This post is about the Slate 7 which is already available and made with Windows 8 in mind. There will actually be a second Slate released when Win8 officially comes out. Here's an in depth review (16 pages of info) and comparison of the Samsung Slate 7. Big thanks to Engadget for the link to the review. It runs circles around the iPad and pretty much everything else. Windows 8 will only improve on all of this. Theres also a second review link made by a so called Apple fan. And the third link is Msoft's plan to improve on performance with Windows 8. And the fourth link is to Microsoft's in depth blog post about Win 8 power efficiency http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...late,3079.html http://tekonomist.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/my-samsung-7-slate/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57321356-75/windows-8-plans-to-better-manage-your-battery-life/ http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/02/07/improving-power-efficiency-for-applications.aspx --------------------------------------------------------------- Quote from Engadget commenter, FlutterDoo. I guess you guys can take it with a grain of salt if you don't want to listen to commenters. Could this be your laptop replacement? Could this be your iPad replacement? Will the iPad 3 match or best this? Obviously not! How do you feel/like Windows 8 and the new tablets based off of what I posted or your own research?
I gotta wonder about stuff though, man... I mean there's the first point right there, the disadvantage all PCs and Android devices have compared to a games console or an iDevice - the different specs mean you never know quite how something's going to run. Unless you have a very old iDevice, you can expect everything to run exactly as intended by the developer, whilst with a PC or Android device (i.e. a device which was built independently from the OS software developer), you just never know what you're going to get. And we go back into the realms of PC gaming again. I used to be a PC gamer, then all this graphics cards stuff started showing up and it became a nightmare of fiddling with settings, installing this that the other, until it'd finally work acceptably on your hardware, despite meeting the recommended specs. I mean bumping textures up and down, changing resolution, all that stuff, is something I've been hoping games would move away from since graphics are starting to hit that glass ceiling. This is very cool, will be good in combination with the digitizer for graphics programs etc. ...And not so cool. Again we get back to the PC crapness of having to download this and configure that... This should auto-update, or be like this out of the box. Why wouldn't it? Again, exciting... ...and not so exciting. Who wants to sit installing everything they want to use all the time? In my view this goes against what tablet computers are about - simplicity and efficiency. "Blazing fast 5 minute"? Is this what Windows-only users are accustomed to? I mean, to me, this sounds like an extra-portable laptop, ya know, just without the added bulk of the keyboard and hinge, and if it's going to be this demanding on customisation and installation, well you might as well have a keyboard interface... Does this make sense? I would really like to be looking forward to Win 8, because I love Win 7 (I gave up on Windows completely when it was on Vista, I hated that thing and moved entirely to Mac, but Win 7 saved it, used all of Vista's good ideas and a few of OSX's too, great stuff), but again every time I look I just see compromise. Tablets with fans and installations and fiddling with settings to get stuff to work, PCs with full-screen apps and gimped multitasking, the disadvantages of each platform have crossed over to the other. Potentially, if it comes with a keyboard dock and supports all chipsets (not just the ARM stuff). It'd be ultra-portable, which would be nice. I wouldn't think so... For all the functionality it loses efficiency and simplicity. This thing seems more like a computer which you can pull the keyboard off of, than a tablet which you can stick one onto. Almost the inverse of the ASUS Transformer series. Depends what you're looking for. I seriously don't want to be reading the Metro & listening to podcasts on the train on something with a fan whirring away at me, after having to have sat there and waited for the Metro program to install, for its battery to drain after 3 and a half hours. It seems bloated to me. Based on what you've posted, I like the aesthetics of the OS for tablets very much, but I feel that the computer+tablet thing is really holding it back, I just can't see the appeal in a tablet so complicated and resource-heavy, it's practically a laptop sans keyboard. As for the improvements, we can't go saying a device is better/worse based on promises for improvement. Nobody added points to their AWESOME Land reviews because I promised a scoring system later (out in a few days, by the way), and rightly so. The real appeal I can see in a Win 8 tablet with keyboard dock is like a much better angle to the ASUS Transformer idea (Say what you will about the Transformer but Android isn't versatile enough to be considered a full laptop OS unless you're the most casual of computer users) - if you need a laptop and a tablet you can kill two birds with one stone and save you money. In my opinion it's not as good as either but you do essentially get both in one device, which is nice. For me, currently, I feel like I'd be compromising with both; an OS too bloated for an efficient tablet and too basic for a PC. What I am looking forward to, is seeing how Apple and Google respond to it with their next OS updates.
