Windows tablets

Yes, it is. Windows RT was literally Windows Phone without the phone part.
It ran the same Metro apps from the store as the Windows Phone devices, just like the Android and iOS phone<->tablet ecosystems.

The desktop part was just a side-feature that didn't go too well because it tricked people into thinking it'd run legacy x86 software.

 

anybody using their W8 tablet as a main PC/Laptop?

 

It's what I plan to do when I get either a Surface Pro 3 or 4.

I'm holding off on seeing what Surface Pro 4 has to offer before deciding. It will replace my current laptop which is 6 years old.

I just recently retired from one job and I'm going back to school full time to stay busy and want something light weight, portable, powerful and useful for the student.

 

It literally wasnt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_RT

 

doesn't matter , w10 will make it all better

 

I won't be replacing my Main PC with a Windows slate, but I have replaced my laptop with one.

Regards,
SB

 

My brother's only PC is his Surface Pro.
He's an architect and manages a hostel. Whenever he's using AutoCAD he just plugs in a keyboard and a 24" monitor. along with a bluetooth mouse.

Up until half a year ago (when some thieves got into his car and stole his laptop), all he ever used were large and heavy 17" laptops, but now he's pretty happy with the change.

 

I'm pretty impressed with the Surface Pro, but I'm waiting for the Surface Pro 4 too. Hopefully it will have that Intel gpu with EDRAM (Iris Pro?). If it does, day 1 purchase.

 

I think the only way you'll get an Iris Pro in a Surface is if they skip Broadwell and go with a Skylake.
Microsoft debuted Cherry Trail with the Surface 3 so it's not impossible.

However, Microsoft may go another route, use a ~5W Core M (Skylake or Broadwell) and ditch the active cooling for a slimmer device.

 

I hope not , I hope the surface pro remains active cooled and is a pro level device.

 

Well Microsoft is wise enough to develop a mobile version, there will be : Windows 10 and Windows 10 mobile.
I hope microsoft push the later on some tablets, vanilla Windows comes with its overhead: you might want 2GB of RAM and you need more Flash to store the OS to begin with, it binds the device to Intel processors (they are great though). On the other hand Microsoft has been offering a pretty smooth (low-end though) experience on device with 512MB of RAM and 4GO of storage with Windows phone.

The cheap low-end tablets available now are not offering a good (vanilla) windows experience, on 8 inch and less screens dealing with the Desktop is inappropriate, 1GB ram is more often than not not enough RAM for standard Windows programs, there is a manufacturing overhead through the required extra flash storage => not a good basis to define the lower end of what a pleasant windows (pure) tablet experience.
My belief is that Windows 10 mobile could alleviate most of overhead and that Microsoft needs, badly need a good low-end (lower end than the Nexus 7 2012 was at launch), a device they can flood the market with. [spoiler° windows phone could have done the job.[/spoiler]
There are good products coming with Windows 10, the new HP pavilion X2 for example looks pretty neat for 299€, I'm sure there will be a bunch of netbook , std laptops, 2 in 1, too. Thing is anytime people have interest in Windows the primary input is still a keyboard, as long as there is a keyboard and X86 programs around editor won't bother porting their apps to Windows. It also mean that the growth potential, it is about stabilizing their share in the laptop (and new fancy ones) segment.
Microsoft seems aware of that issue and from there universal app mantra they went on to announce easy way to port apps to Windows from iOS.
MSFT should and can afford to try multiple approach, they still have their line of phones yet they need every bit or marketshare possible to create intensive for app to be ported.
Imo a 99€ device, ala Amazon fire HD would be a good step in the right direction (especially with the claimed ease of port). funding some ports (a fraction of what time exclusive costs on the XB1 I would bet).

That thread is not that much about "tablets" but windows 2 in 1 devices which to me are more evolved laptop than tablets. I wonder if Microsoft is on the verge of throwing the towel on its mobile experiment soon, they have more and more on their apps on Android.
Looking at all the money MSFT invested, in hardware and software, in its mobile adventure I wonder where they would be if they had taken an approach similar to Amazon and branch off Android, they still can and it would not surprise me if cost them less money than their pretty complicated approach on touch based UI and key based ones (neither Apple or Google seems that concerned about solving the "issue" MSFT is trying to solve with universal apps).

