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[Q] Note or Laptop for digital art? i cant decide on this one

What do you guys think, should i go with a note like i was planning too or get this laptop?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834310625
theres pros and cons to both but i just cant decide x .x
I have a wacom pad already on my desktop and is the reason i like the GNote
I have tons of games for both android and windows and either one would be able to play all the ones i have for either OS. The laptop will be able to run my adobe suite though and the GNote wont.
What do you guys think? stick with my GNote plan or might i be short changing myself in the productivity department?

Are you planning to replace your desktop with it? The note is definitely not a desktop replacement (no proper adobe suite etc, apps still have a bit of a way to go but are getting much better) but as for laptops... nowadays i hardly ever use my laptops unless i want to do a lot of typing. if you want the note as a side sketchpad or to do work up to a certain extent then it's a fantastic tool... the only thing similar is a tablet pc and those are $$$ and comparatively horrible for battery life so.
Personally i use my desktop anytime i need to get big things done fast but use the note 10 for quick sketches, small pieces and to draw on the go, or while sitting on my couch. Then i usually add the last few touches on my desktop.
Hope that helps.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app

fishgimp said:
Are you planning to replace your desktop with it? The note is definitely not a desktop replacement (no proper adobe suite etc, apps still have a bit of a way to go but are getting much better) but as for laptops... nowadays i hardly ever use my laptops unless i want to do a lot of typing. if you want the note as a side sketchpad or to do work up to a certain extent then it's a fantastic tool... the only thing similar is a tablet pc and those are $$$ and comparatively horrible for battery life so.
Personally i use my desktop anytime i need to get big things done fast but use the note 10 for quick sketches, small pieces and to draw on the go, or while sitting on my couch. Then i usually add the last few touches on my desktop.
Hope that helps.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually yea it does.... Ty
No I'm not b trying to replace my desktop, just be a bit more productive with my some of my work when not near it and get rid of the needed to carry a sketchbook.
Think I'm gonna stick with the plan of getting the note. The power of the laptop would be nice but I think the portability of the note out weighs the potential benefits of the laptop. I can also save about 100$ getting the note xP
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Note all the way mate. Was in a similar situation last year. Bought a laptop in the end, because I just couldn't see how the note would do what I wanted it to. Then I got a note a few weeks after and tbh the laptop is just sitting gathering dust.
For drawing I use either sketchbook pro (note version) or infinite painter pro and when combined with photoshop touch (which comes with the note) you get a hell of a lot of productivity on your hands, rarely needed to use the desktop. You will be amazed at just what you can achieve, well i have been anyway. Only package I'm really missing is a proper animation one. But I'm sure with time that will come and if not, theres the trusty ol PC in the corner.

I might be able to help, seeing as I had the same decision to make a handful of months ago, It really depends on the type of art your trying to make. I'm an illustrator that recently bought a Note 10.1 to do some sketching on the go. I use my Note to start the sketching stage of an illustration.I would not be able able to complete an entire illustration on the Note. It can't handle large files with a lot of layers(80mb). I normally use Photoshop and on the tablet I would be missing too many tools that I normally use. Only a handful of Android apps can open a pre-exiting .psd files with layers intact. Plus the screen is to small. My desktop setup is a triple 28" monitor setup with an Extra Large Intous4 tablet and 2 x-keys.
I used to use a laptop with an extra wacom, but unless your planning on sitting still for extended periods of time its not practical. It take as while get going each time and pack up. With the Note I'm able to use it while walking. The perfect example is shopping with my woman. While I'm waiting for her to move to the next store I can sit in the corner and sketch. This would not be practical with a laptop.
Even if that was not a issue, most laptop have a screens that have bad color shift when you move your head from side to side. I have messed up an illustration that I was working on because of this. Also the battery life on my laptop with constant use is a little over 2hrs. which is terrible.
Another option was to get one of new tablet pc's (slate) or new windows 8 pro tablets. I didn't go that route because of price. I don't want to be lugging around a 1000+ piece of tech around. Because I dismissed this as an option I didn't use any of these product hands on, so I don't know if there are any issues. There are some videos on youtube.
I mainly use PS Touch and LayerPaint. They work best with my work flow. I would only use PS Touch If it could open .psd files.
The android apps the the other poster mentioned are also the ones that I recommend. I would also like to add Layerpaint to the list. It's one of the few apps that can open .psd files with layers intact(PS Touch can not, it flatten the image).
If you want the natural media look I would go with Infinite Pro or Sketchbook Pro.
I your just using it for light sketching the think the Note 10.1 would be better. I you want to do completed work you might want to look into the new windows 8 pro tablets.
Here's a link to my Deviantart gallery to see the level of my illustrations http://r-tan.deviantart.com/gallery/.

rtan73 said:
It's one of the few apps that can open .psd files with layers intact(PS Touch can not, it flatten the image).
Here's a link to my Deviantart gallery to see the level of my illustrations http://r-tan.deviantart.com/gallery/.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol PS Touch can't open layered psds??? that's so stupid. (you can see how much I use it, haha)
ps awesome gallery!
ECOTOX said:
Actually yea it does.... Ty
No I'm not b trying to replace my desktop, just be a bit more productive with my some of my work when not near it and get rid of the needed to carry a sketchbook.
Think I'm gonna stick with the plan of getting the note. The power of the laptop would be nice but I think the portability of the note out weighs the potential benefits of the laptop. I can also save about 100$ getting the note xP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no problem, as the other posters here have commented I totally agree with them, laptop + wacom = sucky. a tablet PC would be better... but I had tablet pcs, didn't like the weight + heat + noise + battery life and the digitizer is exactly the same. having the tablet pc would not be worth the doubled price IMHO unless you plan to be doing full work while you're travelling a lot? also, the new slate screens are not much bigger than the note, and usually stretched in a weird long portrait dimension it seems...
pretty sure you'll love using the note as a mini-cintiq (eg. i have a 20 inch cintiq on my workstation but i often just use my note instead cause it's so easy to whip out /turn on/ take anywhere)
I have been using Clover Paint on my note (cannot open psds or transform yet (in development) but i've found it great to work with once it's all set-up the way you want)

rtan73 said:
I might be able to help, seeing as I had the same decision to make a handful of months ago, It really depends on the type of art your trying to make. I'm an illustrator that recently bought a Note 10.1 to do some sketching on the go. I use my Note to start the sketching stage of an illustration.I would not be able able to complete an entire illustration on the Note. It can't handle large files with a lot of layers(80mb). I normally use Photoshop and on the tablet I would be missing too many tools that I normally use. Only a handful of Android apps can open a pre-exiting .psd files with layers intact. Plus the screen is to small. My desktop setup is a triple 28" monitor setup with an Extra Large Intous4 tablet and 2 x-keys.
I used to use a laptop with an extra wacom, but unless your planning on sitting still for extended periods of time its not practical. It take as while get going each time and pack up. With the Note I'm able to use it while walking. The perfect example is shopping with my woman. While I'm waiting for her to move to the next store I can sit in the corner and sketch. This would not be practical with a laptop.
Even if that was not a issue, most laptop have a screens that have bad color shift when you move your head from side to side. I have messed up an illustration that I was working on because of this. Also the battery life on my laptop with constant use is a little over 2hrs. which is terrible.
Another option was to get one of new tablet pc's (slate) or new windows 8 pro tablets. I didn't go that route because of price. I don't want to be lugging around a 1000+ piece of tech around. Because I dismissed this as an option I didn't use any of these product hands on, so I don't know if there are any issues. There are some videos on youtube.
I mainly use PS Touch and LayerPaint. They work best with my work flow. I would only use PS Touch If it could open .psd files.
The android apps the the other poster mentioned are also the ones that I recommend. I would also like to add Layerpaint to the list. It's one of the few apps that can open .psd files with layers intact(PS Touch can not, it flatten the image).
If you want the natural media look I would go with Infinite Pro or Sketchbook Pro.
I your just using it for light sketching the think the Note 10.1 would be better. I you want to do completed work you might want to look into the new windows 8 pro tablets.
Here's a link to my Deviantart gallery to see the level of my illustrations http://r-tan.deviantart.com/gallery/.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was considering won 8 pro tabs but looking at the price and the fact that i tend to work in alot of layers the atom processors would take a dumper in my case. I usually work in large dpi/res images with many layers which my desktop is perfect for. I'm wanting something with protability and the power to do alot of the desktop stuff but i suppose ill have to make a bit of sacrifice which is ok, the note will be a good way to start my images with sketches and such and i can do the painting and effects on my desktop

