I have the Asus T100 and I have to say it is a great device as a mini portable laptop and a tablet. Battery life is what you would expect from a tablet and performance is decent. It came with office free as well (which I thought only 8in and smaller tablets were meant to).
I read in most win8 tab reviews that on a 32GB system windows will take up half which is not quite true, in my case it came with almost 20Gb spare (19.somethingGb spare) and when I did a file wipe it increased to almost 22Gb spare. I realise it still isn't 32Gb but its a lot more than half left over.
Also another thing missing from win8 reviews is that every device gets updates just like iOS, you aren't going to be stuck with no security updates or anything like that when running with Win8.
The only thing missing from it is some of the usual tablet apps and games that you can get on iOS and (to a slightly lesser extent) Android. I could go on about how I feel the Asus is the best tab I have used but Id probably be called a windows fan boy (and not for the first time).
The best tech investment I've made this year is my ASUS T100TA. A snappy real windows (quad core bay-trail) touch screen tablet & computer (since it includes a fully functional keyboard, plus Office for $380 is a deal. The IPS screen is great, the keyboard is good (not great, but good, and serves as a stand), and I must say, the processor performance has never left me feeling lagged, though I'm web surfing editing docs, and watching movies, not editing video...
I absolutely love my T100. Even though I could only find the 32GB version here in Canada, I honestly have no complaints. It's such an amazing replacement for my old iPad2,4.
On Amazon, the Venue 8 Pro is $140 cheaper. No keyboard and less storage, though.
I'm thinking about getting one of these, and I'm wondering: how important is the keyboard with Win 8.1? Will I generally be able to get by without one?
I've had my T100TA 64Gb for about a month now and it's a great little unit. fast, good graphics, free Office. I put a 64Gb mSD card and it has more than enough space for what I need it for. I got mine for $349 on Amazon but the price has gone back up since then.
Some impressive deals are available this week at -- TabletSprint -- which introduced five new Android tablet models to launch in December with the latest features and technology - some of their best deals range from a 7-inch tablet comparable to the Nexus 7 that is on sale this week for $109 - Plus an 8.9" tablet (Pipo M7 Pro) for $229 that compares to the new LG G-Pad priced $100 more -- worth checking out -- also features the new SmartQ Z Watch for $155 that launched December 1st which compares to Samsung's Galaxy smart watch but nearly half the price.
+1. Even if reviewers don't recognize the awesomeness of windows tablets (although AT praised the T100), consumers will demonstrate their awesomeness with their dollars. What could be better than a device that can be used for play and for work or school, especially if said device includes free office and costs $200-350?
I'm in love with my dell venue pro 8 - windows 8, free office, 8" and less than a pound, nice design, stylus, came with $25 credit to the windows store, all for $200 (I got it on sale - $300 normally). I use it for play but I can also use it to log into my VPN and remote desktop to do work and to draft and edit documents using word, excel and power point, which are the programs my firm uses. Using whatever word substitutes ios and android offer is out of the question bc formatting is crucial in my field, and only office offers a full panoply of formatting options, not to mention the disaster that would result from trying to cut and paste from other word processing programs. Office also offers endless features that we use (including some features specially designed for my firm like the ability to toggle between straight quotes and curly ones). I am getting astray from my point, which is that having an ultraportable tablet that I carry everywhere that I can use for work without the limitations of ios android is amazing. I only wish it had a higher rez screen and that the stylus functioned better.
Anyway I think windows 8 tablets, and to nearly the same extent windows rt tablets, are going to be popular successes even if they are not critically acclaimed.
My point is that while there are apps for WinRT, there are not nearly as many as on Android. Would you pay minimum $250 ($50 more than the Venue 8 32GB) to get a tablet that basically doesn't have nearly as many apps? Maybe in a year, WinRT will be better... except we said that a year ago and it still isn't. It's not about "taking sides" -- I'm just saying that as far as tablets go right now, speaking of the best options, I wouldn't recommend anything with WinRT. Besides, Win8.1 tablets are basically the same price in many cases. The market is speaking, and right now it's saying, "We don't want WinRT -- full Win8.1 or nothing, thanks!"
First of all Windows RT has Office. You talked about the iPad being a possible laptop replacement in a generation or two. Right now devices like the Surface 2 are, for most users.
Secondly, Windows RT has many first party apps you would come to expect on a tablet. You say that after a year Windows RT isn't better, yet apps like Facebook and Flipboard have been released in that year, not to mention 8.1 which was a substantial upgrade. I own both an iPad and a Surface 2 and honestly the Surface 2 is the device I bring with me as it is just a much more capable device.
I take your point that if Windows RT and full Windows 8.1 are the same price then why would someone choose RT, then of course choose the more full featured version. But give RT a fair shout, instead of blindly dismissing it. You obviously haven't used in on a regular basis like I have, otherwise I doubt you would be as dismissive. Give it a try my friend.
I think we should really distinguish between "consumption" tablets and "productivity" tablets, they are two entirely different markets even if the final form factors look similar. Windows 8 tablets are productivity devices, need double or quadruple the cpu, ram, nand and other specs (other than screen) and are double the price - especially when extras are included. And that's okay, because its justified. But you know when you need one of these and you buy it for the work you do.
Consumption tablets are computing appliances. They should be easy to hand around (to the kids, wife, etc.), just work, not have any disk system, update super easy, and have a very long battery life even when used continuously. It's something I don't have to support, and can buy for anyone. For this market iOS is by far the best, and Android has some reasonable products but I wouldn't touch Windows.
I completely agree. The Surface Pro 2 is meant for productivity. You could not have said it better and this is coming from someone that has 2 iPad's and the Nexus 7. But I've finally realized that at this point I need a device that I can be more productive with and that for me is a Windows 8 tablet.
"First of all Windows RT has Office. You talked about the iPad being a possible laptop replacement in a generation or two. Right now devices like the Surface 2 are, for most users."
Whether it is processing emails, composing docs/presentations/spreadsheets, projecting presentations, remote management of workstations/servers, browsing file servers, VOIP calls or a myriad of other productive task my iPad Air steps up to the plate. The same goes for Android tablets. You are kidding yourself by thinking Windows is the only productivity platform.
Sure you can do those things on your iPad but you're kidding yourself if you think that windows tablets don't make them way easier especially with free office. There's no word processing app as good as word and no number crunching app as good as excel and no note taking app as good as one note. That's not to mention the gigantic limitation of only being able to show one app on the screen at a time which is a killer for most productive tasks. I would pull my hair out don't my job (lawyer) on an iPad for these reasons (also lack of swipe although Bluetooth keyboards make that less important). I have a nexus 7 which I think is an awesome tablet but I recognize that it, like an iPad, is not designed for real work.
Also, Microsoft has their own retail stores (around 50) and 500 bestbuy locations have separate stores for Windows products where there is higher chance of buying surface RT than nexus 7.
Surface RT did not do well earlier because of higher price but after the price cuts in July they are selling better than nexus tablets and many other android tablets.
You are talking as if Windows RT does not have any apps. There are thousands of apps and games on windows store including official facebook and twitter apps that are not available for android tablets other than scaled phone apps.
Individual models of Android devices are rarely best sellers, but the sum of all Android devices is a majority of the market. So "the market" still favors Android, if you count it as an entire ecosystem rather than looking at a single device.
Go shopping for a Surface 2 right now and you will see that the market has indeed spoken. You'll have a hard time finding one anywhere, even on the MS store. Surface RT was underspec'ed, and Windows 8 needed polish. Surface 2 is the hardware people were hoping for. Sure, MS made less of them than they did Surface RT, but Surface 2 is essentially sold out--something I have not seen any press about.
The app selection argument might be somewhat valid, but IE11 is so much more competent as a browser that many "apps" can simply be IE tabs pinned to the Start screen. Why settle for the App version when the website offers full capability? I dunno, I've tried many tablets over the years, and Surface 2 is the only one I've used that feels like "more than a tablet." I use my Surface 2 almost exclusively, even while working from home. There is one x86 application where I have to go to our notebook, but even then, I can remote desktop to it if I must.
Excluding social sites that integrate with camera apps and the like I find anything that is mainly purchasing or consuming content is almost always a better experience with the full website than a cut down mobile app.
I am really at a loss as to why webmasters put so much time into making a mobile version and/or app version of their website.
webmasters make mobile versions of websites so they dont have to make a app for 4 platforms. Mobile ready websites are universal across any device that can read HTML5, and that's all of em.
Honestly, mobile versions of websites are a terrible substitute for a poorly done non-reactive website. Spend the extra 10% of your time developing the layout that scales to "any" resolution and you're done. Anandtech has done a pretty good job of that recently.
Wow, what dream world do you live in. Surface RT does not outsell the Nexus 7. Surface RT outsells nothing. In fact, the nexus 7 outsells all RT tablets combined. Your links on Bestbuy shows they don't actually even stock RT tablets. ALL windows tablets only make up 3.4% of the market, while Android makes up 60% The Nexus 7 is one of the largest selling Android tablets. While Samsung sells the most, the Nexus is selling millions. Dream on.
This comment is pure BS. RT has more quality "tablet" apps than Android. Overblown cell phone apps on a 10 inch tab are worse than web sites and Android doesn't even have a full browser to compensate.
I've tried every internet browser available on a windows and IE 11 is the only one worth using on a touch device so I fail to see the issue here.
It's ironic that you go on to recommend an 8 inch tab ,which is so small that the desktop is practically unusable, over RT primarily on the basis of it's ability to run desktop apps. Look you are not the target market for RT. It is not for power users. It's a hassle free device that just works or if you prefer a device your family can't screw up. No viruses, no performance degradation, and no wasting time fixing crap that some how went wrong, all in a form factor that is unequaled in the Windows ecosystem. If you can't see past your own use case, It's your own limitations.
