RadioGaGa 162 Report post Posted July 30, 2014 I'm thinking about a laptop/tablet for this new sales job I'm in.I can neither afford or justify a macbook/imac, whatever...or a Surface Pro, but I was wondering about the Surface 2. I've seen them between $450-600 (depending in HD size).What are the thoughts on that device???Any other suggestions?Also...whatever I buy will be from Futureshop as I have $150 in GC's from there to put toward this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goonsquad 209 Report post Posted July 30, 2014 I'm kind of surprised the job does not supply you with a laptop .. It really depends on what you are doing for the job. if you are presenting, making spreadsheets, typing up memos etc Having the combination of the two (tablet and laptop) mayl make it sleeker though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
215BroadStBullies610 435 Report post Posted July 30, 2014 Goon mentioned the kicker: spreadsheets. Depending on how much you use them could be the determining factor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RadioGaGa 162 Report post Posted July 30, 2014 Job doesn't supply anything. Straight commission. Not sure how long i'll be able to do it. I'm only a month in, and still being paid by my former employer...so now is the time to try it right. But I'm pretty far from being able to make a living on this alone.Company paperwork is all pdf's. So, I need to be able to work with those. Sadly...they don't except electronic signature, so I still have to print off all contracts. But, some of the initial comparison stuff could be done digitally. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kredmore 2 Report post Posted July 30, 2014 Have you looked into Chromebooks? They meet our needs for mobile computing. Just a thought. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McDugan 89 Report post Posted July 30, 2014 If it's for work, and you must choose one, laptop. Tablets are great for many purposes but better to have the full capability of an actual computer and then have the option to use use a tablet to supplement and provide ease and mobility for specific tasks.My advice would be to consider a laptop (of some kind - obviously there's a lot out there to choose from) combined with a Nexus 7 or similar 7" class tablet.You don't need a lot in a laptop, so maybe look used/eBay for that and then your credits will cover most of a tablet.Edit to add - if you're going to need to print (contracts, etc.) a lot, I highly recommend a docking station for the computer. Also, if you don't already have one, a scan/print combo that has a feeder for the scanner, not just a flatbed. I like the Brother ones a lot - they are affordable and in my experience do a better job of saving directly to a nicely compressed-size PDF than some other brands I've used (Lexmark being the one that sticks out as a major PITA for me - I have to use the reduce file size function in Acrobat every damn time I scan something to PDF or else I'm trying to email 50 MB files and getting bounce-backs all the time). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SirJW 207 Report post Posted July 30, 2014 Laptop. What is the budget? Dell is a well trusted computer and you can build it to what you need. Many come w/ Dell Cards so Ebay has those for sale to help cut the cost. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RadioGaGa 162 Report post Posted July 30, 2014 No comments on the Surface? I like that it can be a tablet when I'm sitting with someone doing the comparison stuff and taking notes, but can click into the keyboard to do emails and other things.kredmore: I have an Acer Netbook from a few years back. One of the small 8" ones. I find it runs soooo slow, and there is nothing on it, but a browser and email program. even removed all the virus stuff I had running.. Takes forever to boot up. I fear the same from Chromebooks over time. I've looked at them and they look really good in store...but so did this when I got it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fatwabbit 93 Report post Posted July 30, 2014 ASUS Transformer is one that I've considered. Comparable to the Surface 2. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kredmore 2 Report post Posted July 31, 2014 kredmore: I have an Acer Netbook from a few years back. One of the small 8" ones. I find it runs soooo slow, and there is nothing on it, but a browser and email program. even removed all the virus stuff I had running.. Takes forever to boot up. I fear the same from Chromebooks over time. I've looked at them and they look really good in store...but so did this when I got it.I hear you on the netbooks - when compared to laptops, they are very slow. Last December, I purchased a $250 HP Chromebook mostly out of curiosity. We have iphones, iPads, performance desktops, I even have a nice laptop for work (Finance/IT). The Chromebook has many advantages - it's very simple as a browser, email, and app system. The Google OS controls it, so all of family members use the Chromebooks (two now), and with the quick boot time and low cost - $200 for the 2nd one - find them to be very useful, similar to a tablet but with a keyboard and a bit more versitle. Performance is good enough - much like a tablet - good for what it does. We find that the younger kids go for the tablets, older kids/adults go for the Chromebooks. But to be honest, I haven't tried many "heavy" type apps/files, such as huge spreadsheets, graphic design, etc. Guess it depends on your needs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McDugan 89 Report post Posted July 31, 2014 I have no hands-on experience with the Surface, but IMO a major strength of an Android tablet - or iOS but I assume you're priced out of that - is all the apps. With a MS tablet/laptop hybrid, you lose out on a lot of great free software since it's not running one of the two major mobile platforms.I did read about this really intriguing machine, but it won't be to market for a while. http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/2/5771514/asus-at-computex-2014 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
215BroadStBullies610 435 Report post Posted July 31, 2014 But when it starts to break = $$$$$$. Talk about gimmicky... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McDugan 89 Report post Posted July 31, 2014 But when it starts to break = $$$$$$. Talk about gimmicky...That's a good point that I hadn't thought of in this context but one I tend to live by. Maybe slightly cumbersome to have a separate laptop and tablet, but when one's not behaving well, you have the other as a fallback. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
215BroadStBullies610 435 Report post Posted July 31, 2014 Probably. I do wonder how they hold up in every day use. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hermans 9 Report post Posted July 31, 2014 My wife recently got the Lenovo Yoga which are on sale now, however in Canada it still exceeds the prices noted above. The new laptop flips over into a tablet only mode which gives the best of both worlds, is very light and has a great screen and okay battery life (4-5 hours). It has my vote as one of the better machines I've seen recently other than the fact it came with Windows 8, an operating system I still reserve judgement for.Dell Financial Services clears out "refurbished" laptops and I have used them twice to buy laptops. I checked with a friend who works there and the laptops are almost always returns from businesses that ordered machines and then cut the order back, or they are machines already made but not shipped when a business cuts back the order, or machines made before a credit card transaction is found to be fraudulent. If you are patient and look on a daily basis DFS has good deals that come up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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