rtan73 said:
I might be able to help, seeing as I had the same decision to make a handful of months ago, It really depends on the type of art your trying to make. I'm an illustrator that recently bought a Note 10.1 to do some sketching on the go. I use my Note to start the sketching stage of an illustration.I would not be able able to complete an entire illustration on the Note. It can't handle large files with a lot of layers(80mb). I normally use Photoshop and on the tablet I would be missing too many tools that I normally use. Only a handful of Android apps can open a pre-exiting .psd files with layers intact. Plus the screen is to small. My desktop setup is a triple 28" monitor setup with an Extra Large Intous4 tablet and 2 x-keys.
I used to use a laptop with an extra wacom, but unless your planning on sitting still for extended periods of time its not practical. It take as while get going each time and pack up. With the Note I'm able to use it while walking. The perfect example is shopping with my woman. While I'm waiting for her to move to the next store I can sit in the corner and sketch. This would not be practical with a laptop.
Even if that was not a issue, most laptop have a screens that have bad color shift when you move your head from side to side. I have messed up an illustration that I was working on because of this. Also the battery life on my laptop with constant use is a little over 2hrs. which is terrible.
Another option was to get one of new tablet pc's (slate) or new windows 8 pro tablets. I didn't go that route because of price. I don't want to be lugging around a 1000+ piece of tech around. Because I dismissed this as an option I didn't use any of these product hands on, so I don't know if there are any issues. There are some videos on youtube.
I mainly use PS Touch and LayerPaint. They work best with my work flow. I would only use PS Touch If it could open .psd files.
The android apps the the other poster mentioned are also the ones that I recommend. I would also like to add Layerpaint to the list. It's one of the few apps that can open .psd files with layers intact(PS Touch can not, it flatten the image).
If you want the natural media look I would go with Infinite Pro or Sketchbook Pro.
I your just using it for light sketching the think the Note 10.1 would be better. I you want to do completed work you might want to look into the new windows 8 pro tablets.
Here's a link to my Deviantart gallery to see the level of my illustrations http://r-tan.deviantart.com/gallery/.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fishgimp said:
lol PS Touch can't open layered psds??? that's so stupid. (you can see how much I use it, haha)
ps awesome gallery!
no problem, as the other posters here have commented I totally agree with them, laptop + wacom = sucky. a tablet PC would be better... but I had tablet pcs, didn't like the weight + heat + noise + battery life and the digitizer is exactly the same. having the tablet pc would not be worth the doubled price IMHO unless you plan to be doing full work while you're travelling a lot? also, the new slate screens are not much bigger than the note, and usually stretched in a weird long portrait dimension it seems...
pretty sure you'll love using the note as a mini-cintiq (eg. i have a 20 inch cintiq on my workstation but i often just use my note instead cause it's so easy to whip out /turn on/ take anywhere)
I have been using Clover Paint on my note (cannot open psds or transform yet (in development) but i've found it great to work with once it's all set-up the way you want)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i wish i had $ for a 20" cintiq T^T ill have to save because thats the one thing i dont like about my tab on my desktop right now is i feel sorta disconnected from my work. Its also why i was looking at the note as a sketchbook/media device so it looks like im making a good decision skipping the laptop for now. I really like using Sketchbook Mobile on my GNex so i will only like Sketchbook Pro better on my Note im sure
ty guys for helping me decide, and for anyone else trying to decide we can point them here cause you guys gave some good advice
ps awesome gallery I'm just getting back into art after 5 years of not doing it so im a bit rusty and workin on improving my skills
http://joshscranton.deviantart.com/
now in layer paint is it just me or does it not support multiply layers? :3

ECOTOX said:
i was considering won 8 pro tabs but looking at the price and the fact that i tend to work in alot of layers the atom processors would take a dumper in my case. I usually work in large dpi/res images with many layers which my desktop is perfect for. I'm wanting something with protability and the power to do alot of the desktop stuff but i suppose ill have to make a bit of sacrifice which is ok, the note will be a good way to start my images with sketches and such and i can do the painting and effects on my desktop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it kind of depends on how much you're willing to spend. The more you would want to do on the go, the more you'll have to spend. The Note 10.1 will not exactly handle more than an Atom-based x86 Win8 tablet either. The difference is that because you're running Android, you're not gonna have apps that will overload the processor (aka you can't shoot yourself in the foot). But, one of the major benefits of having Win8 is being able to run desktop class software. It may not be able to handle Photoshop, but it can probably handle the likes of Sketchbook Pro, Artrage, and Paint Tool Sai.. and the desktop versions of these apps will probably be more powerful than their mobile counterpart (not sure if Sai has a tablet version out there).
That being said, I have the Note and an i3 Lenovo laptop w/ an Intuos/22" monitor.. and between these two I'm perfectly satisfied. If you add the multiwindow mod (multiwindow for any app) for the Note, then you'll almost have a desktop like experience on the go.

I think it was already mentioned, but the main advantage of the Note over the Laptop+WacomTablet is the portability. Since it sounds like you're going to use your desktop for more careful work anyway, you probably will get more out of the Note's portability. By the way, how is TVPaint in terms of its usage, relative to desktop class software?

jedah said:
I guess it kind of depends on how much you're willing to spend. The more you would want to do on the go, the more you'll have to spend. The Note 10.1 will not exactly handle more than an Atom-based x86 Win8 tablet either. The difference is that because you're running Android, you're not gonna have apps that will overload the processor (aka you can't shoot yourself in the foot). But, one of the major benefits of having Win8 is being able to run desktop class software. It may not be able to handle Photoshop, but it can probably handle the likes of Sketchbook Pro, Artrage, and Paint Tool Sai.. and the desktop versions of these apps will probably be more powerful than their mobile counterpart (not sure if Sai has a tablet version out there).
That being said, I have the Note and an i3 Lenovo laptop w/ an Intuos/22" monitor.. and between these two I'm perfectly satisfied. If you add the multiwindow mod (multiwindow for any app) for the Note, then you'll almost have a desktop like experience on the go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, my budget is about 500$, so 1000$+ win8 tabs with decent processors won't be an option. Ik the note won't handle more, its just like you pointed out that android apps are lighter. I've use Sketchbook mobile and its for the most part the same as the desktop version. I think from the comments here I'm not gonna regret getting the note c:
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

ECOTOX said:
i wish i had $ for a 20" cintiq T^T ill have to save because thats the one thing i dont like about my tab on my desktop right now is i feel sorta disconnected from my work.
ps awesome gallery I'm just getting back into art after 5 years of not doing it so im a bit rusty and workin on improving my skills
http://joshscranton.deviantart.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember seeing your colours on the paint/sketch thread here, nice work!
anyway, the cintiq I bought secondhand off ebay and it was probably the best working investment ever though the $$$ did hurt somewhat. it was 1200 used, ended up 1600 ish with shipping/tax. would have been cheaper if I didn't live in Canada you can get pretty good deals if you don't mind shopping around on ebay/craigs etc.it speeds up my workflow at least 30%.
I also see people raving about the yiynova now which is 500 bucks or something? http://frenden.tumblr.com/post/38693256477/yiynovamsp19u
asdfuogh said:
I think it was already mentioned, but the main advantage of the Note over the Laptop+WacomTablet is the portability. Since it sounds like you're going to use your desktop for more careful work anyway, you probably will get more out of the Note's portability. By the way, how is TVPaint in terms of its usage, relative to desktop class software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there's an open beta that you can sign up for, it is actually THE desktop software ported onto android so it's fully functional afaik and very powerful. but god knows how much they will end up pricing it at.
http://www.tvpaint.com/v2/content/article/downloads/openbeta.php

fishgimp said:
I remember seeing your colours on the paint/sketch thread here, nice work!
anyway, the cintiq I bought secondhand off ebay and it was probably the best working investment ever though the $$$ did hurt somewhat. it was 1200 used, ended up 1600 ish with shipping/tax. would have been cheaper if I didn't live in Canada you can get pretty good deals if you don't mind shopping around on ebay/craigs etc.it speeds up my workflow at least 30%.
I also see people raving about the yiynova now which is 500 bucks or something? http://frenden.tumblr.com/post/38693256477/yiynovamsp19u
there's an open beta that you can sign up for, it is actually THE desktop software ported onto android so it's fully functional afaik and very powerful. but god knows how much they will end up pricing it at.
http://www.tvpaint.com/v2/content/article/downloads/openbeta.php
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh cool! I might actually get one of those to use till I can save to get a cintiq c:
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Why I HATED the Surface Pro (just in case you were tempted) ...

