Choosing a Tablet. Need help

MrTuggles

Need a tablet for work. None of my friends know much about tablets at this point. Leaning towards a surface pro, but not sure which route to go. Would rather not spend 1k on a tablet, but I haven't seen a different route to go at this point.

Needing to populate and analyze excel reports from a website, scheduling/verifying scheduling/production/etc. The price tag on the new pro has me O.o, but even the pro 4 i7 refurbs are up there. If there is a cheaper alternative that would be nearly as effective I would rather go that route. If not, I am mainly asking for a direction to go with the pro's.

I've done the normal scouring of the internet and haven't had much help. It seems tablets are either low end or high end. Not much in between. Any help is much appreciated and as always

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Cleffy

The only cheaper option would be to go with an Acer. What you get with the Microsoft Surface is the screen resolution and the quality of the touch screen. This would be difficult to match in tablets with at least a 2ghz processor.
You can use a non-Windows tablet if you are only looking at Excel reports. However, the Windows tablets are considerably better at being productive.

MrTuggles

Sadly, that is the conclusion I've been drawing to. I saw something about an "Eve V" tablet? Anyone ever heard of this brand or???

Also, would a refurbed pro 4 with the i7 be better than the i5 "new" surface pro?

Ridelynn

Only 3 real choices for tablets anymore. You definitely get what you pay for, and if it’s for work, don’t be too scared off by price tag - worry more about how it will affect productivity.

Windows - starting with Surface, from which I hear mostly good things. Quality among other vendors tends to be pretty variable. But your able to run no kidding Windows. Worry more about having a good screen, durability, and really world battery life than any other single metric, or any performance related thing you might think about on a desktop.

Apple - which will run Excel, and pretty well actually - but it isn’t the same as running Windows. The Pro line will run circles quality-wise (and mostly likely performance-wise) around anything else you can buy today. They will also probably get the best battery life and will definitely have the best screens. But doing desktop-level work on iOS requires a learning curve and some compromises - moreso than you have on the x86 tablets. The good thing about iPads lately - they are running for less money than a comparable iPhone is right now.

Android seems to be dead in tablets. Kindle Fire is still around but that’s about the only one I still see being developed, and it’s official app support is horrible. I can’t recommend this to anyone any more, not even to use for something as mundane as a digital picture frame or to read ebooks.

Vrika

If don't need Windows, then there are cheaper Android tablets available.

But if you need to have Windows, then go with something expensive because Windows operating system and many of its programs demand so much from the hardware. Trying to work with a cheaper Windows tablet is too much fighting against the hardware's limitations.

Phry

Kind of wondering whether any tablet will really be suitable, they all have limitations that may ultimately mean you need additional hardware in order to have the features you require. The Surface isn't that bad of a tablet/notepad but you might find that you need more of the features you would find in a full spec'd PC in the form of a laptop, one of the problems with Surface, particularly the cheaper ones is that afaik they will only run software from the windows store in much the same way as an ipad will only run software/apps you obtain from itunes.

Scot

Might be an idea to have an actual hands on in a shop of the top models before you buy, even though you may buy elsewhere. There is the Lenovo, apart from that I would say just make sure its a 2-in-1, that way it will convert easily into something you can pick up and read in your hands.

Vrika

Scot said:

I would say just make sure its a 2-in-1, that way it will convert easily into something you can pick up and read in your hands.

I think 2-in-1 makes it harder to convert into something you can read in your hands.

But if you need to write more than an occasional word, then tablet is wrong device for that. For writing you need 2-in-1.

Scot

Vrika said:

Scot said:

I would say just make sure its a 2-in-1, that way it will convert easily into something you can pick up and read in your hands.

I think 2-in-1 makes it harder to convert into something you can read in your hands.

But if you need to write more than an occasional word, then tablet is wrong device for that. For writing you need 2-in-1.

I think I am seeing this from the opposite way round from you, which shows how peoples perceptions are so important. To me it starts as a lap top, which we can make portable by making it a 2-in-1. For you most importantly it is a tablet, then if you want to do more make it a 2-in-1.

A 2-in-1 where the keyboard is detachable, is de rigueur now; no tablet or lap top need apply.

Quizzical

Why does it need to be a tablet?  Tablets are fine devices if you just want to read stuff, but you sound like you're going to try to get real work done on it.

MrTuggles

Full lap top is not an option. I need the ability to take just the tablet for extended periods of time.

Cleffy

I would never suggest getting a Lenovo or Toshiba. They are simply garbage with their bloatware and build quality.

Quizzical

MrTuggles said:

Full lap top is not an option. I need the ability to take just the tablet for extended periods of time.

Why do you need just the tablet sometimes?  Is it a weight issue?  Space?  How are you going to use it?  What device you should get depends tremendously on what you're going to do with it.

Bloodaxes

There's laptops that have touchscreens and able to fully rotate and become a tablet.

I fail to see the reasoning there unless you want something cheaper.

AriesTiger

I would go with an android tablet to be honest. I have a computer, laptop, tablet, and phone all synced up with each other. I can view any document I have (.odt with Libre Office) on any device and shuffle it via the internet ( I refuse to open up windows networking on home pc. Too many intrusion attempts and possibilities.)

Quizzical

Bloodaxes said:

There's laptops that have touchscreens and able to fully rotate and become a tablet.

I fail to see the reasoning there unless you want something cheaper.

Again, it depends on what you're going to do with it.  If you're going to constantly carry it around, the weight could be very important, and a 2-in-1 is typically going to be a lot heavier than a pure tablet.  Depending on the use, that could be a problem, or it could be irrelevant.

Bloodaxes

Quizzical said:

Bloodaxes said:

There's laptops that have touchscreens and able to fully rotate and become a tablet.

I fail to see the reasoning there unless you want something cheaper.

Again, it depends on what you're going to do with it.  If you're going to constantly carry it around, the weight could be very important, and a 2-in-1 is typically going to be a lot heavier than a pure tablet.  Depending on the use, that could be a problem, or it could be irrelevant.

I understand that, but from his op, it seems he won't be reading only.

In my opinion, a tablet is too small to type and see what you're doing. If you're going to add a Bluetooth keyboard or go for a bigger tablet, might as well get a small portable laptop imo.

Up to him tough, mine was just an observation.

MrMelGibson

I have a Galaxy S2 tablet and love it so much I bought my wife one first.

MrTuggles

Ended up coming down to the surface pro i5 8gig 256gb ssd. The i7's are nice, but I can't justify the price tag for the work I will be doing. If I do end up having issues within the first month or so with being bogged down I will return for the i7 version.

Thanks all for the help!