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I'd like to get a Windows Tablet: help me decide.
superboyac:
MS is still such an abrasive company these days, you don't even want to buy their good stuff. This is my dilemma. I don't like what the company is doing at all, but this tablet is really great.
-superboyac (July 21, 2014, 03:45 PM)
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FWIW I wouldnt let that stop me. Good is good
(are Apple or Google any more attractive these days!? - dont answer that or we'll go completely off-topic :p)
-tomos (July 21, 2014, 03:53 PM)
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good point.
superboyac:
Which would I buy? After my experience recently... none. I really wanted a windows tablet, especially because I could code for it universally with my skillset I already possess. Purchased a Dell Venue 8. Sold it after trying for a couple of months to do anything similar to the experience I get on the iPad.
It just doesn't do the mobile experience well, from experience when downloading and the tablet sleeps, to limitations in applications that don't have similar limitations on iPad, to even using system menus and options (anything that's not in the system charm? don't try to use it- it will still be built for standard windows. and definitely not in portrait mode, as most are widescreen).
Wanted to like it, but wasn't successful in that.
-wraith808 (July 21, 2014, 05:36 PM)
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wraith...if you ever felt like describing the excruciating details of your experience, I would totally enjoy reading it over my morning coffee. I'm a little shocked to hear about any sort of limitations on windows that is not present in the ipad. And weren't you one of the earlier users of the original windows tablets from way back 10 years ago? I think that was you...
xtabber:
See my earlier post for my initial reaction to acquiring Lenovo's entry level 8 inch Miix 2 Windows 8.1 tablet.
Four months later, I remain very impressed with the potential of the Windows tablet, and also frustrated by the real world limitations of the environment. If you need an actual keyboard and mouse to work -- and in most cases, you do -- you lose many of the advantages of a tablet. Also, the Windows desktop does not have the built-in capability of Android and iOS to resize or zoom the screen, which can make it difficult to read, at least for my aging eyes.
I consider the 8 inch form factor ideal for carrying around at all times, but the limitations of the Windows desktop display make it unsuitable for almost any purpose I would use it for. A ten inch or larger tablet is better, but you lose portability and still don't get much in return because of the way the Windows desktop handles screen resolutions. The Metro environment is utterly unusable under any circumstances, IMHO.
As of now, I see the Windows 8.x tablet as mostly an extremely portable CPU that can be hooked into a monitor, keyboard and mouse when needed. Windows simply does not work as well as Android or iOS for tablet functions like reading, listening to music, viewing video and quick access to a variety of ad hoc utilities. That means that I still need two devices when I really want just one that can do it all.
But I remain hopeful.
In any event, I would not buy a Windows tablet today that did not have both USB 3.0 and either HDMI or Displayport.
wraith808:
^ Exactly what my experience was. Even worse were the frequent switches to desktop mode, even for native apps, and the fact that the desktop is woefully unsuited to use in a tablet that small. It was also not as responsive as I'd expect, especially as people say that the not-Metro mode is for apps.
There's also the integration with the outside world. Even with their native app (which they want you to use for storage), that integration just doesn't work. I'd use a piece of software that had to download something, and it just wouldn't work, even though downloading normal would. I think it has to do with the sleep mode and such. But that's just not an excuse. And as I work with Dropbox and Cubby quite a bit (and others), it just wasn't acceptable.
I see potential, and really wanted it to work. But it needs serious work.
40hz:
MS is still such an abrasive company these days, you don't even want to buy their good stuff. This is my dilemma. I don't like what the company is doing at all, but this tablet is really great.
-superboyac (July 21, 2014, 03:45 PM)
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That's the problem in a nutshell with any platform device.
I feel the same way about an iPad. But I'll probably eventually get one because there's just so many excellent and usable music apps available for it that I'm only hurting myself not getting one. It's been said before, and it's still true, that software drives the platform. And with the likes of Moog, Waldorf, Arturia, Propellerhead, Korg, VirSyn, and Cakewalk all onboard, it's becoming too much to not to get an iPad simply because I can't stand Apple's business model and despise its management.
:(
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