 

Definitely all the Surface devices are pretty great, every time I see one in a shop it always look like a super premium device, touching the smart cover feels right.

Now the issue MSFT has is that such device did not prevent the sale of a chromebook, a Nexus or other Android tablet, an ipad, it is just a customer that stayed "home", and one that was extremely unlikely to move from WIndows due to the he is using.

 

@liolio windows 8.1 device is already faster, more responsive, and multitasking king compared to Android though.

my lil bro have W8.1 laptop with 2GB RAM and its super fast, even when browsing with multiple tabs and office. On 2GB RAM android, you get sluggish system and tabs that constantly need to be reloaded if you also do something else (for example opening office).

sometime i just cant believe how inefficient android is and how it benefit smartphone company to make "smartphone master race" with crazy specs.

 

Spoiler

my old pavilion is badly overheating badly yet I will push back its replacement as far as possible. If I were to replace it now I would go for one of those 199$ Dell Inspiron 14 3000 series, 2GB of RAM too.
It gets me a personal "issue", I find the (upcoming) HP pavilion X2 to be attractive devices, yet I know that for that price I would choose the Dell along with a decent low-end tablet running Android. By the way Android is indeed not meant (or advanced enough) to support the type of multitasking Windows does but I would not qualify the experience as sluggish, my wife Moto G works damn fine, so does my Ascend y550 (putting aside its broken screen, bad call quality). There are decent 99€ tablets in the wild for the educated customers to find
Jack of all trade master of none, I think that 2 in 1 are not useless but over sold to nowadays customers, they are the new thing I guess.

Microsoft has gone a long way and WIndows is really an impressive product. I do not get why Chromebooks are still selling, I suspect sales will go down as people realize the progress done on low-end Windows devices, either way Google will do something significant.
Microsoft has done what was needed to stop the bleed of laptop users to competing OS/product, far from an insignificant feat.

Though on the phones/tablets realm, it is another story. Look at the posts here it is all about laptop and 2in1, aka devices on which pretty extensive use of the "Desktop and ol' Windows programs" is going to happen more than often. Microsoft knows that that is why after hammering in our head how great universal apps will be they went out of their way to promote easy (and dirty) port from iOS to Windows: they know the usage Windows powered devices have creates few intensive for editors to push their apps on the Windows Store (even less to design proper universal apps).

I do hope that in many regards Windows 10 mobile behaves more like Windows than WIndows phone. I'm OK with my LUmia 435, it is more functional as a phone than my previous smartphone but it has lacking and not only on the apps side. For example it drains its battery way too fast while idle. I suspect it does not make the cleverest usage of its RAM and storage either (it reloads web pages or apps way to often).
Then there is the apps and Anandtech review of the Lumia 640 sums up the situation wrt Windows phone pretty well.

Microsoft needs to do something about its touch only OS and devices, either way they need to branch off Android fast. Branching off is not a safe or easy win, there are none at this point. MSFT pushes out lot of apps, runs lot of services, of which many are good, it translates into massive expenses I guess: they need users or take the appropriate decisions.

 

Chromebooks sell because of resolution. People are conditioned on the tablet and phone size that higher resolution = better and so chrome books are cheap and have very high res. $200-$300 with greater 1440p screens. The windows stuff doesn't compete when it comes to that.

 

I was not aware of Chromebook with such screens within that price range. I do see the hardware advantage they have, hardware requirement are lower to begin with, they can use whatever processors they wanted, battery life is great.
Windows machine still have to account for the license fees, yet situation got a lot better thanks MSFT effort to make Windows experience better on low end devices.
I think Chromebooks had other things than screen going on for them (or on top of the screen): crazy battery life for the price as well as ease of use and a safe source for (web) apps (a point MSFT negleted for way to long on vanilla Windows).

 

isnt windows 8 with bing basically free? it also include free legit office.

 

I know it is free on devices whom screen are tinier than 9" but MSFT did lot of changes lately they may have extended the discount or lower the fees.
I lost track, lots of policies changes of late.

 

@liolio even MS themselves are confused. They keep backtraking on the W10 upgrade license lol.

 

There are no chromebooks like that.