04-10-2013, 01:46 PM | #376 |
Evangelist
Posts: 431
Karma: 5121676
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Hannover, Germany
Device: iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, Kindle KB, NT, Fire, PW II
|
Problem of the ATIV keyboard is that, in order to make the unit stable and allow the tablet to be held securely by the added keyboard (and not fall over), they had to make the keyboard heavy and limit the opening angle. I'd like to try out the new Lenovo Helix that possibly has a better solution.
Call me strange, but I can not use the Ativ without a mouse (to be precise, my Kensington slimblade trackball that is about half the size or weight of the Ativ) ... haven't managed yet to use Windows without right-click... So it's good that the unit has a number of USB slots, for external hard drives and mouses... Best regards, Andy |
04-10-2013, 02:23 PM | #377 | ||
Illiterate
Posts: 10,279
Karma: 37848716
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: The Sandwich Isles
Device: Samsung Galaxy S10+, Microsoft Surface Pro
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
Advert | |
|
04-11-2013, 08:07 AM | #378 | ||
eBookworm
Posts: 2,300
Karma: 4525746
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: East Coast *brrrrr*
Device: Kindle 4B/K ~ Nexus 7 ~ Kindle Paperwhite 1&2 ~ iPad Air
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
04-15-2013, 05:22 PM | #379 | |
Evangelist
Posts: 431
Karma: 5121676
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Hannover, Germany
Device: iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, Kindle KB, NT, Fire, PW II
|
Quote:
|
|
05-02-2013, 09:55 AM | #380 |
Member Retired
Posts: 3,308
Karma: 13024950
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Augsburg (near Munich), Germany
Device: 26 Readers, 44 Tablets
|
My personal verdict
I've been in Spain for almost 2 weeks.
I had to/wanted to travel light. I had considered to take with me: Kindle Fire HD: Amazon is my main source for eBooks, followed by Kobo and B&N. I have to use VPN for B&N and sometimes that's simply too bothersome. I had considered Kindle Paperwhite. But as I decided to travel light, I decided for multi-purpose units, not mere readers. Instead, I thought about Kindle Fire HD 7". I like it a lot, for now prefer it over Nexus 7 for example. But eventually I decided against it. I can read my Kindle books on all other tablets as well, so there's not actual need for a dedicated Amazon unit. iPad mini: I prefer the form factor of iPad mini (no curved edges) over the bigger iPads. Rumor has it, iPad 5 will have the same design. Then I'll certainly buy one again. I'm rarely using iPad mini at home. I like it a lot. But to me, iOS is too limited. It's a great gadget, but not a "productive" tool. I don't find any feature on iPad, I can't use on other devices as well. It would have been compact and mobile enough as a second unit, but eventually I decided against it as well. So it was clear: I'll only take 1 tablet with me (additionally to iPhone 4S, Nokia Lumia 920 and my "permanent travel companion" MacBook Air). For now, it had to be a Windows 8 tablet. Surface RT: I love it. Design, features - all great. But as a sole unit too limited. So I had to decide between Dell Latitude 10 and Microsoft Surface Pro. (I've sold my Asus VivoTab Smart, because I absolutely hated the update procedure via the Asus tools). Surface Pro: I want to love it. But I find, I don't use it very often. It's great and delivers all it did promise. Still: It's really heavy and bulky... Latitude 10: So far, I've found a single Windows 8 program, that didn't work: Bluestacks app player. It works nicely on Surface Pro. But do I really need Android apps on a Windows 8 tablet? Of course, I don't! I had to test it once, of course. But there's no actual need for it. So basically, Latitude 10 can do all that Surface Pro or Windows 8 Ultrabooks can do. It's light enough. The rubberised back is extremely convenient to hold. I don't really need the WACOM pen, but it's nice to have it. There's no fan and no heat, due to the ATOM processor. Meaning: I really like, what Microsoft has done with both Surface tablets. The design of both is very well thought out, so I guess for now there's simply no technical solution to make Surface Pro a bit lighter or less bulky. Surface Pro definitely is workable easy enough. But if I have to bother about my luggage, it's critical. For now, as I often have to consider space and weight, Dell Latitude 10 is my favorite Windows 8 tablet. The performance (for my needs, I'm not into high-end games) is more than adequate. The design is a bit less "valuable" than Microsoft Surface (Pro & RT) or iPad, but to me certainly more appealing than Asus, Acer or Samsung. BTW: Spain has been great. What a country! Temperatures between 31 and 9 degrees Celsius on my travel route in Andalusia! Last edited by mgmueller; 05-02-2013 at 09:59 AM. |
Advert | |
|
05-02-2013, 01:26 PM | #381 |
Basculocolpic
Posts: 4,356
Karma: 20181319
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Sweden
Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle 4SO, Kindle for Android, Sony PRS-350 and PRS-T1
|
Very educational, much appreciated.