I just had to do it. All the hype, all the articles, the lure of OneNote's full power. I had to drop $1000 on a Surface Pro just to see what the fuss was about. Hell, I could always return it but I had to know for myself.
I truly truly HATED the Surface Pro. Here is as short list of what sucks:
1) It's HOT. How hot? After holding it for 30 minutes I felt like I had grabbed a ceramic cup I heated in the microwave. My hand was actually bright red. I have no idea how any sane person could stand holding this toaster over in their hands for any period of time.
2) It's HEAVY. How heavy? Big piece of metal heavy. Also because of it's hard angles it is no fun to hold.
3) It is IMPOSSIBLE TO USE IN PORTRAIT. I mean, this tablet must be a foot high in portrait. If you are trying to type on the soft keyboard the keys are literally 10 inches from the words you are typing so thumb typing is pointless.
4) Considering this has an i5 CPU it actually lags. Scrolling on web pages stutters and dragging pictures across OneNote jerks around like mad (this may actually be a feature of OneNote as it snaps to a grid - so not a bug necessarily).
5) Firefox (if you like that browser) is a DISASTER on this. Pinch to zoom is total fail. Again a lag fest.
6) 1920 x 1080 may sound awesome but on a tablet this small it's not. Even zoomed at 150% text and icons can be tiny and very hard to click.
7) Windows 8 is a schizophrenic mess even on this. Whoever decided Metro was a good idea HAD to be high.
8) The included stylus has a hard plastic tip. Hard plastic tip on slick glass equals HARD TO WRITE. The Note 10.1's rubber tipped stylus is far better.
9) The Surface Pro is not designed to be a tablet. It is more like an ultrabook with a removable keyboard and a pen that you can hold in your hands (if you must).
Why did I write this? Well, if like me you have felt tempted by the Surface Pro and access to full blown OneNote with inking, I wanted to put your mind at rest - don't. The Note 10.1 is a far more "useable" tablet for half the cash.

I totally agree with everything you wrote. My company has given me a surface Pro to test out and I would add the following to your list:
Battery life is only about 4 hours so you are forced to have extra chargers, one for home and one for the office.
The size of the charger is huge. Its a small brick!
There is no silo for the pen! You are supposed to attach the pen in the magnetized power port which means that any little bump and you lose the pen. I give Samsung a lot of credit of delaying the release of the Note 10.1 to redesign a silo for the Spen.
The things I like about the Pro is having Office 2013 and the keyboard cover. However, I actually do not like OneNote. I prefer SNote a hundred times. There is an SNote app for Windows 8 but only for Samsung branded devices. I wish they would make it available for all.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app

mitchellvii said:
I just had to do it. All the hype, all the articles, the lure of OneNote's full power. I had to drop $1000 on a Surface Pro just to see what the fuss was about. Hell, I could always return it but I had to know for myself.
I truly truly HATED the Surface Pro. Here is as short list of what sucks:
1) It's HOT. How hot? After holding it for 30 minutes I felt like I had grabbed a ceramic cup I heated in the microwave. My hand was actually bright red. I have no idea how any sane person could stand holding this toaster over in their hands for any period of time.
2) It's HEAVY. How heavy? Big piece of metal heavy. Also because of it's hard angles it is no fun to hold.
3) It is IMPOSSIBLE TO USE IN PORTRAIT. I mean, this tablet must be a foot high in portrait. If you are trying to type on the soft keyboard the keys are literally 10 inches from the words you are typing so thumb typing is pointless.
4) Considering this has an i5 CPU it actually lags. Scrolling on web pages stutters and dragging pictures across OneNote jerks around like mad (this may actually be a feature of OneNote as it snaps to a grid - so not a bug necessarily).
5) Firefox (if you like that browser) is a DISASTER on this. Pinch to zoom is total fail. Again a lag fest.
6) 1920 x 1080 may sound awesome but on a tablet this small it's not. Even zoomed at 150% text and icons can be tiny and very hard to click.
7) Windows 8 is a schizophrenic mess even on this. Whoever decided Metro was a good idea HAD to be high.
8) The included stylus has a hard plastic tip. Hard plastic tip on slick glass equals HARD TO WRITE. The Note 10.1's rubber tipped stylus is far better.
9) The Surface Pro is not designed to be a tablet. It is more like an ultrabook with a removable keyboard and a pen that you can hold in your hands (if you must).
Why did I write this? Well, if like me you have felt tempted by the Surface Pro and access to full blown OneNote with inking, I wanted to put your mind at rest - don't. The Note 10.1 is a far more "useable" tablet for half the cash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@mitchellvii
Why don't you try out one of the Samsung Atom Tablets and let us know your experience.
The Atom editions should solve issues:
1 & 2.
If you install and Dual Boot Android 4.0 x86, then that should solve issues:
3,4,5,6,7
Thus, you can retain the convenience of the Android OS and have the power of Windows 8 without carrying more than 1 device.

I played with one at local store. Win 8 is just not a touch environment. Metro was a try and fix. Microsoft will have to forget they own windows and start thinking fresh to compete with android and crapple. Which both rather you dislike either of the two are becoming very mature and complete operating systems build around your fingers. Not a true business class os patched to try and compete. I will also add tablet software is getting better at productivity and will eventually be able to compete with the true ms type program's. The power of these device's are amazing. If you need full productive programs for now stick with a ultra book type notebook computer. The note 10.1 is the second best thing to that. There is no 3rd place device
My opinion of course conclusion is get a traditional notebook or a note 10.1 tablet

klau1 said:
@mitchellvii
Why don't you try out one of the Samsung Atom Tablets and let us know your experience.
The Atom editions should solve issues:
1 & 2.
If you install and Dual Boot Android 4.0 x86, then that should solve issues:
3,4,5,6,7
Thus, you can retain the convenience of the Android OS and have the power of Windows 8 without carrying more than 1 device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't say I agree that Android x86 is a solution. I don't even know how easy it'd be to install on the Pro. Android x86 project has come a long way but there are still issues with it, once it's as easy as just compiling it to x86 then let's talk
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

was walking around the mall and finally saw a surface pro. funny thing is i just read the ts mention the things yesterday. the thing that mostly stuck out was the weight. so first thing i did was pick it up. man that is like picking up a plate of iron... couldnt really get anything going well in the few minutes i messed with it. win8 definately not something for me. nor is carrying around an iron plate...

from a traveling salesman's viewpoint, I love it. I am able to install and run various programs such as AutoCAD (with wedge mouse), a custom estimating software...
Granted the battery life could be better, but I'm able to make sales calls and RDP for my office desktop printouts/updates on the unit without having to charge through a moderate days work. I've never had the heat buildup as described in the first post and it does not have the apps you'll find in the play store. but for a laptop replacement you can travel light with, love it.
FWIW

I think Microsoft has missed the boat. They're obviously not getting Voice of Customer, but are getting voice of Developers when they make these products. Apple figured out what MOST people want for a tablet. Android is assuredly closing that gap and raising the bar (S-Pen). I would recommend that Windows quit trying to compete but get smart and work with Android, so both can crush the Apple serpent.

I have been using Samsung's Ativ Pro for some months now... err... not using at all. It just sits there. Microsoft has missed the train of the mobile age. Because of battery issues it just cant stand by like İOS or Android, it just goes to deep sleep and you cant get your push messages from Facebook.. and no e-mail alerts. I agree it is a detachable ultrabook. I love my Galaxy note II and 10.1, and hardly use my Ipad4.

I actually like the Surface Pro, but it's definitely NOT the same as this tablet. I mean, the Surface is definitely not a.. use-anywhere kind of tablet (I mean, its main "attraction" is that keyboard which really just means that it's not in the same tablet market). So, I'd say that you have to change your expectations because it is definitely an ultrabook in disguise.

The battery life would stop me switching. With my screen brightness turned down I can get a full day at uni out of my note (~ 8 hours) which is fantastic

Mixed feelings...
The weird beveled sides are weird and makes it hard to hold.
The battery life is terrible - even for a full i5 slate.
It is chunky.
I have a Samsung Series 7 slate, which was the reference platform for Win8 and it's a lot better.
As for Win8 itself - yep.. schizophrenic is a good description. You're using desktop and suddenly you're in Metro. You're using Metro and suddenly you're in the desktop. You want to run something - and bam back in Metro - except it's not all your apps - just some of them so over to search which shows you all your apps.
Bring up the keyboard in Metro, things work ok (mostly). Do it in desktop - and it's a crapshoot as to whether it'll come up automatically - and when it does it rearranges your desktop.
Bah.

