Surface Pro 2 vs other Win Tablets

[eelpout]

I have a Samsung 500t, which is a Clover Trail based tablet with Wacom digitizing from last year. It's actually not bad, but very slow at a lot of tasks compared to the Core processors. I had been waiting and waiting for Samsung to announce Bay Trail and Haswell based replacements for their Ativ series of tablets and planned on getting one of those. They announced a refresh last summer, but it was with the older processors. I gave up waiting in Dec. and bought an SP2.

They STILL haven't announced anything officially, even with CES just passed. Makes me wonder if Samsung is going to get out of the Windows tablet business, at least in the U.S. Unfortunate, because there aren't that many options with Wacom hardware. i believe Fujitsu has something, but it's kinda specialized.

 

[MickeyLittle]

I have a Samsung 500t, which is a Clover Trail based tablet with Wacom digitizing from last year. It's actually not bad, but very slow at a lot of tasks compared to the Core processors. I had been waiting and waiting for Samsung to announce Bay Trail and Haswell based replacements for their Ativ series of tablets and planned on getting one of those. They announced a refresh last summer, but it was with the older processors. I gave up waiting in Dec. and bought an SP2.

They STILL haven't announced anything officially, even with CES just passed. Makes me wonder if Samsung is going to get out of the Windows tablet business, at least in the U.S. Unfortunate, because there aren't that many options with Wacom hardware. i believe Fujitsu has something, but it's kinda specialized.

I know what you mean. I tried the Dell Venue 11 Pro with the Bay Trail processor and their Wacom type of stylus but I just had too many screen issues with 2 different tablets and it didn't look like a 3rd one would be any better so I dropped another $400 and got the SP2.

 

[Ruffles]

One you thing you might consider is the frequency of updates/support. Since the Surface is MS's baby, it always get updates as soon as they are available. With other vendors, many of the updates have to come via 3rd party channels and that can mean delays or in some cases, no updates at all.

 

[drolem]

Since the Surface is MS's baby, it always get updates as soon as they are available.

With the quality of some of those updates, one may wonder if that "baby" is just a bastard child.

 

[jrapdx]

With the quality of some of those updates, one may wonder if that "baby" is just a bastard child.

I don't know, damage control is always so costly.

ATM, they're unusually willing to deal. Any owner with substantial complaints about an SP2 will likely be offered the option of exchanging it for a new one, or even getting a refund. As another example, I've noticed a change in the "attitude" of the MS Store personnel since mid-December. You know, after the Misbegotten Firmware of Dec 10 damaged an awful lot of SP2 computers, MS tried to appear more helpful and informative.

Actually, I think at least some folks at MS are deeply worried about their SP2 project. I imagine they wish their "babies" would Just Work. Instead MS has a really long way to go getting back to the start line. It will happen eventually. And then they'll revert to their traditional "take it or leave it" stance. Meanwhile, enjoy the thaw while it lasts...

 

[Korlon]

I've had my SP2 for about 2 weeks now and if my limited use has earned me an opinion on this matter it is this, I am very impressed that such a little machine can do so much. Everyone around me had marvelled about their ipads, nexus and other tablets and had tried to convince me that I should get one for my work. I use softeware like Matlab regularly, as well as other statistical software that can get pretty cpu heavy. IF I could install the programs on IPad, which I can't, but even if I could, the install would probably break it's back let alone running the software.

My reasons for the SP2 were simple, I needed HD space with expandability. I needed RAM and I needed a machine with balls. So far the SP2 has lived up to my expectations and has exceeded them at times. I mentioned in a post a few days ago that I pushed this machine by running a bitcoin miner for a few hours. Well, I then left it running overnight and the next morning it was just peachy. (The mining software is GPU intensive, so much so that at performance power option the fans were spinning full after 10 minutes).

