New (non iOS) tablet - Microsoft or Android?

[Gig103]

I'm curious what folks think. My uses are:
1) Forums and streaming video at home
2) Vacation -- journaling, e-mail, in-flight entertainment, looking at my photos (off my DSLR memory card)

"Pro" Android (either Samsung or Nexus)
> Already have Google & Amazon apps on my phone that would port (such as Gmail & Tapatalk & a few games)
> Better on-screen keyboard options

"Con" Android:
> Bluetooth keyboards that don't attach are more a pain when traveling
> Would need an adapter to connect my SD reader

"Pro" Surface:
> The upgraded keyboard is very nice and attaches instead of depending on Bluetooth.
> Can stream video in the browser directly
> Real OS means I don't need root to install adblockers or apps and can watch any video format I want
> USB 3.0

"Con" Surface:
> Resolution hasn't kept up with Android tablet devices
> 2GB RAM with Windows isn't really sufficient like it is with Android
> Need an adapter to drive an HDMI display.

 

[BradWorld]

If you're looking for vacation entertainment then an android will hit the spot. If you're looking to do real work and avoid taking your windows laptop everywhere, then a Surface will be a valuable tool. But you'd need a tablet with full windows, as RT is completely useless. Notice that the new lower end Surface 3 has a full version of windows now. Also Atom based windows tabs and other low power CPUs are not very effective, but can do,the trick if you need a windows tab, but have an android budget. I have a dozen or more tablets that I've accumulated over the past two years working on interactive projects. Nothing beats the Surface Pro 3 right now in the Windows tablet arena. Some people like dell, or HP, or Lenovo windows tabs. I haven't jived very well with any of them. However the Asus transformer series is a cheaper alternative if you don't have the budget for the Surface. They are solid and perform okay. They come with a keyboard that attaches like a laptop clamshell, which makes it sit on you're lap nicely. I haven't been able to get along with any of the other cheap windows tabs. Asus and Samsung both make really great android tabs. I've not found any of the cheaper android tablets to be satisfying. I still use my iPad the most for general entertainment tasks and games. I use a Surface Pro 3 for anything involving real work. And I almost never use an android tablet. Which is all very odd as I'm a dedicated android phone junkie, and avoid most other apple products. Your post is very well thought out and it seems that you are on the road to figuring out your answer. To me the choice comes down to how much real work you need to do, and how much money you want to spend. You can get a great android tablet for around $500. But you'll need to spend more than double to get a proper Surface. The Asus transformer windows tablets are in the sub-$500 price range, but you'll sacrifice real computing power. Good luck.

 

[BSAGuy]

The new Surface 3 and the Pro version have gotten good reviews. I agree with Brad. If you need to work, get a Surface 3 or Pro 3. For fun, one of the lesser ones will do.

 

[jamesspo]

If you're looking for vacation entertainment then an android will hit the spot. If you're looking to do real work and avoid taking your windows laptop everywhere, then a Surface will be a valuable tool. But you'd need a tablet with full windows, as RT is completely useless. Notice that the new lower end Surface 3 has a full version of windows now. Also Atom based windows tabs and other low power CPUs are not very effective, but can do,the trick if you need a windows tab, but have an android budget. I have a dozen or more tablets that I've accumulated over the past two years working on interactive projects. Nothing beats the Surface Pro 3 right now in the Windows tablet arena. Some people like dell, or HP, or Lenovo windows tabs. I haven't jived very well with any of them. However the Asus transformer series is a cheaper alternative if you don't have the budget for the Surface. They are solid and perform okay. They come with a keyboard that attaches like a laptop clamshell, which makes it sit on you're lap nicely. I haven't been able to get along with any of the other cheap windows tabs. Asus and Samsung both make really great android tabs. I've not found any of the cheaper android tablets to be satisfying. I still use my iPad the most for general entertainment tasks and games. I use a Surface Pro 3 for anything involving real work. And I almost never use an android tablet. Which is all very odd as I'm a dedicated android phone junkie, and avoid most other apple products. Your post is very well thought out and it seems that you are on the road to figuring out your answer. To me the choice comes down to how much real work you need to do, and how much money you want to spend. You can get a great android tablet for around $500. But you'll need to spend more than double to get a proper Surface. The Asus transformer windows tablets are in the sub-$500 price range, but you'll sacrifice real computing power. Good luck.

