Recommend a Windows 8 Tablet?

Quote from IPT : cause you know, the laptop power brick's usually lying on the floor somewhere.

I would say quite the opposite on a work trip. When I used to travel weekly, we'd get on site and 2-3 of us would get a conference room to set up. There would be a power strip in the middle of the table and we'd hook in there. This would mean you could leave your phone charging even if you had to run to the floor with your tablet. That is pretty slick.

The other thought would be hotel rooms...there is normally an outlet on top of the desk (in the lamp typically). You could just plug in the one power brick and it wouldn't matter if you were using or charging either device...could leave the stand alone phone charger at home and never need to use the USB port on the tablet either..

Quote from Curtieson : I would say quite the opposite on a work trip. When I used to travel weekly, we'd get on site and 2-3 of us would get a conference room to set up. There would be a power strip in the middle of the table and we'd hook in there. This would mean you could leave your phone charging even if you had to run to the floor with your tablet. That is pretty slick. The other thought would be hotel rooms...there is normally an outlet on top of the desk (in the lamp typically). You could just plug in the one power brick and it wouldn't matter if you were using or charging either device...could leave the stand alone phone charger at home and never need to use the USB port on the tablet either..

or just plug it into your computer
many computers these days come with charged USB ports, which means even if the computer's off, the USB will still provide charge.

Quote from IPT : or just plug it into your computer many computers these days come with charged USB ports, which means even if the computer's off, the USB will still provide charge.

That was why I kept also mentioning:

Quote : You could just plug in the one power brick and it wouldn't matter if you were using or charging either device...could leave the stand alone phone charger at home and never need to use the USB port on the tablet either..

Sometimes you need to be on the move with your tablet/laptop but you don't want to have a cellphone tailing around.

It is a $0.50 change for them but bring a lot of simplicity for the user...and, if Dell / 3rd party has done it in the past, I can not believe it hasn't become a standard feature!

Thanks for that Youtube clip...I think I'm going the route of the Surface. Does anyone have it in stock currently?

Also...anyway I can either make this 3G/LTE compatible or tether it to my phone via bluetooth/wifi to share the internet?

Quote from JohnnyOnTheSpot : Thanks for that Youtube clip...I think I'm going the route of the Surface. Does anyone have it in stock currently? Also...anyway I can either make this 3G/LTE compatible or tether it to my phone via bluetooth/wifi to share the internet?

Any wifi enabled computer can hook up to a hot spot created by a smart phone, so if you have the app on your phone and you have an internet plan, by all means, your tablet can hook up to its internet.
BTW: I was playing with a Surface today and came to the conclusion that if I owned one, I would get myself one of those touch pens, for the smaller stuff in desktop mode.
The metro interface is obviously geared to my big fat fingers, but the tiny stuff, like opening files and folders, would be easier for me with a pen.
There is a chance that the DPI could be changed to circumvent that issue, but it wasn't my machine to go experimenting with.

Quote from RockySosua : Any wifi enabled computer can hook up to a hot spot created by a smart phone, so if you have the app on your phone and you have an internet plan, by all means, your tablet can hook up to its internet. BTW: I was playing with a Surface today and came to the conclusion that if I owned one, I would get myself one of those touch pens, for the smaller stuff in desktop mode. The metro interface is obviously geared to my big fat fingers, but the tiny stuff, like opening files and folders, would be easier for me with a pen. There is a chance that the DPI could be changed to circumvent that issue, but it wasn't my machine to go experimenting with.

For some reason I've yet to find a good Wifi tethering program for my phone (Note 2 on Sprint), but I can bluetooth tether without a problem.

And doesn't it come with a pen?

Quote from JohnnyOnTheSpot : For some reason I've yet to find a good Wifi tethering program for my phone (Note 2 on Sprint), but I can bluetooth tether without a problem. And doesn't it come with a pen?

Maybe it does, but the lady just handed it to me like that and I didn't notice a pen.
If it comes with one, then it's absolutely perfect.
It's a real sweet machine.

I really can't speak to how good it is, but the Surface is expensive. I really do not see how people justify the expense of paying 700-900+ for a tablet. You can buy a fairly high-end laptop for that and the laptop will obviously do a whole lot more. Seems like a lot to pay for a little extra portability but that is me. Obviously if price is not a concern, then more power to you but we are on a slickdeals site so I assume people are looking for value for their money.

