Hi all
Just wanted your informed opinion on what the best surface alternatives are. i am looking for touch screen portability that runs windows. having a fancy pen or type cover isn't a must so if there is something that fits the criteria and is well priced., id really love to k now. thanks guys.
Sorry forgot to add that i want a windows tablet
where can you buy one?
looks nice but reviews say it only comes with the base cpu the the surface starts with, no better options available.
Releases in February, so who knows when for Australia.
OP doesn't sound like s/he's looking for anything fancy, the Core M might be good enough.
thanks, so not available/released yet.
when it does come out it will want to be cheaper than the base surface because of the specs I am guessing.
Im looking for something i5 and above preferably. what is a core m?
Skylake Core M did sound amazing, I think the benchmark difference between the i3 model of Surface Pro 4 (which uses Core M) and i5 (which is i5-6500U? I might be wrong here) were relatively small i.e. From NotebookCheck. If you go into higher end Core M models, they'd probably be better than the i3 model.
To OP, Core M were originally Y series (i.e. if you remember Surface Pro 3, the i3 model was i3 something Y). Less powerful but more efficient, I think. When Intel changed it to Core M, they made it so that they are more heat robust, more energy efficient CPUs, targetting fanless 2 in 1 devices.
TabPro S is probably the most Android tablet-esque Windows tablet, which in my opinion is its downfall. There are few irks that I think would be fixed with next gen models. AMOLED probably is a bad choice with Windows (burn in issues). No mSD card support can be awful considering that it uses 1x USB-C for everything (similar to the Core M Macbook). Windows tablets with only one port (that does everything with that one port), sounds bloody painful to use. Also, it using a C-Pen does make me worry, since it's using a different technolgy from S-Pen tech (Wacom EMR).
In my opinion it would've made a decent Android tablet. As an Windows tablet that takes a position as a hybrid of laptop and tablet, there are better options out there.
Look into Lenovo or Dell as well. This generation core M I think had a reasonable performance and I believe there were many models that may suit your interest.
No stylus does broaden your options heaps.
Teclast X16 Power or Teclast X16 Pro. Basically same specs but Chinese from an established player. X16 Pro is x5 z8500 / 4GB and Power is x7 z8700 / 8GB. Both are 11.6" FHD displays. Pro is US$300 and Power is US$350.
Samsung Galaxy TabPro S
That's probably THE best. Is definitely the thinnest of the lot, has the best screen (amoled), and in my opinion the most beautiful with the keyboard.
http://www.engadget.com/2016/01/05/samsung-galaxy-tabpro-s/
…but honestly, there aren't many alternatives are there. Just personally, if it was me, I would go with the TabPro S (100%) than the fat 'tablet' that is called the Surface.