My only concerns are that I can't upgrade the hard drive and I can't exchange the battery when it dies, but I expect to get at least 3 to 4 years use out of it until I'm ready to upgrade to an SP(whatever it's at by then). I'm also a little disappointed that my batterylife is only about 5.5 to 6 hours long, but then the software I use probably wasn't in consideration when testing it. I'm also a tad disappointed in the track pad on the type cover 2, as the buttons are difficult to press and feel dainty. Hopefully that issue will be resolved with the power cover, if not it's not so bad that I can't wait for the type cover 3 probably available at the end of the year.

I have the 256gig model and I've used up about half the hard drive with my software. (Matlab, Stata, R, Office 365 a number of apps... oh and the SNES emulator with super Mario bros ) Pretty soon I'll need to invest in an SD card, but then I do have 227 gigs in Skydrive from the SP2 and office offer.

I can't speak to the Yoga, I've never used one. However the portability of the SP2 and the power in the box has me more than content.

 

[Korlon]

My opinion

I've had my SP2 for about 2 weeks now and if my limited use has earned me an opinion on this matter it is this, I am very impressed that such a little machine can do so much. Everyone around me had marvelled about their ipads, nexus and other tablets and had tried to convince me that I should get one for my work. I use softeware like Matlab regularly, as well as other statistical software that can get pretty cpu heavy. IF I could install the programs on IPad, which I can't, but even if I could, the install would probably break it's back let alone running the software.

My reasons for the SP2 were simple, I needed HD space with expandability. I needed RAM and I needed a machine with balls. So far the SP2 has lived up to my expectations and has exceeded them at times. I mentioned in a post a few days ago that I pushed this machine by running a bitcoin miner for a few hours. Well, I then left it running overnight and the next morning it was just peachy. (The mining software is GPU intensive, so much so that at performance power option the fans were spinning full after 10 minutes).

My only concerns are that I can't upgrade the hard drive and I can't exchange the battery when it dies, but I expect to get at least 3 to 4 years use out of it until I'm ready to upgrade to an SP(whatever it's at by then). I'm also a little disappointed that my batterylife is only about 5.5 to 6 hours long, but then the software I use probably wasn't in consideration when testing it. I'm also a tad disappointed in the track pad on the type cover 2, as the buttons are difficult to press and feel dainty. Hopefully that issue will be resolved with the power cover, if not it's not so bad that I can't wait for the type cover 3 probably available at the end of the year.

I have the 256gig model and I've used up about half the hard drive with my software. (Matlab, Stata, R, Office 365 a number of apps... oh and the SNES emulator with super Mario bros ) Pretty soon I'll need to invest in an SD card, but then I do have 227 gigs in Skydrive from the SP2 and office offer.

I can't speak to the Yoga, I've never used one. However the portability of the SP2 and the power in the box has me more than content.

 

[CandyNJ]

After 2 weeks with The wonderful SP2 updated version, I realized it wasn't powerful for my needs. I wanted games like World of Warcraft and The Secret World to be on higher settings and I desperately needed more space on the hard drive.

I went back to Best Buy and exchanged the SP2 for the recent released laptop, the HP ENVY TouchSmart Sleekbook which was the exact same price, plus it's only at BB. The reason why I went with the Envy Sleekbook was the huge widescreen at 17'3 big enough for watching lots of movies and seeing YouTube plus games in glorious detail. The Sleekbook also has a Biometric Fingerprint sensor so I can easily swipe it with my finger whenever I need to input a password. Also, the Quadcore i7 processor with an updated 4600 graphics chip. 8 gigs of ram really solidified for me. 1 TB of space on the HD was the cherry on top.

I disabled Norton's antivirus and it runs faster than the SP2 and suits my needs perfectly. I do miss the portability but I didn't have to spend $129 on a separate keyboard! I will miss the SP2 but it just isn't as powerful as I need. I will follow it's progress though!

Good luck everyone

 

[Tekn0]

My main requirement is a Wacom digitizer that runs proper Windows (so I can use Manga Studio, Artrage) with a somewhat portable device. I won't be travelling much, but I will be using it at home from the bed, couch etc. So far I've not found a suitable rival for the Surface Pro 2 for the same price.