Originally Posted by MrHoppy:
“Take a look at Microsoft Surface. It's a full on Windows machine in the form of a tablet with detachable keyboard. I understand it's awesome, though a bit pricey, but that shouldn't be an issue if you were considering an iPad. Maybe wait and see what the Surface Pro 4 is like which should be out fairly soon.
It (Surface 3/ 3 Pro) also has an awesome 3:2 aspect high resolution screen. It's pretty rare to be able to get a non 16:9 screen in new things that run Windows these days.”
I second the Surface, but my personal preference would be to get the Surface 3 at £420 and the Type Cover keyboard at £90
and stick with Windows 8.1. (At least for the time being)
Without the keyboard the Surface 3 is just like an iPad, in that it's a tablet with tablet gestures and navigation. But it can run not only apps but all Windows software, so you can run Firefox, Chrome, Photoshop, iTunes, Word, Excel, anything. You can also have separate user accounts, so you can let your kids use it without them reading your emails or looking at your photos.
But add the keyboard and switch from the Metro touch/tablet screen of Windows 8 to the traditional desktop and it has the full UI for keyboard/mouse use, in other words it's a laptop. You can even plug in an external monitor or your HDTV and run it as a dual monitor PC using both screens.
Unlike the iPad you can easily add extra memory with a micro SD card and the kick stand means it will stand up. Even in Metro tablet use it can run two apps side by side, so you can look up Wikipedia while writing in Word, or video a lecture while taking notes in One Note, or listen to a Youtube video while reading the news etc.
My preference for sticking with Windows 8.1 is that Windows 10 has removed a lot of the tablet gestures and when using it as a tablet is not as good. For example W8.1 Surface has two versions of IE, a desktop one and a touch one for use in tablet mode, with big finger friendly touch controls. Windows 10 has Edge, which is really desktop only and working it with fingers is really fiddly.
I am just about to upgrade my main PC to W10, but my tablet I think I will restore W8.1.
I assume MS will address these points in time, but at the moment Windows 10 is not tablet friendly IMHO.
But the Surface rocks.