Interesting: IPAD and Power user in the same paragraph. IPAD is nothing more than a Kindle with more apps. Most people in the business world use windows on their laptop or desk top - IPAD is not sogreat at sharing with these! Surface 2: love it and love the fact that I can use office on it to modify docs from my laptop or my desk top. I recommend you stop drinking the Apple/Android coole aid.
The Surface RT was the best selling windows 8 tablet and out sold all most if not all 10 inch android tablets. So with all do respect I think your deaf when it come to what the market is saying.
Yes I'm aware they over produced it but let's try to stay on topic.
The fact they overproduced isn't relevant to a discussion of sales numbers and does not negate anything I said. RT still "was the best selling windows 8 tablet and out sold most if not all 10 inch android tablets".
No they were over produced because they were overly optimistic and overestimated demand, which is not the same as not selling. Even though they didn't sell as well as they had hoped it was still "the best selling windows 8 tablet and out sold most if not all 10 inch android tablets". So according to your logic you would have to include all 10 inch Android and windows 8 tablet as devices that didn't sell but even then comparatively you must acknowledge they did better than others.
I have to agree - Windows RT can be easily dismissed, but things have improved dramatically in recent months. Here are some advantages over iOS and Android -
1. Office. The world revolves around Office, whether us geeks like it or not. 2. Pretty awesome apps. In my daily usage, I have to say, there is no better feedly app than Nextgen Reader, no better Twitter app than Tweetro, etc. The Mail app in 8.1 is actually good, as are the Bing apps - much better than any Google app on Android or iOS. Even popular multi-plat stuff like Flipboard, Facebook, Netflix etc are superior on Windows. Yes - there are tons of niche apps that you won't find in the Windows Store yet, but the situation is getting better all the time, and if you need one of these niche apps, by all means iPad and Android spaces have great products. 3. Multitasking. This is probably the big one which puts it way over the top. They have actually figured out really easy multitasking with touch. I can't go back to Android or iOS after this. 4. It's Windows. There's a whole bunch of things that you couldn't do on Android or iOS - things like multi-monitor, wide support for USB peripherals (at least class drivers), etc.
Yes, of course, having roughly comparable Windows 8.1 products makes the proposition dicy, but there are some pretty great features in the two Windows RT tablets, and RT at this point is becoming less and less a dealbreaker. The other thing I have found is that with 8.1 I rarely even go to the desktop, making that advantage of compatibility x86 apps a moot point. To be sure, there are some niche things I couldn't do on RT - like running AutoCAD - but I couldn't do them on Android or iOS either. Anyway, the kickstand and touch cover on Surface are very useful, and Lumia 2520 has the best tablet display on the market in exterior locations. (Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 and iPad Air are better in the dark) And RT 8.1 has progressed enough to not be a dealbreaker. Lumia 2520 has become my daily driver.
Disagreed. Bought the Surface 2 for my wife to replace her laptop while she is in school, and it's fantastic. Fast, excellent screen and battery life, full Office, and does everything she used her laptop with - netflix, hulu, foodnetwork recipes, and school work.
I know many people value nick-nack naps, but when you say "doesn't have nearly as many apps" you are going to have to be more specific as to what is missing that is soo incredibly valued.
I have an Android Tablet (Transformer Prime) and a Surface Pro 2. I have found a Surface App for every Android App I used to use and even have found Surface apps not available on the Android (try finding an Android app for the Swedish metal band Meshuggah!)
Every single Surface app I have found to replace a corresponding Android app is "FAR" superior to the corresponding Android app. The are more "quality" apps for the Surface than "quality" apps for an Android. It's not even close.
I have to agree that the "number of apps" argument is basically ludicrous. "Oh no, I only have access to 100,000 apps, not 800,000." Guess what, you'll probably use 100 of those, at most. And most of those will be common things like Skype or Twitter that are available everywhere. And for the rest, on iOS you have to sift through a lot of cruft that sits around on the App Store long after it has been last updated or found useful. I'd rather have a smaller store with better quality / fresher apps than a giant disorganized smorgasbord. And the UI on the Microsoft family is smooth, beautiful, and consistent.
@JarredWalton What you said is completely wrong. There's no evidence that flagship bay trail or clover trail tablets sell better individually than Surface 2 or Surface RT. Maybe not even overall because nobody reveals how Windows is doing. You have to do guesswork via IDC, Gartner, etc. So, this is primarily based off of your personal preference. Few people want an underpowered PC in a compromised tablet form factor to do real work. And the lack of interest outside of deep discounts and shipments this quarter by OEM reflects that just like MS with the Surface OEMs are not confident in these low-powered hybrids.
You couldn't be further from the truth. How many of the apps in Google or Apples store are actually worth anything? As an owner of all the devices windows RT surface 2 is my everyday use tablet now. I have now given my kids my apple and crapdroid based tablets. As someone else stated most of the android apps are not optimized for the high screen resolution so please explain were the benefit of owning an android device comes in. Every app that I used on an iPad is available in the windows store. I love my surface 2 it performs beautifully day in and day out. If I have one gripe it's that it does not have an LTE radio built in, that's the only thing its missing.
Android tablet ecosystem is an embarrasment, too. Many phone apps just blown up to fill the tablet screens. I remember when the market was speaking "we don't want Android tablets..we want iPads..."
Absolutely right man, I dunno how ridiculously they came to the conclusion that RT does not worth it. Look, I'm not winRT fanboy, and yes, every OS has its holes but be fare, WinRT looks good and offers full blown office and more than 150k tablet optimized apps. that's software side, Have you ever seen Anandtech editors talk about Nokia products?!?! they review MotoG but they go blind over Lumia 1020 and Lumia 1520. From Tablet perspective, Lumia 2520 has the one of the brightest screens, over 650 nits! Where does iPad Air stand? Lumia 2520 has an unbelievable 8000+ mAh battery with super fast charging ability, where do Android Tablets stand? To me, Anandtech remains respectful and will, atleast for CPU/GPU reviews, but I can offend their views on Nokia products and fanboyism iPhone reviews
If the prices were drastically different between 8.1 and RT tablets maybe, but considering that the new Atom basically takes that out of the equation it does beg the question of why you would go after RT. For essentially the same money you can augment the limited app options for the RT with the desktop. You can still use all the same apps, and while your not going to be playing crysis it will still run many of your productivity apps, and can run a full browser so you get flash for use on media sites like hulu which an Android/RT tablet won't do.
That said, Microsoft is giving a copy of Office with RT. If you don't have an extra license or a Office360 subscription that's not an insignificant savings. Outside of the Surface Pro/2 basically all the other 8.1 tablets are more netbook replacement then desktop replacement.
True, but RT as one big advantage over 8/8.1: Malware immunity.
If I were to buy a windows tablet for my parents or any non-tech savvy person for that matter, it'd certainly be an RT one. No viruses, no toolbars, no crapware, etc.
If I was looking for a proper bargain tablet, I'd be on the lookout for a deal on the tegra note 7 right now. In the UK it's been going for 120 dollars (excluding VAT), and their prices are generally higher than in the US. And that's a tegra 4 device, which is arguably more powerful than any of the android devices on this list.
I've been pondering a Tegra Note 7 for my brother who is an artist. The stylus is the thing that makes it special for that application. It also has great game performance, which he would utilize.
The Tegra 5 and its competitors are going to have Playstation 3 levels of game performance though, so I think the Tegra 4 is a bit of a bridge. I realize that in tech you can't wait forever for the new cool thing, but I think Android tablets in general are still not there when it comes to game performance (despite the fact I'm typing this on one). In a year or so when Android gets "real" GPUs, it will become a potent ecosystem for gaming, maybe even posing a threat to consoles.
Tegra 5 sounds really good to me, but considering how poorly tegra 4 was received and how few android games seem to actually utilize the latest and greatest hardware, I'm not expecting a big impact.
The big selling point with the note 7 is the price, if they can get it down to half the price of a nexus 7 (which is what they did in the UK), it will be the best device in it's price range by a huge margin.
"Google can say it's difficult and confusing or whatever, but I use a 32GB microSD card and have no issues with on another tablet." Glad to see this issue getting more balanced reporting ;) Arguably SD cards make more sense in tablets than in phones, where the device is better optimised for consuming high-quality video.
Thanks for this summary, I feel it's a good one. I agree with previous commenters that perhaps Windows RT is given a little bit too short shrift, however I also see that it's difficult to recommend devices with a poor application ecosystem when you're a trusted source of purchasing advice.
Also, this is "best tablets" article, not a "tablets that mostly don't suck" article. I can't think of a WinRT tablet that falls under best tablets, and evidently Anandtech couldn't either.
The author (me) is suggesting that between me, Brian, Ryan, and Ian we couldn't name one Windows RT tablet that was a clear recommendation -- just like the dozens or even hundreds of Android tablets, they are either too expensive or have flaws. I didn't want to try digging through all of the tablets and doing a mini review of each one explaining our concerns, but in general, I would not recommend any of the WinRT devices at present.
Does that mean they're all terrible? No. It means that at the prices being asked, I didn't see any that struck me as being worthwhile over the alternatives. Surface 2 at $300 would be great; at $450 not so much. Lots of people apparently disagree and are speaking with their wallets, but $450 is a lot of money for a tablet in my book. It's also why I don't own any Apple products -- they're good, but not worth the cost for me.
If money is no object get the Surface pro 2, a powerful desktop and an android phone. You'll have it all covered. For that mather may be you'll save vs someone that has an Android tablet + laptop.
Now Microsoft just has to enable desktop to surface streaming a la Nvidia Shield.
Except you won't have the covered the #1 use case for tablets: reading. That requires a lightweight and comfortable to hold device, for which Microsoft currently has no contenders. Apple, Google, Amazon, etc all dominate MS here.
