Surface 2 or Bay Trail Tablet?

[Sandbo]

Since the announcement of Surface 2 I have been paying attention to that,
with its sleek design and full ability in MS Office assisted by MSRDP, it can definitely replace my heavy and short battery life notebook.

However, all the above didn't stop me from learning the Bay Trail tablet, and the fact is Bay Trail tablet is OVERALL a better device than a Surface 2 seemingly.
Like the ASUS T100, 10 hrs battery, with FULL x86 Windows 8.1 and Office 2013, offered with type keyboard at only $349 and $399 for 32 and 64GB, not to mention Bay Trail is faster than Tegra 4.
The only problem is a poorer overall design, no FullHD screen and maybe the eMMC storage.

I would love to get a Surface 2, while it sounds to me Bay Trail tablet has a much brighter future, and even the pricing.
Which would you choose?

 

[demandarin]

The surface 2 tegra 4 even outperforms bay trail tablets. You will get same great battery life. The surface 2 design is the best hands down next to the surface pro. Bay trail is the lower end full blown cpu solution. Of you want full blown, go with a surface pro2. If you need to install x86/desktop apps, and sirface2 won't work for you, then I'd recommend the new Asus T100. Its bay trail and includes keyboard in its price and full blown windows. Also includes office suite. But the surface 2 has full office suite also and a very fast/responsive device.

Trust me, MS is vested into this windows FT. They already have at least 3 more generations mapped out. So to say bay trail has a more promising future is not totally true. MS is in this for the long run. If all you need is office and win8 store apps, sirface2 is what u want. If you need more power and need to install desktop apps, surface pro 2 is the best bang for buck. If that's too much, then if go with Asus one I mentioned. It has great battery life but performance will definitely not be up to pro 2 levels and even the surface 2 outperforms it. Its all depends on your particular needs though.

Edit: from what I've seen and heard from other users who compared bay trail to tegra4 performance, the tegra4 performs much faster. Plus both use eemc memory. So bay trail doesn't even have an advantage there.

 

[SEANT]

I have never been let down by Intel based products. I’m a big fan, as a matter of fact. My initial impression of the Surface line was “Pro or nothing”.

As luck would have it, though, my Intel Core Duo based 12” Toshiba laptop still performs flawlessly. I probably will not have to replace it for another year or two.

I did become interested in Windows RT programming and, consequently, the Surface RT. The price drop last July was enough to prompt the purchase.

I could not be more pleased with this devise. Sure there are deficiencies, and some capabilities missing – but it already does so much. And, there is so much promise in the concept.

I may be deluding myself, but I sense an increased excitement from the Microsoft presentation/personnel towards the Windows RT variant. I think they’ve got great features near deployment.

It is quite possible I will upgrade my Surface RT before I go for a full Windows devise.

 

[Sandbo]

The surface 2 tegra 4 even outperforms bay trail tablets.

This is what I really have been wondering, may I know if you have got your hands on both devices to confirm this, or there is any data to support it?
I have been checking out every bit available on the web in order to estimate the expected performance of Bay Trail, and only to find out it is going to be furiously fast.

First off, there will be at least 2 Bay Trail tablets debutting with the launch of Windows 8.1, and more following in Nov.

ASUS' Transformer Book T100: Atom Z3740 Inside, Available October 18th at $349
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7320/asus-transformer-book-t100-atom-z3740-inside

Dell Venue tablet 2013: Bay Trail keeps OEM in consumer tech, announcing on Oct-2 in NY.
http://www.slashgear.com/dell-venue-tablet-2013-bay-trail-keeps-oem-in-consumer-tech-11297491/

These horribly cheap tablets, with their long battery power (10hrs+), light weight (~600g without docking) and low price ($349 up),
running COMPLETE x86 Windows 8.1, meaning that compatibility-wise it works the same way your PC does,
with performance comparable to notebook (Passmark probably >2000, expected performance similar to Intel Pentium B970).

And particularly for the benchmark performance, some data is available from GeekBench:
Dell Venue 11 Pro 5130 mit Bay Trail Z3770 durch Benchmark geleakt

The Bay Trail CPUs are having a single-core score of 800-1000; multi-core of 2600-3000;
comparing to the list of other x86 processors:
Processor Benchmarks - Geekbench Browser
I expect Bay Trail to outperform my current notebook which is running Intel T6500(single core 1024, multi-core 1821), smoothly on Windows 8.1 as my notebook already does.

And coming back to ARMs' scores,
Android Benchmarks - Geekbench Browser
Tegra 4 of 1.7GHz of Surface 2 is going to be similar to the Samsung Octa 5410, which is single-core 756 and multi 2092.

In short, I can only see how Bay Trail is going to beat Surface 2 in performance as well as compatibility which is in no doubt, and this is true even I use the Bay Trail entirely in the same way I do with Surface.
The only point drawing me to Surface 2 are, 1st the hardware design which I really enjoys, 2nd if Windows RT is runs faster than a x86 Windows under such hardware, but even this's true, as a comparison with my current T6500 based notebook, Bay Trail will certainly suffice my performance need.

Though it maybe a bit too early to claim anything now, Surface 2 would have been my choice without a doubt if it had been released half a year ago.....now I am much confused.

 

[geisslingen]

The only point drawing me to Surface 2 are, 1st the hardware design which I really enjoys, 2nd if Windows RT is runs faster than a x86 Windows under such hardware, but even this's true, as a comparison with my current T6500 based notebook, Bay Trail will certainly suffice my performance need.