Sounds like its quite aways from general populations
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app

I purchased this over the weekend the surface pro 128gb version with type cover. im loving the experience with it so far. its a great and powerful device. no lag at all unlike what the op mentioned. lol

I too had the Pro. It was a very good ultra book (the best out there, in my opinion) that had a kick ass Wacom digitizer, awesome specs (the hard drive is fast as ****) and excellent style. I had it for five months and didn't regret it at all. I found it to be quite light, though obviously not as light as my Note.
It was just a ****ty tablet. Heavy (for a tab), terrible battery life and no Metro apps that are worth having. I used the Desktop most of the time, even after moving to 8.1. Shame, really; I think Metro is a fantastic platform for tablets.
I actually didn't know the Note 10.1 existed until I sold it off last week. I would have never bought it if I did, seeing how it is $500 more. The Note is so much better (right now), since it does everything my Pro did but with more battery, less weight and a Chrome browser that is actually functional. In fact, I found my Note to be easier for reading than my Nexus 7 and sold that off too! The Surface was too heavy for me to read on, and there were no apps for that anyway.
Its screen resolution kind of bites and I miss having a kickstand, but other than that I'm super happy to have sold it off.

If it wasn't for the battery life, I would have bought the surface pro over the note, although I don't plan on using the metro UI at all. I've used it for a total of about an hour and while using the regular desktop in touch mode I didn't run across any issues. Most things there an app for on android you can do through a full Web browser or there's a regular windows program for.
Part of me wants to say that if you're just Web browsing and watching movies then android is a good pick, but I'm getting fed up with pages not loading correctly when trying to browse the Internet. Half of the Web based ebooks I use for school either don't load or have issues.
From a hardware standpoint, I'm never holding my tablet straight out without it resting on something, so weight wouldn't be a issue. If I personally wanted a super casual tablet, I think a cheap 7" tablet like the Nexus 7 would be much better and more comfortable.
It amazes me how quick people are to criticize windows 8. All the metro UI really is is a new start menu that's more touch friendly. Tablet users complain there are no apps, yet have thousands of full blown windows apps they can use. Desktop users complain the start button is gone when all they have to do is hover in the same spot and it appears.
I've been researching for a new tablet or convertible to bring to school there are too many negative reviews for windows 8 for ridiculous reasons. No YouTube app? Guess what, I can play flash in the web browser. The drop box app isn't very good? Guess what, I can install the regular windows program and get two way sync. No email notifications in standby mode? My guess is you have an android phone going off right next to wherever your tablet is anyway.
Lastly, the surface pro is a hybrid device. So it isn't going to be the perfect tablet or the perfect ultra book. Its for people who want a mix of the two. For a device that's been out for nearly nine months, some of these complaints shouldn't be much of a surprise. I don't think its justified to make a thread bashing the product because you failed evaluate your wants and needs and didn't research a $1000 tablet.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app

Sher The Love said:
If it wasn't for the battery life, I would have bought the surface pro over the note, although I don't plan on using the metro UI at all. I've used it for a total of about an hour and while using the regular desktop in touch mode I didn't run across any issues. Most things there an app for on android you can do through a full Web browser or there's a regular windows program for.
Part of me wants to say that if you're just Web browsing and watching movies then android is a good pick, but I'm getting fed up with pages not loading correctly when trying to browse the Internet. Half of the Web based ebooks I use for school either don't load or have issues.
From a hardware standpoint, I'm never holding my tablet straight out without it resting on something, so weight wouldn't be a issue. If I personally wanted a super casual tablet, I think a cheap 7" tablet like the Nexus 7 would be much better and more comfortable.
It amazes me how quick people are to criticize windows 8. All the metro UI really is is a new start menu that's more touch friendly. Tablet users complain there are no apps, yet have thousands of full blown windows apps they can use. Desktop users complain the start button is gone when all they have to do is hover in the same spot and it appears.
I've been researching for a new tablet or convertible to bring to school there are too many negative reviews for windows 8 for ridiculous reasons. No YouTube app? Guess what, I can play flash in the web browser. The drop box app isn't very good? Guess what, I can install the regular windows program and get two way sync. No email notifications in standby mode? My guess is you have an android phone going off right next to wherever your tablet is anyway.
Lastly, the surface pro is a hybrid device. So it isn't going to be the perfect tablet or the perfect ultra book. Its for people who want a mix of the two. For a device that's been out for nearly nine months, some of these complaints shouldn't be much of a surprise. I don't think its justified to make a thread bashing the product because you failed evaluate your wants and needs and didn't research a $1000 tablet.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app
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Well said!
-Sent from my laptop running Windows 8

Sher The Love said:
The drop box app isn't very good? Guess what, I can install the regular windows program and get two way sync.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app
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This feature was an unexpected gem for me. Before if I drew something in Sketchbook on the Note, I had to hit the share button, and pick a format to export to the cloud. Now, I just save it to my Dropbox folder (which I set as the default location), and it'll show up in on my desktop when I get home.
I've been using a Samsung Ativ 500T for a few weeks now, and I actually really like it. The main reason I bought it was I was getting tired of my Note botching all the formulas when I tried to open up an Excel spreadsheet in Polaris, QuickOffice, Google Doc (or fill in your Office Suite). The formatting also became funny on Word docs after opening in one of the above mentioned apps. I'm even able to run PS7 (I'm an amateur, so I don't need CS5 or later).
Of course this device is not perfect. As a straight replacement for a Note or iPad on the go, I still like the Note better. Screen rotation is a bit wonky sometimes on the Ativ. Although the wide screen is great for productivity, it's a bit unweildy, especially in portrait. There is connected standby, but not sure if it stays connected even in deep sleep. So, e-mails don't get come in when I'm asleep. Certain functions also don't work while in deep sleep: I haven't found a decent alarm app I can use (I used my Note as a backup alarm in case I didn't wake up to my phone).

jedah said:
This feature was an unexpected gem for me. Before if I drew something in Sketchbook on the Note, I had to hit the share button, and pick a format to export to the cloud. Now, I just save it to my Dropbox folder (which I set as the default location), and it'll show up in on my desktop when I get home.
I've been using a Samsung Ativ 500T for a few weeks now, and I actually really like it. The main reason I bought it was I was getting tired of my Note botching all the formulas when I tried to open up an Excel spreadsheet in Polaris, QuickOffice, Google Doc (or fill in your Office Suite). The formatting also became funny on Word docs after opening in one of the above mentioned apps. I'm even able to run PS7 (I'm an amateur, so I don't need CS5 or later).
Of course this device is not perfect. As a straight replacement for a Note or iPad on the go, I still like the Note better. Screen rotation is a bit wonky sometimes on the Ativ. Although the wide screen is great for productivity, it's a bit unweildy, especially in portrait. There is connected standby, but not sure if it stays connected even in deep sleep. So, e-mails don't get come in when I'm asleep. Certain functions also don't work while in deep sleep: I haven't found a decent alarm app I can use (I used my Note as a backup alarm in case I didn't wake up to my phone).
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I sold my note and got a 500T a little over a month ago. While I'm not completely satisfied due to the speed, it's far better than the note was for school. I knew it would be slow, but I got it to hold me off till some newer haswell convertibles came out. Glad I bought the note and 500T refurbished for under $360.
In my opinion, Onenote is much better than anything on android. Especially being able to print full webpages to it. It helps when most of my accounting homework is online based. I can print to onenote and have detailed notes and the problems worked out. I could even get these pages to load correctly on my Note.

I just pre-ordered the Surface Pro 2 for my wife. We got the 256GB option. She wants to be able to consolidate her notebook and Note 10.1 into 1 device. She's a mechanical engineering major and will be running CAD, Matlab, etc and also has a lot of Office oriented and online homework. I think mainly she wants a computer where she can take equation heavy notes on without having to worry what to do on which device and forget about file syncing. Her current notebook is heavy @ 5lbs. Does this seem reasonable or are we asking for a $1500 headache? I keep saying it's going to a heavy tablet. She keeps saying but it's going to be a light notebook. Notifications don't matter since she has an Android phone. We're selling her Note 10.1 to a friend to help finance the Surface Pro 2 so that won't be available to her. I'm excited but nervous at this point.

[Q]Best tablet/laptop to develop ON?

