Sold my Surface... but will stick around...

[quadtronix]

Hello all. I'm sad to say that I sold my 1st gen Surface RT and my iPad Mini. On the other hand, I'm happy to say that I replaced them with the iPad Air and Dell Venue 8 Pro 8" Windows 8.1 Tablet running full Windows on BayTrail-T. Most of what I do with my tablets is read (ebooks, web, blogs etc...) and the Surface RT was overkill. By that, I mainly am referring to the weight of the tablet and also the size. For me 8" is fine for what I need a tablet for and I am using the iPad Air as a backup for when the Dell is charging or if I need a larger screen for whatever reason...

My Surface RT served me well while I had it and I really did love it, especially once I got Windows 8.1 on it in October. But as with all good things, everything comes to an end and now I am moving on. At least for now... I may be in the market for another Surface one day. If a Surface Mini comes out, as rumored, I will be all over it and somewhere down the line I may consider a Surface 2 or Surface Pro 2. We'll have to wait and see. But for now I can only say that I am enjoying my new Dell Venue 8 Pro to the full extent. Love the form factor, love the OS.

With that said, I think I would like to stick around on these forums as I am still very interested in Surface developments and Microsoft. I have learned a lot from all of the help and discussions on this forum and I look forward to learning lots more! Thanks.

:cool2:

-Quadtronix

 

[godson594]

I have my eyes/ears waiting for CES to see what comes out. I know Asus is bringing out an 8" device that has a Wacom digitizer - I feel like selling off my SP2 and use a desktop for real work and then pickup an 8" device as a travel buddy/light work and keep my iPad for bedtime reading...

 

[quadtronix]

I have my eyes/ears waiting for CES to see what comes out. I know Asus is bringing out an 8" device that has a Wacom digitizer - I feel like selling off my SP2 and use a desktop for real work and then pickup an 8" device as a travel buddy/light work and keep my iPad for bedtime reading...

The Asus looks promising but if you're looking for a good small Windows 8.1 tablet, consider the recently announced Lenovo ThinkPad 8. Its got an 8.3 inch 1080p display, 2.3 GHz BayTrail and an 8 MP camera...

Lenovo reveals ThinkPad 8 Windows 8.1 tablet - Neowin

I read its $400 but its a beast!! Its also as thin as the 2013 nexus7 which is really thin. I am enjoying the Dell I got but if I hadn't just got this, I'd be all over that ThinkPad!!

CES will probably see some nice new tech this year... can't wait for it to start tomorrow!

 

[CrippsCorner]

I'm going for the Surface Mini...

obviously not real (yet) but we can all pray eh!

 

[quadtronix]

I'm going for the Surface Mini...

obviously not real (yet) but we can all pray eh!

I have a feeling the Surface Mini is going to blow everything else in this category off the map... Even if it doesn't have the rumored "Kinect-Like" features and Cortana it will still probably be great just because Surface tablets have such good build quality and the rumors have the Mini at 1080p with a quad core processor. If it has a kickstand plus 1080p and a decent processor then count me in! I would like it to have full Windows though as I am enjoying the flexibility on my Dell. RT on the other hand would not be a deal breaker for me, IF it was priced accordingly...

I really should add that I think the "Kinect-Like" functionality and Cortana would push this thing to the next level and trounce anything else on the market! I SO hope they do this and come out with the game changing device I've been waiting for...

 

[TheCudder]

^^^^The funny thing about the concept art there is he fact that the Type Cover loses the ability to be a....cover! Also 2 USB ports would never happen on a first gen version.

 

[CrippsCorner]

With the cover they could make it so the two sides that go past the device fold round the back, thus you have a 'complete' cover for the Surface Mini

Do you think the kickstand should be that way round though? I thought it'd be horizontal...

 

[callihan_44]

Hello all. I'm sad to say that I sold my 1st gen Surface RT and my iPad Mini. On the other hand, I'm happy to say that I replaced them with the iPad Air and Dell Venue 8 Pro 8" Windows 8.1 Tablet running full Windows on BayTrail-T. Most of what I do with my tablets is read (ebooks, web, blogs etc...) and the Surface RT was overkill. By that, I mainly am referring to the weight of the tablet and also the size. For me 8" is fine for what I need a tablet for and I am using the iPad Air as a backup for when the Dell is charging or if I need a larger screen for whatever reason...

My Surface RT served me well while I had it and I really did love it, especially once I got Windows 8.1 on it in October. But as with all good things, everything comes to an end and now I am moving on. At least for now... I may be in the market for another Surface one day. If a Surface Mini comes out, as rumored, I will be all over it and somewhere down the line I may consider a Surface 2 or Surface Pro 2. We'll have to wait and see. But for now I can only say that I am enjoying my new Dell Venue 8 Pro to the full extent. Love the form factor, love the OS.

With that said, I think I would like to stick around on these forums as I am still very interested in Surface developments and Microsoft. I have learned a lot from all of the help and discussions on this forum and I look forward to learning lots more! Thanks.