@DistanJ If you see this, I'll be replying a bit later to answer some of questions/concerns. Been busy!
@GoofyJmaster: thanks for the great links. It is good to know that a powerful Windows based PC can be put into a tablet form factor with existing technology. It will only get better and should be very interesting when Windows 8 if finally released. As for now, I will probably get an iPad 3, but will take a close look at the Windows 8 tablets for my subsequent upgrade. I have little need beyond consumption and the cheap and plentiful apps that Apple has is great for me. Web browsing on the iPad is good enough and should continue to improve. The iPad desktop and folder paradigm is not that great but encourages me to manage my apps and delete ones I don't use and hopefully this will get improved. My one main wish list is that Apple will put in a USB port and allow me to export things like podcasts and files; if I want to listen to a podcast in my car I have to boot up my old PC. Other then that I am pretty happy with the iPad. I am looking forward to next Wednesday's reveal and am hopeful an updated IOS version will improves things.
Well, this doesn't matter for people who don't play PC games anyways, especially not graphic intense ones. Also, the only reason he's dual booting is because it was the developer preview of the game. I've never really had something break on PC, and I'm pretty sure most ppl have had the same experience as me. Also, if something is messed up, it's usually fixed ASAP on PCs. I can't say the same about mobile OSes. Again, this only applies to hardcore PC gamers that need the best of the best graphics. I've ran games on less powerful computer at lower settings and they still look quite good. It also doesn't take that long to adjust the settings...pretty quick IMO. Windows 8 will have a base code that will allow devs to make the same game across al Windows platforms easily. So, if you like mobile style gaming and support just play Metro games from the app store. No biggie at all. Yup, I plan on using it for mild/light drawing and taking digital notes for co-op and such. i'll probably stick to pen and paper for class notes, but I'm still undecided. True! I'm pretty sure stuff like this can be easily fixed. This is definitely not a deal breaker in any form. You're forgetting that there will be two sides of the PC: the Metro side and the Window 7 side. People were thinking it was a true start menu button. Oops, I already replied to this. Again, there's two sides to it: Win7 and Metro. Take your pick, but they're both there for easy access. Again, iOS is all That's the point! It's a laptop-tablet hybrid. Windows 8 will bring that easy, consumer side. Did you do any research on Windows 8. Everyone that has a Slate 7 is running Windows 7 or the developer preview. Also, you can get a lightweigt keyboard case if you want it to be more like a laptop at any particular time. Honestly, I like writing more than typing, so a digitizer could easily replace the keyboard aspect...IDK. It's not really gimped multitasking. I thought this too, but started doing more research on it. No one that has it has complained about the fan or anything else like that. Yes, there have been minor complaints, but that's expected with anything. Also, Windows 8 is a tablet overlay of Win7. [/QUOTE]Potentially, if it comes with a keyboard dock and supports all chipsets (not just the ARM stuff). It'd be ultra-portable, which would be nice.[/QUOTE] It's only .6 lbs heavier than the iPad and there are plans for the touchscreen ultrabooks, like Lenovo Yoga, to support i7s. Right now the Slate 7 has an i5. Did you look at the breakdown on Tom's hardware. He explains why the Slate is efficient in what it does despite it being a tablet. Not really. Judging by review it still has the same good ol' efficiency but in tablet form. A lot of ppl, like myself, find things like the iPad extremely inefficient. I hate the way iOS is set up, and Android is like driving down a zig-zag road with mile high bumps. No indications of the fan being a problem. From my understandin, it really on;y kicks in when you're doing extreme work or have it hooked up to the dock or power supply. Heck, the fan in my current laptop isn't even loud. He said that you could do hard work for up to 5-6 hours with the brightness turned down to 25%. He also said it was still quite bright at that settkng. If you look at the test the iPad 2 only had this tablet beat by less than 2 hours for the browsing test. And that's win7 and not Metro. It's really not. If my mom and little sister can use the home compuer than they can use this, especially after Metro is officially released. Yes, I understand this, but the dev preview is in the wild and testaments have been made. the consumer preview is being released today. Well, reviewers/previewers and people who bought the Slate 7 think it's the best. I still don't know how. it's been proven to handle legacy apps pretty damn well. And metro will only improve the tablet side. And none of the reviewers/previewers are saying anything bad about it as of yet when compared to the iPad. the only thing was battery life, but it's been proven to have a good one. if this thing can do 5 hours, that's probably the most ppl need for hard work. If it can do more on Metro or with light use, that's even better. Again, it's been said that it can last the day with sleep mode and light usage. Me too. Everything, I've seen about Google points to they don't care. So, either they don't or they have it tightly under wraps. iOS 6 probably won't be anything astounding judging from iOS update history. Answered this pretty quickly, but I think I hit everything. If not just let me know.
