toopie28

Anyone got either one?

I want to replace my laptop - this will be used mainly for business and I do take it home with me and there is no Wi-Fi so I need a place for a USB.

I like the separate keyboard on the Surface but I could make do with the virtual on the Galaxy.

Thoughts?

Guindalf

Neither tablet comes with a keyboard! The case/keyboard on the Surface is an extra.

Having said that, the Galaxy will work with a BlueTooth keyboard just as well as the Surface.

I'm a die-hard Android fan and if it was for personal use, I would unhesitatingly suggest the Galaxy, but with work being a major consideration, I'd go with the Surface. The reason being that it'll run Microsoft Office without having to mess with compatibility or other issues.

Both will be a learning curve if you're not used to them, but the Surface will also be ahead when it comes to connecting (physically or virtually) with other Windows PCs.

toopie28

Ok, thanks.

Do you have the Galaxy phone? I'm thinking of switching my iphone to the Galaxy.

Guindalf

I have the Galaxy Nexus, but I know the S4 gets rave reviews. Also the new Moto X is very highly rated.

Bob

If you're thinking of getting the phone, it does play very nicely with the tablet. I've got the Tab2 and rather like it and what I've played of the Note, it's even nicer.

SpoogleDrummer

I've got the Galaxy Note 3 phone and it's easily the best phone I've had but it makes tablets totally worthless to me. Anything I can't do on my phone I wouldn't be able to do on a tablet so I whip out my laptop instead.

Steerpike

My colleague advises the surface Pro 2, not the lower models; I forget why right now. Despite being bulky for a tablet, he liked the way it ran windows apps without issue. I'll probably be getting one for myself so I can better understand the product.

I bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet in Sept - this is the 8" tablet that comes with a stylus that slides into the case nicely (and that I left behind in a restaurant within a week of buying!). The note taking feature (handwriting capture) is very good, and it does a half decent job of handwriting recognition too. A friend currently uses an iPad with stylus for notes, and is now cutting over to the Samsung because of the superior stylus integration.

I find tablets (be they iPad or Android) to be impractical due to lack of readily available keyboard. I bought a MacBook Air in Oct just for the sheer heck of it, and while I don't care too much for the UI (way over-hyped), it is an engineering marvel and I take it everywhere. I'm running windows on it mainly (thanks to VMWare fusion) but do use the native IOS environment for basic browsing, email, etc.

ETA - I have tried external bluetooth keyboards on both the iPad and the Samsungs; They DO let you type conveniently in text fields (of course) but - they don't work well for anything else - even basic stuff like tabbing between fields, escaping out of a dialog, trying to do a 'page down' or 'end' on a web page, etc. The iPad was really awful in this regard.

Duncan Roberts

I like Windows 8/8.1 an Windows Phone 8 and from a pure speed, UI and stability standpoint would recommend them so out of your choices I would recommend the Surface. If you go for the original it does have downsides which can easily be researched but with the Surface 2 line being so new and it behind silly season, you can get some great deals on the Surface. Also check out the Microsoft 12 days of Christmas, you might get lucky.

Sheepdip

We've just test run a couple of the Surface Pros and are really impressed (in a business context) and will probably deploy these. I have a Galaxy Tab 2 and it's a great machine but does fall down a little in terms of connectivity (the mail software connecting to an Exchange server is horrible!).

Nutek

We have Surface Pros and also Surface RTs in use here.

The RT is good for what we use it for (Student labwork/Internet access mainly), but limited in what software it can run and quite likely a dead end technology.

The Pro is pretty damn good as a business machine and will handle pretty much anything a regular laptop does. They are heavier though, and thicker. They also run a little hotter so there is a cooling fan that makes it less-than-silent (but not bad).
Windows 8 is still awful (imo) but at least it makes some sort of sense on the Surface, unlike on the desktop.

toopie28

Ok, well I think the Surface Pro 2 it is then.

I DESPISE the ipad. And my iphone is getting on my nerves too. Everyone I speak to LOVES the bloody I's.

And - OMG - Windows 8 - I got a new home computer several months ago and I still hate it. WHY do they have to mess with a good thing. I have had all out tantrums with my computer because of this.

I've been told that the update has addressed some issues but I do not believe it.

Ok, must be a sign - just clicked that link and you get $100 off for the Surface Pro.

sir_eccles

Plenty of decent laptops being sold out there with Windows 7 pro on them, such as Thinkpads.

Nutek

Yep. Interesting figures floating around showing that Win7 actually outsold Win8 last month. That must be annoying.

Failing that, install something like "Start8". Get all the new under-the-hood improvements with the interface MS wishes it had kept.

http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

Bob

http://www.classicshell.net/

I use Classic Shell, because it's free.

It even had the Windows logo on the start bar, until they got a cease and desist notice and had to remove it in the last update.

sir_eccles

I rebuilt a computer recently (had been toying with mythbuntu on it) bought an OEM system builder copy of Win7 pro. Can't remember how much it was, something like $150.