:cool2:

-Quadtronix

I replaced my ipad mini with a venue pro 8 for travel, i do everything I did with the mini on the venue plus loaded my cadd software so when I visit a customer I can tweak designs right there in their plant while holding it with one hand. People are amazed when I get this thing out and show them what it can do and fit into a large pocket. I also have the sp2 but im diggin the 8" device more for portability.

 

[billfraley]

Funny, I had a Surface RT then bought a Venue 8 Pro to go with it. I returned the Venue on Friday. I did like some things about the Venue but found many things about it were lacking. The form factor is nice. The overall performance was pretty good as well. I don't even mind where they placed the home button.

The real issues with the Venue are as follows:

1) Dell has failed miserably in delivering useful accessories. It seems like they are all an afterthought.
2) I had the device for two weeks. In that time, twice the device would not turn on and when it did, it was wiped completely.
3) The resolution is below the minimum supported for some Windows 8 features. 1280x800 instead of 1280x900
4) The lack of a separated USB/charging port severely limits the ability to use the device with certain accessories.
5) The only USB port is micro and there are no provided or available OEM adapters from Dell.
6) The Pro in the product name is misleading as it does not include the Pro version of Windows 8.1

Individually, any one of these issues could be ignored. Collectively, they were enough for me to return the device.

In the meantime I had given my Surface RT 64 to my stepson. So I was able to acquire a slightly used Surface Pro 128 with a type cover and screen protector for $480 from neighbor in my community. I am glad to be back on a Surface and especially considering the machine I got at such a great price.

I just wanted to clarify that I know I could use an OTG micro USB adapter, which I have and did use. But Dell should have included an adapter with the unit, or at least offered one. Realistically, they should offer some sort of dock and charge solution as well.

 

[quadtronix]

Funny, I had a Surface RT then bought a Venue 8 Pro to go with it. I returned the Venue on Friday. I did like some things about the Venue but found many things about it were lacking. The form factor is nice. The overall performance was pretty good as well. I don't even mind where they placed the home button.

The real issues with the Venue are as follows:

1) Dell has failed miserably in delivering useful accessories. It seems like they are all an afterthought.
2) I had the device for two weeks. In that time, twice the device would not turn on and when it did, it was wiped completely.
3) The resolution is below the minimum supported for some Windows 8 features. 1280x800 instead of 1280x900
4) The lack of a separated USB/charging port severely limits the ability to use the device with certain accessories.
5) The only USB port is micro and there are no provided or available OEM adapters from Dell.
6) The Pro in the product name is misleading as it does not include the Pro version of Windows 8.1

Individually, any one of these issues could be ignored. Collectively, they were enough for me to return the device.

In the meantime I had given my Surface RT 64 to my stepson. So I was able to acquire a slightly used Surface Pro 128 with a type cover and screen protector for $480 from neighbor in my community. I am glad to be back on a Surface and especially considering the machine I got at such a great price.

I just wanted to clarify that I know I could use an OTG micro USB adapter, which I have and did use. But Dell should have included an adapter with the unit, or at least offered one. Realistically, they should offer some sort of dock and charge solution as well.

I appreciate your honesty and respect your opinion but I'm confused about some of your complaints...

2) the device was wiped completely?? You mean it factory reset itself? That has not happened to me yet... (knocking on wood)

3) what features in Windows 8.1 are not supported? I know that the multi-app side by side view works on mine...

4) is there any 8 inch tablet on the market with separate USB and charging ports?

5) can't you just get a third party adapter?

6) I'm going out on limb here but I'm pretty sure its running the pro version of windows... it runs all the desktop apps where as RT does not...

I am sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with the Dell I'm just confused about some of the issues you were having. I am glad to report though that the Dell is working great for me thus far. I hope you have better luck with the SP2.

 

[billfraley]

The Dell has "Full" windows but not the "Professional" version. This means no Media Center, domain joining and a few other things.

I stated that I already had and used my OTG cable with the Dell. This does not provide charging and USB access at the same time.

I am pretty sure I had a defective unit. When I say wiped I am saying there was no OS. Thankfully I was able to recover using the flash recovery drive I made with the Windows create recovery utility.

I have not really looked in to the other 8" Windows tablets to know if any of them have the ability to charge and use USB together. I know the ASUS T100 Windows tablet and the Surface do though. It seems like an oversight to me.

I didn't mean to sound like I was putting the Dell down. I just wanted to be clear about why it didn't work for me. I really like a lot about it as well. BTW, I still have the IVSO case if you are interested.

 

[godson594]

I have my eyes/ears waiting for CES to see what comes out. I know Asus is bringing out an 8" device that has a Wacom digitizer - I feel like selling off my SP2 and use a desktop for real work and then pickup an 8" device as a travel buddy/light work and keep my iPad for bedtime reading...

We'll I got my hands on this device and got to use it at my house and didn't like it. It feels real cheap, the stylus feels super cheap and the windows button is on the side and hard to use. I installed mischief on it and couldn't get the stylus to accurately write , had to be a driver issue...

It is cheap and certainly feels it...