My main, 4-5 year old macbook pro, seems to slowly be dying. HDD making weird noises, dead pixels on edges, power randomly turning off all the way, the works. I know some of this stuff is fixable, and I'll probably come around to it later, but right now I'm looking into getting a new computer, preferably a windows 8/ windows 8.1. While looking around for what my replacement would be, I know that some tablets, such as the surface pro, run windows 8. I think it would be cool to have a computer i could develop on and then go to class and turn it into a tablet and take notes on it. I don't know much about development, since I am a noob at it, and I'm going to collage in computer science next year, I don't know much about computer specifications for development. So, what would be a good choice for a tablet pc for developing? I do understand that a laptop or a full on PC would probably be better, but I'm just looking at options right now.

The main criteria for serious development (note: nothing you do in the first year or two of a CS curriculum is likely to qualify, unless you're going to MIT or something) are:
A) High-resolution display (1920 x 1080 is what I'd consider to be the bare minimum for a dev box) with a large enough screen that you can read it easily at default DPI. This is needed so you can have multiple code views, or code + documentation, open at once.
B) A pretty good supply of RAM. Depending on the languages and IDEs you're using, and the size of the code bases you're working on, just what is *enough* RAM will vary, but I wouldn't want to use anything less than around 8GB in a dev box. That lets me have multiple IDEs open, and a ton of browser tabs and history (for documentation), all at the same time without swapping.
C) SSD if you can afford it; the performance boost on stuff like compiling is substantial. You'll want to make sure you have plenty of space, though; source code even for large projects is only occasionally into and rarely much past single-digits of gigabytes, but the full repository history for a long-running project can be huge, and you will probably want to have room for virtual machines too (which are literally full additional OS installations) so you can test on different systems, or learn to develop for both Windows and Linux on the same machine, etc.
D) A really good keyboard is a must. You'll spend a long time using it, and you'll use a lot of weird keys that you aren't used to hitting right now. You want a full keyboard (no missing keys; did you know that there are actually times when Scroll Lock is useful? No joke...) with full-sized key-spacings (a cramped keyboard will slow you down and be uncomfortable really quickly). What type of "feel" you want to the keyboard is up to you, but most people really like the Lenovo keyboards for laptops, for example; your basic cheap membrane keyboard is probably *not* going to be pleasant to use.
Surface Pro 2 might work, if you got the Type Cover, but I wouldn't really recommend it. You want a bigger display on a dev box, usually, and the keyboard is optimized for everyday use but not for development.

Different people have different preferences for development machines. However I think GoodDayToDies suggestions are all good ones.
I am currently a first year computer science student at the university of northampton. I went with just getting a laptop rather than a tablet hybrid of some sort. Ultimately settled on the HP Sleekbook 14. Its only an intel core i3 @1.8ghz with HD4000 graphics and 6gb of RAM, but for everything you do in first and 2nd year (and potentially 3rd if there is a 3rd year not really sure how things work in the US) thats actually plenty powerful. It isn't a solid state drive, which would have been nice. There is only one criticism with it for programming and that is the screen resolution, at 14" the physical size is fine, but it is only 1366*768 which I can fit my stuff onto but it would be much nicer to have a higher res screen as with a higher res you can fit more code on without having to decrease font sizes or hide task bars in your IDE or whatever (I decrease font size and unpin the solution explorer and toolbox etc in visual studio, eclipse I dont unpin anything because I am still trying to get used to it, its only when you use something else that you realise how good visual studio is).
I did computer science as one of my A-Level subjects. I didn't bother with getting a laptop for that, I used the school machines in lesson, took bus home, used my desktop PC at home (and seeming as I commute to northampton daily from home instead of staying on halls, I can still do the same, but for convenience sake I use the laptop still, with my setup its more comfortable). I did have a friend though that didn't have a desktop PC at home or anything, his only computer was a 10" netbook, 1.3ghz dual core atom on 1gb of RAM and one of those really sucky 600p displays. He did his entire A-Level computing coursework on it, didn't use the school machines for anything other than testing and viewing documentation (as in that school we weren't allowed details for the WiFi which also had a hidden SSID, even if we did connect to the network via wifi or plain old ethernet, there was a proxy server nobody had details for either, so no internet for unauthorised machines). He was perfectly happy to bash out code on a tiny keyboard and only see a few lines of it at one time, I really wouldnt recommend it though. Visual studio was also perfectly happy to run on that machine (albeit with about a 10 minute load time when first opening it), compiled and debugged ASP.net applications perfectly fine too.
Under default settings in eclipse and with the console window thing pinned open at the bottom of the display. I can fit 28 lines of code on a 768 pixel tall screen.
Tablets for taking notes dont last long. Only people still doing that since the beginning of term are either using a surface with touch cover and typing yet still having a pad of paper for drawing diagrams or there are 2 people with surface pro's who use the digitiser stylus. Under lecture note taking conditions capacitive pens and virtual keyboards dont cut it. Also seen a small handful of people using bluetooth keyboards with iPads. One of the 2 surface pro guys does also use the surface in lab sessions for doing his work, the other switches to a uni machine. If your fine with a small keyboard then yeah, you might be able to do devwork on a surface pro, but there are @"keys"^Which>'R'|arely {if ever} get touched during daily usage; They are often placed on smaller buttons on smaller keyboards, much harder to hit. If your going to spend a few seconds trying to hit shift+2 to type a " (I'm british, our keyboards arent the same) then its going to slow you down considerably, my mate with the netbook didn't have a problem with this, I couldnt do it though. I have used the apple wireless keyboard and can type reasonably well on that (even though its about netbook size), but I cannot use it for programming, although in my case thats because apple are morons who don't know what a british keyboard looks like so the symbols are in the wrong place for me (their idea of a british layout keyboard, because they do sell one, is slap a £ sign on the 3 key and give us a double height enter/return key, that is it, all of their changes), that wouldnt effect you in the US.
I would say anything with a core i3/i5 or even i7 will have the CPU horsepower to get your work done.
For first year stuff I highly doubt more than 4gb of RAM will be needed. but I will recommend 6-8 anyway for future proofing.
Unless you are doing a specialised pathway with graphics or gaming, don't bother with an integrated GPU, you won't really need it.
1366*768 screen res should be the absolute bare minimum, 1080p highly recommended though. When this machine is replaced one day, I will definitely be going 1080p.
You need a keyboard which is comfortable to use. Go to best buy or whoever else sells computers out there, use a few machines, see what features you do or do not want.
I cannot recommend something 10" in size for most people. I use 14", I wouldnt go smaller than 13". For that reason I wouldn't recommend a convertible. If you were to go convertible, at least go active digitiser to make up for it. Some of my lectures I just type up, most I just go old fashioned with active digitiser mk1 (also known as pen and paper).
I am however looking at either the dell venue 8 pro or the EVGA tegra note tablets as a note taking tool. Can't really justify the expense though on something that would purely be that, a note taking tool.

4 GB of RAM should be enough unless you plan to use emulators. If you use emulators, you might wanna boost that up to 8.
A video card is also useful, regardless of how "weak" performance it has in gaming. If you use a CPU built-in one, you will lose up to 1 GB of RAM depending on what you do.
The display is probably the most important of them all. You will spend lots of time looking at it trying to figure out what is going wrong, and if your eyes do not agree with the display, you will find your efficiency greatly reduced.

[Q] should i buy acer w700 tablet ?

hello all,
my university gives a 400 pounds credit to buy from studentstore.uk i was planning to get a windows 8 tab but they dont stock sony,asus or dell products .i was planning to get a baytrail tablet like dell venue pro 11.with a maximum budget of 600 pounds(400+200).
so my only option is to get an acer w700 with i3,4gb ram 64 gb memory available for 570 pounds.or wait till samsung,lenovo and acer brings in 10-11 inch baytrail tablet.
so do you think its a good idea to get w700 or just wait till others comes with baytrail tablets(any idea when on earth they will launch it ).?

At this late date, what you see (in the MS store) are what'll be available for this Q4.
My suggestion is to ignore the one-device-fits-all PR hype and get two devices: a 12"-13" laptop for productivity, and a separate tablet for portable use. The meat-and-potato work box comes first, obviously. For my college days, I used a 12" IBM Thinkpad X series, which I lugged everywhere. It wasn't light, but it was built like a tank. The bottom line for me wasn't about best speed or battery life, but good old reliability.

rkoforever90 said:
hello all,
my university gives a 400 pounds credit to buy from studentstore.uk i was planning to get a windows 8 tab but they dont stock sony,asus or dell products .i was planning to get a baytrail tablet like dell venue pro 11.with a maximum budget of 600 pounds(400+200).
so my only option is to get an acer w700 with i3,4gb ram 64 gb memory available for 570 pounds.or wait till samsung,lenovo and acer brings in 10-11 inch baytrail tablet.
so do you think its a good idea to get w700 or just wait till others comes with baytrail tablets(any idea when on earth they will launch it ).?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your choice definitely depends on what you plan to do with it. Do you want something that will serve as a PC as well as a tablet, or just a portable typing device, or just for entertainment? I've also heard that those who do computer science/programming degrees, you'll want something a lot more powerful. However, for humanities subjects, i'm sure an i3 will be just fine.

