TeknoBlast
Active Member
[video=youtube_share;fNpmhcYodwI]http://youtu.be/fNpmhcYodwI[/video]
New Surface RT vs iPad Commercial
- Thread starter TeknoBlast
- Start date
kristalsoldier
Well-Known Member
Nice! Having said that, I should also mention that I am now seriously considering an iPad!!!!! Yeah, I know, I know! My reason is purely utilitarian - I need an e-device which has a 4:3 aspect ratio. Why? Because I need to read books - not popular books, but academic books. The impact of this is not so much on my Surface RT; rather, it is on my Nexus 10, which I use as my reader and media consumption device. So, what will happen now is that the Nexus will remain as my primary media consumption and secondary web surfing device. The iPad will be my dedicated e-reader + web browsing device and the Surface RT will remain my primary mobile computing device.
It just seems that I am adding on gadgets instead of reducing them! I had assumed (mistakenly as it turns out) that in this Age of Mobile Computing Devices the number of devices that we need to own comes down. Instead, what I see is a proliferation of devices to cater to my different needs. And, I shudder to think how this will pan out a month down the road when I am on the road!!!
It just seems that I am adding on gadgets instead of reducing them! I had assumed (mistakenly as it turns out) that in this Age of Mobile Computing Devices the number of devices that we need to own comes down. Instead, what I see is a proliferation of devices to cater to my different needs. And, I shudder to think how this will pan out a month down the road when I am on the road!!!
kristalsoldier
Well-Known Member
I agree with you about the number of devices not going down. I primarily use a Galaxy Note 8 and a Surface RT. The Note replaced my iPad Mini and I find it to be a much better device. Using the RT as a reader has it's drawbacks but overall I find it to be a very versatile device. I actually put my Windows 7 laptop away a few minutes ago because I prefer my RT.
OP
TeknoBlast
Active Member
Same here. I have my Surface Pro, which I keep at the house most of the time since I'm on a computer all day at work. I also have the Acer W3 Windows tablet which I bring to work so I can watch tv shows/movies or read comics during my lunch hour and break time. It's portable enough that I can place it in my back pocket.
Spaniard
Active Member
Jglnaz372
New Member
Same here using multiple devices. I began on a family cell plan and had an iPhone 3 and then when I needed an upgrade I ended up with an iPhone 4. I loved having all my previously bought and downloaded apps available to add to the new phone and later the iPad I bought for web surfing and e book reading. A relative has a Kindle but I did not see a need for it because I had downloaded the Kindle app. It was nice to have my books available across many different devices I owned. The iPad 3 has been for me the one I choose for reading books and magazines because of the retina screen. The Nexus 7 is really nice to use (last years model) but with my eye sight I have issues using a small screen and magnifying the type uses up screen space quickly.
I did put the Kindle app on my Surface RT and found reading my books ok, but I end up missing the retina display and clarity. I compare it to the reading differences between the iPad 2 and 3 because of screen resolution. I had been on the Apple iOS already and spent money on apps so it just makes it easier and cheaper for me to stay on it and transfer the apps I still use at no cost outside of new hardware. I bought the Nexus and RT because I enjoy trying different platforms, seeing how Android and Windows is the same/different in web surfing, etc. Both those tablets are great to use. I just find I like having choices and as many of the posters on this forum have said they also use multiple computing devices for various reasons.
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machistmo
Active Member
Seems to me that one nice Ultra-Book or Mac-Book Air would have filled most of the roles nicely. Asus ZenBook Prime Ux31a, 13.3 inch touch-screen, backlit keyboard, 128gb, 4gb ram, 2.9lbs, 7 hours battery life ~= $999 US. There will most likely be a Haswell flavor offered sooner rather than later but think of all the mess and adapters and power supplies you won't have to worry about if you do have to travel. I think we have gone a little nuts with the whole tablet thing here and forgotten the tried-and-true form factors like a simple ultra-book. Clam Shell Laptop for the win.
kristalsoldier
Well-Known Member
Well, you do have a point. However, the adapters, cables etc. is not really a problem. Consider this: I have a Nokia 720 phone, which has a USB charger. This works for both the phone and the Nexus 10. The Surface has its own charger and the iPad will have its own. So, basically, three sets of cables. Then again, my partner also has a Nokia 720 and a Nexus 10. This means we both share chargers.