|
05-02-2013, 02:36 PM | #382 |
Basculocolpic
Posts: 4,356
Karma: 20181319
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Sweden
Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle 4SO, Kindle for Android, Sony PRS-350 and PRS-T1
|
Just looked at Dell's European page and they offered a XPS 10 that cost less than the Latitude even with a bundled keyboard. It reminds me a lot of Asus Transformer except it is Win 8 instead of Android.
|
05-02-2013, 02:56 PM | #383 | |
Member Retired
Posts: 3,308
Karma: 13024950
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Augsburg (near Munich), Germany
Device: 26 Readers, 44 Tablets
|
Quote:
To me, the Dell XPS 10 felt sluggish. Maybe it was the firmware/Windows update state. But it didn't convince me, when comparing simple tasks such as flipping through the Metro surface or opening some apps, next to Microsoft surface RT or Asus VivoTab Smart. And, like all the "clip-on keyboards" I've seen, it felt too bulky and "industrial" to me. If a tablet plus it's "clip-on keyboard" is fatter than my MacBook Air: Where's the advantage then? That's why I like the covers from Microsoft: Covers, which cleverly "hide" the keyboard inside and only add 1 or 2 mm. Wouldn't it have been for the '#*#$%&§ update process from Asus, I would have bought the Origami cover that "hides" an extremely flat bluetooth keyboard: https://www.cyberport.de/asus-transl...-009_1702.html I'm not a fan of bluetooth keyboards, but it seems an acceptable compromise. Last edited by mgmueller; 05-02-2013 at 02:59 PM. |
|
05-02-2013, 07:30 PM | #384 |
Illiterate
Posts: 10,279
Karma: 37848716
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: The Sandwich Isles
Device: Samsung Galaxy S10+, Microsoft Surface Pro
|
|
05-02-2013, 08:45 PM | #385 |
Member Retired
Posts: 3,308
Karma: 13024950
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Augsburg (near Munich), Germany
Device: 26 Readers, 44 Tablets
|
Then I simply could buy a Windows Ultrabook.
There are quite a few with similar measurements (as MacBook Air). (I didn't do so myself, because I simply didn't find a "good" Ultrabook yet. I've checked out Toshiba, my former favorite, but found their keyboards extremely "cheap". I've checked out Asus and Acer, but didn't like them entirely. Would I find something of the quality of former Toshiba Satellite Pros, I'd definitely go for it). But I never found this (Apple vs. Windows) a problem anyway. VMWare works good enough. And I can do almost everything under OS X anyway. Some benchmark tests with Bootcamp even ranked the performance above some Ultrabooks (although I've never used Bootcamp myself). Last edited by mgmueller; 05-02-2013 at 08:51 PM. |
05-17-2013, 05:00 PM | #386 |
Member Retired
Posts: 3,308
Karma: 13024950
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Augsburg (near Munich), Germany
Device: 26 Readers, 44 Tablets
|
Surface Pro in Germany
...will be available May 31st.
The 128GB one for € 979, if I remember the news article correctly. |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Live Windows 8/ Surface Tab Thingie | tubemonkey | News | 43 | 10-29-2012 05:47 PM |
Microsoft airs its first Surface tablet ad | Top100EbooksRank | News | 173 | 10-29-2012 04:44 PM |
Surface tablet pricing still unknown: PC vendors on a lookout | tereza18gr | News | 30 | 08-14-2012 11:21 PM |
Windows 8 and Surface | Rhialto | Calibre | 6 | 07-11-2012 03:58 PM |
It like a portable Microsoft surface table | davidspitzer | News | 4 | 11-05-2009 02:46 PM |