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Windows 8 Tablets/Laptops/Laplets Cross Shopping Thread of Most Confusing Launch |OT|

L

LukasTaves

Member
Magic Ovaries said:
So Lenovo ThinkPad 2 is being released on Nov 16th. And of course there is price confusion, Microsoft store has it for $700, other sites are reporting out for $650. If it's $650 then it could be a better buy than Samsung tab, Lenovo looks to have better build quality.

http://m.tgdaily.com/consumer-electronics-brief/67350-lenovo-thinkpad-tablet-2-lands-november-16
http://m.designntrend.com/articles/2282/20121108/lenovo-s-thinkpad-2-launch-november-16.htm
Click to expand...
I asked Lenovo support a few weeks back... They told me the price wasn't announced yet so they couldn't tell me, but they did say that the Ms Store model is the baseline without any of the optionals (3G/4G, NFC, Pen)... But they also said it didn't come with gps either, and gps is listed as a baseline item on their site, so hopefully it was just misinformation on a unreleased device...

The girl couldn't tell me either if the cellular model would be locked to any carrier, but going by the other tablets, I'm sure it's gonna be locked to AT&T...
 
T

tino

Banned
My credit card company just sent me a link for 4 times reward for Lenovo products. Except I have to buy it by 11/13, and the Tablet 2 come out at the 16th. Sigh...
 
E

eastmen

Banned
http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/09/toshiba-satellite-u925t-review/

this is an i5 set up. IT gets 5:10 hours in their battery test.

It's battery is a 38wh vs the 42wh of the surface pro. So the surface should get better battery life , but while watching movies your not going to do much better than that .

the U925t lasted little more than five hours in our standard rundown test, which involves looping video with WiFi on and the brightness fixed at 65 percent
Click to expand...

Perhaps MS will do some tweaking and get battery life up a bit more
 
Y

yn-neko hates a cat

Banned
tino said:
My credit card company just sent me a link for 4 times reward for Lenovo products. Except I have to buy it by 11/13, and the Tablet 2 come out at the 16th. Sigh...
Click to expand...

Haha :p That's what you get! It feels good to know I'm not the only one suffering while waiting on the Tablet 2 :)

[FAKESPOILER]:lol[/FAKESPOILER]
 
B

Blackhead

Redarse
Magic Ovaries said:
Holy crap, AT&T version of Samsung Ativ has half the battery capacity of the Wi-Fi version, and no S-pen support either.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33904282
Click to expand...

The AT&T version of the Lenovo ThinkPad 2 is $900 and doesn't include a pen either. The model with all the features—Cellular, Digitizer+pen, NFC (but still no keyboard dock included)—is $1,500. Fifteen hundred dollars!!!. For an Atom tablet with a 10.1" 1366x768 display.

http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/len...ablet-2-629-october-26-2012-a.html#post297082
 
bloodydrake

bloodydrake

Cool Smoke Luke
glad to see At&t is literally trying to destroy the windows 8 OEM Market.

Was bad enough the confusion between Windows 8 RT and Windows 8..now the same devices are fucked between vendors...yeah!

How did MS let them getaway with fucking with the battery?
 
M

maeh2k

Member
Divvy said:
I know it's not in the OP, but I can't think of a better place to put this:

Lenovo Yoga review from the Verge
Click to expand...

Looks like most of their issues are caused by drivers and will be fixed soon. Some quotes from the comments:
The touchscreen response is due to the screen constantly being put to sleep to “save battery”, not sure if it actually helps. Anyways, try following these steps and it becomes 100% better:

http://www.leeholmes.com/blog/2012/10/30/fixing-touch-screen-delays-lost-input-on-a-lenovo-ideapad-yoga/

Also, in the Lenovo forums, they have acknowledged the fan being constantly turned on and will distribute a bios update to turn up the temperature before the fans kick on, as there is no need for them to be running all the time

Finally, they are also in testing right now for updated touchpad drivers according to the forum, and should be distributed in the next week through windows update.