Hey man, thanks for the post and no problem. I was beginning to feel like this was going to be a discussion between only me and DistantJ. Yeah, I use my computer for more than what the iPad can handle. Also, I think it's just nice to have the extra goodies on a OS that will be supported like laptops and desktops. Most upper class college students still have their same laptop from freshman year or even high school. Hell, Window XP will still be supported until 2014. The iDevices will never--ok, well, not any time soon IMO--have the same love IMHO. I already feel like I need to upggrade my iPod and i have the newest one. Metro will only make the tablet/mobile/consumption experience better.the iPad will be updated just enough to get you to buy into it. Pricing The best iPad is $830. The 64GB Slate 7 is $1,000 and the 128GB is $1,300. There's also sales going on for it. If you buy it from a Microsft store, you can get it for--I think--$900. You also get a $200 gift card. If you buy it online you can get the $200 gift card, but there isn't a discounted price.
Pricing is pretty competitive now and should get really competitive when Windows 8 arrives. Tablets will become cheap as a lot of vendors enter the field. At that point, there will be real pressure on Apple to innovate further and there will be really good tablets that run Windows that are more powerful and cheaper then iPads. It should be interesting to see how Apple responds. I don't expect a lot from the coming iPad 3, but the iPad 4 one will have to exist in a much different market.
Definitely! I pretty much agree with everything you just said. Damn, it's been a while since something like that happened. I'm not getting one until the official Windows 8 tablets come out, which i think is projected for this . I already hear HP is working on one. The one thinh that will alsways keep me away from a Apple tablet is the lack of ports. Yes, I still use USB and SD...a lot. It also has a mini HDMI and regular HMI on the dock. There's also an ethernet port, which could come in handy. In my old dorm, I'd use it a lot because the campus wifi was spotty at times. There were also other dorms that couldn't even recive wifi at all. That renders the ipad useless IMO. IMO, it's easier and quicker. Plus, there's always that off chance that cloud will be down or your connection will be or something. The Zune Pass is also more appealing than buying songs in iTunes. With the amount of music I listen to I'd be in the financial hole with iTunes. If ppl steal then it really doesn't matter. I really wonder what Apple and Google have in store for 2013.
As far as a solution for the iPad where wifi is not available but Ethernet is, I just bought a cool and compact wifi repeater that claims to be able to create a wifi signal from an ethernet connection. I bought it to handle a dead spot in my wifi coverage that I have in my house and I now have great connectivity there, but it can do other things like solve your dorm issue. Here is an Amazon link: www.amazon.com/Diamond-Multimedia-Wireless-Extender-WR300N/dp/B005D5M136/ref=cm_cr-mr-title
Hmm...I wonder if anyone tried this for their laptops. I know at our calhoun dorm they tried to use WiFi router, but it didn't work because of how our school has it set up. I mean it doesn't really matter for me because the iPad isn't the device I need or could actually manage to use throughout my schooling. Edit: Yeah, i don't think it would work. our school's wifi setup is strict. It's either ethernet or password.
