Why bother with Surface Pro when THIS is available CHEAPER

[echrada]

This is my little Acer W510, thinner than Ipad or Surface RT, weighs less than Ipad or Surface RT, runs full Windows 8 Pro (after upgrade) and is a brilliant piece of kit. And cost a whole lot less than Surface Pro - in actual fact cost £20 more than Surface RT.

 

[cluberti]

The only caveat is that even under minor load in x86 apps, the performance of the app can be affected and the battery life will suffer. However, that's not unexpected from this class of CPU, and knowing that this is a great alternative to an RT device if you might need an x86 app to run in a pinch, but expect to use this as a tablet in most cases. It doesn't come with an Office license, though, so the gains in battery life (9/18 hours) over a device like the Surface RT are offset by the cost of the Office 2013 Home and Student license not being included, which would add about $140 USD to the price.

I do love the design and battery life, however, so those might be perfectly reasonable tradeoffs for someone who's looking for a really good tablet that can run light-load x86 software in a pinch.

 

[dirtyvu]

you really shouldn't be comparing the acer to the surface pro. the acer is running the atom processor which is decent but not even within eye shot of the mobile Core processors. I could run my Photoshop or Premiere comfortably on the Surface Pro. But not on the Acer. I could totally see the Surface Pro as a desktop replacement. have a secondary monitor on the desktop, my printer, my scanner, etc. flanking my desk. I don't see the Acer as that. and that's why choices is a great thing. different devices for different needs.

 

[Ray8]

you really shouldn't be comparing the acer to the surface pro. the acer is running the atom processor which is decent but not even within eye shot of the mobile Core processors. I could run my Photoshop or Premiere comfortably on the Surface Pro. But not on the Acer. I could totally see the Surface Pro as a desktop replacement. have a secondary monitor on the desktop, my printer, my scanner, etc. flanking my desk. I don't see the Acer as that. and that's why choices is a great thing. different devices for different needs.

My Gigabyte S1080 runs an Atom N570 and I can use Photoshop, Lightroom, Dreamweaver as well as all Office programs etc quite comfortably with it, in single as well as dual monitor configuration. It already connects through my LAN (WiFi and Ethernet) to all my peripheral devices. This elevation of the Surface to some hallowed status is quite amusing.

 

[dirtyvu]

It's not about elevation of the Surface. It's about preferring the mobile Core processors above the Atom. If you want the i5, the Acer and Gigabyte are nonfactors.

 

[Ray8]

It's not about elevation of the Surface. It's about preferring the mobile Core processors above the Atom. If you want the i5, the Acer and Gigabyte are nonfactors.

I was refuting your statement regarding what can or cannot be run effectively on devices with Atom processors. What you prefer to use is your choice. Also: GIGABYTE - Slate & Tablet - Slate & Tablet - S series - S1185

 

[jimbo45]

you really shouldn't be comparing the acer to the surface pro. the acer is running the atom processor which is decent but not even within eye shot of the mobile Core processors. I could run my Photoshop or Premiere comfortably on the Surface Pro. But not on the Acer. I could totally see the Surface Pro as a desktop replacement. have a secondary monitor on the desktop, my printer, my scanner, etc. flanking my desk. I don't see the Acer as that. and that's why choices is a great thing. different devices for different needs.

Hi there
similar thin Acers can be had with Intel i3,i5 and i7 processors in them -- for me an 11.6 inch one with the i3 is more than adequate for my travelling needs and cheaper than the Surface RT Pro which might be "Too much Tablet and not enough PC" - I'd have to wait and see the exact models and specs though (when finally these arrive).

(The trick with laptops having an i3 processor (benefits from much longer battery life compared with I7) is to fit 8GB RAM and an SSD then you get max performance even from a lower powered processor. A lot of I7 powered devices have the poor old I7 in a wait state since it's usually waiting for I/O on slowish spinners to complete).