If you ask me, you should never get anything Acer made.

SammiSaysHello said:
Your choice definitely depends on what you plan to do with it. Do you want something that will serve as a PC as well as a tablet, or just a portable typing device, or just for entertainment? I've also heard that those who do computer science/programming degrees, you'll want something a lot more powerful. However, for humanities subjects, i'm sure an i3 will be just fine.
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i dont want an ultra book or laptop since i already have a laptop.i want a windows 8 tablet which is thin light and with good battery backup.

Deusdies said:
If you ask me, you should never get anything Acer made.
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i had acer desktop (in 2005) then an acer laptop (bought in 2009) and then another one in 2011(which iam still using) my brother has an acer s3 ultrabook.
i never had any problem with acer till now, also one of my relative works at acer service centre.

rkoforever90 said:
i had acer desktop (in 2005) then an acer laptop (bought in 2009) and then another one in 2011(which iam still using) my brother has an acer s3 ultrabook.
i never had any problem with acer till now, also one of my relative works at acer service centre.
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My experience with the acer repair service isn't great, just got my w700 back and it has gained a load of scratches (came back quite dirty as well) and the rubber section on the back which they clearly removed to open it up hasn't been stuck down properly and now comes away from the case.
Also OP you should be aware that Acer support in general is awful, they delete posts on the forums they don't like (mainly people complaining about the terrible support) and there is a throttling issue with the i5 version which they refuse to fix, you should check out the 52 page thread on their forums which has been going on for over a year.

twisted89 said:
My experience with the acer repair service isn't great, just got my w700 back and it has gained a load of scratches (came back quite dirty as well) and the rubber section on the back which they clearly removed to open it up hasn't been stuck down properly and now comes away from the case.
Also OP you should be aware that Acer support in general is awful, they delete posts on the forums they don't like (mainly people complaining about the terrible support) and there is a throttling issue with the i5 version which they refuse to fix, you should check out the 52 page thread on their forums which has been going on for over a year.
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the problem is i dont have an option to purchase other than student store u.k and they dont have much options either.
you can have a look and suggest if anything better is there for the price.
http://www.studentstore.co.uk/getech/all-manufacturers/Tablets/for-students.aspx

What subject are you studying at university/what is the tablet required for?

SixSixSevenSeven said:
What subject are you studying at university/what is the tablet required for?
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iam doing mechanical engineering.mostly i need it for entertainment purpose, taking notes , power point presentations etc. but i have a laptop also .

rkoforever90 said:
iam doing mechanical engineering.mostly i need it for entertainment purpose, taking notes , power point presentations etc. but i have a laptop also .
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That should be fine. You don't need something very powerful for that. Actually, I only had an Android tablet (Xperia Tablet S) to do that and it handled those kind of tasks fine for me.

PowerPoint you can install on the device anyway so your fine on that front (uni may offer it for free too). Entertainment is up to you. Note taking should be fine, depends on if you are OK with touch keyboards/small keyboards or not, or using a touchscreen to write with (to my knowledge there is no wacom or synaptics stylus, only the bog standard touch screen).

SixSixSevenSeven said:
PowerPoint you can install on the device anyway so your fine on that front (uni may offer it for free too). Entertainment is up to you. Note taking should be fine, depends on if you are OK with touch keyboards/small keyboards or not, or using a touchscreen to write with (to my knowledge there is no wacom or synaptics stylus, only the bog standard touch screen).
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so which model of acer w700 you own?.how is the overall experience and battery backup?

rkoforever90 said:
so which model of acer w700 you own?.how is the overall experience and battery backup?
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I dont

Since I have an Acer W700 tablet, I would let you know something about the W700. I will compare it mostly with the Surface Pro because its a gold standard for Intel Core tablets
First thing first, W700 lacks the active digitizer. Don't expect writing and drawing to feel like the Surface Pro or Galaxy Note. Its far from it. I use Adonit Jot stylus, it helps a lot compared to other styli or finger input, but still nowhere as good as the Surface Pro.
Second, the battery last like Haswell tablets. This tablet is insane in term of battery life. I mostly get 6-7 hours for my usage. I use this tablets mostly for browsing, downloading, playing casual games, taking notes (OneNote FTW!), watching videos/movies and listening to music. If you look for an Ivy Bridge tablet that last like Haswell tablets, this is the only one.
Third, since I mentioned videos, movies, and music, I would say this tablet has great screen and speaker. The speaker is great for a tablet. If you enable the Dolby enhancement, the speaker will get louder (with some distortion), on par with cheaper multimedia laptops. Definitely better than the Surface Pro. The screen is also better than any tablet screen Ive ever used.
Fourth, it has no great keyboard solution. Unlike the Surface Pro which has options like the Type and Touch cover, the W700 relies on a Bluetooth keyboard or a case with integrated Bluetooth keyboard. Consult the seller first on which version you get. I would recommend the former since the latter is not comfortable (very, very thin), it is nice though. If you are a bit unlucky like me, youll get neither of them. I got a Perixx 804 Bluetooth keyboard for €25, and it works reliably over Bluetooth. This keyboard feels like a keyboard from Acer V5 or most Sony VAIOs (a bit harder than MacBooks)
Fifth, it has WiFi issue. This issue plagues mostly early generation of this tablet, but you might get this as well. On my W700, I have no problem with the disconnection. However, the signal is not as good as other devices. Usually, when the other devices still get 1 bar of signal, the W700 has lost connection.
Sixth, its graphic performance is not as great as how a HD4000 should be. The GPU suffers from bad throttling, making the performance only comparable to HD3000 GPU on most laptops (I tried with i5-2410M)
Overall, this tablet is geared towards entertainment (great screen and speaker) than business/work (no active digitizer and no keyboard solution). This device is great if you want to use one device rather than two (tablet+laptop), but don't expect too much. Since Haswell tablets are just behind the corner, I would suggest you to wait for some affordable Haswell tablets. However, if you cant wait, I would recommend this device over any Atom tablets unless you need an active digitizer.
My W700 is the i5-3317U model with 64 GB of storage. I wish I had the 128 GB model.

patrick_spd4u said:
My W700 is the i5-3317U model with 64 GB of storage. I wish I had the 128 GB model.
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Thermal throttling on the i5 model seems very common, yet rare on the i3 model

patrick_spd4u said:
Since I have an Acer W700 tablet, I would let you know something about the W700. I will compare it mostly with the Surface Pro because its a gold standard for Intel Core tablets
First thing first, W700 lacks the active digitizer. Don't expect writing and drawing to feel like the Surface Pro or Galaxy Note. Its far from it. I use Adonit Jot stylus, it helps a lot compared to other styli or finger input, but still nowhere as good as the Surface Pro.
Second, the battery last like Haswell tablets. This tablet is insane in term of battery life. I mostly get 6-7 hours for my usage. I use this tablets mostly for browsing, downloading, playing casual games, taking notes (OneNote FTW!), watching videos/movies and listening to music. If you look for an Ivy Bridge tablet that last like Haswell tablets, this is the only one.
Third, since I mentioned videos, movies, and music, I would say this tablet has great screen and speaker. The speaker is great for a tablet. If you enable the Dolby enhancement, the speaker will get louder (with some distortion), on par with cheaper multimedia laptops. Definitely better than the Surface Pro. The screen is also better than any tablet screen Ive ever used.
Fourth, it has no great keyboard solution. Unlike the Surface Pro which has options like the Type and Touch cover, the W700 relies on a Bluetooth keyboard or a case with integrated Bluetooth keyboard. Consult the seller first on which version you get. I would recommend the former since the latter is not comfortable (very, very thin), it is nice though. If you are a bit unlucky like me, youll get neither of them. I got a Perixx 804 Bluetooth keyboard for €25, and it works reliably over Bluetooth. This keyboard feels like a keyboard from Acer V5 or most Sony VAIOs (a bit harder than MacBooks)
Fifth, it has WiFi issue. This issue plagues mostly early generation of this tablet, but you might get this as well. On my W700, I have no problem with the disconnection. However, the signal is not as good as other devices. Usually, when the other devices still get 1 bar of signal, the W700 has lost connection.
Sixth, its graphic performance is not as great as how a HD4000 should be. The GPU suffers from bad throttling, making the performance only comparable to HD3000 GPU on most laptops (I tried with i5-2410M)
Overall, this tablet is geared towards entertainment (great screen and speaker) than business/work (no active digitizer and no keyboard solution). This device is great if you want to use one device rather than two (tablet+laptop), but don't expect too much. Since Haswell tablets are just behind the corner, I would suggest you to wait for some affordable Haswell tablets. However, if you cant wait, I would recommend this device over any Atom tablets unless you need an active digitizer.
My W700 is the i5-3317U model with 64 GB of storage. I wish I had the 128 GB model.
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Thanks a lot , and sorry for the late reply. iam getting a 450 pounds voucher of student store u.k from my uni and i asked them about the keyboard they told that it comes with the dock & keyboard + the case cover with keyboard out of box so i dont need to buy it seperately . also student store u.k dont have much options to choose from so either i need to wait till lenovo and acer comes out with baytrail or haswell 10+ inch tablets as the studentstore dont stock Asus, HP or Dell .
Also another thing i need to know is that whether the weight and thickness of w700 is an issue to use it as a tablet .