Are Metro games XNA? I will probably be looking into getting FZ games onto Win 8 devices somewhere down the line. Yup. Forgive me if I'm not jumping for joy, for me it's just got me very concerned, otherwise I'd be into it. If they can keep the price low and do away with stupid things like fans in the tabs and no battery life then I'm all for it, likely to be instead of my next laptop upgrade, not necessarily to replace Android tablet. Seriously? I can't see it... Win 8 seems to be the same system practically as Android 3/4. But why do that when I can do hard work on my Samsung tab for 9+ hours with the brightness at 100%? So what we're looking at is sort of Windows 7 with an overlay which makes it better for touch screens? Of course I like that, but I've yet to see anything which proves I can get it to behave like a normal PC operating system with windows and a taskbar without having Win 7 dual-booting or using the limited 'Desktop' app. If you can show me a video of Win 8 running as a Window-based OS I'd be very thankful. I don't know if you've seen Mac OSX Lion, but what that does is replaces the Applications folder (the Mac equivalent of the Start Menu) with LaunchPad, which mimmicks iOS - once you click it, your computer screen becomes a gesture-controlled stack of icons just like iOS, from which you can launch your apps. They offer it there but you can also remove it and put the Applications folder back. I know the Start button brings up that WP7 style thing again but when you launch stuff from it it seems to all be very app-like, one task at a time, all full screen etc., I'd much prefer to see the apps still launching in configurable and resizable Windows when on a PC and I've not seen any video of it running that way unless it's old Win 7 apps. I know it can run legacy apps but what if I want to multitask between a Win 8 program and a Win 7 one? Am I just supposed to be task-switching the whole time like on a tablet OS? On my PC? I'd much prefer they kept using Windows, I mean I use Mac OSX because of it's better Window-support, the way applications like Photoshop can split into separate windows and keep all the other stuff behind it, toolbars only appearing when a Photoshop window is clicked, dragging content between a PS and Illustrator file without having to switch etc. and going into PS on my Win7 PC feels like a big step backwards just from not having that option, I can't imagine how much of a step backwards this Metro thing would be in that respect. Absolutely no way am I parting with a grand for a tablet... Is there a 16GB one? I can see why it's useful, I mean I really can, but any tablet user will tell you that they never really want their tablet to do more than it can, because anything a tablet can't do you usually want a mouse+keyboard interface to achieve. Obviously the advantage is that you can, ya know, pull out the mouse+keyboard and plug it in there, but eh, my laptop cost me £250 ($400 approx). For that price I'd rather build myself a nice powerful Windows machine. In the other thread you were talking about Macs being overpriced, but that's the same price as what my iMac cost me, and it's a tablet... Anyway, let me just add, it's important to me that you don't take any of my responses as hostile - that other thread got stupid and this is just people's preferences for technology.
"even the home button goes to the Windows 8 home screen by default" That is pretty comical. Does the power button even turn off the power???
@DistantJ Um...I forget what the code is. I'll post it a bit later. Yes, you can multitask between Windows 8 and Windows 7. I have to look through my stuff and post it a bit later. It's not really organized. i've been doing the learn as I go method. Windows 8 is an overlay of Windows 7. Everything will run the same in Win7 after the win8 update. Only a few UI changes have been made, but you can make it look like the old Win7 if you really want to. The Metro stiff is where the big change comes in. I'll just compile all my stuff and send you a PM. It's a lot and I don't want to bog down the thread. Plus, it won't really be all that organized. The road thing was in regards to fluidity or performance. I've used Android and it's frustrating, but I do like the OS/UI over iOS. I'd suggest you going to http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/samsung/ as well!
Well, Android, just like Windows, obviously drastically varies depending on the device on which it's running. That's the main advantage of Apple's OS', like a games console, what you see is what you get.
@DistantJ I think I did you one better than what I previously said. Windows 8 link dump. I tailored my search just for you. i haven't actually looked through all of them--only some--but I think they'll help you out. I'm going to look through them a bit later today. i'm going to run Win8 in the VM a bit later too. I was thinking about doing a partition but screw that. http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/29/microsoft-windows-8-consumer-preview-detailed-impressions/ http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/windowsexperience/archive/2012/02/29/introducing-windows-8-consumer-preview.aspx http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57387678-501465/early-look-at-microsoft-windows-8-beta/ http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/250988/windows_phone_owners_no_windows_8_for_youyet.html http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-57381603-78/windows-8-beta-folds-in-100000-code-changes-live-blog/ http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-57386760-78/windows-8-beta-hands-on-with-microsofts-tablet-friendly-os/ ----- Code http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2011/jun11/06-01corporatenews.aspx http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff431744(v=vs.92).aspx http://www.developer.nokia.com/Develop/Windows_Phone/Code_examples/ http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc767883.aspx couple vids, but they're older than the links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGxryAY0QhM&list=PLC312D85284764F90&index=1&feature=plpp_video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VnsHmVs1UA&list=FLRCUFMQTaLyr3ZHR8VnWbvQ&index=25&feature=plpp_video
This is exactly how I feel about it. Like they're building Metro on top of Windows the way Windows was built on top of DOS, but whilst Windows was enhancing PCs, Metro is simplifying them because of tablets, and it feels unnecessary. What I really am hoping would work would be Windows 8 for Media Centre PCs, ya know, the ones plugged into your TV, running on a remote. Imagine if they got that interface running with Kinect? I'd love that. (Watching more in-depth videos of Metro from your links) Man, that Metro interface is so much like Android 3+ that it's not even funny, lol. The whole Metro IE on the left, desktop on the right thing, it seems like a workaround, you know? Two different OS' fighting with each other. Very odd. I don't see why it can't just be like, whack a button on the keyboard (or at the top right of the screen) and Metro IE shrinks into a movable Window on the desktop, you know? Can't you just have full-screen Metro IE running, and hit a button which will shrink it into a window on your desktop and carry on as it was, like OSX Lion? "These are two completely separate applications, they don't share bookmarks, they don't share cookies" - why on earth not? Again, fragmented operating system for no apparent reason... In OSX Lion, you can switch between something running as a window or as a full screen metro-style app. There doesn't have to be an iOS-styled version of the app and an OSX styled version, each Lion-optimised app has a simple button in the corner which switches between modes. Once it's a full screen app you can use gestures on the multi-touch mouse to swipe between full screen apps and desktops (you can have multiple desktops) like on a tablet interface. If you put the mouse up to the top, you get a little button to switch back from a full-screen app to a window, which then scrolls back over onto your desktop. I don't see why they couldn't do this? It seems like, imagine if instead of releasing OSX Lion which added these iPad-like features to it, that if Apple had just sort of included some kind of "iOS button" which switched between the two operating systems. Will post more as I read more of these articles.
