Tablets Best/most promising full-size tablet

[AdonisSMU]

Actually, the Surface Pro is more mobile than a laptop. It is thinner and lighter than a laptop. It may not be as thin and light as an iPad, though.

I don't know why people keep stating that the iPad is better for consumption. Apple used that to market the iPad, and brought this consumption vs. creation thing. I've used computers for about 20 years now, and I had never heard this consumption vs. creation dicotomy before. It's an ingenious market creation by the folks at Apple, and people are really buying into it.

The fact is that the iPad is not a good device for input. It has no physical keyboard and the virtual keyboard is not half as good. And it has no mouse support; fingers may be fun to use with the touch screen, but they lack the precision of a pointing device. Therefore, the iPad is not good for input. But, as it is only a screen, it can be taken easily with one hand. You can sit on the couch and read on the iPad like it was a newspaper. Then Apple comes with this consumption thing. Pure marketing.

Sorry but the Surface isnt more mobile than a MBA. Surface actually makes inputting text with a tablet part harder than an iPad because of its shape and because of the not very good keyboard inputting text via keyboard is also harder than a regular laptop. Whereas the iPad can be used to enter text really easily by spliting the keyboard in half or not splitting it in half and using portrait mode.

The iPad is better at videos, book reading, pictures, web surfing and web apps than a laptop. The iPad totally changed the way I use my laptop. Instead of sitting around all day glued to a table and chair... I go out and if I want to look something up, shoot off an email, or surf the internet I pull out my iPad. I spend my time using my laptop for programming specifically....and even then I have my iPad sitting next to me so I can look stuff up with it.

95% of the people with a laptop computer dont need more than what an iPad offers them...and of those 5% who do, they dont need it most of the time. I'd say the whole...I use my computer for "work" is a marketing gimmick used by microsoft to get businesses and people to force people into using pcs and software hey hate using.

People are only using iPads for work because they like using them so much so they dont want to have to use their pc. In many situations the iPad is actually the more productive device for work.

 

[chabig]

The fact is that the iPad is not a good device for input. It has no physical keyboard...

Since we're doing a lot of comparison to Surface, I should note that Surface also has no physical keyboard. You have to attack a separate device to get one, exactly like the iPad, which has many physical keyboard attachments from which to choose not to mention it works with any bluetooth keyboard.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Since when is a tablet defined by the OS and not the hardware? I still consider the Surface Pro 2 a tablet. It's definitely not an ultrabook and it still has the metro side.

Surface Pro 2 or next edition will be my next tablet over the iPad or any Android. My second choice would be a Galaxy Note tablet.

 

[skaertus]

Since we're doing a lot of comparison to Surface, I should note that Surface also has no physical keyboard. You have to attack a separate device to get one, exactly like the iPad, which has many physical keyboard attachments from which to choose not to mention it works with any bluetooth keyboard.

There's a big difference here.

First, Microsoft provides a physical keyboard that works as a cover for the Surface. You may use an external keyboard with the iPad, but is not a solution specifically designed by Apple for its tablet.

Second, Microsoft Surface has mouse support. If you plug a mouse to it, it will recognize the mouse. It recognizes the trackpad of Microsoft's keyboard. The iPad doesn't support mouses. And that's the biggest difference. A finger is not half as precise as the pointer on a mouse.

Anyway, this is not an attack to Apple. Any tablet is very imprecise as an input device. You have to rely on your fingers. Yes, that's natural and intuitive, but that's also raw and not precise. A computer has the appropriate tools (mouse/keyboard) that allows the user to be precise.

Since when is a tablet defined by the OS and not the hardware? I still consider the Surface Pro 2 a tablet. It's definitely not an ultrabook and it still has the metro side.

Surface Pro 2 or next edition will be my next tablet over the iPad or any Android. My second choice would be a Galaxy Note tablet.

If the Surface Pro 2 is a laptop, than the iPad Air is a smartphone.

 

[chabig]

A finger is not half as precise as the pointer on a mouse.

I've heard this before but I don't understand it. Precise for what? Hitting screen targets that were designed for mice? I'd say that if you require a mouse for a tablet, the software isn't optimized for a tablet.

 

[skaertus]

I've heard this before but I don't understand it. Precise for what? Hitting screen targets that were designed for mice? I'd say that if you require a mouse for a tablet, the software isn't optimized for a tablet.