My reason for opting for the iPad - as I mentioned in my post - is because of the aspect ratio and that is primarily driven by the need to read academic books (not necessarily text books though). The 16:9/10 aspect ratio is not really optimal for reading - as I am sure you will appreciate. While I would have loved a Windows or an Android tablet, but I am hard pressed to source one with the aspect ratio that I am looking for. While traveling overseas, of course, I will have to take the Surface, Nexus and the iPad (plus one 500GB HDD). But under normal circumstances when commuting to work, I will need to only carry the iPad and the Surface (which is quite ironic in the context of the Advert that the OP posted above!). At work, I use the Surface for all office-related work and for web surfing and the iPad for my reading. At home, the Nexus will fill in for movies and for Surfing - the screen is excellent (IMO) for both these functions. And, my desk-bound job will be conducted on my desktop (with a dual monitor set-up).
Bottomline: I really wish some OEM (Windows and/ or Android) releases a slick 4:3 aspect ratio. But since that is not the case, I guess I will have to lug around 3 devices (4 devices if you include the phone).
machistmo
Active Member
This gives me a headache just reading it. Some people are just gadget fiends. I used to be one. I support them for a living and I guess I am just at that stage where these prepackaged-the-next-better-device-is-2months-out just leave me feeling (to quote one of our summer interns) MEH. I am considering building a MINI ITX PC. I suppose for me, some of the magic is in the tinkering with the device from time to time. Devices like the SP sealed with "an imperial duck-load" of glue just are not for me. "To each their own" said the old woman as she kissed the cow.
Check this out mini-itx.com - news - Commodore USA reanimates the C64 Now this brings back memories of Ultima1,2 and 3 on Floppy disk, using my Capsela science kit homebuilt cooling device on the 1541 drive to enter a town without the drive locking up, man o man - good times!
kristalsoldier
Well-Known Member
@machistmo
I don't know about being a gadget fiend!!! As I said, if I could find a minimal set of devices that would serve my purposes, I would go for that option. The biggest sticking point is the 4:3 aspect ratio. If you are like me and have the same or similar compulsions as I do, then perhaps you would appreciate my increasing emphasis on this - not to say that you don't. Perhaps you very well do!
The thing is that I have almost converted my physical library into a digital one. In the former I have about 4000 books; in the latter, I have about 7500 (and I have not yet finished cataloguing them all!). Then again, I have over 600 movie and TV titles. Most of them are now in digital form. The latter is important for my sanity. The books are necessary for my job. And, I am adding books and movies at the rate of about 2-3 each per week! What this means is that I am looking for a delivery platform that will allow me to work and relax optimally. While the 16:9 aspect ratio works well for the media etc., that aspect ratio is killing my reading - though the Nexus' screen remains topnotch.
If you can suggest any alternatives, then please do so...by mid next week because that is when I am going to buy the iPad!
I don't know about being a gadget fiend!!! As I said, if I could find a minimal set of devices that would serve my purposes, I would go for that option. The biggest sticking point is the 4:3 aspect ratio. If you are like me and have the same or similar compulsions as I do, then perhaps you would appreciate my increasing emphasis on this - not to say that you don't. Perhaps you very well do!
The thing is that I have almost converted my physical library into a digital one. In the former I have about 4000 books; in the latter, I have about 7500 (and I have not yet finished cataloguing them all!). Then again, I have over 600 movie and TV titles. Most of them are now in digital form. The latter is important for my sanity. The books are necessary for my job. And, I am adding books and movies at the rate of about 2-3 each per week! What this means is that I am looking for a delivery platform that will allow me to work and relax optimally. While the 16:9 aspect ratio works well for the media etc., that aspect ratio is killing my reading - though the Nexus' screen remains topnotch.
If you can suggest any alternatives, then please do so...by mid next week because that is when I am going to buy the iPad!