No mention of the Note 10.1 2014 edition Anand/Brain reviewed and praised? Even though its price is a bit high at $550, it have great pen support and excellent battery life/screen quality. It should be a good match for Ipad Air.
Price was a real concern on the Note 10.1. I won't give you Brian's exact comment on the 10.1 2014 edition, but it wasn't very flattering. At $300, it would be worth getting; at $550? No.
The note 10 offers more functionality than the ipad though. Multitasking sucks on iOS. Having to use the home button as a navigation mechanism other than when you simply want to get to the homepage is ridiculous. There's no task manager that can be as easily accessed. There is no stylus support. The note - gasp - lets you actually view more than one program at a time. Coupled with the stylus support you can easily read something on one half of the screen and take notes on the other and they will look great. Wacom is amazing.
The note can be customized to facilitate the owner 's uses of it. I set up a bunch of swipes on my phone and tablet (actually I set swipe gestures up on my windows 8 tablet as well so ios is the only OS without it) to access the apps or perform the actions that speed things up for me. Even if the performance of the A7 is noticeably better, I can still navigate around my devices more quickly bc of their customizability.
I don't own a note 10 and don't really want one. But the ipad is not better other than in your subjective opinion. I do agree with you that Samsung shouldn't have priced it at $550. Even though I think it is worth more than the ipad (since it actually does more than the phone I've already got in my pocket), it was DOA being priced higher than the ridiculously overpriced ipad (see apple's balance sheet in the cash and cash equivalents line) and many decent low end laptop options.
Where is the new nexus 10 - it should have been out by now?
I am looking for a larger android tablet and the google nexus ones are the safest bet (best for updates, common so tend to get better tested with software, good hardware, good price) but not going to buy a year old (there for in tablet terms pretty ancient) device.
Where are the Kindle Fires? To include windows tablets, but not the Fire HDX is kind of ridiculous since the Kindle market share absolutely tramples Windows. Yes it is a closed system, but that doesn't mean it doesn't sale and isn't worth covering.
Yes! Totally ignoring the Amazon product line (with its cons, and pros) is terrible in discussing a best tablets list. I was very, very surprised at this oversight.
Added a note -- I had meant to mention them, but forgot in the last push to post. Basically, no Google Play for me is a deal breaker. Yes, there's an Amazon Appstore, but it's not the same.
They're a decent deal if you consume a lot of content on Amazon... Personally I wish Amazon would falter so we could get their video content on all Android devices, not just Fire... Seems they're doing a good job marketing the Fire line, the ads comparing them to iPads are pretty direct and on point (it ignores a lot of realities mind you, but still)
For a lot of us, not including Google services, including Play, is a benefit. Amazon has a far superior privacy policy and while yes we don't get every Play app, we get most of the big ones, can sideload others, and don't have to compromise our privacy while still receiving a superior Android experience(at least as of the HDX line which really improved the UI dramatically).
Really, aside from the apps, virtually every other Play service is better from Amazon. Better bookstore, better video, better music store and better shopping experience.
Surprised the NVIDIA Shield isn't on this list. As a pure entertainment device, it can't be beat by other Android tablets. While the screen is small for a tablet, its not a phone either.
That used to be true, about the system reqs for a Win8 productivity device, but Bay Trail Atom has changed all of that. The key limiter is no longer processing power, it's input, same as the more powerful Win8 x86 devices.
To that end, the Dell Venue 8 Pro, Asus Transformer T100, and Dell Venue 11 Pro offer compelling productivity alternatives at the $300, $400, and $500 price points, respectively, and even cheaper at times with the Intel subsidies.
Best of both worlds in terms of price, OS capability, and usage patterns imo, now that I own a Transformer T100 I really see no need for an iPad/Android device or low-end Win8 laptop for my own usage patterns.
Can read on an oversize android phone. Smaller than a nexus 7, but my point is NOT having a gazillion devices.
Android works best on a phone. So get a large phone, galaxy note or something.
Tablet: Surface Pro if you're a worker and need a laptop replacement + tablet. Yeah sure Surface pro 3 with Broadwell chip should be lighter.
PC: More and more you need a full desktop with an above 300W of total system power to get serious work done, play real games and get serious storage, since web browsing and light work are being done on tablets and phones. If you want a piece of all 3 ecosystems, get an iMac instead.
A little surprised at no commentary related to the Kindle Fire line. Depending on your personal use case for a tablet, the Kindle Fire products can be quite compelling. Even more so with their recent offer of zero down financing on things are already pretty inexpensive.
As far as Windows RT, I personally feel that a Surface Pro 2 unit is still too expensive for such limited software options. It can be the greatest piece of hardware architecture on the planet, but if it can't do things I want to do it's already going to have problems showing up on my radar.
I am also a little suprised that the T100 didn't rate a mention.
Lately its been available for $389 for the 64GB model and it was once $349 (for a day on Amazon). I snagged mine repackaged for $339 as a warehouse deal. Its sitting under my tree right now to be unwrapped. I tried it out at a bigbox near me a couple of weeks ago and was suitably impressed.
It doesn't seem like the awesomest thing around, but the price is super cheap and overall I came away with a good impression. I wouldn't be happy with it if it was a $500 tablet (it needs better build quality and a somewhat nicer screen, more RAM and the z3770 would be nice too), but for the price it seems awesome.
It is good enough that the build quality and any other nits do not make it a bad experience at all. Its a rather nice experience, it is just that if it was a lot more expensive, it should be an even better experience.
Other than lacking an active digitizer and 1080p screen, it seems like a better option than the Surface 2 if you want a full windows experience IMHO. The 8" category, the Dell 8" does seem like the current best deal.
I am very interested to see what comes out of CES next month with Windows 8.1 64-bit builds supporting connected standby soon (I think next month is what MS stated).
Not that I am in the market for a new tablet with the T100 under the tree, but I am just curious the direction of the market. Though as cheap as it was, talk to me next year about Airmont arch and good higher end 2-in-1 options and I might just be trading up after only a year.
"Neither Dell Venue will set the world on fire in terms of performance or features, but the Atom SoC is generally much better than what you'll find in other $150-$200 tablets (i.e. the MediaTek SoCs in the ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7)."
Firstly I'm confused why Brian and Anand haven't contributed to this guide given that they're more familiar with iOS and Android.
Secondly, that statement of yours about a Clovertrail being better than anything in the sub-$200 market is a bit shocking to say the least. Have you not heard of the evga Tegra Note 7 that your own Brian Klug reviewed? At $199, it pretty much blows away anything sub $200 by a mile, and pulls its weight quite well above that price tag too. It does have a somewhat mediocre display from my personal experience of owning one for 2 weeks now, but I'm quite sure apart from the previous gen Nexus 7, nothing sub $200 does better.
Recommending some crappy Dell that will likely never see any updates is just flat out wrong on your part.
It's Clover Trail+, and I'd expect the CPU performance to be comparable if not better than Tegra 4's. GPU performance isn't as good, but I question how much that matters unless you are really set on playing high-end games on an 7-8" Android tab. Maybe if you're into emulation?
If the screen on the Venue 8 is anything like the screen on my Venue 8 Pro, then it's actually quite good, so that's one advantage it would have over the Tegra Note that you say has a mediocre display. Dell's new Venue tabs are actually pretty nice pieces of kit. I would recommend you actually try them instead of bashing them blindly.
Finally: what makes you think the Tegra Note is any more likely to see extended update support than the Venues?
I just ran the exact same benchmarks Jarred has listed for the venue 8, on my note 7.
Octane 4103 vs. 3536 on the Dell Kraken 5993 vs. 10,503 on Dell (since the result was in ms, lower = better?) 3Dmark 17892/19566/14605 vs. 8310/7915/10066
I think you're giving way too much credit to the ancient pos that Clovertrail+ is. Aside from the S800 on certain CPU and GPU benchmarks, I think Tegra 4 does quite well in the soc space.
Apart from the subjectively better display quality, the dell has nothing on the evga device. I was pleasantly surprised by how usable the stylus is on the evga (was fully expecting it to be a throw away). That's a nice bonus on top of everything else!
Seeing how many updates they are pushing to shield, i dont think I would be wrong to say the tegra note7 will also get similarly frequent updates (same company, soc, OS etc.). How about Dell's track record for android tablets?
More importantly on principle, how can Jarred recommend a device they havnt reviewed, unless these guides are promoted/supported by vendors or manufacturers, in which case that should be clearly stated.
I didn't read all the comments, so sorry if this was already mentioned, but most Nexus devices get updates for at least two years. Even the Galaxy Nexus, which stopped officially at 4.3.
"most people have a smartphone these days so if they want an additional mobile device it's more likely to be a larger tablet"
Maybe, but there's still a substantial resistance to the overhyped, overpriced smart phone juggernaut. According to a recent poll, 91% of American adults have a cell phone, and 56% of American adults have a smartphone.
It's surprising that you mention "Windows RT is not worth the time or money" because of the lack of apps and then go on to recommend 8" Win 8.1 tablets while saying "desktop mode on an 8” 1280x800 display isn't something most people are going to use much". So:
1. With the desktop mode being pretty much unusable on an 8" tablet, aren't these Win 8.1 tablets in the same situation as Win RT tablets - being able to access pretty much the same apps through the Windows App Store?
2. With the Surface 2, you get a bigger screen [10.6"] with higher resolution [1920x1080] compared to the current crop of 8" Win 8.1 tablets. You also get a copy of MS Outlook which i believe is not included on the 8" Win 8.1 tablets. You also do not have to worry about most of the malware that plague x86 based Windows devices in general. Were these points not even worth a mention?