Hope this eases some concerns.
Click to expand...
And apparently there's a somewhat easier way to fix the partition issue:
You don’t need to wipe the SSD to repartition. There are step by step instructions on the Lenovo forums to create a USB restore disk, delete the restore partitions, and expand the C: to use all the available space. Leaves something like 96GB free, while leaving intact some of the important “excess” partitions. All this without touching any of your files or messing up the installation, and using only built-in windows utilities.
Click to expand...


Really all their bad parts are driver related:
Finicky touchscreen
A few software and performance bugs
Touchpad is maddeningly inconsistent
Click to expand...

So as soon as those are fixed the Yoga should basically have a way higher review score.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
Magic Ovaries said:
Holy crap, AT&T version of Samsung Ativ has half the battery capacity of the Wi-Fi version, and no S-pen support either.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33904282
Click to expand...

That's the RT version of the ATIV. It's a totally different machine than the ATIV "Smart PC" which is full Win 8 using Atom. ATIV is ARM version. Never had digitizer for pen in it.

Them guys at that board ain't too smart for practical things like checking on the ATIV hardware line up that the Samsung website I guess.
 
P

popeutlal

Member
Shogmaster said:
That's the RT version of the ATIV. It's a totally different machine than the ATIV "Smart PC" which is full Win 8 using Atom. ATIV is ARM version. Never had digitizer for pen in it.

Them guys at that board ain't too smart for practical things like checking on the ATIV hardware line up that the Samsung website I guess.
Click to expand...
But the ARM Ativ tab has a 8200mAh battery in it. He says his tab has a 4080mAh battery.
 
B

Blackhead

Redarse
Shogmaster said:
That's the RT version of the ATIV. It's a totally different machine than the ATIV "Smart PC" which is full Win 8 using Atom. ATIV is ARM version. Never had digitizer for pen in it.

Them guys at that board ain't too smart for practical things like checking on the ATIV hardware line up that the Samsung website I guess.
Click to expand...

? Could you provide a link? I'm not finding any RT version with cellular and AT&T only shows an atom version:
Magic Ovaries said:
You can finally buy an Atom Windows 8 tablet, http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/samsung/ativ-smart-pc-misty-blue.html

Its $800, $700 with a 2 year contract.
Click to expand...

By the way Shog, still waiting for your video to be available. Maybe you should get a tablet with 4G ;)
 
L

LukasTaves

Member
Greyface said:
The AT&T version of the Lenovo ThinkPad 2 is $900 and doesn't include a pen either. The model with all the features—Cellular, Digitizer+pen, NFC (but still no keyboard dock included)—is $1,500. Fifteen hundred dollars!!!. For an Atom tablet with a 10.1" 1366x768 display.

http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/len...ablet-2-629-october-26-2012-a.html#post297082
Click to expand...

WTF?

Those prices make no sense:

367927U $799.00 64GB Flash Win8 Pro 32 No WWAN Card Reader, Digitizer/Pen


368229U $1,229.00 64GB Flash Win8 Pro 32 No WWAN Card Reader, Digitizer/Pen, NFC


Are they really charging $400 more for NFC? Ridiculous.
 
S

sca2511

Member
The Yoga looks pretty enticing. I guess all I was worried about was on-the-lap performance. Is the RT stable when using it in your lap?
 
J

Jado

Banned
The tablets with data plans are a complete rip-off. Paying more for missing features and the "privilege" of being locked into a contract that's $40/month for a meager 1GB of data? No thanks. What a fucking racket.

I noticed the $650 Samsung Ativ is again listed on Staples. It appears in stock/low stock in several NYC stores. Every review I've come across says the tablet is overall excellent but suffers from crappy Intel drivers.

http://www.staples.com/Samsung-Series-5-Slate-Tablet-PC/product_990648
 
J

Jado

Banned
Neither of your links work. This one does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncegf0Em7m4&list=UUT3mGSf0-PV9kXBippoDaUw&index=1&feature=plcp

Just finished watching. Very informative and still seems like a good buy. Thanks, Shog. Two minor nitpicks: you said it had 5024(!) levels of pressure at one point and near the end, said you wished it had 8GB ram instead of just 4GB. Earlier you said it and all other Atom tablets only have 2GB - which is the correct number.

