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Has the surface totally replaced your tablet?

gtext

Member
Has the Surface totally replaced your tablet. (All brands)
Do you still find yourself returning back to the tablet at times and using the Surface to run programs and do work that the tablet can't do.

I'm expecting when I get the Surface to still find a tablet useful as:

1/ Smaller form factor when seated.
2/ None or very little heat while using.
3/ Silent no fan.
3/ Large range of apps.
4/ Good battery life.
5/ Internet surfing/research.

Interested in people's views, as there's already been a thread asking if the Surface has replaced the laptop.
 

JesseDiaz

Member
It has totally replace my Toshiba Satellite i7. I installed WIndows 2012 server on it and use it as an iTunes server, Plex server, etc with a few VMs

FOr you list , I have experienced positive results on all items!
 

scottysize

Member
Has the Surface totally replaced your tablet. (All brands)
Do you still find yourself returning back to the tablet at times and using the Surface to run programs and do work that the tablet can't do.

I'm expecting when I get the Surface to still find a tablet useful as:

1/ Smaller form factor when seated.
2/ None or very little heat while using.
3/ Silent no fan.
3/ Large range of apps.
4/ Good battery life.
5/ Internet surfing/research.

Interested in people's views, as there's already been a thread asking if the Surface has replaced the laptop.
No. I still have not 1, but 2 iPads. One iPad 3 that work bought me to use for work and my personal iPad Air that I purchased when it first came out to play games and mess around with at home. The surface cannot, at this time, replace those two items. I still have a Nexus 10, but only because I couldn't get any money for it if I tried to sell it. I also have a Nexus 7, but that is my GPS device in my truck, so it doesn't count.
1/ The iPad Air is smaller, lighter, and easier to hold sitting on the couch, but I do love the SP3's screen size for some tasks that I used my laptop for.
2/ My SP3 remains relatively cool, unless you're doing something graphic intense.
3/ My fan hardly ever kicks on my SP3, so not an issue for me.
4/ iPad battery last longer, yes, but the SP3 lasts longer than my MacBook Pro's battery did.
5/ The SP3 works great for this.
 

Kif

Active Member
Nope, I still use my Retina iPad Mini and my SP3. I wasn't expecting it to since my rmini is like a paperback book and the SP3 is a legal tablet. This is totally ok in my book because I have room for both devices in my life. Unfortunately, my poor wife is sitting out in the cold.
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
My Surface 2 totally replaced my iPad and reduced the usage of my MacBook Air.
Why? In a word. "Browser". The browser on The Surface how should I say... it just works. I don't need an app for this or that when the browser works flawlessly. Don't need to switch apps or check to see if there's an app. the whole app meme is a Marketing creation to lockin users and its a requirement on an iPad because the mobile browser is so weak in addition to the form factor being too small for finger navigation on web sites. Apps are a unfortunate necessary evil on the iPad so you can get something useful out of it at the cost of having to keep track of which app does what and constantly switching back and forth.

SP3 so far appears to be eliminating my use of my Lenovo laptop and few remaining MBA uses with one exception upgrading it to the latest OSX version.

I still use my original Galaxy Note 10.1 because I like the way Pulse works on it and it still performs pretty good for having a Tegra3 in it where as the iPad with iOS 7 on it has been reduced to a virtual brick since the one app id run on it says not enough memory close some apps on startup right after power cycling it.

The real life experiences of me.
 
Has the Surface totally replaced your tablet. (All brands)
Do you still find yourself returning back to the tablet at times and using the Surface to run programs and do work that the tablet can't do.

I'm expecting when I get the Surface to still find a tablet useful as:

1/ Smaller form factor when seated.
2/ None or very little heat while using.
3/ Silent no fan.
3/ Large range of apps.
4/ Good battery life.
5/ Internet surfing/research.

Interested in people's views, as there's already been a thread asking if the Surface has replaced the laptop.

Yes, I still very much use my iPad Air. I got the Surface Pro 3 more as a laptop replacement. I had an i3 Samsung Ultrabook I got on the cheap last year, and came into some prize money and decided I wanted to go back to school for my MBA, and decided I wanted a more powerful laptop, along with the flexibility to use as a tablet in a pinch if it's all I have with me, use the pen for notes, etc. Also to use for videos which are incompatible with iPad.

I still value the iPad for it's thin and lightness in comparison, better for reading books and websurfing in bed or on the couch. Mine has LTE as well so that's a plus, and my daughter and girlfriend both have iphones and Facetime me from time to time which I would lose since it's my only current Apple product.

So, this is replacing my laptop but not my tablet, if they had a Surface with similar size, weight, dimensions to an iPad Air, that was still about as powerful as an i5 laptop, I'd replace my iPad and laptop with it. But it's still a LITTLE bit too heavy, just a little bit, to comfortably read for a few hours, or watch movies, compared to the Air.
 

dstrauss

Active Member
The iPad Mini has already gone to eBay heaven; Acer Aspire V78 returned to office stock for recycling to another lawyer; and the SPro 3 is my FULL TIME laptop and tablet. I have found it to be the perfect companion whether taking notes at my desk or in a meeting. For "pure" table use I always remove the keyboard - it seems to lighten it substantially for holding and using as a tablet - amazing how much bulk and weight the Type Cover adds when folded to the back.

Next to go will be the iPhone 5, to be replaced (for now) with a used Galaxy Note 3 because Microsoft has released a OneNote beta with ink support - it will become my always with me, short note taker, to supplement the SPro 3. The only thing I miss about the iPad Mini was using it as a reader - so much lighter and one handed use compared to my SPro 3. However, that's where I expect the 5.7" display of the GN3 to shine as a replacement reader. If the GN3 experiment and OneNote work as many have described, I will leave the Apple walled garden this fall with a GN4 upgrade.
 
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