Also, like some other comments have already pointed out, for the sub-$200 Android tablets, why is the EVGA Tegra Note 7 not mentioned? I know it's $50 more than the Dell Venue 7 that you recommend but it does offer a much faster SoC and stylus support.
I'm sorry to say but we have come to expect much better when Anandtech runs product recommendations.
I have the Venue 8 Pro, and I can say from experience that calling the desktop "unusable" on an 8" device is flat-out wrong. I can manage it just fine at 125% scaling even with my finger. With the active stylus, it's a breeze.
I was on the fence about this tablet, the screen is lower res than I'd like and I just couldn't imagine an Atom performing well enough. I managed, however, to get in on the MS 12 days of Christmas deal and acquired one at $99(and a second at $199 as a gift), so what the hell right?
Holy crap am I impressed. This is Win8.1 as it should be. Its fast, fluid, and just works. Everyone who has played with it just loves it on this device. Furthermore, and here is the shocker, I tossed a 64GB SDXC card into the slot, installed Steam and Civ5, and spent hours last night playing Civ with its Win8 touch mode! And it played flawlessly. I expected it to be a horribly slow mess but it actually played completely smoothly.
Now I'm wishing there was a touch update to a lot of classic games like Fallout. GoG has been running awesome deals but those games are unfortunately not touch optimized. The tablet itself though is simply amazing. I only wish I'd got the 64GB version, 32GB goes very fast.
To tell you the truth, most people stick with APPLE because of the name and ease of use. if you are at all more technical, you would understand the limitations of any Apple product. This gives way to the Anroid and Windows devices. If you stress out that Apple device you will understand why it is not a great deal to buy. However, if you are in it for simply the name and simplicity and have the cash for it, Apple is your best bet.
Looking into the product from a more technical aspect you will have to go with Android/Windows. Many people say that Windows is lacking apps...they are sooo mistaken. How many of those apps you downloaded on your Apple device do you actually use?
I think we need to look at the devices from all aspects and not separate them. If you do you will notice that the tables do turn.
FYI...I am not an Apple fan, but understand the technical backgrounds of these devices and want users to know this opinion.
Apps are the same story on any platform: how many do you actually use? On Android, I play games and surf the web, and have a couple other apps I use frequently (Evernote is one). I can get the apps on the other OSes, the games not so much. iOS is good for games, then Android, but the number of games I want on WinRT is far more limited. Many games of course come out for all three platforms, but it's often iOS first, then Android, and then much later WinRT.
I like Plants vs. Zombies 2 as one example; where's the Win8 App of that? Or how about the various Humble Bundle for Android games -- most of those aren't on Win8 either (but they're on iOS).
Brian's comment was, I believe, something to the effect of, "All I ever use my WinRT device for is IE and Netflix. Literally, that's it." Office can be run as well, but beyond that what do you need on your tablet? And what do you want on your tablet? Maybe I'm just too old to care much about most of the other apps (e.g. apps for websites -- who cares!?)
"To tell you the truth, most people stick with APPLE because of the name and ease of use. if you are at all more technical, you would understand the limitations of any Apple product."
They have the fastest hardware, best displays, and best tablet optimized apps by a very wide margin.
There are lots of reasons why technically minded people decide to go with iOS. What use is an ecosystem if the hardware is inferior and developers don't pay attention to it? Android and WinRT are a hell of a lot more "limited" when it comes down to what really matters to the end user.
I really feel like the Surface 2 was undersold here (Surface 1 underperforms too much for my liking). Without using people might not realise, but the browser in Win 8 is by a very, VERY long way the best tablet browser available. There are caveats of course (and plenty of them), but you get probably the best designed tablet OS, easily the best tablet browser, ultra-cheap storage (thanks to both 32Gb of starting memory and a microSD card slot) and real USB support (that means you can plug in a 4G modem, printer...in fact basically anything USB). That's not to mention the kickstand - and once you've had a tablet with a kickstand you'll probably never buy one without again.
It's not (IMO) as physically nice to hold in one hand and do things with as the iPad Air (software is more pleasant to use, but iPad air is lighter and a little faster), but the fact that you get a full browser is actually a huge boost and it simply cannot be overstated how much more useful this makes your tablet. WinRT tablets do continue to kinda suck for gaming though (especially compared to iPads), so keep that in mind.
I can't speak for the HDX, but it didn't take much work to get access to Google Play on a Kindle Fire HD. Heck, you can get access to the 1Mobile Market simply by side loading it onto the Kindle Fire HD. It pretty much makes the Kindle Fire HD act like a budget priced Google Nexus.
Agree with you all as well, T100 is amazing, although I wouldn't say it's better than the Venue 8 Pro in every respect. V8P has a rear facing camera and active stylus that would have helped make the T100 nearly perfect. I think the Venue 11 Pro is close to perfect but at a significantly higher price point. Still, if you didn't need all the grunt of a Surface 2 Pro, the 11 Pro would be a good choice imo.
Funny how you mention that the nexus 7 doesn't have a microSD slot as a negative, but it's not mentioned as a negative for the iPad or iPad mini. They also don't have a microSD slot, but that's ok because they are more expensive? In fact microSD is not mentioned as a differentiating factor on any of the windows tablets, its not even mentioned at all! I'm kinda getting tired of the bias on this site.
Meaning you think the reason people are critical of apple products is because they can't afford them? *rolls eyes*
Is it really hard to believe that your choice device company might not be the best for someone else and not because that person can't afford your hallowed brand? I could buy lots of I iproducts if I felt like it, but I don't like them. My firm actually offered me an iPhone 5S and an ipad, both of which would have been free to me but I wasn't interested even when I wouldn't have to pay anything. I'd rather have a blackberry that is good for email and a Windows tablet that can handle citrix and runs the programs I use at work - oh and can show more than one program on the screen at a time.
So I hope you appreciate my candor too. Non-Apple users are not the poorz.
I purchased a Kindle Fire HDX (7") for my dad. One reason: Mayday. My wife, mother, and I use droids, he still uses a flip phone, he wanted something he could use instead of his laptop, I wanted something that didn't mean I had to drop everything to help him with it, and my mother, while she has a galaxy s3, is mostly useless on her phone, so I wouldn't see her as much help on a tablet either. Mayday might be one of the biggest selling features on a tablet imho.
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Impulses - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
No honorable mention for that $350 Bay Trail ASUS TF you guys reviewed?jimbo2779 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I have the Asus T100 and I have to say it is a great device as a mini portable laptop and a tablet. Battery life is what you would expect from a tablet and performance is decent. It came with office free as well (which I thought only 8in and smaller tablets were meant to).I read in most win8 tab reviews that on a 32GB system windows will take up half which is not quite true, in my case it came with almost 20Gb spare (19.somethingGb spare) and when I did a file wipe it increased to almost 22Gb spare. I realise it still isn't 32Gb but its a lot more than half left over.
Also another thing missing from win8 reviews is that every device gets updates just like iOS, you aren't going to be stuck with no security updates or anything like that when running with Win8.
The only thing missing from it is some of the usual tablet apps and games that you can get on iOS and (to a slightly lesser extent) Android. I could go on about how I feel the Asus is the best tab I have used but Id probably be called a windows fan boy (and not for the first time).
splashd - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
The best tech investment I've made this year is my ASUS T100TA. A snappy real windows (quad core bay-trail) touch screen tablet & computer (since it includes a fully functional keyboard, plus Office for $380 is a deal. The IPS screen is great, the keyboard is good (not great, but good, and serves as a stand), and I must say, the processor performance has never left me feeling lagged, though I'm web surfing editing docs, and watching movies, not editing video...mjallen37 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I got mine from the Microsoft store for $299, which increases the value even more. So far I really like it.bj_murphy - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I absolutely love my T100. Even though I could only find the 32GB version here in Canada, I honestly have no complaints. It's such an amazing replacement for my old iPad2,4.Dentons - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Another vote for the Asus T100. It's a far better option than the Dell Venue 8 Pro, at roughly the same price.Bay trail is a game changer. Full Windows at great speed with the battery life of Android or iOS.
nafhan - Friday, December 27, 2013 - link
On Amazon, the Venue 8 Pro is $140 cheaper. No keyboard and less storage, though.I'm thinking about getting one of these, and I'm wondering: how important is the keyboard with Win 8.1? Will I generally be able to get by without one?
ESC2000 - Thursday, January 2, 2014 - link
What makes the T100 far better than the venue pro 8?scajjr2 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
I've had my T100TA 64Gb for about a month now and it's a great little unit. fast, good graphics, free Office. I put a 64Gb mSD card and it has more than enough space for what I need it for. I got mine for $349 on Amazon but the price has gone back up since then.toddhartman1000 - Friday, December 20, 2013 - link
Some impressive deals are available this week at -- TabletSprint -- which introduced five new Android tablet models to launch in December with the latest features and technology - some of their best deals range from a 7-inch tablet comparable to the Nexus 7 that is on sale this week for $109 - Plus an 8.9" tablet (Pipo M7 Pro) for $229 that compares to the new LG G-Pad priced $100 more -- worth checking out -- also features the new SmartQ Z Watch for $155 that launched December 1st which compares to Samsung's Galaxy smart watch but nearly half the price.jimbo2779 - Friday, December 20, 2013 - link
Every time I read a tablet review on here and other websites there is this same spam from tabletsprint.ESC2000 - Thursday, January 2, 2014 - link
+1. Even if reviewers don't recognize the awesomeness of windows tablets (although AT praised the T100), consumers will demonstrate their awesomeness with their dollars. What could be better than a device that can be used for play and for work or school, especially if said device includes free office and costs $200-350?I'm in love with my dell venue pro 8 - windows 8, free office, 8" and less than a pound, nice design, stylus, came with $25 credit to the windows store, all for $200 (I got it on sale - $300 normally). I use it for play but I can also use it to log into my VPN and remote desktop to do work and to draft and edit documents using word, excel and power point, which are the programs my firm uses. Using whatever word substitutes ios and android offer is out of the question bc formatting is crucial in my field, and only office offers a full panoply of formatting options, not to mention the disaster that would result from trying to cut and paste from other word processing programs. Office also offers endless features that we use (including some features specially designed for my firm like the ability to toggle between straight quotes and curly ones). I am getting astray from my point, which is that having an ultraportable tablet that I carry everywhere that I can use for work without the limitations of ios android is amazing. I only wish it had a higher rez screen and that the stylus functioned better.