Edit: 30 mins worth it. Three-way comparison between Galaxy Note 10.1, Smart PC and higher-end tablet PC. Far more valuable than a 3 minute video of someone firing up random shit with no context. Glad I didn't bite on the Note 10.1. That looks pretty bad. And I'm only a graphic designer, not a full-time illustrator. Large, expensive device like the Fujitsu not worth it for me.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
Jado said:
Neither of your links work. This one does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncegf0Em7m4&list=UUT3mGSf0-PV9kXBippoDaUw&index=1&feature=plcp

Just finished watching. Very informative and still seems like a good buy. Thanks, Shog. Two minor nitpicks: you said it had 5024(!) levels of pressure at one point and near the end, said you wished it had 8GB ram instead of just 4GB. Earlier you said it and all other Atom tablets only have 2GB - which is the correct number.

Edit: 30 mins worth it. Three-way comparison between Galaxy Note 10.1, Smart PC and higher-end tablet PC. Far more valuable than a 3 minute video of someone firing up random shit with no context. Glad I didn't bite on the Note 10.1. That looks pretty bad. And I'm only a graphic designer, not a full-time illustrator. Large, expensive device like the Fujitsu not worth it for me.
Click to expand...

Yeah sorry, I recorded that late at night and my tongue went even more off track than usual.

1024 levels of pressure on S-Pen vs 256 levels of pressure on all other Penabled pens.

I was saying that I wish the PRO version had 8GB instead of 4GB. Regular Smart PC has 2GB like I said.
 
T

tino

Banned
I saw the video. Very informative but it basically says Android doesn't have proper drawing software. I think until Samsung get off its ass and make one Android will never get a proper drawing app.

Is Samsung tablet the only one that can use the Wacom pen? I think both Lenovo and HP Elitepad use Ntrig.

Oh wait the Dell Latitude 10 uses Wacom. Jesus now we are back to square one.
 
mhayze

mhayze

Member
tino said:
Are you saying drawing accuracy rely more on the processing speed than the technology that pen uses? OK show me your video.
Click to expand...

No, he's saying it depends on the number of addressable "sensor dots" on the screen. These newer, larger devices have more and therefore allow you to draw with finer resolution.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
PSGames said:
The att ativ is the Atom version. It says right there in the specs on the site. Can't believe how ridiculous the pricing is. :-( http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/samsung/ativ-smart-pc-misty-blue.html#fbid=n8d6g6CXbuR
Click to expand...

Am I missing something? $799 - $100 for 4G version sounds about right. $200 premium over Wifi version, and you get $100 savings for contract.

tino said:
I saw the video. Very informative but it basically says Android doesn't have proper drawing software. I think until Samsung get off its ass and make one Android will never get a proper drawing app.
Click to expand...

Samsung probably blew their software budget on the S-Note and likely won't bother with doing an art app (niche) that would compete feature set wise with the likes of Sketchbook Pro that uses Exynos 4 as baseline CPU.

Also, I'm not sure Exynos 4 is good enough to do what you see in X86 art apps. In benchmarks, Exynos 5 is about par with Atom, and Exynos 4 is left in the dust in comparison.

bloodydrake said:
great video really informative. I'm more and more impressed with this device.
I can see what you mean as an artist you really would want an Pro version.

But for a elementary or junior highschool budget..the ATIV PC 500 looks to be a great entry level device for sure.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I do think that 500T is very compelling for the price. If Win 8 RT software scene was more robust, then I think it's a no brainer for anyone with artistic bent looking for a light take anywhere tablet. For now, it's only really compelling if you are an actual artist due to lack of Modern UI apps to fulfill it's consumer tablet role.
 
J

Jado

Banned
Magic Ovaries said:
It has half the battery capacity of wifi version and no s-pen.
Click to expand...

