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Tablets Best/most promising full-size tablet

Which is the best/most promising tablet?

  • iPad

    Votes: 92 65.7%

  • Android tablets

    Votes: 10 7.1%

  • Windows RT

    Votes: 5 3.6%

  • Full Windows tablets

    Votes: 29 20.7%

  • None, buy a real laptop

    Votes: 4 2.9%
  • Total voters
    140
skaertus

skaertus

macrumors 601
Original poster
Feb 23, 2009
4,243
1,398
Brazil
Which is the best full-sized tablet current available, and the most promising, in your opinion? Which one do you think will lead the way from now on and is the most likely to become the most desirable in the near future?

• iPad, as the iPad Air is a very thin and light tablet with good battery life and premium materials, and it still runs iOS, which has several apps specifically designed for it

• Android tablets, they are affordable, offer a better cost/benefit, run an open source operating system and there is freedom of choice among the models

• Windows RT tablets, as they are affordable, thin, light, have good battery and still comes with Microsoft Office

• Full Windows tablets, as they offer the full Windows experience, which is unmatched by tablets, and can be as powerful as a laptop (using Haswell) or thin and light, affordable and with good battery (using Bay Trail)
 
zhenya

zhenya

macrumors 604
Jan 6, 2005
6,931
3,681
They all have a pretty good outlook, especially as software that is currently not available or very good on tablets continues to improve.
 
ZBoater

ZBoater

macrumors G3
Jul 2, 2007
8,498
1,325
Sunny Florida
skaertus said:
...• iPad, as the iPad Air is a very thin and light tablet with good battery life and premium materials, and it still runs iOS, which has several apps specifically designed for it...
Click to expand...

Several? As in 475,000? LOL! This has got to be the understatement of the year! :D
 
N

nStyle

macrumors 68000
Dec 6, 2009
1,512
1,067
Not sure if OP has lived under a rock for the past 3 years...this shouldn't be a question.
 
rui no onna

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,836
13,095
Dunno about most promising but I can tell you the least - Windows RT. That thing was dead on arrival and the Surface 2 isn't any better. Microsoft's better off focusing on x86.
 
B

Brittany246

macrumors 6502a
Apr 21, 2013
791
0
It depends. If you want to be productive, I think a full windows tablet is best. For media consumption and apps, I think the iPad is best. For emulators and customization ****, android is best.
 
C

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,385
9,094
Brittany246 said:
It depends. If you want to be productive, I think a full windows tablet is best. For media consumption and apps, I think the iPad is best. For emulators and customization ****, android is best.
Click to expand...

I'd be more "productive" on a Mac than on a Windows tablet. I also think it's a mistake by Microsoft to advertise how much work you can do with surface. I don't think people purchased 170 million iPads because they were looking for a way to get more work done.
 
ZBoater

ZBoater

macrumors G3
Jul 2, 2007
8,498
1,325
Sunny Florida
chabig said:
...and a MacBook Pro runs circles around the Surface Pro.
Click to expand...

Really? You want to compare a laptop to a tablet? Or are you just hung up on Windows vs. iOS vs. OS X?

I think the original topic of THIS thread is full size tablets. Try to stay on point. If you want to start a Windows vs. OS X debate, start it another thread in another forum.

The Surface Pro 2 is a full blown Windows laptop in tablet form. As such, it has a lot more functionality than an iPad, from the ability to connect to devices (you know, like USB and such) to running any Windows software giving you full access to the file system and behaving like a full blown computer vs. a tablet.

I opted to get an MBA and run Parallels on it, but I am not BLIND and I can see how the Surface Pro 2 is more functional TABLET than an iPad. Its comparing apples and oranges.
 
skaertus

skaertus

macrumors 601
Original poster
Feb 23, 2009
4,243
1,398
Brazil
chabig said:
You came to an iPad forum to ask what the best tablet is and are surprised by the response?
Click to expand...


I'm not actually surprised by the response. But it's interesting to see that, while 70% of the respondents (so far) think the iPad is the best choice, all the other 30% think it's full Windows tablets. For an Apple-related forum, the percentage of people who chose a Windows tablet is high.


...and a MacBook Pro runs circles around the Surface Pro.
Click to expand...

Does it? Not in terms of functionality, as Surface Pro runs Windows, and is as functional as any Windows laptop. Perhaps the MacBook Pro has more raw power than the Surface Pro, but that doesn't make it more functional, except for graphic intensive apps.
 
B

Brittany246

macrumors 6502a
Apr 21, 2013
791
0
chabig said:
I'd be more "productive" on a Mac than on a Windows tablet. I also think it's a mistake by Microsoft to advertise how much work you can do with surface. I don't think people purchased 170 million iPads because they were looking for a way to get more work done.
Click to expand...

I'm just talking about tablets, not laptops. Obviously you can be more productive on a laptop.
 
C

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,385
9,094
skaertus

skaertus

macrumors 601
Original poster
Feb 23, 2009
4,243
1,398
Brazil
chabig said:
The MacBook runs Windows too.
Click to expand...