Anyway I think windows 8 tablets, and to nearly the same extent windows rt tablets, are going to be popular successes even if they are not critically acclaimed.
sri_tech - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
"Windows RT is basically not worth the time or money unless all you want is something to run Internet Explorer"Really? Why are you dismissing RT without saying the disadvantages? You are acting like Windows RT does not have any apps.
Its sad that anandtech is saying like this. But you guys never dismissed chromebooks which require almost everything to be done in the browser.
Windows RT has official facebook and twitter apps while android apps are not optimized for tablets, especially large screen ones.
I understand bloggers taking sides of beloved platforms but I thought anandtech is different :(
JarredWalton - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
My point is that while there are apps for WinRT, there are not nearly as many as on Android. Would you pay minimum $250 ($50 more than the Venue 8 32GB) to get a tablet that basically doesn't have nearly as many apps? Maybe in a year, WinRT will be better... except we said that a year ago and it still isn't. It's not about "taking sides" -- I'm just saying that as far as tablets go right now, speaking of the best options, I wouldn't recommend anything with WinRT. Besides, Win8.1 tablets are basically the same price in many cases. The market is speaking, and right now it's saying, "We don't want WinRT -- full Win8.1 or nothing, thanks!"Liam F. O'Neill - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Jarred, I am sorry but I have to chime in here.First of all Windows RT has Office. You talked about the iPad being a possible laptop replacement in a generation or two. Right now devices like the Surface 2 are, for most users.
Secondly, Windows RT has many first party apps you would come to expect on a tablet. You say that after a year Windows RT isn't better, yet apps like Facebook and Flipboard have been released in that year, not to mention 8.1 which was a substantial upgrade. I own both an iPad and a Surface 2 and honestly the Surface 2 is the device I bring with me as it is just a much more capable device.
I take your point that if Windows RT and full Windows 8.1 are the same price then why would someone choose RT, then of course choose the more full featured version. But give RT a fair shout, instead of blindly dismissing it. You obviously haven't used in on a regular basis like I have, otherwise I doubt you would be as dismissive. Give it a try my friend.
kwrzesien - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I think we should really distinguish between "consumption" tablets and "productivity" tablets, they are two entirely different markets even if the final form factors look similar. Windows 8 tablets are productivity devices, need double or quadruple the cpu, ram, nand and other specs (other than screen) and are double the price - especially when extras are included. And that's okay, because its justified. But you know when you need one of these and you buy it for the work you do.Consumption tablets are computing appliances. They should be easy to hand around (to the kids, wife, etc.), just work, not have any disk system, update super easy, and have a very long battery life even when used continuously. It's something I don't have to support, and can buy for anyone. For this market iOS is by far the best, and Android has some reasonable products but I wouldn't touch Windows.
laytoncy - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I completely agree. The Surface Pro 2 is meant for productivity. You could not have said it better and this is coming from someone that has 2 iPad's and the Nexus 7. But I've finally realized that at this point I need a device that I can be more productive with and that for me is a Windows 8 tablet.sprockkets - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
"First of all Windows RT has Office. You talked about the iPad being a possible laptop replacement in a generation or two. Right now devices like the Surface 2 are, for most users."Win 8.1 is shipping with office now.
End User - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Whether it is processing emails, composing docs/presentations/spreadsheets, projecting presentations, remote management of workstations/servers, browsing file servers, VOIP calls or a myriad of other productive task my iPad Air steps up to the plate. The same goes for Android tablets. You are kidding yourself by thinking Windows is the only productivity platform.End User - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Hmmm, that should have been a reply to kwrzesien.ESC2000 - Wednesday, January 1, 2014 - link
Sure you can do those things on your iPad but you're kidding yourself if you think that windows tablets don't make them way easier especially with free office. There's no word processing app as good as word and no number crunching app as good as excel and no note taking app as good as one note. That's not to mention the gigantic limitation of only being able to show one app on the screen at a time which is a killer for most productive tasks. I would pull my hair out don't my job (lawyer) on an iPad for these reasons (also lack of swipe although Bluetooth keyboards make that less important). I have a nexus 7 which I think is an awesome tablet but I recognize that it, like an iPad, is not designed for real work.sri_tech - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
"The market is speaking, and right now it's saying, "We don't want WinRT -- full Win8.1 or nothing, thanks!"Are we looking at the same market?
Surface RT is selling better than the android tablets(nexus 7, dell venue 8) you have mentioned on two(Amazon, bestbuy) largest retailers.
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Com...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ipad-tablets-ereaders/...
Also, Microsoft has their own retail stores (around 50) and 500 bestbuy locations have separate stores for Windows products where there is higher chance of buying surface RT than nexus 7.
Surface RT did not do well earlier because of higher price but after the price cuts in July they are selling better than nexus tablets and many other android tablets.
You are talking as if Windows RT does not have any apps. There are thousands of apps and games on windows store including official facebook and twitter apps that are not available for android tablets other than scaled phone apps.
barleyguy - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Individual models of Android devices are rarely best sellers, but the sum of all Android devices is a majority of the market. So "the market" still favors Android, if you count it as an entire ecosystem rather than looking at a single device.sri_tech - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
@barleyguyBut thats not the point here. He is saying RT is not selling well and suggesting other tablets which are doing worse than RT.
He is not suggesting those android tablets (galaxy) that are selling well if that is the parameter.
A.Noid - Thursday, December 26, 2013 - link
No other tablets are doing worse than RT. Wake up.MonkeyPaw - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Go shopping for a Surface 2 right now and you will see that the market has indeed spoken. You'll have a hard time finding one anywhere, even on the MS store. Surface RT was underspec'ed, and Windows 8 needed polish. Surface 2 is the hardware people were hoping for. Sure, MS made less of them than they did Surface RT, but Surface 2 is essentially sold out--something I have not seen any press about.The app selection argument might be somewhat valid, but IE11 is so much more competent as a browser that many "apps" can simply be IE tabs pinned to the Start screen. Why settle for the App version when the website offers full capability? I dunno, I've tried many tablets over the years, and Surface 2 is the only one I've used that feels like "more than a tablet." I use my Surface 2 almost exclusively, even while working from home. There is one x86 application where I have to go to our notebook, but even then, I can remote desktop to it if I must.
steven75 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
"Why settle for the App version when the website offers full capability?"Not this again. I'd argue your standards are lower than mine (and most) if you consider a website a substitute for a native app on a tablet.
lmcd - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
If you're talking news apps, then a reading-mode pinned website is usually better than the equivalent news app.jimbo2779 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Excluding social sites that integrate with camera apps and the like I find anything that is mainly purchasing or consuming content is almost always a better experience with the full website than a cut down mobile app.I am really at a loss as to why webmasters put so much time into making a mobile version and/or app version of their website.
jasonelmore - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
webmasters make mobile versions of websites so they dont have to make a app for 4 platforms. Mobile ready websites are universal across any device that can read HTML5, and that's all of em.erple2 - Friday, December 20, 2013 - link
Honestly, mobile versions of websites are a terrible substitute for a poorly done non-reactive website. Spend the extra 10% of your time developing the layout that scales to "any" resolution and you're done. Anandtech has done a pretty good job of that recently.I've seen the future and it is great.
A.Noid - Thursday, December 26, 2013 - link
Wow, what dream world do you live in. Surface RT does not outsell the Nexus 7. Surface RT outsells nothing. In fact, the nexus 7 outsells all RT tablets combined. Your links on Bestbuy shows they don't actually even stock RT tablets. ALL windows tablets only make up 3.4% of the market, while Android makes up 60% The Nexus 7 is one of the largest selling Android tablets. While Samsung sells the most, the Nexus is selling millions. Dream on.A.Noid - Thursday, December 26, 2013 - link
IDC sales figures for 2012, and 2013; http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2013/12/04/idc-estima...s1aver - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
This comment is pure BS. RT has more quality "tablet" apps than Android. Overblown cell phone apps on a 10 inch tab are worse than web sites and Android doesn't even have a full browser to compensate.I've tried every internet browser available on a windows and IE 11 is the only one worth using on a touch device so I fail to see the issue here.
It's ironic that you go on to recommend an 8 inch tab ,which is so small that the desktop is practically unusable, over RT primarily on the basis of it's ability to run desktop apps. Look you are not the target market for RT. It is not for power users. It's a hassle free device that just works or if you prefer a device your family can't screw up. No viruses, no performance degradation, and no wasting time fixing crap that some how went wrong, all in a form factor that is unequaled in the Windows ecosystem. If you can't see past your own use case, It's your own limitations.
DrKGM - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Interesting: IPAD and Power user in the same paragraph. IPAD is nothing more than a Kindle with more apps. Most people in the business world use windows on their laptop or desk top - IPAD is not sogreat at sharing with these! Surface 2: love it and love the fact that I can use office on it to modify docs from my laptop or my desk top. I recommend you stop drinking the Apple/Android coole aid.s1aver - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
The Surface RT was the best selling windows 8 tablet and out sold all most if not all 10 inch android tablets. So with all do respect I think your deaf when it come to what the market is saying.Yes I'm aware they over produced it but let's try to stay on topic.
sprockkets - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Yeah, that's why MS took a 900 million charge on them.s1aver - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
The fact they overproduced isn't relevant to a discussion of sales numbers and does not negate anything I said. RT still "was the best selling windows 8 tablet and out sold most if not all 10 inch android tablets".sprockkets - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Well maybe they were "overproduced" because they didn't sell.DUH.