Quote from YanksIn2009 : I really can't speak to how good it is, but the Surface is expensive. I really do not see how people justify the expense of paying 700-900+ for a tablet. You can buy a fairly high-end laptop for that and the laptop will obviously do a whole lot more. Seems like a lot to pay for a little extra portability but that is me. Obviously if price is not a concern, then more power to you but we are on a slickdeals site so I assume people are looking for value for their money.

The laptop can do a lot more? A lot more what?
I know the tablet can do a lot more, as it is a touch machine, so it obviously does a whole lot more than a non touch laptop, and of course, it's also much more portable.

The Surface Pro IS a laptop, but in tablet form factor - that's what you're paying for. A tablet is a much less powerful device that's limited to a specific set of apps from a dedicated app store. The Surface Pro is like any other laptop - load whatever you want on it.

And when comparing to business class laptops (where the SP is aimed), it's acutally in the low to mid price rance. The laptops I buy for employees range from $1000-1700, so cost is actually a plus for the SP.

Quote : Quote from YanksIn2009 View Post : the Surface is expensive. I really do not see how people justify the expense of paying 700-900+ for a tablet

The screen size would be the determining factor, when choosing between the Surface Pro and a laptop.
Clearly, he who wants to watch movies everyday and play huge heavy games, will prefer something bigger.
If the end user is happy with a smaller size like that of the SP, then it becomes more attractive than the competitive laptops which have touch and similar hardware, if for no other reason than size/portability.
There are several small touch laptops on the market with similar power to the SP, that sell for more than $1,000, and those that sell for a similar price to the SP, might be underpowered or lacking in some other ways.
IMO, the SP seems to be competitively priced, and it has several advantages over equally priced competing devices.
BTW: Its build is awesome and so is the screen.

Quote from Jeffbx : The Surface Pro IS a laptop, but in tablet form factor - that's what you're paying for. A tablet is a much less powerful device that's limited to a specific set of apps from a dedicated app store. The Surface Pro is like any other laptop - load whatever you want on it. And when comparing to business class laptops (where the SP is aimed), it's acutally in the low to mid price rance. The laptops I buy for employees range from $1000-1700, so cost is actually a plus for the SP.

That's exactly it.

Quote from YanksIn2009 : I really can't speak to how good it is, but the Surface is expensive. I really do not see how people justify the expense of paying 700-900+ for a tablet. You can buy a fairly high-end laptop for that and the laptop will obviously do a whole lot more. Seems like a lot to pay for a little extra portability but that is me. Obviously if price is not a concern, then more power to you but we are on a slickdeals site so I assume people are looking for value for their money.

It's not a "tablet," per se. Value is subjective to your perception, if you don't see it, you don't see it. I froth at the mouth at the thought of having a machine the size of a tablet that can run Windows programs, something I can carry in my briefcase and whip out on the train or in court and work on a client's file whenever.

I don't understand how this talk doesn't belong on Slickdeals considering the tons of Macbook threads that are on here. At least these specs are comparable to similarly priced machines, unlike their Apple brethren with double the price.

I think you missed the entire point of owning this thing.

Quote from JohnnyOnTheSpot : It's not a "tablet," per se. Value is subjective to your perception, if you don't see it, you don't see it. I froth at the mouth at the thought of having a machine the size of a tablet that can run Windows programs, something I can carry in my briefcase and whip out on the train or in court and work on a client's file whenever. I don't understand how this talk doesn't belong on Slickdeals considering the tons of Macbook threads that are on here. At least these specs are comparable to similarly priced machines, unlike their Apple brethren with double the price. I think you missed the entire point of owning this thing.

Still not seeing it. The specs may be comparable, but it is a $1000 tablet generally used to surf the web and do email. If I want a keyboard and a mouse and want to do Word or Excel docs on it, then I use my laptop or desktop dependign on where I am. I guess it comes down to your perception of the value and use of the tablet. To me, it is a toy used to do very basic tasks when traveling or on while lying on the couch at home. I do not consider it a tool to do real work on.

Quote from RockySosua : The laptop can do a lot more? A lot more what? I know the tablet can do a lot more, as it is a touch machine, so it obviously does a whole lot more than a non touch laptop, and of course, it's also much more portable.

Tablets are imo for the web and email. I am not doing my finances on them. I am not doing Office docs on them even if I can as who wants to deal with small keyboards or touch keyboards (I hate the touch keyboards). You can't run high end games. You can't do development to the best of my knowledge. You can't run a db server on it. It has it's uses, but from where I sit, $1000 is a lot to pay for email and web surfing on the go in a more portable form.