Though it maybe a bit too early to claim anything now, Surface 2 would have been my choice without a doubt if it had been released half a year ago.....now I am much confused.

These are my reasons also for ordering Surface 2 instead of Surface 2 Pro. This is my first ever tablet and I need something light that I can use to browse the internet. If I need a full Intel processor capability I would order an ultrabook. I have a 5 year old HP laptop that is really dated and I need to upgrade it but I am waiting for the next Intel SoC Broadwell processor expected early next year to get myself a new ultrabook. I think Surface 2 will be a great tablet and there will be more apps available for Windows RT in the near future.

 

[Sandbo]

Apps for Windows RT are certainly a good point to get RT over x86, but under the current situation, unless MS can combine the store of WP and RT as well as attracting more developers, otherwise there is little hope, for even Dell and ASUS decided to withdraw from the game..
I certainly have been looking for a tablet but not a notebook of any kinds, having probably only Office and a few apps, but the biggest obstacle for me is, if a Bay Trail is doing exactly the same even better at a similar price, battery life, weight and more......it's hard to persuade myself with a Surface 2 with just the hardware.

 

[demandarin]

The apps are coming. The windows 8 store has already grew at a faster rate than ios or android ever has in such a short period. When surface rt first released a lol less than a year ago, there was only a few thousand apps. Now there is well over 100,000. Now add in the merged WP and RT and now it gets more robust. MS is on this for the long haul. People said the same thing about Xbox. Now look at it. It took over the game console industry and outsold Sony on their own turf.

There is nothing out or being released that's as tightly made than sirface2. It doesn't matter that those other manufacturers pulled out. Watch them come running back once RT does finally take off. RT is the beginning of a new mobile sector with more capabilities than ios or even android.

 

[demandarin]

Even with that said, the new bay trail tablets do look enticing also. But we should be welcoming ARM chipset into windows. Even if only on the RT front. Competition is good and only benefits the consumer in the end. Its great to have so many choices. See what fits your needs the best.

Can't lie, that Asus T100 is a great value. Of there was any bay trail device to get, that would be the one I'd recommend. Can't beat its entry level price point.

 

[geisslingen]

Can't lie, that Asus T100 is a great value. Of there was any bay trail device to get, that would be the one I'd recommend. Can't beat its entry level price point.

I was think more about SONY's new VAIO Tap 11 which seems like an amazing tablet with wireless keyboard and 3G slot, but there ere not enough details about availability or price, plus I think the Tap 11 battery does not last long enough.

 

[demandarin]

Id get a surface pro 2 before Sony one. Although Sony one is very nice, I feel pro2 better overall package. Have you seen videos of that keyboard closed attached to device? Its very flimsy and a slight bump will knock it loose or make it come apart. Plus isn't thT even more expensive than pro? Plus MS already announced on redditt, same day as launch day, that LTE versions was coming either at end of year or early 2014. Plus MS pen with pro2 having Whatcom digitizer is superior to Ntrig pen in Sony device.

Not fair to compare vio to surface 2. More better to compare to pro2. As far as power goes. But from what I've heard, its even more expensive than pro2.

 

[jnjroach]

This is what I really have been wondering, may I know if you have got your hands on both devices to confirm this, or there is any data to support it?
I have been checking out every bit available on the web in order to estimate the expected performance of Bay Trail, and only to find out it is going to be furiously fast.

First off, there will be at least 2 Bay Trail tablets debutting with the launch of Windows 8.1, and more following in Nov.



And particularly for the benchmark performance, some data is available from GeekBench:
Dell Venue 11 Pro 5130 mit Bay Trail Z3770 durch Benchmark geleakt

The Bay Trail CPUs are having a single-core score of 800-1000; multi-core of 2600-3000;
comparing to the list of other x86 processors:
Processor Benchmarks - Geekbench Browser
I expect Bay Trail to outperform my current notebook which is running Intel T6500(single core 1024, multi-core 1821), smoothly on Windows 8.1 as my notebook already does.

And coming back to ARMs' scores,
Android Benchmarks - Geekbench Browser
Tegra 4 of 1.7GHz of Surface 2 is going to be similar to the Samsung Octa 5410, which is single-core 756 and multi 2092.

In short, I can only see how Bay Trail is going to beat Surface 2 in performance as well as compatibility which is in no doubt, and this is true even I use the Bay Trail entirely in the same way I do with Surface.
The only point drawing me to Surface 2 are, 1st the hardware design which I really enjoys, 2nd if Windows RT is runs faster than a x86 Windows under such hardware, but even this's true, as a comparison with my current T6500 based notebook, Bay Trail will certainly suffice my performance need.

Though it maybe a bit too early to claim anything now, Surface 2 would have been my choice without a doubt if it had been released half a year ago.....now I am much confused.

I've tested both, Bay Trail still suffers from two issues, Intel has struggled with power management and drivers with the Atoms, now Bay Trail is a completely new design and is utilizing Intel's HD4000 Video abandoning the PowerVR GMA GPUs of old, but at least with the Demo units Video was still struggling in real world tests. The other struggle is what draws people like yourself to the x86 platform, backwards compatibility, which leads to bunches of issues with Connected Standby has legacy applications were built for desktops not tablets especially S0iX Tablets. At least with Clover Trail once people loaded their legacy Win32 binaries machines started struggling going into and/or coming out of Connected Standby.

 

[Sandbo]

Great to know for the comparison, actually what I worried for Bay Trail is they are the first batch of the NEW concept, probably it will require much polish before it can really deliver the expected, and therefore maybe Surface 2 is a better choice at this moment,
anyway I will be reading more real world data after they have been released.