Market research pegs the sale of WinRT surface in the hundreds of thousands. The Nexus 7 alone sold by the millions for months.
s1aver - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
No they were over produced because they were overly optimistic and overestimated demand, which is not the same as not selling. Even though they didn't sell as well as they had hoped it was still "the best selling windows 8 tablet and out sold most if not all 10 inch android tablets". So according to your logic you would have to include all 10 inch Android and windows 8 tablet as devices that didn't sell but even then comparatively you must acknowledge they did better than others.trane - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I have to agree - Windows RT can be easily dismissed, but things have improved dramatically in recent months. Here are some advantages over iOS and Android -1. Office. The world revolves around Office, whether us geeks like it or not.
2. Pretty awesome apps. In my daily usage, I have to say, there is no better feedly app than Nextgen Reader, no better Twitter app than Tweetro, etc. The Mail app in 8.1 is actually good, as are the Bing apps - much better than any Google app on Android or iOS. Even popular multi-plat stuff like Flipboard, Facebook, Netflix etc are superior on Windows. Yes - there are tons of niche apps that you won't find in the Windows Store yet, but the situation is getting better all the time, and if you need one of these niche apps, by all means iPad and Android spaces have great products.
3. Multitasking. This is probably the big one which puts it way over the top. They have actually figured out really easy multitasking with touch. I can't go back to Android or iOS after this.
4. It's Windows. There's a whole bunch of things that you couldn't do on Android or iOS - things like multi-monitor, wide support for USB peripherals (at least class drivers), etc.
Yes, of course, having roughly comparable Windows 8.1 products makes the proposition dicy, but there are some pretty great features in the two Windows RT tablets, and RT at this point is becoming less and less a dealbreaker. The other thing I have found is that with 8.1 I rarely even go to the desktop, making that advantage of compatibility x86 apps a moot point. To be sure, there are some niche things I couldn't do on RT - like running AutoCAD - but I couldn't do them on Android or iOS either. Anyway, the kickstand and touch cover on Surface are very useful, and Lumia 2520 has the best tablet display on the market in exterior locations. (Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 and iPad Air are better in the dark) And RT 8.1 has progressed enough to not be a dealbreaker. Lumia 2520 has become my daily driver.
tviceman - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Disagreed. Bought the Surface 2 for my wife to replace her laptop while she is in school, and it's fantastic. Fast, excellent screen and battery life, full Office, and does everything she used her laptop with - netflix, hulu, foodnetwork recipes, and school work.I know many people value nick-nack naps, but when you say "doesn't have nearly as many apps" you are going to have to be more specific as to what is missing that is soo incredibly valued.
TheJokker - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I have an Android Tablet (Transformer Prime) and a Surface Pro 2. I have found a Surface App for every Android App I used to use and even have found Surface apps not available on the Android (try finding an Android app for the Swedish metal band Meshuggah!)Every single Surface app I have found to replace a corresponding Android app is "FAR" superior to the corresponding Android app. The are more "quality" apps for the Surface than "quality" apps for an Android. It's not even close.
Once you go Surface you can't go back...
ABR - Sunday, December 22, 2013 - link
I have to agree that the "number of apps" argument is basically ludicrous. "Oh no, I only have access to 100,000 apps, not 800,000." Guess what, you'll probably use 100 of those, at most. And most of those will be common things like Skype or Twitter that are available everywhere. And for the rest, on iOS you have to sift through a lot of cruft that sits around on the App Store long after it has been last updated or found useful. I'd rather have a smaller store with better quality / fresher apps than a giant disorganized smorgasbord. And the UI on the Microsoft family is smooth, beautiful, and consistent.kji875 - Friday, December 20, 2013 - link
@JarredWalton What you said is completely wrong. There's no evidence that flagship bay trail or clover trail tablets sell better individually than Surface 2 or Surface RT. Maybe not even overall because nobody reveals how Windows is doing. You have to do guesswork via IDC, Gartner, etc. So, this is primarily based off of your personal preference. Few people want an underpowered PC in a compromised tablet form factor to do real work. And the lack of interest outside of deep discounts and shipments this quarter by OEM reflects that just like MS with the Surface OEMs are not confident in these low-powered hybrids.bull2760 - Thursday, December 26, 2013 - link
You couldn't be further from the truth. How many of the apps in Google or Apples store are actually worth anything? As an owner of all the devices windows RT surface 2 is my everyday use tablet now. I have now given my kids my apple and crapdroid based tablets. As someone else stated most of the android apps are not optimized for the high screen resolution so please explain were the benefit of owning an android device comes in. Every app that I used on an iPad is available in the windows store. I love my surface 2 it performs beautifully day in and day out. If I have one gripe it's that it does not have an LTE radio built in, that's the only thing its missing.ricardodawkins - Saturday, December 28, 2013 - link
Android tablet ecosystem is an embarrasment, too. Many phone apps just blown up to fill the tablet screens.I remember when the market was speaking "we don't want Android tablets..we want iPads..."
InspectHerGadget - Friday, January 31, 2014 - link
I would go further and say the market doesn't want Windows 8.1 either.edi_opteron - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Absolutely right man, I dunno how ridiculously they came to the conclusion that RT does not worth it. Look, I'm not winRT fanboy, and yes, every OS has its holes but be fare, WinRT looks good and offers full blown office and more than 150k tablet optimized apps. that's software side, Have you ever seen Anandtech editors talk about Nokia products?!?! they review MotoG but they go blind over Lumia 1020 and Lumia 1520. From Tablet perspective, Lumia 2520 has the one of the brightest screens, over 650 nits! Where does iPad Air stand? Lumia 2520 has an unbelievable 8000+ mAh battery with super fast charging ability, where do Android Tablets stand?To me, Anandtech remains respectful and will, atleast for CPU/GPU reviews, but I can offend their views on Nokia products and fanboyism iPhone reviews
djc208 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
If the prices were drastically different between 8.1 and RT tablets maybe, but considering that the new Atom basically takes that out of the equation it does beg the question of why you would go after RT. For essentially the same money you can augment the limited app options for the RT with the desktop. You can still use all the same apps, and while your not going to be playing crysis it will still run many of your productivity apps, and can run a full browser so you get flash for use on media sites like hulu which an Android/RT tablet won't do.That said, Microsoft is giving a copy of Office with RT. If you don't have an extra license or a Office360 subscription that's not an insignificant savings. Outside of the Surface Pro/2 basically all the other 8.1 tablets are more netbook replacement then desktop replacement.
eddman - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
True, but RT as one big advantage over 8/8.1: Malware immunity.If I were to buy a windows tablet for my parents or any non-tech savvy person for that matter, it'd certainly be an RT one. No viruses, no toolbars, no crapware, etc.
eiriklf - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
If I was looking for a proper bargain tablet, I'd be on the lookout for a deal on the tegra note 7 right now. In the UK it's been going for 120 dollars (excluding VAT), and their prices are generally higher than in the US. And that's a tegra 4 device, which is arguably more powerful than any of the android devices on this list.barleyguy - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I've been pondering a Tegra Note 7 for my brother who is an artist. The stylus is the thing that makes it special for that application. It also has great game performance, which he would utilize.The Tegra 5 and its competitors are going to have Playstation 3 levels of game performance though, so I think the Tegra 4 is a bit of a bridge. I realize that in tech you can't wait forever for the new cool thing, but I think Android tablets in general are still not there when it comes to game performance (despite the fact I'm typing this on one). In a year or so when Android gets "real" GPUs, it will become a potent ecosystem for gaming, maybe even posing a threat to consoles.
eiriklf - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Tegra 5 sounds really good to me, but considering how poorly tegra 4 was received and how few android games seem to actually utilize the latest and greatest hardware, I'm not expecting a big impact.The big selling point with the note 7 is the price, if they can get it down to half the price of a nexus 7 (which is what they did in the UK), it will be the best device in it's price range by a huge margin.
Spunjji - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
"Google can say it's difficult and confusing or whatever, but I use a 32GB microSD card and have no issues with on another tablet."Glad to see this issue getting more balanced reporting ;) Arguably SD cards make more sense in tablets than in phones, where the device is better optimised for consuming high-quality video.
Thanks for this summary, I feel it's a good one. I agree with previous commenters that perhaps Windows RT is given a little bit too short shrift, however I also see that it's difficult to recommend devices with a poor application ecosystem when you're a trusted source of purchasing advice.
barleyguy - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Also, this is "best tablets" article, not a "tablets that mostly don't suck" article. I can't think of a WinRT tablet that falls under best tablets, and evidently Anandtech couldn't either.sri_tech - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Thats understandable. But what author is suggesting to not buy anything RT which is what I find pathetic.JarredWalton - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
The author (me) is suggesting that between me, Brian, Ryan, and Ian we couldn't name one Windows RT tablet that was a clear recommendation -- just like the dozens or even hundreds of Android tablets, they are either too expensive or have flaws. I didn't want to try digging through all of the tablets and doing a mini review of each one explaining our concerns, but in general, I would not recommend any of the WinRT devices at present.Does that mean they're all terrible? No. It means that at the prices being asked, I didn't see any that struck me as being worthwhile over the alternatives. Surface 2 at $300 would be great; at $450 not so much. Lots of people apparently disagree and are speaking with their wallets, but $450 is a lot of money for a tablet in my book. It's also why I don't own any Apple products -- they're good, but not worth the cost for me.
solnyshok - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Honorable mention for LG G Pad 8.3" Google Play Edition (IPS, 2GB RAM, 4x1.7GHz Krait cores) at $260-299 in USA, ~300 EUR in EuropePsychoPif - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
You'd have a point if they did'nt split them by ecosystem, but it's not a best 3 tablet in the whole world.BTW, when you say that RT is only good for IE, there is cleary some misinformation or bias going around.
