8+ Readers in comparison

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by aceflor

Sweetpea, how are your 2 vivotabs doing ? Will you get a Surface Pro 3 ?

Mine is still going strong, wouldn't want to live without it anymore!

And I'd love to get a surface pro 3, however, I got a husband who keeps on saying "no" to it

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Mine is still going strong, wouldn't want to live without it anymore!

And I'd love to get a surface pro 3, however, I got a husband who keeps on saying "no" to it

I feel your pain, I have the same problem here . I might end up getting an SP1, they are very very cheap right now, because 12" is too big for me anyway, and I would not use the surface as a tablet outside my house so much, or at least not for more than 2 hours at a time (hence no real need for a long battery time). The SP1 128g is for sale new for 449€ right now, which is a good price here in Europe, so I am tempted. Of course the SP3 is a real beauty, but superman will veto it I think. I can also sell the ativ tab 3 for a good price, probably almost the price of the SP1.

I love the vivotab, it really is a great little device, and perfect for me when outside the house.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by aceflor

I feel your pain, I have the same problem here . I might end up getting an SP1, they are very very cheap right now, because 12" is too big for me anyway, and I would not use the surface as a tablet outside my house so much, or at least not for more than 2 hours at a time (hence no real need for a long battery time). The SP1 128g is for sale new for 449€ right now, which is a good price here in Europe, so I am tempted. Of course the SP3 is a real beauty, but superman will veto it I think. I can also sell the ativ tab 3 for a good price, probably almost the price of the SP1.

I have an SP1 and use it every day. Great little machine.

[Sweetpea]

I only have a problem with the resolution. A 10" 16:9 screen is too small. (Or too big, but for that I got my Asus). If there had been a 10" 16:10 screen, I might have bought one (but I found out last week that those are very rare, another reason to be very careful of my laptop!)

[aceflor]

@Harry: thanks Harry, may I ask how you use it? See, it would replace my current "tabtop", an asus t100, I have not used a laptop for some months now, and would really like some more power and an active pen on my daily device. The t100 is good, but I miss the pen I have learned to love on my other devices, and using Calibre can be a pain at time (not always though, but it needs to have no other task running at the same time, plus my Library is kind of big now). We need to get a laptop for our daughter since her brother is using the family device often at school , so there goes the t100 (see how I have already rationalized the whole decision process ?
So basically my question is : will the Surface Pro Cover my needs and replace a laptop for me? I use MS office, OneNote (extensively), Draw board PDF, Calibre, and that's about it. The way I see it, the Surface Pro should suffice, but I'd rather be sure than sorry....

Superman bought a Surface RT a year ago, so I am used to the display format. Not my prefered format either, but 12" is just too big for me. I had the Galaxy Note pro in my hands and it felt awkward.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by aceflor

@Harry: thanks Harry, may I ask how you use it?

I use it every day as my ebook editing machine (which I do in bed ), and as a machine that I take with me on my frequent business travels.

I wouldn't recommend it as a primary laptop: the screen is too small. But as a highly-portable "ultrabook" it's great.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by aceflor

@Harry: thanks Harry, may I ask how you use it? See, it would replace my current "tabtop", an asus t100, I have not used a laptop for some months now, and would really like some more power and an active pen on my daily device. The t100 is good, but I miss the pen I have learned to love on my other devices, and using Calibre can be a pain at time (not always though, but it needs to have no other task running at the same time, plus my Library is kind of big now). We need to get a laptop for our daughter since her brother is using the family device often at school , so there goes the t100 (see how I have already rationalized the whole decision process ?
So basically my question is : will the Surface Pro Cover my needs and replace a laptop for me? I use MS office, OneNote (extensively), Draw board PDF, Calibre, and that's about it. The way I see it, the Surface Pro should suffice, but I'd rather be sure than sorry....

Superman bought a Surface RT a year ago, so I am used to the display format. Not my prefered format either, but 12" is just too big for me. I had the Galaxy Note pro in my hands and it felt awkward.

