InsaneNutter
Resident Nutter
Backstory:
My Mum has been after a tablet for quite a while now, i unlocked my Asus Transformer Prime (TF201) and flashed Cyanogenmod 10.2 on it (Android 4.3) so the tablet could support multiple uses on it. Since then ive basically lent it her and she's used it every day.
She likes that the tablet can dock with a keyboard so she can type email's on it however basically think's Android does not really work with a keyboard / mouse / trackpad in general, which to be honest i agree with her, i never used the keyboard with the tablet.
With the above in mind i'm thinking a Windows 8.1 / Windows RT tablet would perfect for her, she would use it for:
Tablet Considerations:
The Surface 2 and Nokia Lumia 2520 were pretty strong contenders, both are very nice tablets, however get very pricey when you add they keyboard docks on them.
Then we have the wild card, the Asus Transformer Book! From reading the reviews this appears to be a great tablet for the price, and includes a keyboard! The added bonus is that it runs Windows 8.1, not RT, meaning it can actually run your favourite desktop apps and essentially double up as a laptop when docked with the keyboard.
Asus Transformer Book T100 next to the Surface 2
I'm thinking that would be the ideal tablet for her, offering the best of both worlds at a much cheaper price point, with up to 11+ hours of battery life.
Which raises the question, now Intel is able to produce processors that rival, if not exceed the power efficiency of ARM processors, is Windows RT going to rapidly become obsolete? It does seem few manufacturers are choosing to produce new RT based tablets, where as a lot of x86-64 tablets using Intel's Bay Trail architecture are been released by Asus, Dell, Toshiba and so on.
Another advantage i see with an x86 based tablet is future updates. We appears to have a trend of "disposable tech" these days, by that i mean manufacturers release something and then are like "we cant be bothered supporting it" a year later. At least with an x86 based tablet all the drivers are out there, so even if current tablets never got support for the next version of Windows officially, chances are it would work. Where as with an RT based tablet your more than likely stuck with what your given.
Another good read on the subject: The futility of Surface and Windows RT: If only Microsoft had stuck with Intel
My Mum has been after a tablet for quite a while now, i unlocked my Asus Transformer Prime (TF201) and flashed Cyanogenmod 10.2 on it (Android 4.3) so the tablet could support multiple uses on it. Since then ive basically lent it her and she's used it every day.
She likes that the tablet can dock with a keyboard so she can type email's on it however basically think's Android does not really work with a keyboard / mouse / trackpad in general, which to be honest i agree with her, i never used the keyboard with the tablet.
With the above in mind i'm thinking a Windows 8.1 / Windows RT tablet would perfect for her, she would use it for:
- Internet
- Media
- Games
- Looking at Photos
- Desktop apps, mainly Outlook and Word.
- Indie games, she owns a few on Steam and likes the popcap style games e.g. Zuma, Peggle, Luxor and so on.
- Popular tablet games e.g. Angry Birds, Pacman which are on the Windows Store.
Tablet Considerations:
- Asus Transformer Book T100*- 32gb, includes keyboard and Microsoft Office Home and Student - £349.00 (Windows 8.1)
- Surface 2 32gb - £360 + £100 for the touch cover, so £460 (Windows RT)
- Nokia Lumia 2520 32gb - £400 + £150 for the "power keyboard" so £550 (Windows RT)
The Surface 2 and Nokia Lumia 2520 were pretty strong contenders, both are very nice tablets, however get very pricey when you add they keyboard docks on them.
Then we have the wild card, the Asus Transformer Book! From reading the reviews this appears to be a great tablet for the price, and includes a keyboard! The added bonus is that it runs Windows 8.1, not RT, meaning it can actually run your favourite desktop apps and essentially double up as a laptop when docked with the keyboard.
Asus Transformer Book T100 next to the Surface 2
I'm thinking that would be the ideal tablet for her, offering the best of both worlds at a much cheaper price point, with up to 11+ hours of battery life.
Which raises the question, now Intel is able to produce processors that rival, if not exceed the power efficiency of ARM processors, is Windows RT going to rapidly become obsolete? It does seem few manufacturers are choosing to produce new RT based tablets, where as a lot of x86-64 tablets using Intel's Bay Trail architecture are been released by Asus, Dell, Toshiba and so on.
Another advantage i see with an x86 based tablet is future updates. We appears to have a trend of "disposable tech" these days, by that i mean manufacturers release something and then are like "we cant be bothered supporting it" a year later. At least with an x86 based tablet all the drivers are out there, so even if current tablets never got support for the next version of Windows officially, chances are it would work. Where as with an RT based tablet your more than likely stuck with what your given.
Another good read on the subject: The futility of Surface and Windows RT: If only Microsoft had stuck with Intel