Da W - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
If money is no object get the Surface pro 2, a powerful desktop and an android phone. You'll have it all covered. For that mather may be you'll save vs someone that has an Android tablet + laptop.Now Microsoft just has to enable desktop to surface streaming a la Nvidia Shield.
steven75 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Except you won't have the covered the #1 use case for tablets: reading. That requires a lightweight and comfortable to hold device, for which Microsoft currently has no contenders. Apple, Google, Amazon, etc all dominate MS here.Ken Esq - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Best Tablets:iOS: iPad Air
Budget: iPad Mini
Remember though if you don't get a 4G version you don't get GPS capabilities.
Android: Nexus 7 (II)
Amazon Kindle HDX 8.9"
Kids: Nabi 2
Windows: HP Omni 10 (for productivity this may be the best tablet of them all with full Win 8.1 and a MS Office included for $350).
chizow - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
This article missed two of the hottest tablets this holiday season: Asus Transformer T100 for W8.1 tablets and Tegra Note 7 for Android.sherlockwing - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
No mention of the Note 10.1 2014 edition Anand/Brain reviewed and praised? Even though its price is a bit high at $550, it have great pen support and excellent battery life/screen quality. It should be a good match for Ipad Air.JarredWalton - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Price was a real concern on the Note 10.1. I won't give you Brian's exact comment on the 10.1 2014 edition, but it wasn't very flattering. At $300, it would be worth getting; at $550? No.puremind - Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - link
It is the best tablet and price is on par with Apple. So it deserves being called the top choice for hat price tag.kascollet - Wednesday, December 25, 2013 - link
No. It's only an above-average Android tablet.... for more money than an iPad Air wich is ridiculously better.ESC2000 - Sunday, February 2, 2014 - link
The note 10 offers more functionality than the ipad though. Multitasking sucks on iOS. Having to use the home button as a navigation mechanism other than when you simply want to get to the homepage is ridiculous. There's no task manager that can be as easily accessed. There is no stylus support. The note - gasp - lets you actually view more than one program at a time. Coupled with the stylus support you can easily read something on one half of the screen and take notes on the other and they will look great. Wacom is amazing.The note can be customized to facilitate the owner 's uses of it. I set up a bunch of swipes on my phone and tablet (actually I set swipe gestures up on my windows 8 tablet as well so ios is the only OS without it) to access the apps or perform the actions that speed things up for me. Even if the performance of the A7 is noticeably better, I can still navigate around my devices more quickly bc of their customizability.
I don't own a note 10 and don't really want one. But the ipad is not better other than in your subjective opinion. I do agree with you that Samsung shouldn't have priced it at $550. Even though I think it is worth more than the ipad (since it actually does more than the phone I've already got in my pocket), it was DOA being priced higher than the ridiculously overpriced ipad (see apple's balance sheet in the cash and cash equivalents line) and many decent low end laptop options.
Dribble - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Where is the new nexus 10 - it should have been out by now?I am looking for a larger android tablet and the google nexus ones are the safest bet (best for updates, common so tend to get better tested with software, good hardware, good price) but not going to buy a year old (there for in tablet terms pretty ancient) device.
bah12 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Where are the Kindle Fires? To include windows tablets, but not the Fire HDX is kind of ridiculous since the Kindle market share absolutely tramples Windows. Yes it is a closed system, but that doesn't mean it doesn't sale and isn't worth covering.e_sandrs - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Yes! Totally ignoring the Amazon product line (with its cons, and pros) is terrible in discussing a best tablets list. I was very, very surprised at this oversight.JarredWalton - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Added a note -- I had meant to mention them, but forgot in the last push to post. Basically, no Google Play for me is a deal breaker. Yes, there's an Amazon Appstore, but it's not the same.Impulses - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
They're a decent deal if you consume a lot of content on Amazon... Personally I wish Amazon would falter so we could get their video content on all Android devices, not just Fire... Seems they're doing a good job marketing the Fire line, the ads comparing them to iPads are pretty direct and on point (it ignores a lot of realities mind you, but still)Reflex - Monday, December 23, 2013 - link
For a lot of us, not including Google services, including Play, is a benefit. Amazon has a far superior privacy policy and while yes we don't get every Play app, we get most of the big ones, can sideload others, and don't have to compromise our privacy while still receiving a superior Android experience(at least as of the HDX line which really improved the UI dramatically).Really, aside from the apps, virtually every other Play service is better from Amazon. Better bookstore, better video, better music store and better shopping experience.
Aidic06 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Surprised the NVIDIA Shield isn't on this list. As a pure entertainment device, it can't be beat by other Android tablets. While the screen is small for a tablet, its not a phone either.ws3 - Friday, December 20, 2013 - link
Shield isn't a tablet at all.nedjinski - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Kindle Fire HDX still out of the loop? Oh well . . . .chizow - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
That used to be true, about the system reqs for a Win8 productivity device, but Bay Trail Atom has changed all of that. The key limiter is no longer processing power, it's input, same as the more powerful Win8 x86 devices.To that end, the Dell Venue 8 Pro, Asus Transformer T100, and Dell Venue 11 Pro offer compelling productivity alternatives at the $300, $400, and $500 price points, respectively, and even cheaper at times with the Intel subsidies.
Best of both worlds in terms of price, OS capability, and usage patterns imo, now that I own a Transformer T100 I really see no need for an iPad/Android device or low-end Win8 laptop for my own usage patterns.
Da W - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Can read on an oversize android phone. Smaller than a nexus 7, but my point is NOT having a gazillion devices.Android works best on a phone. So get a large phone, galaxy note or something.
Tablet: Surface Pro if you're a worker and need a laptop replacement + tablet. Yeah sure Surface pro 3 with Broadwell chip should be lighter.
PC: More and more you need a full desktop with an above 300W of total system power to get serious work done, play real games and get serious storage, since web browsing and light work are being done on tablets and phones. If you want a piece of all 3 ecosystems, get an iMac instead.
mike8675309 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
A little surprised at no commentary related to the Kindle Fire line. Depending on your personal use case for a tablet, the Kindle Fire products can be quite compelling. Even more so with their recent offer of zero down financing on things are already pretty inexpensive.As far as Windows RT, I personally feel that a Surface Pro 2 unit is still too expensive for such limited software options. It can be the greatest piece of hardware architecture on the planet, but if it can't do things I want to do it's already going to have problems showing up on my radar.
kyuu - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I assume you mean the Surface 2, not the Surface PRO 2? The Surface Pro 2 is expensive, sure, but it's not software limited at all.mike8675309 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
yep, that's what I ment... silly me.Hrel - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Based on the reviews on this site I'd say the Kindle fire and Asus TF the top 2 tablets.azazel1024 - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I am also a little suprised that the T100 didn't rate a mention.Lately its been available for $389 for the 64GB model and it was once $349 (for a day on Amazon). I snagged mine repackaged for $339 as a warehouse deal. Its sitting under my tree right now to be unwrapped. I tried it out at a bigbox near me a couple of weeks ago and was suitably impressed.
It doesn't seem like the awesomest thing around, but the price is super cheap and overall I came away with a good impression. I wouldn't be happy with it if it was a $500 tablet (it needs better build quality and a somewhat nicer screen, more RAM and the z3770 would be nice too), but for the price it seems awesome.
It is good enough that the build quality and any other nits do not make it a bad experience at all. Its a rather nice experience, it is just that if it was a lot more expensive, it should be an even better experience.
Other than lacking an active digitizer and 1080p screen, it seems like a better option than the Surface 2 if you want a full windows experience IMHO. The 8" category, the Dell 8" does seem like the current best deal.
I am very interested to see what comes out of CES next month with Windows 8.1 64-bit builds supporting connected standby soon (I think next month is what MS stated).
Not that I am in the market for a new tablet with the T100 under the tree, but I am just curious the direction of the market. Though as cheap as it was, talk to me next year about Airmont arch and good higher end 2-in-1 options and I might just be trading up after only a year.
mutil0r - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
"Neither Dell Venue will set the world on fire in terms of performance or features, but the Atom SoC is generally much better than what you'll find in other $150-$200 tablets (i.e. the MediaTek SoCs in the ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7)."Firstly I'm confused why Brian and Anand haven't contributed to this guide given that they're more familiar with iOS and Android.
Secondly, that statement of yours about a Clovertrail being better than anything in the sub-$200 market is a bit shocking to say the least. Have you not heard of the evga Tegra Note 7 that your own Brian Klug reviewed? At $199, it pretty much blows away anything sub $200 by a mile, and pulls its weight quite well above that price tag too. It does have a somewhat mediocre display from my personal experience of owning one for 2 weeks now, but I'm quite sure apart from the previous gen Nexus 7, nothing sub $200 does better.
Recommending some crappy Dell that will likely never see any updates is just flat out wrong on your part.
kyuu - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
It's Clover Trail+, and I'd expect the CPU performance to be comparable if not better than Tegra 4's. GPU performance isn't as good, but I question how much that matters unless you are really set on playing high-end games on an 7-8" Android tab. Maybe if you're into emulation?If the screen on the Venue 8 is anything like the screen on my Venue 8 Pro, then it's actually quite good, so that's one advantage it would have over the Tegra Note that you say has a mediocre display. Dell's new Venue tabs are actually pretty nice pieces of kit. I would recommend you actually try them instead of bashing them blindly.