@DistantJ Yeah, I just read through the engadget thing. I wish the two OSes were more connected, but it doesn't 100% bother me. I think, like some of the comments said, it's biased towards use. I'll be doing all my hard work in Win7 but switch to Metro for easy stuff. As long as documents and such save, I could care less about my internet settings being saved between the two. But yeah, I wish they were a bit more connected. I can tab Office on Metro's home screen for easy access, but use the nicer IE10 Metro version. I don't even have to use the Win7 version. I like the choice. It is a bit more mix-match than I thought, but it will actually work great for me. I think other ppl will want to wait for ARM if they want the most streamlined experience without any additional choices. Edit: IDK, I'll just have to test it out personally and see what it feels like. About to download in a few. Also, it's a preview, so things can change.
You can window in Windows 7. You can't make it become a new desktop though. Personally, I usually never Window, but I do use the aero snap feature a decent amount, especially when working in office. But yeah, I see what you're saying. Did they remove windowing from the Win 7 side? As far as Metro goes, I don't mind the way it's set up. Swipe down to see your tabs. That's the way I like it--tabbed. Plus, can't you link up accounts for web explorers. I use chrome right now, so an easy solution would be to sign into chrome on both metro and Win7. This is a smidge off topic, but it brings back unification. Plus, I like the integration on the Metro side. This can only get better. Edit Thinking about it from you perspective, I can see why that method would be easier for you. I want them to add a swipe task bar like on Win7.
Yeah but I mean, if I'm running a full screen web page on my Mac, I only have to click a button and I can carry on what I'm doing with the rest of my work, you know? If I'm reading a site and go "I fancy going full screen with this for a bit" I can, rather than starting all over again in an apparently separate operating system running at the same time. I don't see what the problem would have been to have had a button to go into a Window, in fact it seems like common sense to me, it's just the next evolution of the maximise button. I don't understand the separation. I mean even if the entire Metro interface just shrunk into one Window, it wouldn't be ideal but it'd be better than this. You say these machines are good for work but the only reason tablets aren't as good for work is that they use slower, non-window-based multitasking, and that's because window-based multitasking just doesn't work on a small touch screen. The Win 7-ish part (it doesn't have Win 7 built in, it's got the desktop, which sort of mimmicks Win 7) seems to have been gimped a little, everything's chunkier and allows less space, again probably accommodating for tablets. This is what I've been trying to say, it's compromising, both devices' disadvantages come together. I'd have much preferred they did what Apple are doing, which is to incrementally add iOS features into OSX and OSX features into iOS, making them cross over better without having to compromise. iPad's multitasking improved with the double-tap-home-button taskbar (and optional four finger slide-up gesture on iPad) and the iPad's four-finger sliding between apps mirroring OSX's swiping between desktops/full screen programs. It's just not as good as, say, Android 3+'s multitasking, which if you like Metro you'll also like as it's pretty much identical. So yeah, through my experience with iOS and OSX, and the way they link up perfectly, borrow each other's features to be consistent, but fundamentally remain built specifically for the systems they run on, I just can't see the appeal in one unified OS because evidently it has to compromise. I love that the Xbox dashboard has been made to look like and work with WM7 and eventually Win8, that method makes more sense to me, and that's the way Apple are doing it. Why not dedicated OS' made to interact with, resemble and behave like each other?