A finger is much larger than a mouse cursor. For instance, when I am writing text on my iPad, I find it difficult to place the cursor where I want it to, because my finger lacks precision. However, it is easy to place the mouse cursor on any part of the text in a computer. I found it really painful to write on the iPad because of that, even when using a physical keyboard.

 

[skaertus]

I think we'll see something interesting in 2014.

Apple's iPad is of course the gold standard for all tablets. The new iPad Air is thin and light, at just 1 lb, and the iPad Mini now has a retina display. Both seem to be incredible devices, although I have not yet seen either. Apple may release an iPad Pro sometime during 2014, and that is likely to be a huge success just like the others. But the iPad has its own shortcomings. iOS is still a very limited operating system, and that limits the ability of the iPad to compete in features with other tablets. The iPad is far more elegant, thin and light than every other device, but it cannot compete with Microsoft Surface Pro, for instance, in terms of what it can do. Apple may choose to remedy this by improving iOS, but that may only happen by the end of the year.

As for Android, I don't see much improvement. There are some fine tablets running Android, but, at least for me, the problem is Android itself. Android seems to me the cheap alternative. It is neither elegant as iOS nor useful as Windows. I just don't see a bright future for Android in tablets.

But what I really would like to see is how Windows tablets will perform in 2014. So far, these tablets have been poor as tablets. Windows RT never really caught up. Full Windows tablets were powerful, but they tended to be heavy and to have poor battery life. And they were expensive. The first-gen Surface Pro, for instance, had a 4-hour battery life and weighed much more than an iPad and, yet, it costed US$ 899 at least. The second-gen at least has a better battery life.

The game-changer could be Bay Trail, the new cheap Atom platform for Intel, which promises the full experience computing inside a tablet. I saw some really interesting designs, although I had not yet have the opportunity to see any of them. Dell Venue 11 Pro looks like an interesting machine, with a 1920x1080 10.8" screen and a US$ 499 price tag running Windows 8.1 (http://www.dell.com/us/p/dell-venue-11-pro/pd). Looks like an underpowered yet thinner and lighter Surface Pro with a better battery life and costing almost half of the price. HP Omni 10 has a 1920x1200 10" screen, but it comes at a US$ 399 price, but with only 32 GB SSD (http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/HP-Omni-10-5600US-Tablet/productID.289455000). And then there is the Sharp Mebius Pad, with a 10.1" IGZO display capable of a 2560x1600 resolution, and which should be available in the US during 2014 (http://www.designntrend.com/article...-what-can-we-expect-from-these-10-tablets.htm).

In 2014, the next-gen of these chips, will use a 14nm process, and they will allow even more thin and light Windows tablets. Will Windows tablets gain some significant market share then? Won't they even surpass the iPad, given the affordable price tag for a full-featured computer in the form of a tablet (the same price as an iPad that, despite its beauty and elegance, cannot even run side-by-side apps)?

 

[RickTaylor]

The one non-Apple tablet that has me interested is the Galaxy Note 10.1, or perhaps even the announced 12.2. I'm a math instructor, and I wonder if I could use it as a white board, loading problems and diagrams on a screen, projecting it using a vga connector, and then using the s-pen to write out the solutions the way I'd do at a chalkboard.

 

[Night Spring]

In 2014, the next-gen of these chips, will use a 14nm process, and they will allow even more thin and light Windows tablets. Will Windows tablets gain some significant market share then? Won't they even surpass the iPad, given the affordable price tag for a full-featured computer in the form of a tablet (the same price as an iPad that, despite its beauty and elegance, cannot even run side-by-side apps)?

The thing is, I don't get the appeal of side-by-side apps on a tablet. It's one of those ideas that seem useful in theory, but when you have that feature, you rarely use it. In all the years I've had iPads, I can count only a few instances where I've needed two iOS apps open side-by-side. It was usually sufficient to jump back and forth between two apps. And when I really needed two apps open at the same time, I've used two iPads, or my iPad and my iPhone.

And while the OS isn't unimportant, the real battleground is in apps and services. For instance, Apple is way ahead of Microsoft in having an office suite that is optimized for multi-touch input. Telling people "you can run all your legacy desktop apps on this tablet" isn't the way to sell people TABLETS, people will think, "why not just do that on a desktop?" You need to tell people, "here are all these apps made specifically for the tablet" -- and Microsoft is way behind on that front.

