Why I think Windows 8 beats iOS and Android

[goodintentions]

I've always been on-the-go type of person. And for what I do, I really need something that is mobile and long lasting.

Before any of these touch devices came out, I tried a lot of things offered in the market. Laptops were clunky, ultrabooks were little better, and netbooks were underpowered and overworked.

So, when the ipad came out, I gave it a try and for a while I used that with a bt keyboard. Then the asus transformer came out and I finally found something that was to my liking. I could use it in both tablet and laptop mode, depending on what I'm using it for at that moment. But again, I ran into a lot of the problems associated with a mobile OS suddenly thrusted into a more serious, big boy item.

When MS announced the development of windows 8, I literally drooled for it for a whole year. Again, I needed something for real serious work that is light weight and long battery lasting. Specifically, I needed to be able to read and edit excel files and type out word documents for professional use. I've bought every office app in the google play store and the iOS appstore. Nothing ever came close to MS office.

When win8 came out late last year, I bought one and installed it on my i7 desktop homebuilt machine. Also bought a 24" touch screen monitor just for the heck of it. You know what the first thing I did with my new win8 UI? I installed a 3rd party app to put in a start menu for the desktop. So, I can understand why a lot of people hate the new UI.

After a while, I uninstalled it and tried to use it as it was intended, and holy cow it works great.

My next step was finding the right win8 tablet/laptop hybrid to work during my regular work day hours and my long commute on the train. After buying several win8 devices and selling them on ebay, I've settled on the HP envy x2. IMHO, this is currently the best w8 touch device out there. Nothing compares to its build quality.

See, a lot of people disses the atom processor that came in this device. My question to them has always been do you really want to work on autocad or photoshop for long periods of time on an 11.6" screen? Why do we need an i5 or i7 core inside what we would consider a mobile device? I have not had a single problem with the speed of this atom processor on win8, and trust me I really put this thing to use. It is a workhorse for what I put it through. And the battery lasts literally the whole day with heavy usage.

So, after almost 3 years of using iOS and android for my needs, I've settled on a win8 device that seems to have everything I need. And at $525 price tag that I got it for at the time, it was a steal. I recently just bought another one for $450 for my boyfriend because he's going back to college. He loves it.

Now, remember that I came from iOS and android. There's just no comparison between win8 and the other 2 OS'es. Win8 is ultra responsive. No lag. No freezing issues. I don't understand how people can compare this to the vista fiaso.

Now, there are some gripes that I have, and hopefully we'll see improvements in the near future.

(1) There seems to be a lack of quality apps in the MS store. And devs seem to be very slow at adapting to this platform.

(2) 75/25 split! I know the upcoming win blue will give us the ability to snap in the apps at any size. But come on! This should have been included from the beginning. Most apps can't be used when rendered at 25% of the screen. It's awful! I've been considering installing the leaked version of windows blue and side loading the apps that I use just so I could have a 50/50 split.

Other than that, I'm pretty happy with this new platform.

 

[Coke Robot]

This is true! :thumb:

I don't get why people buy an ipad and still have a PC to do actual work with. It such a supreme waste of dollars just for a mere toy versus the Windows platform and an x86 processor.

 

[fourthofjuly]

iPad came first before the Win8 tablet/PCs. And people got accustomed to the fluidity of the iPad and other tablets's interface. Then MS business slowed down a bit because of the iPad and tablet takeover. And so MS came up with the Win 8 UI to try to get get back the share they lost in the computing business. But unfortunately, MS did not come close. And when people think of Windows, they're mind is locked on to the XP interface especially on desktop PCs. People need more time for the big change WIn 8 was made.
I don't hate WIn 8. I have iOs, androids and both Win 7 and Win 8 but I use each one of them for specific purpose. When I am lying down, I use the tablets. When I am outside, I use the smartphone. When you have kids, iPad is something you will not regret buying. But when I need a reliable machine for work and other productivity tasks, I turn to my Win 7 machine. And When I want some entertainment, I turn to my Win 8 HTPC.
Don't blame or hate people for buying expensive toys. It's no big deal if they can afford it. Think outside the box.

 

[XweAponX]

With me, it's not "I have a Tablet or iPhone so I don't need anything else" - I USE my tablets and iPhones WITH my PC. My iPhone is a hand that sicks out of my PC, I can connect to it from 1,000 miles away and edit stuff, move stuff around, even control the OS via Teamviewer.

I can do this, at this point, better with iOS than I can with any Windows 8 device I have. Eventually, Windows 8 will start having apps that give more productivity, but that is not the case now.

 

[Coke Robot]

You know them fancy Windows 8 tablet PCs have a thing called a Desktop with hundreds and hundreds of thousands of different pieces of software? And it's actually easy to work with that software with touch.