Don't expect too much from the pen.
I've tried all the tips like "100 measure points", to little avail.
It's quick and a nice addition. But accuracy can be frustrating.
In OneNote, with a lined background, the pen at the edges can be off a few millimeters.
For text it's probably good enough. But if you focus on the grid...
My Dell Lattitude 10 is a bit more accurate, the (in the beginning for Rev1) criticized Dell Venue 8 Pro as well.
Else I'd say, Surface Pro (1 + 2) blows all other Windows 8 tablets out of the water.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Don't expect too much from the pen.
I've tried all the tips like "100 measure points", to little avail.
It's quick and a nice addition. But accuracy can be frustrating.

I don't use the stylus at all. I'm not even sure where mine is at the moment . I do make extensive use of the touchscreen, especially in the web browser, but not the stylus.

[aceflor]

OK.. so I will try to get one for under 450€ today. There was one offer for 449 at the FNAC valid until Aug 22, not sure whether they will deliver on time if I order online as I leave France this week...and not sure either if it is available for this price at the nearby FNAC.

Edit: got one, 128GB, 449 €. Now going through the horror of 96 (!!!) updates.

Edit 2: it could not update and ended up dying on me while trying again to update (dead for the last 8 hours, but the fans are still on. ) . It's going back to Microsoft and they are sending me a replacement. They have been super good in their CS, which I cannot say from FNAC, who were so subpar I had to directly contact MS. MS proposed to send me one already updated. May that be true ...

Edit 3: Nope, it's alive and kicking after all. It's a keeper .

[mgmueller]

Just a brief anecdote, which in my opinion perfectly explains, why Sony and the likes get killed by Apple and some others:
I've got some video games consoles: Sony PSPgo, PS Vita and so on.
I just wanted to reactivate my PS Vita.
The system says "more than 4 units already, please deactivate one".
I went to the Sony website, to check my number of units.
There actually are 4 of them.
But: I can't deactivate them on the website.
The website explains, how to deactivate on the unit itself.
WTF!
Are they nuts?
I probably don't have those units anymore.
And I don't even can identify them, it only says "PSP One". No registration date, no identifier at all.
How to deactivate a long gone unit?
Something like this never would happen with the "better companies".
I can manage my Kindles on the Amazon website.
I can manage my i-devices in iTunes. Not very comfortably, but at least I can delete all units every 6 (or so) months and start from scratch.
I absolutely hate situations like that. I really don't want to care about such things, totally wasted time. Unfortunately, typical for Sony and some other companies "from the past" that didn't learn anything for the last 10 years...
The fate of their reader division and other segments seems well deserved...

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

I've just ordered it.
The NVIDIA website states "available in Germany around September 1st".
The German merchant I've just ordered from states "you'll have it in 1 to 3 working days".
Let's see, who's right...
Anyway...
I'm reading a bit on all my tablets, so this probably won't be any exception.
But of course it's mainly for playing.
I'm not playing much, maybe 30 minutes per day.
Emulators (Commodore 64 and the other treasures I've owned 20+ years ago) and some Android games.
I hate playing games on touch screens (maybe with the exception of Soduku and similar games) and so I was glad when the Shield console came out.
Love it, but a tablet for some usage patterns might have advantages.
And the K1 processor is rumored to be spectacular...

EDIT: Now my merchant states, I should have it September 5th. So NVIDIA was right, and the website of the merchant when ordering was wrong. Did they intentionally show the wrong date? Is it really so complicated, to keep a webstore up to date?
Anyway...I'll stick to the order. My 32GB/LTW version isn't out in the US yet, either. So I probably couldn't get it any faster anyway...

I'm looking forward to it. Tests and review are quite enthusiastic so far. Not just for gaming, but a powerful tablet for all usage patterns. And with great speakers, one of the flaws in most tablets.

I've just cancelled my order (NVIDIA Shield tablet 32GB).
Unbelievable!
Sometimes I wonder, if one mainly meets incompetent people in business life!
I've ordered the 32GB version.
When checking out, the website of the German merchant stated "you'll have it in 3 to 5 days".
When receiving the order confirmation, it stated 4 weeks later, September 3rd (arriving in their stock = another week after that, until I could have it).
Yesterday I've sent them an email, to please confirm shipment and give me the tracking number.
Then they told me, it's delayed for 4 weeks. No proactive information, but only on my request.
They asked me, whether I'd like to switch to the 16GB version.
I did so and asked for express shipment, to have it tomorrow.
Then they told me, it's only available without the cover and they don't offer express shipment.

a.) Why don't they inform me proactively about a delay of 4 weeks?
b.) Why do they offer another unit, but later on (after a not so easy decision, 16GB after all is rather limited) tell me they can't deliver all components?
c.) Why can't they ship per express? Maybe I would have covered the additional costs.