Yes, but that doesn't make the MacBook Pro run circles around the Surface Pro. Both can still perform pretty the same tasks. I can understand if you say that you prefer the MacBook Pro over the Surface Pro for a thousand reasons, but it doesn't mean it's more functional. The iPad, on the other hand, is much less functional than any Windows laptop or tablet.
 
leftywamumonkey

leftywamumonkey

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2010
909
3
California
I'd say the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the future. The 2014 is feature rich, but the only problem is that it's extremely laggy. If it can get faster, slimmer and lighter, it's definitely a nice tablet. That being said, I'm waiting for the retina mini.
 
ZBoater

ZBoater

macrumors G3
Jul 2, 2007
8,498
1,325
Sunny Florida
skaertus said:
...The iPad, on the other hand, is much less functional than any Windows laptop or tablet.
Click to expand...

This was also my point. I was playing with the Surface Pro 2 at Best Buy, and compared to the iPad Air it seemed bigger, but it was still impressive to think they took a full fledged laptop and turned it into a credible tablet. If I didn't already have a MacBook Air and an iPad, I'd be getting a Surface Pro 2. It can do everything I need (update all my gadgets firmware, run flash, connect to US devices, run Quicken for Windows, run Office for Windows, etc.).

But the MBA/iPad combo is hard to beat. Sometimes I just want to check email and browse the web lying in bed. iPad is PERFECT. Sometimes I need to get real work done. I need my MBA.

But since your original question was best/most promising TABLET, then we have to compare the iPad to the Surface Pro 2 to the Nexus 10 etc. And of all those, there is only one TABLET that offers full laptop functionality in a TABLET form. We can argue about OS X and Windows all day long, but that Surface Pro 2 is one sweet looking TABLET that literally runs circles around the iPad in terms of the functionality it provides.

If I could only own ONE device, it would have to be the Surface Pro 2. I could not do everything I need to do with just an iPad.

Thankfully I can have more than one device. :D
 
Night Spring

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,749
7,949
ZBoater said:
But since your original question was best/most promising TABLET, then we have to compare the iPad to the Surface Pro 2 to the Nexus 10 etc. And of all those, there is only one TABLET that offers full laptop functionality in a TABLET form. We can argue about OS X and Windows all day long, but that Surface Pro 2 is one sweet looking TABLET that literally runs circles around the iPad in terms of the functionality it provides.
Click to expand...

But the OP did not define what constitutes "best" in a tablet. If my definition of the best tablet is a device I can curl up with to read books and browse the web in bed, then the iPad wins over the Surface hands down. Yes, the Surface Pro incorporates the functions of both a tablet and laptop -- but the fact that many people prefer to carry an iPad + MacBook rather than just carry a single Surface suggests that the Surface isn't the best tablet, nor is it the best laptop.
 
ZBoater

ZBoater

macrumors G3
Jul 2, 2007
8,498
1,325
Sunny Florida
Night Spring said:
But the OP did not define what constitutes "best" in a tablet. If my definition of the best tablet is a device I can curl up with to read books and browse the web in bed, then the iPad wins over the Surface hands down. Yes, the Surface Pro incorporates the functions of both a tablet and laptop -- but the fact that many people prefer to carry an iPad + MacBook rather than just carry a single Surface suggests that the Surface isn't the best tablet, nor is it the best laptop.
Click to expand...

This is true. Portability is one of the key features of a tablet.

But let's be clear. According to NetMarketShare, Windows has 77% market share vs. 8% iOS and 7% Mac. So despite all this talk of millions of Macs and iPads sold, Windows still rules. By a lot. So a definition of "best" has to take this into account. Sure, for ME, one can be better despite what 77% of the rest of the market is doing. I should know. I chose MBA and iPad. But I made that choice BEFORE the Surface Pro 2 was out.

If I had to make that choice TODAY, it would be a tough one. Being able to use it in bed to read is very important to me also. But being able to run Quicken for Windows is even more important, again to me. I might choose a Surface Pro 2 and an iPad MiniR. :D Size and weight in the tablet space matters. In those aspects I think the iPad is superior. But functionality wise its no contest. The Surface Pro 2 is a full blown computer in a tablet's skin.

Which one is "best" will depend on who is asking and what their individual use and needs are. Although, as I said, if I could only have one device, it would certainly be the Surface Pro 2, because I cannot do everything I need to do with just an iPad.
 
Night Spring

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,749
7,949
ZBoater said:
Which one is "best" will depend on who is asking and what their individual use and needs are. Although, as I said, if I could only have one device, it would certainly be the Surface Pro 2, because I cannot do everything I need to do with just an iPad.
Click to expand...

I do agree that I cannot do everything I need with just the iPad. But if I could only have one device, I think my choice will be the 11 inch MacBook Air. It can run both Windows and OS X, and it's okay for reading in bed, though not ideal. I'm not convinced that the Surface Pro 2 is a good enough tablet to make me forego having an excellent laptop. And I know I just can't get any work done unless the equipment is just right. That's my OCD talking, :p
 
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