8+ Readers in comparison

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Maybe we need to remove it. The head against the brick is a bit different and IMHO worse but I see your point. Harry was responding to the same guy as in the other posts and smacking back. I have not seen him do this normally. Some people can be rude sometimes I am afraid but I wouldn't let this stop you from being here among a lot of other very nice people.

Dale

I'm very sensitive to such things.
I'm often enough arrogant or condescending myself.
But I carefully try to at least remain polite and civil...

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Maybe we need to remove it. The head against the brick is a bit different and IMHO worse but I see your point. Harry was responding to the same guy as in the other posts and smacking back. I have not seen him do this normally. Some people can be rude sometimes I am afraid but I wouldn't let this stop you from being here among a lot of other very nice people.

Dale

BTW: I was glad about HarryT's reaction and didn't see it the least in the same category as the other guy.
In German we have a saying similar to the English "what goes around comes around".
Literally translated it would be "the way you shout into the woods, it echoes back"...

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I haven't seen it yet and didn't find it on the pictures:
How did they solve the "keyboard-on-hands-issue"?
Only solution I can think of, would be swirling it around like it was with the former hybrids. But then it wouldn't be "Yoga" anymore?!

I liked the Sony and Toshiba solutions, albeit mechanically meticulous.

Hi, no...

They actually raise the frame, around the keys, so that the keyboard surface is totally flat. It's pretty impressive, IF it works. They've also added small "footies" to the frame of the keyboard, that emerge when the screen reaches a certain angle, so that you're not putting the keyboard side flat on the table, so to speak. I know I saw a video on it... hmph. I'll go look.

P.S.: don't go. Just put someone that upsets you that much on your ignore list. We'd miss you.

Hitch

[Glorfindel]

Yes, please stay.

[victauria]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Hi, no...

P.S.: don't go. Just put someone that upsets you that much on your ignore list. We'd miss you.

Hitch

If a small voice from the depths of lurkdom may chime in...I second Hitch's comment. I read almost everything you post and would be sorry to see you leave the forum. Your posts are interesting and informative and your writing is engaging; you bring some good stuff to MR.

There are some difficult people on the forum, as everywhere, and I've been chased off on a couple of occasions myself. But the majority of the regulars are pretty neat people with some wonderful, interesting, and helpful things to share. And, on the whole, the mods do a tremendous job of making MR a nice place to spend time.

Hope to see you around!

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Hi, no...

They actually raise the frame, around the keys, so that the keyboard surface is totally flat. It's pretty impressive, IF it works. They've also added small "footies" to the frame of the keyboard, that emerge when the screen reaches a certain angle, so that you're not putting the keyboard side flat on the table, so to speak. I know I saw a video on it... hmph. I'll go look.

P.S.: don't go. Just put someone that upsets you that much on your ignore list. We'd miss you.

Hitch

Hmmm...
I don't want to spoil a potentially great gadget for you.
But honestly: Build quality of ThinkPad 8, the only Lenovo gadget I've had in the last few years, is really questionable.

Just a few examples:

There's a 3G model.
It wasn't available, so I ordered the WiFi-only model.
I was quite surprised, when finding a 3G slot.
Unfortunately, in my enthusiasm I didn't check the manual.
I just tried to put my SIM card in. And it fit in nicely, but didn't work of course, because there was no 3G.
They simply have a single type model and for the WiFi-only model they glue (!!) a dummy where else you'd put your SIM card.
By trying to put my SIM card in, I pushed the dummy into the housing.
Not only do they glue a dummy in, they don't even glue it adequately.
I've exchanged the tablet and the response of the merchant simply was "another one? Welcome to the club".

I've already mentioned the sharp edges of the bezel.

The mixture of materials makes it look a bit cheap.
If you just check the optical impression, Lenovo Thinkpad 8 looks almost identical to Nvidia Shield Tablet. But: € 650 vs. € 300...

I only can recommend to you:
a.) Check it out before buying. Whether the mechanics make sense at least theoretically.
b.) Even if, in general, they make sense: Check out the very unit you get. My replacement unit is quite different from the first one.

Else, it sounds interesting.
But, without wanting to be politically incorrect: I often find this in Chinese products. They often deliver some ingenious bit of technology (i.e. on ThinkPad 8 the first Windows 8 tablet with such a resolution in that size). But then, in the very same product at some other point, you can't believe what they did there. For example I really don't get the LED in the dot of the i in ThinkPad. For a business model in the price range of iPads, it simply cheapens the experience (admittedly, the loop on the Microsoft Keyboard for the pen falls into the same category).

PS: Thanks for your kind words!

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

..2-in-1 ASUS portable...

Is this one of the Android / Windows 8 combos?
I've seen one about a year ago.
I almost would have bought it.
But in the very last second I found out: The Windows processor is in the monitor/dock.
If you take it out of the dock, you exclusively have Android.
So Windows 8 only works when docked and you can't hold it as a tablet anymore.
I still was tempted.
But I actually would have preferred it the other way around: Windows 8 when mobile and Android at home sometimes. But I understand, Android of course would make less sense as a desktop device.

One of those units?
Your experience?
After the initial enthusiasm, I haven't seen much of those combos in the last 12 months anymore. Probably too expensive. The one I saw was, if I remember correctly, in the range of Surface Pro 3 = € 1.500. Probably well worth it, but most likely above the typical price range the market is willing to pay...