That's a merchant!
Having no product of their own, their only offer is selling and shipping products.
Unbelievable.
They've really done it: I've (almost!) lost my interest in a niche gadget, that's rather useless in the first place (very powerful unit, but no games in Android to actually push it to the limit) but looses all appeal with such delays and processes...

Anyway...
I've just reordered the 16GB version from another merchant.
It's on stock and this merchant does offer express shipment.
Maybe I'll have it tomorrow, but at the latest it should be here on Monday.

[mgmueller]

I've just (September 6th, 11am) got it!
Express shipment from a German merchant within 14 hours!
Only the 16GB version, but that's okay. My NVIDIA Shield Portable only has 16GB as well and I'll use the very same apps on both.
Only annoyance: I could have ordered the 16GB version 4 weeks ago.
Back then I had ordered the 32GB version, scheduled by another merchant for September 3rd. Now it would have taken another 4 weeks.
And I don't want LTE from the 32GB version anyway (too many SIM cards already), so switching to the 16GB version instead was a no-brainer...

First impressions:
Well, it's a tablet.
Nothing special at first glance.
Exactly what you'd expect for 300 Euros.
Build quality about the same as Dell Venue 8 Pro and other tablets in that price range.

The frame around the bezel has slightly sharp edges. Not the best build quality, but at least you know it's metal.

The form factor is interesting. Some "ultra-wide" format.
I always preferred that to 4:3 or something like that. And for games it probably makes sense.
Form and size are almost identical to Lenovo ThinkPad 8.

Downloading the first OTA update with 631MB.
Downloading the second OTA update with 81MB.

No bloatware, but I'm still rooting it.
I hate, how Google's updates for the stock apps appear double: The original in ROM; the update overwriting it in user storage. Via root I send the updates to the ROM.
I haven't used Android for a while. And when fumbling around with it, I remember why.
For me, clearly #3 behind iOS and Windows 8.
iOS = #1 as a gadget.
Windows 8 = #1 as a business tool.
Android = ?!

The verdict: It's nice enough. But to me, it's a mixed package.
The tablet on its own would be great. But I really come to despise Android.
I hate those permanent updates of system apps.
I still may buy some special Android tablets like the Shield from time to time. But in general, I'm done with Android. It doesn't have a single advantage over iOS or Windows 8, but quite a few disadvantages...

I've just got the cover and the controller.
The cover attaches magnetically. The magnets are very strong. When folding back the cover, it rigidly sticks to the back of the tablet.
The controller is working flawlessly, like the one on Shield Portable before. Slight letdown: I would have wished for some pouch with the controller. It's rather bulky, almost as much as Shield Portable before...

I'm starting to like it!
Root helps a lot. Without root, Android is quite a mess.
But in general, the tablet is fine.
Very much (design-wise, performance, ...) reminds me of Lenovo ThinkPad 8 - for half the price!

[mgmueller]

No idea, how reliable it is.
But it's the benchmark I find for all platforms and has a growing database, based on the tests from consumers.

48.664 for my Surface Pro 3
42.936 for my Surface Pro 2
32.472 for my NVIDIA Shield Tablet (processor mode = maximum performance)
30.601 for my NVIDIA Shield Tablet (processor mode = optimized)
16.387 for my NVIDIA Shield Portable
15.871 for my Lenovo ThinkPad 8
14.791 for my iPad mini Retina
14.449 for my Dell Venue 8 Pro
13.896 for my Surface 2 (not Pro, the RT one)
12.658 for my BlackBerry Passport (emulated under Android, so probably a bit flawed)
10.607 for my Google Nexus 7 (2013)

More to come...

[mgmueller]

54.716 for my Nvidia Shield Tablet
43.470 for my NVIDIA Shield Portable
28.736 for my iPad mini Retina

More to come...

[mgmueller]

Browser:
3.061 for my Nvidia Shield Tablet

Multi-Core:
2.453 for my Nvidia Shield Tablet

Metal
1.801 for my Nvidia Shield Tablet

More to come...