on any iPad or Android unit.
I did so on my MacBook Air, when on the road.
Now, more and more often, I do so on Surface Pro.
What does Surface Pro offer, that can't be done on iOS or Android?
First of all, I find the type cover a stroke of genius. Yes, there have been various covers and/or keyboards for numerous tablets. But a.) most of them have been crappy bluetooth solutions. And b.) only few of them had been compact and usable enough, to be a valid replacement for a "full" keyboard.
The type cover isn't perfect (although the Gen2 cover brought lots of improvements), but close enough. Closest I have seen so far.
Second of all, I'm still using Outlook and the MS Office Suite. iWorks is equally functional and efficient. But only on MacBook Air, certainly not on iPad.
Of course, my MacBook Air is about as compact as my Surface Pro. So I easily can take it on a trip as well. But from time to time, the tablet functionality of Surface Pro comes quite handy. In addition to work, all I did on my MacBook Air was watching movies. Now, on Surface Pro, I basically do it all: Watching movies, playing some occasional games, reading magazines and newspapers, ...
Yes, the desktop on Windows 8 tablets is far from perfect. And switching from the tiles to the desktop back and forth is kind of a break in user experience. But still: The desktop offers so much more, than Android or iOS for now could dream of...
Would it not be for the (in my eye) ugly iOS7, I certainly would have bought iPad Air and the new iPad mini Retina. But solely as gadgets, never as tools of productivity.
Surface Pro and other Windows 8 tablets may seem a bit less elegant than iPads. But only because they offer way more features.
For example, I love jotting down my presentations in OneNote with the stylus. I even gave 2 presentations in handwritten notes - and the reaction of the audiences was great...
Re. "lack of apps": There are less games and such, no doubt. As a gadget, Windows 8 tablets can't compete (yet) with Android or iOS. But as working tools? Miles ahead...