Need advice on a tablet PC or e reader

[backwoods357]

Originally Posted by mithrilG60

Vapourware until it's released and proven usable. MS has tried tablets and smartphones many times without getting it right. Based on the Win8 smartphones I've played with thus far I see no reason why this tablet will break that trend.

Do you mean "Windows phone"? Win 8 phone isn't yet released, so the jury is still out. I am interested to see how it pans out. M$ seems to be throwing all their eggs in the mobile basket with this release. I don't really expect it to blow my socks off, I'm just happy it will push development in the mobile space. If I don't happen to like win 8, I'll just run 7 in it's place on the snazzy new hardware.

Originally Posted by Angry_Pirate

I have an Asus Transformer Prime best of both worlds with the keyboard dock and 18 hrs of battery life with the Tablet and Keyboard dock are combined. Usually take it when we go on vacation.

+1
Even if the MS tablet doesn't deliver, I have already picked out my next tablet.
http://techreport.com/discussions.x/23039
Asus has a proven track record in the mobile space, and just happens to have a few models coming down the pipe to support win8. I have no interest in the RT version of win8 that runs on the tablet 600 (ARM platform, won't run current windows programs), so the tablet 810 is perfect for me.
All the perks of a windows laptop in a far more versatile package. I can run everything I need for work on it, and could use it as my primary machine instead of a supplement to laptop I currently drag around. For me this species seems like the next evolutionary step after dock-able laptops, a lightweight portable device that can seamlessly go from the tablet I surf the net on while in the can to a dual monitor workstation at my desk with the clip of a dock.

[mithrilG60]

Originally Posted by backwoods357

Do you mean "Windows phone"? Win 8 phone isn't yet released, so the jury is still out. I am interested to see how it pans out. M$ seems to be throwing all their eggs in the mobile basket with this release. I don't really expect it to blow my socks off, I'm just happy it will push development in the mobile space. If I don't happen to like win 8, I'll just run 7 in it's place on the snazzy new hardware.

Nope, I meant Win8 Phone. I work on an almost daily basis with high level MS technical and sales staff. They've all been running various betas of Win8 phone for months so I've had the chance to play with several iterations and evolutions. The thing that kills all of them is Metro. Absolutely horrible interface, it's like MS decided it's target audience was toddlers and pre-schoolers.

Personally I hope that MS manages to make a strong tablet, but I'll never buy or use one. I want to see some real competition in that market to drive innovation. Apple has it all it's own way right now with it's only competition being a bunch of also ran devices that, as good as they make be on the hardware side, will never see enough market penetration outside niche markets to really matter. That's not healthy for any market.

FYI, running Win7 on a touch device is a pointless exercise. It's touch controls are far too rudimentary to make it usable and it's just not optimised for tablets. If you buy an MS Surface you're going to be stuck with the Win8 OS it ships with.