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Hitch - I have the original Surface Pro, and use it every day. Great machine, and I'm sure the SP3 is even better.

Surprisingly enough, Surface Pro 1 still keeps up well.
But then again, I still have iPad 1 and it's still absolutely fine as well.

There's a single issue, where SP3 drastically outshines SP1: The pen.
You stated already, you don't use the pen much.
I only use it for notes either and for handwriting accuracy isn't much of an issue. Still, SP1 and SP2 did have slight problems with the accuracy of the pen in the corners.
SP3 completely has solved that with a new pen. Working flawlessly!

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Is this one of the Android / Windows 8 combos?
I've seen one about a year ago.
I almost would have bought it.
But in the very last second I found out: The Windows processor is in the monitor/dock.
If you take it out of the dock, you exclusively have Android.
So Windows 8 only works when docked and you can't hold it as a tablet anymore.
I still was tempted.
But I actually would have preferred it the other way around: Windows 8 when mobile and Android at home sometimes. But I understand, Android of course would make less sense as a desktop device.

One of those units?
Your experience?
After the initial enthusiasm, I haven't seen much of those combos in the last 12 months anymore. Probably too expensive. The one I saw was, if I remember correctly, in the range of Surface Pro 3 = € 1.500. Probably well worth it, but most likely above the typical price range the market is willing to pay...

This is pure Windows running 8.1. It replaced an earlier Netbook eee device and does fine as a pc. My wife seldom if ever removes the keyboard module so it functions like the old netbook. I got it for $300 last year for her Christmas. If you pull the keyboard it works exactly like a Surface Pro and has a 10" screen. It came with Windows 8 and included Microsoft Doc/Excel/PowerPoint. Pretty good deal.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

This is pure Windows running 8.1. It replaced an earlier Netbook eee device and does fine as a pc. My wife seldom if ever removes the keyboard module so it functions like the old netbook. I got it for $300 last year for her Christmas. If you pull the keyboard it works exactly like a Surface Pro and has a 10" screen. It came with Windows 8 and included Microsoft Doc/Excel/PowerPoint. Pretty good deal.

Nobody seems to have bought the kind of combos I've described.
I don't know anyone having one, I have't read a single review.
Although I still find it a highly interesting concept.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Nobody seems to have bought the kind of combos I've described.
I don't know anyone having one, I have't read a single review.
Although I still find it a highly interesting concept.

I haven't seen one that would automatically change and I am not sure I would want that. ASUS does make an Android tablet version and I have even seen a Android Desktop version from another company. You could, of course, design a dual boot (triple, quadruple) version fairly easily. Of course you would need OS's that worked on the same processor. Android, AFAIK only works with ARM processors.

Dale

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I haven't seen one that would automatically change and I am not sure I would want that. ASUS does make an Android tablet version and I have even seen a Android Desktop version from another company. You could, of course, design a dual boot (triple, quadruple) version fairly easily. Of course you would need OS's that worked on the same processor. Android, AFAIK only works with ARM processors.

Dale

That (processor) is the problem.
That's why they need a second processor for Windows, next to Android.
I found it actually quite clever.
And to most it probably makes sense that way: Windows 8 as the desktop system, Android for mobile demands.
But at that stage, about 1 year ago, I was (and still am) a bit tired of Android. I would like to have Windows 8 with me in the mobile device. This of course would leave Android for the desktop device, which doesn't make too much sense - Android not making much use of keyboards and such.
But technically, it should work both ways: Either the Android or the Windows processor in the dock...

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I haven't seen one that would automatically change and I am not sure I would want that...

The one I saw -I think it was from Asus- did't change automatically.
You manually had to start the boot process by pushing a button.
It was extremely fast though, maybe 2 seconds.
It didn't boot from one system to the other, but put them in some parallel mode.
Similar to Linux on Google Chromebook Pixel.
But with the additional trickiness of needing an additional processor...

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

That (processor) is the problem.
That's why they need a second processor for Windows, next to Android.
I found it actually quite clever.
And to most it probably makes sense that way: Windows 8 as the desktop system, Android for mobile demands.
But at that stage, about 1 year ago, I was (and still am) a bit tired of Android. I would like to have Windows 8 with me in the mobile device. This of course would leave Android for the desktop device, which doesn't make too much sense - Android not making much use of keyboards and such.
But technically, it should work both ways: Either the Android or the Windows processor in the dock...

well this is what Window 8 is trying to do all by itself. Have a app screen and a desktop screen in the same device. It sort of works but there are some problems. In Windows 10 they are supposed to have both modes but be transparent to the user. It will be interesting to see if they accomplish this. Currently the apps are behind both Android and iOS but they keep trying. One problem they have is too many platforms. 64bit, 32bit, RT (Arm), phone plus desktop 32 and desktop 64 mode. It is a pain to develop for 6 platforms so a developer usually just targets a subset. Of course some OS functionality can hide a bit of this but still ...

Dale

[JerseyBiker]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

BTW: Your question came at a lucky time.
I had asked Alex Turcic to close my account and delete my threads and polls yesterday.

I wish you decided to stay with the forum. I may not pipe in much but I subscribe to this thread and always find what you and others have to say about devices very informative. The fact that you personally owned so many devices in my opinion make your comparison of various devices more valid. If you think it's bad here go to xda where you get yelled at by a dozen people for asking a question.