And the 2-year contract really kills any upfront savings. Plans start at $40/month for a pathetic 1GB of data -- highly overpriced and unnecessary for a tablet. Using WIFI or tethering makes a lot more sense.
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
Magic Ovaries said:
It has half the battery capacity of wifi version and no s-pen.
Click to expand...

What the fuck? How big is that 4G antennae, lol. Pens not included but the digitizer board is? Pens are cheap, so as long as they still have the sensor board, it's not the end of the world I guess (but that battery life hit is probably a deal breaker...)

Jado said:
And the 2-year contract really kills any upfront savings. Plans start at $40/month for a pathetic 1GB of data -- highly overpriced and unnecessary for a tablet. Using WIFI or tethering makes a lot more sense.
Click to expand...

Totally. Even spending extra on a MiFi device is better than this...
 
J

Jado

Banned
In the XDA thread linked below, there's also speculation that something is missing from the AT&T version that doesn't allow Wacom pens to work (lack of software? No Wacom digitizer?). One guy tested the pen from an older Wacom tablet, another tested the Galaxy Note 1 pen, and another tested the Note 2 pen. None worked. I have a (dead) HP TX2510US with pen and an old Graphire 3 with aftermarket Wacom pen; I seem to recall pens work interchangeably. Gimped piece of shit confirmed?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1957857&page=23
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
Jado said:
In the XDA thread linked below, there's also speculation that something is missing from the AT&T version that doesn't allow Wacom pens to work (lack of software? No Wacom digitizer?). One guy tested the pen from an older Wacom tablet, another tested the Galaxy Note 1 pen, and another tested the Note 2 pen. None worked. I have a (dead) HP TX2510US with pen and an old Graphire 3 with aftermarket Wacom pen; I seem to recall pens work interchangeably. Gimped piece of shit confirmed?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1957857&page=23
Click to expand...

Sound like it's missing the Wacom digitizer board behind the LCD. Talk about making a device totally useless... Bravo, AT&T.
 
Y

yn-neko hates a cat

Banned
Hello Guys,
I just stopped by Fry's Electronics to pick up some stuff and thought I'd check out their Windows 8 Tablets. Surprise! They had none; neither x86 or ARM. What they did have was two convertibles: The Sony Duo 11 and Lenovo Twist. The immediate things that jumped out at me were:
  • 2.9 Pounds (1.3 Kg) is too heavy to use one-handed
  • Full HD on a sub 12 inch display is gorgeous
  • The Windows 8 touch screen experience is magnificent but on high resolution desktop can take a while to get used to if you want to navigate by touch alone. It’s annoying that there’s no gesture for right click  which leaves me hunting for the on-screen keyboard.
  • 0.7 inch (~18 mm) is thicker than I would like for a tablet. It’s hard to explain but even something that’s 11” plus some trim feels bulky because of the thickness. Windows 8, touch control works excellent when holding 12.7 inch Twist with both hands
  • This definitely solidifies the idea that hybrids and tablets are two different classes of computers
 
S

Shogmaster

Member
azentium said:
Has anyone experienced issues with the S-Pen drivers crashing on the 500T (ATIV Smart PC)?
Click to expand...

I don't think there are S-Pen drivers from Samsung yet. I used the latest Wacom Penabled driver that the released in late October for the pen.

And that driver didn't have any weird issue from what I remember. The only thing is that the pen sometimes fails to wake up from sleep so I had to restart couple of times to get it working again.
 
P

Parham

Banned
Shogmaster said:
I don't think there are S-Pen drivers from Samsung yet. I used the latest Wacom Penabled driver that the released in late October for the pen.

And that driver didn't have any weird issue from what I remember. The only thing is that the pen sometimes fails to wake up from sleep so I had to restart couple of times to get it working again.
Click to expand...
Oops! My mistake. I am referring to device driver it uses to detect the S-Pen. I have been running into the exact same problem as you; sometimes it doesn't recognize the pen when I wake the tablet up from sleep. Usually, I have to bring up the device manager and uninstall / re-detect the hardware to get the pen working again.
 
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