evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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Some of you may have seen I'm in the process of moving away from Apple and trying an all-Microsoft setup.
I've already replaced my iPhone 5 with a Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone and loving it.
I would like a Microsoft tablet to replace the iPad. I was set on the Lumia 2520, but you can only get it in Black and Red at the moment, and ideally I'd wanted a White one to match my Lumia 920 phone (their marketing blurb says it comes in Black, Red, White, Yellow and Blue - but I can only find Black and Red ones).
I'd also wanted the Keyboard/extended battery folio case but it doesn't seem to be available yet either so while Nokia get their shit together, I found that you can pick up the original full Windows 8.1 Surface Pro 64gb for £429. The RT-based 2520 weighs in at £399.
I wouldn't have been interested in the Surface Pro at the £700-800 it was originally, but at £30 more than an RT-based tablet it's a no-brainer isn't it!?
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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Link to bargainous 2012 Surface Pro:
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/ipad-tablets-and-ereaders/tablets/microsoft-surface-pro-10-6-tablet-64-gb-21417631-pdt.html
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Brett
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Registered: 16th Dec 02
Location: Manchester
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By all accounts I think you're the resident expert on this rob  I still fancy making the changeover myself.
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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The Surface 2 or Lumia 2520 tablets are a direct comparison to the iPad - reasonably low-priced touchscreen devices for e-mail/internets and media consumption; they benefit from being lightweight, thin and having a long battery life due to their low power ARM-based processors. Unique to Windows RT tablets is that they also come with Office - a big plus!
The Surface Pro is a full PC but in tablet form. Previously the main argument against the Surface Pro from me was the price. At £700+ it was way too much money for the luxury of having a PC in tablet form when I wouldn't be using the PC functionality it provides particularly often; for me, being able to do regular PC stuff on a tablet is a 'nice-to-have' - it's not what I see myself using a tablet for most of the time - but having the option to drop in and do PC stuff occasionally is certainly appealing, and certainly something I might find myself doing more often than I think I would if I had one.
The Surface Pro does all the things a Surface 2 or 2520 can do, but with the addition of also being able to do regular PC stuff with a proper Intel Core i5 processor and a cool pressure sensitive Wacom stylus. So you can run Photoshop on it for instance. This is at the expense of the dimensions and weight as it's a bit heavier and a bit thicker, and also the battery life - it will need charging every day. You also need to buy Office (as it happens, I already have an Office 2013 Pro license).
Surface 2 / 2520 pros/cons:
+ Thinner
+ Lighter
+ Quieter - no fans
+ Longer battery life
+ Turns on instantly / boots faster
+ No widespread ARM-based malware
+ Comes with Office 2013 Home
- Can't run regular Windows stuff on it, just Metro apps
Surface Pro pros / cons:
+ One of the best screens on ANY device
+ Stylus
+ It's a tablet AND a PC - more powerful; can do pretty much anything a normal PC can do
- It's a PC - susceptible to malware (although I'm militant about what I download/install on my PCs so this has never been a problem)
- Thicker
- Heavier
- Noisier; fans needed for powerful Core i5 processor (only under load though, in general use it's quiet enough)
- Shorter battery life
- Doesn't come with Office
The way I see it is that I was going to spend ~£400 on a Windows RT tablet, dismissing the Pro because the benefit of having a full PC in tablet form was not worth twice that amount to me. Now they're more or less the same price, it's like getting bonus PC on top of all the stuff I wanted from a Windows RT tablet, which I was going to buy anyway.
I guess I have two dilemmas:
1. Does the benefit of having a full PC with stylus outweigh the size, weight, battery life, no office included and noise downsides?
2. I really wanted to buy a Windows RT device to support Windows RT; I think it's good alternative to iOS and Android tablets.
[Edited on 07-01-2014 by evilrob]
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AndyKent
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Registered: 3rd Sep 05
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Says out of stock on the link above?
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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quote:
Originally posted by AndyKent
Says out of stock on the link above?
Was in stock earlier. Guess that sorts out this decision for me!
Although the 128gb one is £499 and that seems to still be in stock:
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/ipad-tablets-and-ereaders/tablets/microsoft-surface-pro-10-6-tablet-128-gb-21426630-pdt.html
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fir3vip3r
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Registered: 14th Jun 06
Location: Stevenage, Hertfordshire
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extra £100 for the keyboard sucks! looks a good deal though
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JordyCarter
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Registered: 14th Mar 10
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There making phones with curved screens soon. Wait for them
[Edited on 07-01-2014 by JordyCarter]
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Rob_Quads
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Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: southampton
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quote:
Originally posted by JordyCarter
There making phones with curved screens soon. Wait for them
[Edited on 07-01-2014 by JordyCarter]
What does a curved screen do? Chatted about this at work and we are unable to come up with an advantage but can come up with disadvantages.
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JordyCarter
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Registered: 14th Mar 10
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quote:
Originally posted by Rob_Quads
quote:
Originally posted by JordyCarter
There making phones with curved screens soon. Wait for them
[Edited on 07-01-2014 by JordyCarter]
What does a curved screen do? Chatted about this at work and we are unable to come up with an advantage but can come up with disadvantages.
Posting a seperate thing in geek day 1 sec
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fir3vip3r
Member
Registered: 14th Jun 06
Location: Stevenage, Hertfordshire
User status: Offline
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Price gone back up by the looks of it
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