Laptop died, thinking of a Surface RT

[MosquitoSmasher]

Here's my "short" answer, followed by rambling...If you have any desktop applications you can't live without, go for the Acer or other x86 tablet. If videos are your highest priority and you don't want to wait for Surface to come out with great video software, go for Android. If browsing, blogging, file explorer and design are your highest priorities, go for the Surface.

Now the rambling...The Surface RT browser does not seem to get much hype, but let me rave about it for a moment - IT'S A REAL FREAKIN' WEB BROWSER - not a mobile phone browser or a tablet browser ... I live in my browser when I'm not at work and It sounds like you spend a good amount of time online also so I would definitely put this into your mix for consideration.

I have an iPad an a 7" Android tablet - the web experience is not at all the same. I've tried Safari and Chrome and Opera and Dolphin and ... Many others ... All fine for quick searches but I wouldn't want any of them as my only browser option. Let me also say don't try blogging on a mobile browser ... I've got 2 blogs and it's nothing but frustration ... but blogging is brilliant and easy on the RT (I use blogger, though)!

I'd guess Android probably does better at Videos, but Surface is already getting some good third party software and I can't imagine it will be too much longer before there are solid and robust offerings. I haven't actually tried to play a video that didn't work, but I know there are numerous formats out there and so I would assume the newest platform (Windows RT) may not play them all yet.

I had the Ativ 500T (Windows x86) because I thought I could not live without legacy software but replaced it with the Surface (which I prefer). The design and quality are unsurpassed, and I found I really didn't need to run desktop applications for 99.9% of what I do. This may sound strange, but the Surface is actually way faster because there isn't a whole bunch of unneeded crap always running in the background.

Very helpful reply. I'm not even in any doubts anymore, it'll either be a Surface RT or a Surface Pro. A Surface Pro might be possible, cause someone on a Ebay/marketplace-like site is selling a 128GB for 650 euros, no keyboard included but holy crap, if that deal is going to happen, that's crazy good. If not, i'll go for the RT. I'm on the fence about whether to go for touch or type cover though. I thought touch would be horrible, but at the store just now it really wasn't too bad at all. But i don't know about the material, it feels kinda like fabric and what if it gets dirty or some ugly spots...can they easily be removed/cleaned?

 

[pallentx]

I agree that the browser in RT is a huge selling point, but for clarification, its not 100% the same as a desktop/Surface Pro Windows 8 "full" browser. You cant install plugins or run things that require Silverlight or Java applets. Its is a billion times better than any phone browser though.

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

Ok guys i'm back with an update. Big change of plans. If all goes well i'll be a happy owner of a Surface Pro 128GB this saturday. I've been checking some websites similar to Ebay, but this site is for selling used products. Several people on there are selling a Surface RT and a Pro for a much better price than in the shops, some of them are even in a sealed box. It doesn't come with a touch cover though, but that is understandable. I am still very on the fence on what to go for, touch or type cover. Touch cover looks great with the tablet, but i wonder if i'll ever get used to it. I've tried out both Touch and Type in the shops and Type simply is better, i am used to that with laptops. The thing is, i can get a brand new Touch cover for only 70 euros instead of 119, quite the difference. Some people say you definitely will adjust to it and get used to it, but is that true?

Another thing.....all these years while owning laptops i think i made one big mistake and that is the reason why the battery of all of them died after a while. Whenever i'm home, and that actually is quite a lot, i have the laptop connected to the power cable, apparently this really ain't the right thing to do if you want to save your battery. So what is adviceable? Charge the battery of the Surface Pro and then remove the power cable until it's empty again and it needs recharging? Probably a real newbie question..but i want to correct my mistakes.

 

[ArnoldC]

<snip>Another thing.....all these years while owning laptops i think i made one big mistake and that is the reason why the battery of all of them died after a while. Whenever i'm home, and that actually is quite a lot, i have the laptop connected to the power cable, apparently this really ain't the right thing to do if you want to save your battery. So what is adviceable? Charge the battery of the Surface Pro and then remove the power cable until it's empty again and it needs recharging? Probably a real newbie question..but i want to correct my mistakes.

There's a thread as we beat this to death. Common consensus is, it does not matter; I have all my devices plugged in all the time while at the office.

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

There's a thread as we beat this to death. Common consensus is, it does not matter; I have all my devices plugged in all the time while at the office.

Ok well that's good to know then. I got a nice big update, cause i am typing this on a Surface Pro 128gb, and the amazing thing is....its brand new and i bought it from someone for 390 euros less than storeprice. With touchcover. Very happy with it so far, except that the People app displays removed contacts in the preview and that is highly annoying. Hoping to find a fix for that. I'm also gonna check out tutorial videos on Youtube about Windows 8, cause i want to learn about all those things called snapscreens and such. I got a few pictures:

http://imageshack.us/a/img703/7199/uzn6.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img59/6893/fk33.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img40/1931/e258.jpg