[Samhallows]

Hi all,

I've decided it's time to get myself a tablet but I'm still unsure as to which one is best for my needs!

I'm an English teacher, therefore one which would enable me to edit word documents/powerpoints etc would be ideal. This is what's leading me towards the Windows Surface one.

However I can't find much about whether or not they are even any good! So any help would be appreciated.

[flagpole]

Originally Posted by Samhallows

Hi all,

I've decided it's time to get myself a tablet but I'm still unsure as to which one is best for my needs!

I'm an English teacher, therefore one which would enable me to edit word documents/powerpoints etc would be ideal. This is what's leading me towards the Windows Surface one.

However I can't find much about whether or not they are even any good! So any help would be appreciated.

there are office products for all the platforms.

check out this free one for android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ps.moffice_eng

primarily i would suggest that most tablets are consumption devices. edit a word doc, amend a power point presentation but probably not create them. if i was wanting to do that then i think i might go for a laptop.

if not then the surface tablet is probably your best bet for content creation. but they are pricey.

it's difficult to give advice, it's very personal decision. maybe get yourself down the shops and see.

[Samhallows]

Originally Posted by flagpole

there are office products for all the platforms.

check out this free one for android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ps.moffice_eng

primarily i would suggest that most tablets are consumption devices. edit a word doc, amend a power point presentation but probably not create them. if i was wanting to do that then i think i might go for a laptop.

if not then the surface tablet is probably your best bet for content creation. but they are pricey.

it's difficult to give advice, it's very personal decision. maybe get yourself down the shops and see.

Thanks much for the speedy reply!

I own a laptop but particularly when getting things done all over the place a tablet would definitely be more convenient.

I'll have a deeper look into it all then, it's just annoying that you can generally only buy the windows surface from Windows themselves so I can't even have a look in store.

Thanks again for the help!

[flagpole]

John Lewis are good. They generally have stuff on display and their staff aren't lying bastards.

[IvanIV]

There are other Windows RT tablets than Surface available. I saw Samsungs and ASUSes myself. The Office there has some restrictions (http://office.com/officeRT, 2 bigger things missing - you cannot send a document as an attachment directly from the office programme and you cannot use macros). You should not use the Office commercially.

You can also get laptop/tablet convertibles with full Windows 8/ Windows 8 pro. Battery life for those is shorter though, because they use Intel processors. And you need to install your own Office there.

MS is working on Office for iOS and Android and it should be available in March, I think.

I have a Surface RT, I did try the Word and Excel and together with the touch cover they work fine. And if really necessary you can always connect a proper keyboard via USB, or maybe even via bluetooth - I did not try that.

[clonmult]

Originally Posted by flagpole

there are office products for all the platforms.

check out this free one for android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ps.moffice_eng

primarily i would suggest that most tablets are consumption devices. edit a word doc, amend a power point presentation but probably not create them. if i was wanting to do that then i think i might go for a laptop.

if not then the surface tablet is probably your best bet for content creation. but they are pricey.

it's difficult to give advice, it's very personal decision. maybe get yourself down the shops and see.

Its also worth noting that the versions of Office shipped with the Surface are *not* the full version - advanced features like Macros are not available.

So unless there is some other attribute of the Windows RT devices that appeals, you really are just as well going for an Android or iOS device. Personal preference would be Android, but either will likely give a better overall device than anything running RT.