I'd wait to purchase a dell. Acer was terrible when I had it. Dell seems more reliable.

I have the i5 version that came with the dock and the keyboard case. Despite being labelled as having an i5-3317 processor on the box, mine says it has a i5-3337 inside. A patch has fixed the throttling issue for me. The tablet is relatively heavy, it gets uncomfortable to hold and use rather quickly. The thickness isn't a problem; it's actually pretty thin. It's fine to use with the keyboard case on the lap though.
I don't mind the keyboard case. It has full width keys, seems sturdy and keeps the whole setup light. The keys don't press down far due to the thinness of it though. I have to say I like keyboard docks more after using the Asus Transformer TF101, but that would mean adding weight to balance the tablet.
Changing the SSD inside is a bit challenging, but it's possible. It uses a standard mSATA interface according to those who've replaced it. The omission of a SD/microSD slot is a bit strange, but I'd say it has enough storage for most people.
I haven't had any issues with the Wi-Fi, although it seems many others are having trouble with it.
The recovery is on a couple of DVDs. If anything goes awry, you may need to get an external DVD drive. Windows 8 does have the refresh option, which makes things easier if Windows is the problem.
The cameras on the device work alright. Pictures taken look rather poor quality, but I find these things tend to be that way. I really don't know why they put a back facing camera on this thing; I think people using their iPads to take pictures is bad enough. I haven't used it for video chatting yet. Some have reported that the microphone isn't great. The mic is on the bottom edge, which might have something to do with it, but I haven't used it yet.
I enjoy having this tablet. It's as powerful as a laptop and it's fast.

Still worth buying in late 2017 ?

I'm looking for a new tablet and the yoga book still looks like a good unit.
I can't see any sign of a new version coming out (new colours have been announced but same internals).
My question is - is this still a worthy piece of kit in September 2017 ? Ideally I was looking at the windows unit but the "screen off notetaking" in the android version looks useful and I'm android/Google in most other aspects of my life.
I won't be a heavy user - mostly web browsing etc. Certainly no PC gaming expectations.
Opinions appreciated

wilbur-force said:
I'm looking for a new tablet and the yoga book still looks like a good unit.
I can't see any sign of a new version coming out (new colours have been announced but same internals).
My question is - is this still a worthy piece of kit in September 2017 ? Ideally I was looking at the windows unit but the "screen off notetaking" in the android version looks useful and I'm android/Google in most other aspects of my life.
I won't be a heavy user - mostly web browsing etc. Certainly no PC gaming expectations.
Opinions appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In your use-case, it seems like it will still be a great device, depending on the price.
I'm still using mine as an office device for some light tasks like Word and Powerpoint presentations (I'm using an Android version, by the way ), emails and spreadsheet reports in a pinch. I work out in the field, and I have come to rely on it a bit more than my laptop as it's easier to carry around and the battery lasts longer..

boofman said:
In your use-case, it seems like it will still be a great device, depending on the price.
I'm still using mine as an office device for some light tasks like Word and Powerpoint presentations (I'm using an Android version, by the way ), emails and spreadsheet reports in a pinch. I work out in the field, and I have come to rely on it a bit more than my laptop as it's easier to carry around and the battery lasts longer..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks,
The windows version can be found for £450, the Android version for £350
I was really looking for a windows unit but the price makes the android version look very appealing......

wilbur-force said:
Thanks,
The windows version can be found for £450, the Android version for £350
I was really looking for a windows unit but the price makes the android version look very appealing......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the time, if it's productivity you're after, Windows wins. In this case, however, the Android version seems like a better choice as it has a lot more App support for native touchscreen functionality, and the environment, as it is still a tablet IMO, an Android version is a lot better than a Windows one.
Add to that the price point, and you've got a winner!
Be aware, though, that there isn't much of an Android development path coming from the community. Also, Lenovo seems to have neglected the development of this device internally, so it seems we won't get updates anymore. If those things are going to factors, then stay away from this device. lol

boofman said:
Also, Lenovo seems to have neglected the development of this device internally, so it seems we won't get updates anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where does this info come from? Are they not on track for the October release on Nougat as listed in the upgrade matrix?
Lenovo Upgrade Matrix

Mechey said:
Where does this info come from? Are they not on track for the October release on Nougat as listed in the upgrade matrix?
Lenovo Upgrade Matrix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could be wrong, but..
I haven't got OTA updates even for security, but it could be just an isolated case.
But in the case of the OP, since he's just getting his tablet, the support he'll be getting will not be as long as the support we've had who bought earlier than him.

boofman said:
I haven't got OTA updates even for security
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am hopeful that they haven't been bothering to release security updates because they have been hard at work on Nougat! Who knows...
@wilbur-force , I would recommend waiting a month and seeing if the Nougat update comes out.
Even without the update, I think this is a pretty great tablet if you plan on using the note taking capabilities. I use mine every day for note taking in lectures and working on assignments while on campus. It is a feather compared to my laptop and I find that I can leave my laptop at home 90% of the time. However, it could definitely benefit from some of the enhancements of Nougat; namely better split screen capabilities.
If you mostly just plan on surfing the web (ie, extensive keyboard use and minimal stylus use) I would recommend getting something with an actual keyboard. While the Halo keyboard is certainly better than an on screen keyboard, it is an order of magnitude less effective than a physical keyboard. I actually purchased a small bluetooth keyboard, both so that I wouldn't have to use the Halo, but also so that I can seamlessly go from taking notes with the stylus (great for equations and figures) to typing.
When paired with a bluetooth keyboard, this tablet is a perfect for anyone who plans to get a lot of use out of a stylus. However, I wouldn't want to compose more than a few short sentences with the Halo keyboard.

wilbur-force said:
Thanks,
The windows version can be found for £450, the Android version for £350
I was really looking for a windows unit but the price makes the android version look very appealing......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just returned my Windows version as a fully patched Win 10 with the latest Lenovo supplied drivers breaks keyboard functionality as well as sleep when you close the lid. Horrid...I may get the Android version though if I can root/jailbreak it.

DigiAngel69 said:
I just returned my Windows version as a fully patched Win 10 with the latest Lenovo supplied drivers breaks keyboard functionality as well as sleep when you close the lid. Horrid...I may get the Android version though if I can root/jailbreak it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of my devices are rooted or jailbroken..except for my YB Android, as it works perfectly fine without it.