Sure, Windows 8 hardware might be getting more powerful, portable, and affordable, but what is really needed for the platform to take off is applications. In the meanwhile, in Jony Ive's secret lab in Cupertino, there probably are all these prototypes of hybrid machines that can switch between iOS and OS X, or run a hybrid OS that combines features of iOS and OS X. Which will happen first, that the Windows camp will put together a compelling set of tablet apps, or Apple will release its hybrid hardware? Personally, I think the rumors of iPad Pro is Apple gearing up to release its hybrid machine. So yes, the next year or two is going to be interesting.

 

[skaertus]

The thing is, I don't get the appeal of side-by-side apps on a tablet. It's one of those ideas that seem useful in theory, but when you have that feature, you rarely use it. In all the years I've had iPads, I can count only a few instances where I've needed two iOS apps open side-by-side. It was usually sufficient to jump back and forth between two apps. And when I really needed two apps open at the same time, I've used two iPads, or my iPad and my iPhone.

And while the OS isn't unimportant, the real battleground is in apps and services. For instance, Apple is way ahead of Microsoft in having an office suite that is optimized for multi-touch input. Telling people "you can run all your legacy desktop apps on this tablet" isn't the way to sell people TABLETS, people will think, "why not just do that on a desktop?" You need to tell people, "here are all these apps made specifically for the tablet" -- and Microsoft is way behind on that front.

Sure, Windows 8 hardware might be getting more powerful, portable, and affordable, but what is really needed for the platform to take off is applications. In the meanwhile, in Jony Ive's secret lab in Cupertino, there probably are all these prototypes of hybrid machines that can switch between iOS and OS X, or run a hybrid OS that combines features of iOS and OS X. Which will happen first, that the Windows camp will put together a compelling set of tablet apps, or Apple will release its hybrid hardware? Personally, I think the rumors of iPad Pro is Apple gearing up to release its hybrid machine. So yes, the next year or two is going to be interesting.

That's an interesting point of view.

In fact, I don't think a tablet would benefit much from two apps opened at the same time. Sometimes it may, but rarely, I would guess.

The real benefit from using side-by-side apps would come when using it as a laptop. In my mind, the line that separates a laptop and a tablet is somewhat blurry. I will explain why.

Four years ago, nobody cared about tablets. Sometimes they were just seen as touch-screen laptops that formed a niche in the market. Then, when the iPad came, the sucess was astonishing, and a new category of products seemed to have been created. But it wasn't. An iPad, and any other tablet, performs a very similar role as a laptop: it is a mobile computing device. You may say a laptop is better for A and a tablet is better for B, but the fact is that if you have only US$ 500 of cash available, you have to choose between them, and one will have to perform the tasks that the other does. And it can be done. It would like be choosing between coffee or tea. They may be different, but, in a way, they perform similar tasks.

And, when these manufacturers come with convertible designs, then I think: well, one can have a device that is both a laptop and a tablet at the same time.

But let's go to the world of real usage. I do have a MacBook Pro and an iPad. The iPad is definitely more portable, but it has its limitations. It doesn't run Microsoft Office, nor any other full-featured office suite which is fully compatible with Office. It doesn't run side-by-side apps. It doesn't even multi-task properly. Then, every day I have to choose one of them to go to work. The iPad is thinner, lighter and more portable. If I spend the whole day in front of my desk, with my desktop within reach, then I could go with the iPad. But then there is a probability that I have an external meeting, and that I need to use Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, or that I have to use side-by-side apps. It can't be done on the iPad. You may of course say that the iPad has Pages or Keynote and that these apps could do the task. They could, but I cannot assure to my clients 100% compatibility with Microsoft Office, and every client expects to receive files which are 100% compatible with Microsoft Office. In the end, I always take the MacBook Pro with me, and the iPad stays home. Then, if I have to travel, is even worse. What if I have to do some serious work stuff, and I only have the iPad with me? That's why I always take the MacBook Pro. And the iPad goes in the backseat all the time. In the end, I feel that I hardly use my iPad. I don't even know where it is right now.

If you forget for a minute the categorization of these products as laptops or tablets, and think of them as devices, then the iPad will be a very well-designed device, but very limited in what it can do.

Other people may not have the same needs as me, but perhaps they will soon perceive that they don't actually need both a laptop and a tablet. Just one device could do all they need. But if the iPad is too limited, people may start shifting to Windows devices instead. Some of them are already very compelling. As you said, Apple may well be working on something to unite its tablets and laptops. The idea is certainly interesting and, if it has not yet been correctyl done, it's probably because the current state of tech does not allow it. But it will soon.

 

[Night Spring]

That's an interesting point of view.