 

[pparks1]

You know them fancy Windows 8 tablet PCs have a thing called a Desktop with hundreds and hundreds of thousands of different pieces of software? And it's actually easy to work with that software with touch.

As long as they aren't running RT.

 

[Coke Robot]

You know them fancy Windows 8 tablet PCs have a thing called a Desktop with hundreds and hundreds of thousands of different pieces of software? And it's actually easy to work with that software with touch.

As long as they aren't running RT.

As I specified Windows 8...

 

[XweAponX]

If I ever get a Windows 8 Tablet, I hope I can get it with full windows 8 not just RT. Ya know what I really, really like about Widows 8 is using my Skydrive account, all of my desktops and Metro settings and apps can be synced across to all computers and devices. So it basically IS like using one computer.

 

[turbofish]

My phone (Note 2), tablet (although I don't use it as much anymore since I got my Note 2) , laptop and desktop all have their purpose.

 

[Coke Robot]

If I ever get a Windows 8 Tablet, I hope I can get it with full windows 8 not just RT. Ya know what I really, really like about Widows 8 is using my Skydrive account, all of my desktops and Metro settings and apps can be synced across to all computers and devices. So it basically IS like using one computer.

You can pretty much use Windows RT to use the Sync your Settings feature, just sign in with your Microsoft Account and that's pretty much it.

 

[goodintentions]

Win Rt was my first crack at windows tablet. I was happy with it until I needed to print something out. It doesn't have driver for my Samsung printer, so I called Samsung support. The first tech guy sent me to a page with windows 8 driver. I explained to him that I had windows RT, not windows 8. And I kid you not this guy told me the two were the same and so driver for one should work for the other. After I unsuccessfully trying to convince him that windows RT ran on ARM processor and win8 was intel which meant they were incompatible, I asked to speak to someone else. So, the second guy came on and I explained the situation. He hesitated for a moment and told me the exe file from that page should also work for windows RT, since RT and 8 were the same.

Seeing how I wasn't going to go anywhere with it, I promptly thanked him and hung up. So, next I emailed Microsoft support. Promptly got a response from an MS tech support guy. He linked me to a page outlining how to install printer driver for windows 8. I emailed him back telling him I had windows RT, not windows 8. He responded saying the driver for one should work for the other because they were the same. Then a few minutes after that I got another response from him saying my printer must not be supported by RT. So, I'm guessing he caught on to his mistake.

I became convinced then that if 2 Samsung and 1 MS tech support guys thought RT and 8 were the same thing, then there is no chance in hell win RT will get the support that it needed. So, I went and returned my windows RT tablet/laptop hybrid and bought a win8 one.

The point is I'm sure RT is great and all, but I predict it will die off simply because it won't get the support from manufacturers that it needed.

 

[Coke Robot]

Win Rt was my first crack at windows tablet. I was happy with it until I needed to print something out. It doesn't have driver for my Samsung printer, so I called Samsung support. The first tech guy sent me to a page with windows 8 driver. I explained to him that I had windows RT, not windows 8. And I kid you not this guy told me the two were the same and so driver for one should work for the other. After I unsuccessfully trying to convince him that windows RT ran on ARM processor and win8 was intel which meant they were incompatible, I asked to speak to someone else. So, the second guy came on and I explained the situation. He hesitated for a moment and told me the exe file from that page should also work for windows RT, since RT and 8 were the same.

Seeing how I wasn't going to go anywhere with it, I promptly thanked him and hung up. So, next I emailed Microsoft support. Promptly got a response from an MS tech support guy. He linked me to a page outlining how to install printer driver for windows 8. I emailed him back telling him I had windows RT, not windows 8. He responded saying the driver for one should work for the other because they were the same. Then a few minutes after that I got another response from him saying my printer must not be supported by RT. So, I'm guessing he caught on to his mistake.

I became convinced then that if 2 Samsung and 1 MS tech support guys thought RT and 8 were the same thing, then there is no chance in hell win RT will get the support that it needed. So, I went and returned my windows RT tablet/laptop hybrid and bought a win8 one.

The point is I'm sure RT is great and all, but I predict it will die off simply because it won't get the support from manufacturers that it needed.

Wow, that is ridiculous!

How old is your printer? Windows RT has support for about 12,000 or so devices, so things won't get covered. But I do believe Microsoft did go out of their way to support Windows 7 era hardware for RT though...not sure.

I don't know about Windows RT personally. On one hand, yes it's a good alternative for people who are looking for an android or ipad tablet but still need some PC-like functionality. A PC-lite maybe. But then again, if Intel can provide 200 dollar Atom based tablets whereas Windows RT tablets started at 500 dollars and on sale for about 300; it really makes the future of RT questionable at that point.

 

[goodintentions]

My printer is actually one of the newer Samsung laser ones. Just bought it a few months ago.

 

[Coke Robot]

Ahhh, it may actually be too new I'd imagine for Windows RT.