+1 on the Asus Transformer series. I love mine. The detachable keyboard is nice. The keyboard has an additional battery in it as well so gives you extended use time. Mine doesn't fit too well in the case I have with keyboard attached, but I'm sure there are cases that do work well. The keyboard also gets you a regular sized USB port, and I think a card slot (I'll go take a look in a bit).

https://www.asus.com/us/Tablets/The_New_ASUS_Transformer_PadTF701T/

One thing I will mention on video - this tablet would be fine for streaming highly compressed/low bitrate video from youtube, etc. You may or may not able to stream HD resolution material. I did some experimentation on playback of video from my local network storage and it was fine for DVD resolution material, but got jerky on 1080p blu-ray content (straight from the disc, not re-compressed). Now this was coming over the local network using a network filesystem driver that might not have the best performance. It could have been that,but I think I also tried from a USB flash drive, and had the same issue. So, not sure I'd count on it being able to seamlessly playback HD level video. HD video over the Internet (from Netflix, etc) would be compressed a lot more, and may play back better.



Edit: Confirmed - docker/keyboard has an SD card slot. Tablet itself has a micro-SD slot.

 

[Gig103]

So the tablet I'm replacing is a Tf101, the first generation Transformer. I love it but it's dog slow now. When I went out to Asus' website is the appears that they haven't updated the Transformer series in a year or two. Is that an incorrect interpretation of the models and specs?

 

[jamesspo]

So the tablet I'm replacing is a Tf101, the first generation Transformer. I love it but it's dog slow now. When I went out to Asus' website is the appears that they haven't updated the Transformer series in a year or two. Is that an incorrect interpretation of the models and specs?

They've been slow to update this series, so yes I think you're right. I have the TF701, and I go it a couple of years ago. The 701 should be a fair bit faster, but it's definitely not a speed demon. I tend to just keep a couple of things running at a time on it. Like a lot of tablets, it can get slow when you first turn it on because of so many network updates for apps :/.

 

[BradWorld]

The TF series are all Android if I recall. They are similar to the Memo series, but with the added keyboard option.

The T100 series and above are windows tablets. Those are what i was referring to with regards to a cheaper alternative to the Surface. I have a T100A and its a solid little windows tablet. Baytrail processor does a decent job. I've used a ton of them out on location and they've been solid. The new T100 Chi, and the T300 Chi, are a bunch more powerful and are still easy on the wallet. If you want to go with a windows tablet, and dont want to spend the coin for a Surface, then check those out.

 

[imfallen_angel]

I've seen the newer Transformers with Windows, and they were very impressive.

I'm still "stuck and loving it" with my HP Touchpad. It's so slow compared to the small Acer tablets I got for my wife (and my daughter got herself one too). But my screen and tech. is still quite valid, and the sound is still unbeaten. (and WebOS is still the best OS that all others are still scrambling to copy)

That said, it really depends on portability, what you plan to do with it, how long to you plan to use it before considering a switch.

Possibly for the trip, one suggestion would be to get a sub-100$ mini Tablet for the heck of it, then that should give you an idea where to invest for a larger one. This small one would be the "grab and take on the run" that is something happens to it, you won't be too upset.

 

[jason10mm]

I have a surface pro 1. I don't think the screen resolution is an issue, (the pro 3 has an equivalent resolution for the larger screen). You could look for a refurbished surface pro 2, should satisfy all of your requirements. I would NOT recommend a pro 1 simply because of the short battery life, I have to live near an outlet or use the battery keyboard, else I'm out of juice in about 90 minutes.

 

[cvargo]

I am on my second year in graduate school and before I started I bought a first generation surface and I love it! I see no reason to upgrade to the newer surfaces and probably won't. Once I am done with school my gift to me will be a Nexus Tablet, not because I think it will be better than the surface but because my needs will have changed. The surface is basically a laptop. I do my presentations, write my papers, and use it as a computer. When I think tablet I think strictly about entertainment such as watching videos, playing games, surfing the web, and reading. All of which can be done on the surface but I like android interface for those items better.

My recommendation what are you looking for? If you want something more similar to a computer so you could do powerpoint, excel, word, etc then you want the surface. If you want the latter get the nexus or samsung. Just my two cents and YMMV

 

[Gig103]

I'm really digging the idea of a used Surface Pro 2, because they seem to be in the price range of a new Surface 3. But the Pro2 has 4GB RAM, and a Core i5 (instead of 2GB/Atom).

I was looking at my tablet and phone to determine how much I use the apps that I wouldn't get. I barely play games, so it might be the right move for me to go Microsoft for the productivity -- even though even that is limited to some basic things like uncomplicated spreadsheets and notepads.

 

[StillShaving]

I do not know enough about the Microsoft tablets to provide any useful comparison comments. But regarding Android, don't some devices support "on the go (OTG)" connectors to support plug-in USB devices such as a keyboard. It would be another cable to carry, but spare one the need to carry a full size keyboard (if I understood the concern). I am not sure what media format is giving trouble, but I was just viewing an HTML5 video with a couple of different Android browsers.

 

[alex2363]

All I can say is that I love my Android Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.

I bought a 59 dollar screen protector by Zagg invisible glass.

80 dollar Bluetooth keyboard,

Mophie extended battery for 120 bucks, and Defender series by Otter Box 120 bucks . Worth every penny.