In fact, I don't think a tablet would benefit much from two apps opened at the same time. Sometimes it may, but rarely, I would guess.

The real benefit from using side-by-side apps would come when using it as a laptop. In my mind, the line that separates a laptop and a tablet is somewhat blurry. I will explain why.

Four years ago, nobody cared about tablets. Sometimes they were just seen as touch-screen laptops that formed a niche in the market. Then, when the iPad came, the sucess was astonishing, and a new category of products seemed to have been created. But it wasn't. An iPad, and any other tablet, performs a very similar role as a laptop: it is a mobile computing device. You may say a laptop is better for A and a tablet is better for B, but the fact is that if you have only US$ 500 of cash available, you have to choose between them, and one will have to perform the tasks that the other does. And it can be done. It would like be choosing between coffee or tea. They may be different, but, in a way, they perform similar tasks.

And, when these manufacturers come with convertible designs, then I think: well, one can have a device that is both a laptop and a tablet at the same time.

But let's go to the world of real usage. I do have a MacBook Pro and an iPad. The iPad is definitely more portable, but it has its limitations. It doesn't run Microsoft Office, nor any other full-featured office suite which is fully compatible with Office. It doesn't run side-by-side apps. It doesn't even multi-task properly. Then, every day I have to choose one of them to go to work. The iPad is thinner, lighter and more portable. If I spend the whole day in front of my desk, with my desktop within reach, then I could go with the iPad. But then there is a probability that I have an external meeting, and that I need to use Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, or that I have to use side-by-side apps. It can't be done on the iPad. You may of course say that the iPad has Pages or Keynote and that these apps could do the task. They could, but I cannot assure to my clients 100% compatibility with Microsoft Office, and every client expects to receive files which are 100% compatible with Microsoft Office. In the end, I always take the MacBook Pro with me, and the iPad stays home. Then, if I have to travel, is even worse. What if I have to do some serious work stuff, and I only have the iPad with me? That's why I always take the MacBook Pro. And the iPad goes in the backseat all the time. In the end, I feel that I hardly use my iPad. I don't even know where it is right now.

If you forget for a minute the categorization of these products as laptops or tablets, and think of them as devices, then the iPad will be a very well-designed device, but very limited in what it can do.

Other people may not have the same needs as me, but perhaps they will soon perceive that they don't actually need both a laptop and a tablet. Just one device could do all they need. But if the iPad is too limited, people may start shifting to Windows devices instead. Some of them are already very compelling. As you said, Apple may well be working on something to unite its tablets and laptops. The idea is certainly interesting and, if it has not yet been correctyl done, it's probably because the current state of tech does not allow it. But it will soon.

Your real life usage example is interesting, and as far as work usage is concerned, is not that far from my usage. When I'm doing my job, I need Word, and I do all my work on my desktop or laptop, and I hardly ever use my iPad.

But where the iPad shines for me is after work hours. I've taken to leaving my laptop at the office. I have a desktop at home, which I now use rarely. Only thing I do on the desktop is convert file formats and manage my media collection. For everything else, I use the iPad. Email with friends, iMessage and FaceTime with my mom, browsing the web, reading ebooks, casual games.

Before the iPad, I used to have to sit at a desk for all these things, or do it on a laptop, which despite the name always felt large and awkward in my lap. Every time I used a laptop on a sofa or in bed, I'd wish I could take the keyboard off.

Now, Windows hybrids attempt to be a device that can be both a laptop and a tablet -- and obviously, there's an advantage to just having a single device instead of two. It just seems logical that as technology improves, a single device should be able to do both functions, which is why I think Apple will eventually release a hybrid. But the way I see it, none of the current hybrids are quite there yet. For instance, the Surface seems like an okay tablet, but not a very good laptop (screen too small, keyboard small and not ideal type experience). So for now, I prefer to have two devices -- an MacBook Air for work, and iPad for everything else. And for my non-work uses, it doesn't matter that the iPad is more limited, because I don't need those extra functions.

And the fact is, there are many users out there who just need the iPad, and don't need the extra functions provided by "full" computers. For instance, my boss has been buying countless netbooks and laptops, which he thinks he needs because he wants to check email and surf the internet while he is on business trips. I and the other IT people have been trying to convince him that all he needs is an iPad, because really, he does not ever type anything himself, all he ever does is READ the email and then call the office to tell us how to respond. I tell you, netbooks are a pain to configure and maintain. It would make my life so much easier if he'd just use an iPad!

 

[Technarchy]

iPad. This is not hard.