Finally: what makes you think the Tegra Note is any more likely to see extended update support than the Venues?
mutil0r - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
lulwut?I just ran the exact same benchmarks Jarred has listed for the venue 8, on my note 7.
Octane 4103 vs. 3536 on the Dell
Kraken 5993 vs. 10,503 on Dell (since the result was in ms, lower = better?)
3Dmark 17892/19566/14605 vs. 8310/7915/10066
I think you're giving way too much credit to the ancient pos that Clovertrail+ is. Aside from the S800 on certain CPU and GPU benchmarks, I think Tegra 4 does quite well in the soc space.
Apart from the subjectively better display quality, the dell has nothing on the evga device. I was pleasantly surprised by how usable the stylus is on the evga (was fully expecting it to be a throw away). That's a nice bonus on top of everything else!
Seeing how many updates they are pushing to shield, i dont think I would be wrong to say the tegra note7 will also get similarly frequent updates (same company, soc, OS etc.). How about Dell's track record for android tablets?
More importantly on principle, how can Jarred recommend a device they havnt reviewed, unless these guides are promoted/supported by vendors or manufacturers, in which case that should be clearly stated.
iamlilysdad - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I didn't read all the comments, so sorry if this was already mentioned, but most Nexus devices get updates for at least two years. Even the Galaxy Nexus, which stopped officially at 4.3.BMNify - Friday, December 20, 2013 - link
Wrong information, Galaxy Nexus was supported for just 18-19 months, so your Nexus devices get updates for "Atleast" 2 years is factually incorrect.horsebadorties - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
"most people have a smartphone these days so if they want an additional mobile device it's more likely to be a larger tablet"Maybe, but there's still a substantial resistance to the overhyped, overpriced smart phone juggernaut. According to a recent poll, 91% of American adults have a cell phone, and
56% of American adults have a smartphone.
varad - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Jarred,It's surprising that you mention "Windows RT is not worth the time or money" because of the lack of apps and then go on to recommend 8" Win 8.1 tablets while saying "desktop mode on an 8” 1280x800 display isn't something most people are going to use much". So:
1. With the desktop mode being pretty much unusable on an 8" tablet, aren't these Win 8.1 tablets in the same situation as Win RT tablets - being able to access pretty much the same apps through the Windows App Store?
2. With the Surface 2, you get a bigger screen [10.6"] with higher resolution [1920x1080] compared to the current crop of 8" Win 8.1 tablets. You also get a copy of MS Outlook which i believe is not included on the 8" Win 8.1 tablets. You also do not have to worry about most of the malware that plague x86 based Windows devices in general. Were these points not even worth a mention?
Also, like some other comments have already pointed out, for the sub-$200 Android tablets, why is the EVGA Tegra Note 7 not mentioned? I know it's $50 more than the Dell Venue 7 that you recommend but it does offer a much faster SoC and stylus support.
I'm sorry to say but we have come to expect much better when Anandtech runs product recommendations.
kyuu - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
I have the Venue 8 Pro, and I can say from experience that calling the desktop "unusable" on an 8" device is flat-out wrong. I can manage it just fine at 125% scaling even with my finger. With the active stylus, it's a breeze.Reflex - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
On the Dell Venue 8 Pro -I was on the fence about this tablet, the screen is lower res than I'd like and I just couldn't imagine an Atom performing well enough. I managed, however, to get in on the MS 12 days of Christmas deal and acquired one at $99(and a second at $199 as a gift), so what the hell right?
Holy crap am I impressed. This is Win8.1 as it should be. Its fast, fluid, and just works. Everyone who has played with it just loves it on this device. Furthermore, and here is the shocker, I tossed a 64GB SDXC card into the slot, installed Steam and Civ5, and spent hours last night playing Civ with its Win8 touch mode! And it played flawlessly. I expected it to be a horribly slow mess but it actually played completely smoothly.
Now I'm wishing there was a touch update to a lot of classic games like Fallout. GoG has been running awesome deals but those games are unfortunately not touch optimized. The tablet itself though is simply amazing. I only wish I'd got the 64GB version, 32GB goes very fast.
ChipTest - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
To tell you the truth, most people stick with APPLE because of the name and ease of use. if you are at all more technical, you would understand the limitations of any Apple product. This gives way to the Anroid and Windows devices. If you stress out that Apple device you will understand why it is not a great deal to buy. However, if you are in it for simply the name and simplicity and have the cash for it, Apple is your best bet.Looking into the product from a more technical aspect you will have to go with Android/Windows. Many people say that Windows is lacking apps...they are sooo mistaken. How many of those apps you downloaded on your Apple device do you actually use?
I think we need to look at the devices from all aspects and not separate them. If you do you will notice that the tables do turn.
FYI...I am not an Apple fan, but understand the technical backgrounds of these devices and want users to know this opinion.
JarredWalton - Thursday, December 19, 2013 - link
Apps are the same story on any platform: how many do you actually use? On Android, I play games and surf the web, and have a couple other apps I use frequently (Evernote is one). I can get the apps on the other OSes, the games not so much. iOS is good for games, then Android, but the number of games I want on WinRT is far more limited. Many games of course come out for all three platforms, but it's often iOS first, then Android, and then much later WinRT.I like Plants vs. Zombies 2 as one example; where's the Win8 App of that? Or how about the various Humble Bundle for Android games -- most of those aren't on Win8 either (but they're on iOS).
Brian's comment was, I believe, something to the effect of, "All I ever use my WinRT device for is IE and Netflix. Literally, that's it." Office can be run as well, but beyond that what do you need on your tablet? And what do you want on your tablet? Maybe I'm just too old to care much about most of the other apps (e.g. apps for websites -- who cares!?)
KoolAidMan1 - Tuesday, December 31, 2013 - link
"To tell you the truth, most people stick with APPLE because of the name and ease of use. if you are at all more technical, you would understand the limitations of any Apple product."They have the fastest hardware, best displays, and best tablet optimized apps by a very wide margin.
There are lots of reasons why technically minded people decide to go with iOS. What use is an ecosystem if the hardware is inferior and developers don't pay attention to it? Android and WinRT are a hell of a lot more "limited" when it comes down to what really matters to the end user.
althaz - Friday, December 20, 2013 - link
I really feel like the Surface 2 was undersold here (Surface 1 underperforms too much for my liking). Without using people might not realise, but the browser in Win 8 is by a very, VERY long way the best tablet browser available. There are caveats of course (and plenty of them), but you get probably the best designed tablet OS, easily the best tablet browser, ultra-cheap storage (thanks to both 32Gb of starting memory and a microSD card slot) and real USB support (that means you can plug in a 4G modem, printer...in fact basically anything USB). That's not to mention the kickstand - and once you've had a tablet with a kickstand you'll probably never buy one without again.It's not (IMO) as physically nice to hold in one hand and do things with as the iPad Air (software is more pleasant to use, but iPad air is lighter and a little faster), but the fact that you get a full browser is actually a huge boost and it simply cannot be overstated how much more useful this makes your tablet. WinRT tablets do continue to kinda suck for gaming though (especially compared to iPads), so keep that in mind.
yossarian143 - Friday, December 20, 2013 - link
I can't speak for the HDX, but it didn't take much work to get access to Google Play on a Kindle Fire HD. Heck, you can get access to the 1Mobile Market simply by side loading it onto the Kindle Fire HD. It pretty much makes the Kindle Fire HD act like a budget priced Google Nexus.chizow - Friday, December 20, 2013 - link
Agree with you all as well, T100 is amazing, although I wouldn't say it's better than theVenue 8 Pro in every respect. V8P has a rear facing camera and active stylus that would have helped make the T100 nearly perfect. I think the Venue 11 Pro is close to perfect but at a significantly higher price point. Still, if you didn't need all the grunt of a Surface 2 Pro, the 11 Pro would be a good choice imo.
p1esk - Friday, December 20, 2013 - link
No mention of Sony Tablet Z?kgh00007 - Saturday, December 21, 2013 - link
Funny how you mention that the nexus 7 doesn't have a microSD slot as a negative, but it's not mentioned as a negative for the iPad or iPad mini. They also don't have a microSD slot, but that's ok because they are more expensive? In fact microSD is not mentioned as a differentiating factor on any of the windows tablets, its not even mentioned at all! I'm kinda getting tired of the bias on this site.anirudhs - Saturday, December 21, 2013 - link
I appreciate the author's candor when he says that he envies those who can afford Apple, even though he can't afford one of his own.ESC2000 - Sunday, February 2, 2014 - link
Meaning you think the reason people are critical of apple products is because they can't afford them? *rolls eyes*Is it really hard to believe that your choice device company might not be the best for someone else and not because that person can't afford your hallowed brand? I could buy lots of I iproducts if I felt like it, but I don't like them. My firm actually offered me an iPhone 5S and an ipad, both of which would have been free to me but I wasn't interested even when I wouldn't have to pay anything. I'd rather have a blackberry that is good for email and a Windows tablet that can handle citrix and runs the programs I use at work - oh and can show more than one program on the screen at a time.
So I hope you appreciate my candor too. Non-Apple users are not the poorz.
Syran - Sunday, December 22, 2013 - link
I purchased a Kindle Fire HDX (7") for my dad. One reason: Mayday. My wife, mother, and I use droids, he still uses a flip phone, he wanted something he could use instead of his laptop, I wanted something that didn't mean I had to drop everything to help him with it, and my mother, while she has a galaxy s3, is mostly useless on her phone, so I wouldn't see her as much help on a tablet either. Mayday might be one of the biggest selling features on a tablet imho.Craig234 - Friday, December 27, 2013 - link
You mention the Kindle and its lack of Google play, but no mention of the Nook which has it?andrejg - Monday, December 30, 2013 - link
That is funny. http://www.anandtech.com/show/7428/asus-transforme...And it is not mentioned here?