I have NO probs on my ACER V105 running Photoshop CS6 extended (the version with the 3-D facility) - using a USB3 ext drive for photoshop layers / scratch space etc.

An 11.6 inch thin Ultrabook type of laptop isn't any more cumbersome to carry around than say an Ipad -- and infinitely more versatile - especially with USB3 port(s). Output via HDMI is also extremely good even to a large monitor.

I really need to see the Surface Pro in the flesh as I can't see the difference between having one of these with a keyboard or an HP ENVY "Convertible" PC or similar make.

IMO the "Bog standard Tablet" is now "Yesterdays" type of device -- convertibles are where it's going to happen and you'll have to compare the surface pro with one of these.


Unless the Surface Pro has either a decent docking station or a decent set of external ports I doubt whether the standard SSD in it would be large enough for doing a lot pf Photoshop - and if the tablet does NOT have an SSD then even with an I7 processor fitted into the tablet a lower powered laptop fitted WITH an SSD would KILL IT. Again I'll have to wait and see the physical device when Ms finally get these out of the door.

(The tablet with an I7 in it would probably need a decent size battery too or battery life would be horribly short. !!)
Cheers
jimbo

 

[echrada]

you really shouldn't be comparing the acer to the surface pro. the acer is running the atom processor which is decent but not even within eye shot of the mobile Core processors. I could run my Photoshop or Premiere comfortably on the Surface Pro. But not on the Acer. I could totally see the Surface Pro as a desktop replacement. have a secondary monitor on the desktop, my printer, my scanner, etc. flanking my desk. I don't see the Acer as that. and that's why choices is a great thing. different devices for different needs.

Did not compare it!

 

[freeky1]

Acer makes the W700, which is the same price as the Surface, has an 11.6" HD screen, and has a Core processor. I have the Fujitsu Q702, which is lighter than the Surface, has an 11.6" screen, can be purchased with or without a keyboard dock, and has a Core processor. There are many alternatives to the Surface. It just seems that Microsoft could have been one of the first to the party, but in stead, are one of the last.

 

[dirtyvu]

yes, I read about the Acer W700 and that's an interesting design. Arstechnica has a good article about it:
Review: Acer’s Iconia W700 is an Ultrabook in a tablet’s body | Ars Technica

 

[esspee]

I really like the W700 concept. Engadget (granted they are mostly iPhans) was not kind in their review - basically complaining that it is too fat and bulky to be a tablet or too cumbersome with all its pieces (stand, k&m) to replace the ultrabook you travel with. Ars Technica seemed more fair in its review and geared it around what I envisioned using the W700 as - a light desktop replacement that maybe sits in the kitchen and could also be pulled off its dock and toted around the house.

I really like the W700 but Ars makes a few observations that concern me. 1) No expandable memory card slot 2) Dock does not adjust to viewing tablet while standing 3) No digitizer/pen. Otherwise, I think it looks like a pretty outstanding package with everything that is included. I wish the Surface has some sort of desktop dock since it already has a pen and memory slot along with all the same specs.

My other concern is how 'usable' is a 10.5" desktop? In actuality, 13-15" maybe even a better form factor for this type of device. Not the size of tablet you want to travel much with, but just poking around with it on the couch every now and then would be fine.

 

[cluberti]

I've been working with the Samsung Ativ PC Pro for awhile, and after using both the W700 and the Samsung, I prefer the Samsung precisely because of the things the W700 doesn't do as well with - namely the dock hinge makes the screen adjustable (to a point) when docked, the keyboard and trackpad are usable, it has WiDi support, double the HDD space, good pen support (and storage on the unit), a MicroSD slot, and weighs less - all for just about $200 USD more than the W700.

In the end I'm still going to end up using a Surface Pro as my primary computing device, partially because the wife has [DEL]stolen[/DEL] started using the Samsung and likes it as well over the W700 we had been testing, and partially because I like my Surface RT so much with the type cover.