 

[sracer]

The thing is, I don't get the appeal of side-by-side apps on a tablet. It's one of those ideas that seem useful in theory, but when you have that feature, you rarely use it. In all the years I've had iPads, I can count only a few instances where I've needed two iOS apps open side-by-side. It was usually sufficient to jump back and forth between two apps. And when I really needed two apps open at the same time, I've used two iPads, or my iPad and my iPhone.

The usefulness of having more than one app on a tablet screen is greatly affected by the aspect ratio. On a 4:3 device (like the iPad), it is impractical to have more than one app. But on the 16:9 AR of the Surface, the ability to have one app occupy 25%, 30%, 40%, or 50% leaves a sizable and usable portion for another app.

There's also the void of missing functionality. When one doesn't have a function, they don't always miss it, and eventually come to accept its absence. I own both an iPad 4 (and have owned at least one iPad since day-1 of gen 1) and a Surface RT and I really didn't miss the features lacking in the iPad until I bought an RT. Suddenly what became so easy and natural on the RT caused irritation with my use of the iPad.

My iPad is still my primary tablet, but the RT has shown me what is possible...

 

[Night Spring]

The usefulness of having more than one app on a tablet screen is greatly affected by the aspect ratio. On a 4:3 device (like the iPad), it is impractical to have more than one app. But on the 16:9 AR of the Surface, the ability to have one app occupy 25%, 30%, 40%, or 50% leaves a sizable and usable portion for another app.

There's also the void of missing functionality. When one doesn't have a function, they don't always miss it, and eventually come to accept its absence. I own both an iPad 4 (and have owned at least one iPad since day-1 of gen 1) and a Surface RT and I really didn't miss the features lacking in the iPad until I bought an RT. Suddenly what became so easy and natural on the RT caused irritation with my use of the iPad.

My iPad is still my primary tablet, but the RT has shown me what is possible...

Yes, I get that sometimes you don't know what you are missing until you have it. But even on my 13 inch MacBook Air, I mostly use my apps full screen. I think in the past half year or so, I only opened two windows side by side once, when I needed to compare contents of two directories. So for *my* usage, I feel pretty confident that I wouldn't use side by side windows on screens less than 15 inches. I understand other people find this feature useful, but it's not something I would use on smaller screens.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Not all android tablets are equal. I also don't see the point in the surface. It would be like having my laptop on a tablet and that doesn't interest me. If I wanted all the office applications I'd just get an ultrabook, to give me a more portable laptop. If I was going to invest in a full size tablet again the only 3 I would consider are the ipad air, the Samsung galaxy note 10.1 2014 edition and at a push the nexus 10.

 

[sracer]

Not all android tablets are equal. I also don't see the point in the surface. It would be like having my laptop on a tablet and that doesn't interest me. If I wanted all the office applications I'd just get an ultrabook, to give me a more portable laptop. If I was going to invest in a full size tablet again the only 3 I would consider are the ipad air, the Samsung galaxy note 10.1 2014 edition and at a push the nexus 10.

Not all devices are for all people. If Microsoft can get developers to fully embrace Win RT, then I can easily use the RT to replace my tablet and netbook.

Not everyone needs or wants to be able to kick back with a tablet to read blogs and catch up on social media then walk over to a home office setup, attach it to a 27" monitor and work on a few documents using a full keyboard and mouse.

or be able to watch a movie on one screen while surfing on the other.

 

[joshwithachance]

The new Transformer Book T100 hybrid seems VERY promising.

At $379 for the 64GB model you get a 10.1" Windows 8.1 (Full, not RT) tablet, full Microsoft Office, MicroSD card slot, and a more than usable keyboard dock, all with 10 hours of usage & decent power thanks to the new Bay Trail processor.

 

[Night Spring]

or be able to watch a movie on one screen while surfing on the other.

Do this all the time with my iPad. Airplay video to my TV via Apple TV, then switch to Safari and browse while the video keeps playing on the TV.

 

[skaertus]

The new Transformer Book T100 hybrid seems VERY promising.

At $379 for the 64GB model you get a 10.1" Windows 8.1 (Full, not RT) tablet, full Microsoft Office, MicroSD card slot, and a more than usable keyboard dock, all with 10 hours of usage & decent power thanks to the new Bay Trail processor.

The problem with it is the awful 1366x768 screen resolution (my rMBP spoiled me). I would prefer the Dell Venue 11 Pro, which costs US$ 499 with similar specs, but it has a 1920x1080 IPS display.