DigiAngel69 said:
I just returned my Windows version as a fully patched Win 10 with the latest Lenovo supplied drivers breaks keyboard functionality as well as sleep when you close the lid. Horrid...I may get the Android version though if I can root/jailbreak it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you apparently made something wrong as mine works more than perfectly...
I would never buy an Android Tablet in this price range as it is more than common through all Manufacturers they stop developing/support after a while... The Yoga Book has a too specific Hardware to expect any Custom Roms... Windows wins here clearly through permanent updates...
And the possibilities on Windows are simply endless ampler... You can even use BlueStacks with decent speed to use that very specific Android App...

jamespmi said:
Well you apparently made something wrong as mine works more than perfectly...
I would never buy an Android Tablet in this price range as it is more than common through all Manufacturers they stop developing/support after a while... The Yoga Book has a too specific Hardware to expect any Custom Roms... Windows wins here clearly through permanent updates...
And the possibilities on Windows are simply endless ampler... You can even use BlueStacks with decent speed to use that very specific Android App...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on the use case. I still consider it a tablet more than anything, and an Android tablet is better than a Windows one in terms of tab-specific apps (functionality, ease of use / ux and the graphics are scaled correctly)

I bought and Android yogabook 6 weeks ago and am very happy with it. I have just installed the OTA Nougat update. I had issues that required me to reformat my SD card otherwise it got stuck in a boot loop, but all is OK now

I just bought the Android version on sale a week ago. I must say that I'm very impressed because of it's versatility and portability. I think the must have apps for this tablet are from myscript. They are the myscript stylus input method and the myscript nebo preview (which must be sideloaded via an apk).
What makes myscript stylus better than, say, google handwriting input is that Stylus allows you to use the digitizer. With google's version, you can only use the screen and the digitizer does not respond to input. What's the benefit of this app? Well, if you are in pen mode in the Artrage app doing a drawing, and you switch to any other app which requires the keyboard, you don't have to put the pen down and start typing. It will stay in pen mode and instead of the popup keyboard, it will popup a text line for you to write in. It will recognize handwriting, printing, and gestures. So basically, if you're comfortable with writing on a pen more than typing on the keyboard, or you don't want to switch modes when you switch apps, then this app is a must. I usually have the yogabook in 30/70 splitscreen laptop mode. One side a messaging app, the other side a notetaking app. I can switch between the two and do all my inputs with the pen on the exact same surface (the digitizer).
Myscript nebo is a great notetaking app simply because it allows you to convert your handwriting into text as if you typed it using a keyboard. It also converts your hand drawn flowcharts into Visio like flowcharts with connectors that stick. Hand drawn math equations also get converted and calculated (depending on complexity).
These two apps alone make the yogabook much more useful for me since I like using the pen vs the keyboard.

Just got the yoga book yesterday, mainly because it's just pretty unique and the 'writing notes on the keyboard' thing just pulled on me. Had tablets in the past, and now also a hp x360 (so with touchscreen) but writing on the display always had it's quirks. This solution by yoga just works pretty great, loving it so far.
It's also still very sleek and has a nice design, so no regrets so far. But I think that if you want 'just a tablet' or somethin with a keyboard, you might want to look further as this is really pointed towards the note taking and writing imo.

Hi all, I am also considering getting a Yoga Book even though we are in 2018 already. Lenovo doesn't appear to be coming out with a follow-up device, and I can see some pretty interesting prices for it.
I have a question about the stylus use though, and I have not seen or tried an actual device yet, so I will ask here. I assume you can takes notes with the stylus either on the "slab" where the keyboard is, but also directly on the screen, as in a notepad, if you swivel the slab to make it a true tablet mode. Is that correct?
To take notes with the stylus I would assume that it feels more natural to write directly on the screen and see the "ink" drawn directly where the stylus is.
I currently use a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 edition). It's 4 years old but I still absolutely love it, and I use it extensively to take notes, and it has replaced my paper notebook completely. It is however showing signs of age and the screen is starting to have defective spots where the stylus doesn't work. So, I need to replace it, and the Yoga Book looks like an interesting step up, even considering its age. Would it be a god choice?
I think the My Galaxy Note still has a better screen and split windows support than the Yoga Book, but at the prices I have seen the Yoga Book, it might be a good deal. I am not overly concerned about Android level upgrades, as my Galaxy Note is still at Android 5.1.1 and it works great.
Thanks!

Electrocutus said:
Hi all, I am also considering getting a Yoga Book even though we are in 2018 already. Lenovo doesn't appear to be coming out with a follow-up device, and I can see some pretty interesting prices for it.
I have a question about the stylus use though, and I have not seen or tried an actual device yet, so I will ask here. I assume you can takes notes with the stylus either on the "slab" where the keyboard is, but also directly on the screen, as in a notepad, if you swivel the slab to make it a true tablet mode. Is that correct?
To take notes with the stylus I would assume that it feels more natural to write directly on the screen and see the "ink" drawn directly where the stylus is.
I currently use a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 edition). It's 4 years old but I still absolutely love it, and I use it extensively to take notes, and it has replaced my paper notebook completely. It is however showing signs of age and the screen is starting to have defective spots where the stylus doesn't work. So, I need to replace it, and the Yoga Book looks like an interesting step up, even considering its age. Would it be a god choice?
I think the My Galaxy Note still has a better screen and split windows support than the Yoga Book, but at the prices I have seen the Yoga Book, it might be a good deal. I am not overly concerned about Android level upgrades, as my Galaxy Note is still at Android 5.1.1 and it works great.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can technically write on the screen but the tracking and lag are awful. I'd only use the pen on the screen for underlining and even then you would probably still be better off using the wacom pad

I've just got one myself and I think it's great tool for students, highly portable, easy to take notes on.
I'm not sure whenever it's worth the risk of updating to nougat, but even on Android 6 I like it's functionality.
There is some delicate lag with pen when using in OneNote though.

Electrocutus said:
Hi all, I am also considering getting a Yoga Book even though we are in 2018 already. Lenovo doesn't appear to be coming out with a follow-up device, and I can see some pretty interesting prices for it.
I have a question about the stylus use though, and I have not seen or tried an actual device yet, so I will ask here. I assume you can takes notes with the stylus either on the "slab" where the keyboard is, but also directly on the screen, as in a notepad, if you swivel the slab to make it a true tablet mode. Is that correct?
To take notes with the stylus I would assume that it feels more natural to write directly on the screen and see the "ink" drawn directly where the stylus is.
I currently use a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 edition). It's 4 years old but I still absolutely love it, and I use it extensively to take notes, and it has replaced my paper notebook completely. It is however showing signs of age and the screen is starting to have defective spots where the stylus doesn't work. So, I need to replace it, and the Yoga Book looks like an interesting step up, even considering its age. Would it be a god choice?
I think the My Galaxy Note still has a better screen and split windows support than the Yoga Book, but at the prices I have seen the Yoga Book, it might be a good deal. I am not overly concerned about Android level upgrades, as my Galaxy Note is still at Android 5.1.1 and it works great.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My note had some internal malfunction, like force-closing apps and i was unable to fix it. I got the YB last week and it kinda feels like the SMP-601 was a more powerful tablet, the art rage app seems a bit laggy compared with the drawing app in the note 2014, i may be wrong and require more testing also the pen that comes with it is not what i would call suitable for the screen as the note 2014 was(that pen was awesome) and on top of that you do not have a native app to take notes in content that is on the screen, like when you are reading a text and wanna save a little paragraph for latter like the air commander app. The battery life seems worse too, the note 2014 could be left alone in a table for about a week and still have some juice left on the battery. There's a new Samsung tab S3 seems a worthy replacement (Even with Samsung awful software updates), but it is jesus christ expensive and thus it kinda can't compete with YB price range and cost benefit.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I kind of get the same feeling and I'm not sure the Yoga Book is a suitable replacement. Even though my Note 2014 is 4 years old, it is still my workhorse.
I like the Tab S3 but I am upset that they didn't keep the S pen small and in a slot in the unit, just so they could make it thinner.
I have to be able to use it as a true notebook replacement and take notes on screen. I use OneNote extensively because I can also sync and work with them on my desktop later.

Electrocutus said:
Thanks for sharing your experience. I kind of get the same feeling and I'm not sure the Yoga Book is a suitable replacement. Even though my Note 2014 is 4 years old, it is still my workhorse.
I like the Tab S3 but I am upset that they didn't keep the S pen small and in a slot in the unit, just so they could make it thinner.
I have to be able to use it as a true notebook replacement and take notes on screen. I use OneNote extensively because I can also sync and work with them on my desktop later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can kinda use it like a Hybrid Between Tablet and a Netbook. I'm having my first experience using it in classes this week and it kinda works well. I rooted and removed all bloat, by doing that you can get an very lightweight 7.1 android experience which comes with an Microsoft office suite apps including the OneNote app. Typing in the halokeyboard is not bad as some people say it is. I think battery life might be manageable if you can put some GovTuner or something in it. Installing windows 10 is also an option. But if you have the money i would take a look on some reviews on the S3 or even an Ipad Pro. As the android tablet market shares apps with the smartphone market we are on a state that we are kinda lacking optimizations for tablets, i mean it makes the android tablets look exactly like a smartphone with a bigger screen, while on the IOS side we have apps that are really suited for tablet use.:fingers-crossed: