Posted: 9/26/2013 4:59:53 PM EDT
| My laptop is about to crap out and I was looking at a tablet to replace it. I don't have any experience with a tablet and know nothing about them but don't need an expensive laptop. I need office with word and powerpoint for college and I see Windows RT tablets come loaded with office standard. Question is does anyone have experience with the surface RT is it reliable? Also the one I was going to buy is only 32gb but has a USB, can it be hooked up to an external hard drive? |
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I work in the industry. Avoid RT like the plague, it's a zombie -- a dead platform, it just doesn't know it yet. The Surface is fine hardware, but Microsoft screwed up things in so many ways it will never recover.
Stick with a traditional laptop, or go android/apple if you must and don't need a good keyboard (chromebooks excepted) to get your job done -- but don't go RT. |
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I cannot disagree with the above post.
Also in the industry. We are testing tablets for corp use with Win8. RT, just say no. I did have a Microsoft rep telll me it was great. She was checking email on vacation with it. She did say she had to reboot it on a semi-regular basis to reset it. ByteTheBullet (-: |
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Quoted: I cannot disagree with the above post. Also in the industry. We are testing tablets for corp use with Win8. RT, just say no. I did have a Microsoft rep telll me it was great. She was checking email on vacation with it. She did say she had to reboot it on a semi-regular basis to reset it. ByteTheBullet (-: The RT is crap. Get a pro, or a dell 10.1 (or newer...) Or wait until tablets are truly figured out. (not all apps are touch enabled yet.) m |
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Quoted:
My laptop is about to crap out and I was looking at a tablet to replace it. I don't have any experience with a tablet and know nothing about them but don't need an expensive laptop. I need office with word and powerpoint for college and I see Windows RT tablets come loaded with office standard. Question is does anyone have experience with the surface RT is it reliable? Also the one I was going to buy is only 32gb but has a USB, can it be hooked up to an external hard drive? http://www.provantage.com/hewlett-packard-hp-c9k70ut-aba~7HEWW3C8.htm http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/laptops/product-detail.html?oid=5350402#!tab=features |
| The RT is not a bad device, the problem is that too many people buy it as a replacement for a laptop, and not as a replacement for an iPad (what it actually is) If you need a tablet, and also need word excel and powerpoint, the RT is a great choice. The device is stable, very well built, supports multiple user accounts, windows file sharing (great if you have a shared drive with media on your desktop computer) has a decent battery life, the best tablet keyboard option on the market, and has enough flash support to run the web based versions of most of the apps that have not been ported over to it yet. If you really need a laptop, then you will regret going with the RT, as the marketplace app catalog, while growing quickly, is no where near the size of apple or googles offerings, and you cannot install x86 programs on it. The surface pro, on the other hand, is an excellent device for the person looking to ditch their laptop. It has the form factor of a tablet, but runs a full desktop OS. It can do everything a tablet can do, and everything that a laptop can do. The second generation of the Surface pro comes out on October 22nd, and addresses the few flaws the first gen had, such a a short battery life and limited RAM. Price is in the same league as a decent laptop. |
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If you're on a tight budget, get a Dell Outlet laptop. I've bought several "Open Box" and "Scratch & Dent" laptops - they looked brand new. I bought a Latitude last month for $330. This site has lots of coupons. http://slickdeals.net/store/dell-home-outlet/ Good luck! |
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I think that the Surface has a lot of uses but more on the corporate side. For a student a regular laptop or perhaps the best choice would be an Ultrabook. Ultrabooks are smaller and lighter and most have solid state drives making them more durable and portable. Most of the ultrabooks also do not have optical drives but an external one can be used since all the Ultras have USB ports, many have the 3.0 USB which, paired with an external 3.0 USB drive is very fast. http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-Split/E1N75AV;pgid=mJJgD63FFwRSRpcvW._zBty20000So_nkcEe;sid=O8rnVDNYV7vgVGEdVVq11OpXvEatlbTUcQsQW2W4vEatlaWADOpIIHXO?HP-Split-13t-m000-x2-PC http://zenbook.asus.com/zenbook/?c=ux42vs http://store.sony.com/c/Pro-Series-Notebooks/en/c/S_PRO_SERIES_PAGE |
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After thinking about this more, it really depends on what your expected use is.
The Surface RT has a browser and Microsoft Office. That's it. If you want to do more than use Microsoft Office and a browser, the Surface RT is a horrible idea. If you are going to use it JUST as a web browser and for MS Office, and always from a desk/table (because of that silly kickstand instead of a hinged keyboard), it isn't a horrible option. |