 

[Irishman]

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.

The Macbook Pro can run Windows 7!

 

[sracer]

Do this all the time with my iPad. Airplay video to my TV via Apple TV, then switch to Safari and browse while the video keeps playing on the TV.

Yes, I've done that too, although AirPlay is still very much hit-or-miss even with an all-Apple setup. It also requires an additional device, the Apple TV, but yes it is technically possible.

In the same way that it is possible to use my Blue Yeti USB microphone with my iPad 4 provided that I use a powered USB hub and USB camera connection dongle, vs. simply and directly attaching it to the RT.

 

[Night Spring]

Yes, I've done that too, although AirPlay is still very much hit-or-miss even with an all-Apple setup. It also requires an additional device, the Apple TV, but yes it is technically possible.

In the same way that it is possible to use my Blue Yeti USB microphone with my iPad 4 provided that I use a powered USB hub and USB camera connection dongle, vs. simply and directly attaching it to the RT.

Are there any good.bluetooth microphones? I think that's the direction Apple is headed, which is one reason they aren't into allowing USB peripherals on iOS devices. They want to push people toward wireless solutions. And yes, AppleTV is another device, but one that you buy once and hook it up, then you don't really think about again, it's just there when you want it. I don't know what you find hit and miss about it, the only problems I've had is sometimes videos take a long time to cue up, but once they start playing, I've never had any problems.

But sure, I don't doubt that Windows RT devices are more functional. It's just that the kind of functions they have over the iPad aren't things I want from a tablet. I mean, i never want to record any sounds. I have a friend who likes to tape live performances, but he uses a portable sound recorder, which is much more compact and easier to handle than any tablet + USB mike setup. So what kind of user really benefits from being able to attach a USB mike to a tablet? It strikes me as a rather niche use case.

 

[sracer]

Are there any good.bluetooth microphones? I think that's the direction Apple is headed, which is one reason they aren't into allowing USB peripherals on iOS devices. They want to push people toward wireless solutions. And yes, AppleTV is another device, but one that you buy once and hook it up, then you don't really think about again, it's just there when you want it. I don't know what you find hit and miss about it, the only problems I've had is sometimes videos take a long time to cue up, but once they start playing, I've never had any problems.

But sure, I don't doubt that Windows RT devices are more functional. It's just that the kind of functions they have over the iPad aren't things I want from a tablet. I mean, i never want to record any sounds. I have a friend who likes to tape live performances, but he uses a portable sound recorder, which is much more compact and easier to handle than any tablet + USB mike setup. So what kind of user really benefits from being able to attach a USB mike to a tablet? It strikes me as a rather niche use case.

True, it is a niche use case... but....
There are some very professional quality apps out there for the iPad that beg for using it for more than just surfing and reading email.

I've been wanting to produce a podcast for quite some time, but I knew that I wouldn't have the time required to do all the things necessary to produce a quality podcast. BUT...

... then I stumbled across Boss Jock Studio. This app is amazing. It makes podcasting with the iPad a very viable option. There's nothing like that for the RT, heck, there are barely apps that are capable of recording simple audio.

Because the Boss Jock / iPad combination is so powerful, rather than use different hw/sw, I ended up using a Logitech USB mic that has a lower power requirement than the Yeti. The quality of the audio isn't as good, but certainly better than using the iPad's built-in mic. So I don't need to use a powered USB hub.

I guess ultimately, I'd like to have the hardware of the Surface RT with the OS and software of the iPad.

 

[Night Spring]

Because the Boss Jock / iPad combination is so powerful, rather than use different hw/sw, I ended up using a Logitech USB mic that has a lower power requirement than the Yeti. The quality of the audio isn't as good, but certainly better than using the iPad's built-in mic. So I don't need to use a powered USB hub.

I guess ultimately, I'd like to have the hardware of the Surface RT with the OS and software of the iPad.

Well, in this case I think what is likely to happen first is some third party manufacturer will come out with a good quality bluetooth mike. It's unlikely Apple will ever improve support for USB peripherals -- the way I see it, they are pushing away from cabled connections wherever possible. And I don't see Windows RT or 8.x getting the kind of depth and breadth of iOS app ecosystem any time soon, either. Oftentimes technology for what we want just isn't there and we just have to wait and hope somebody will make it someday. Heck, I think I've been waiting for the iPad for about close to twenty years before it finally arrived!

 

[gotluck]

My vote is for the iPad. Specifically when it is jailbroken. The next one can't come soon enough.