For Work, Ultrabook or Surface Pro 3?

melfes on 24/09/2015 - 01:40

Hi All,

Was really thinking of Surface pro 3 as it looks like a nice option for work, yet seems for the same price could get a ultrabook that is light,longer battery and better hardware ..

My problem is that I DO NOT really need to use it as a tablet very often. Just after a windows-powered system/hybrid for work that has touch function (can do some quick sketching to present ideas/creatives), strong on browsing, word processing and multitasking (8GB ram and up), and light(carry around) and durable. And I do not need a fancy or big screen. Abt 10 inch will do.

Any suggestions? Many Thanks

Computing

Comments

  • equinoxxx on 24/09/2015 - 08:31

    Myself and another 2 guys bought this after a work colleague bought one. Very good for working on. 10/10

    http://www.dell.com/au/p/xps-13-9343-laptop/pd?oc=smy510495a…

    Yes its a higher cost but if its for work, your productivity will outweigh the cost difference quite quickly.

    • melfes on 25/09/2015 - 01:18

      hmm.. but 2500 is fairly steep

      thought 1000 ish books nowadays are adequate for productivity tasks?

  • try2bhelpful on 24/09/2015 - 08:46
    +1

    You might want to look at the HP X360.

    http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/hp-spectre-x360-13t

    • melfes on 25/09/2015 - 01:19

      Will look up Thanks =)

  • the frost on 24/09/2015 - 08:54

    For starters, wait until the 6 October event for the new Surface Pro 4 to probably be announced.

    Also, the Lenovo Yoga series is great - two people I know got these on my recommendation and love them many months on. The Yoga 3 Pro is very expensive, but the lower models are also generally great. This series started the kind of convertible that the (also excellent) HP Spectre x360 above copied.

    • scotty on 24/09/2015 - 09:30
      +1

      Talked to Lenovo yesterday and they said that the new Yoga 700 using Skylake Core M CPU is probably coming next month. It would be something to consider if you type a lot (anything is better than the surface typecover).

      • iridiumstem on 24/09/2015 - 09:32

        Have you tried the new Macbook's keyboard? That keyboard shocked me in a bad way.
        By far the worst keyboard I've ever came across.

        • scotty on 24/09/2015 - 10:27

          Yeah I heard many reports on that. I guess it depends on what you are willing to compromise. Definitely not keyboard for me, and I am happy for my notebook to be a few mm thicker.

        • iridiumstem on 24/09/2015 - 11:50

          @scotty: I found my bluetooth keyboard to be better than Macbook (it reminded me of the silicon straps that some people placed on their tablet for better typing, from how small the travel is, though I do admit that keyboard on new macbook's marginally better than that). I know that keyboard stuff is very preferential, but Surface Pro keyboards were better than the new Macbook keyboards by far in my opinion.

          That said, I am looking forward for the Lenovo Miix 700, curious on what Wacom tech they will be using (hope it is the EMR one).

  • jnewau on 24/09/2015 - 09:51
    +1

    If it's for work and you don't need the tablet form factor, buy a device with proper commercial support.

    eg Dell, HP or Lenovo with onsite warranty

    I work for a corporate reseller for Surface Pro and see how many have to come back for repair. And then the dramas that ensue when they realize they have to send it off and wait for repairs

    All the Tier 1 vendors also offer Hybrid devices eg Lenovo Yoga, HP Elite 1011 etc if you really do want that form factor

    • melfes on 25/09/2015 - 01:26

      Big Thumbs up..did not know surface pro is prone to repair

      And thanks for the suggestions as I do need the form factor to sketch up ideas although not often

  • djones145 on 24/09/2015 - 10:45

    WHAT no ipad pro??? they sold it as the best business machine out there! o.O

    • iridiumstem on 24/09/2015 - 11:51

      ARM tablet, business machine. What?

      OK, slight sarcasm aside, just like how I find Windows tablets to have limits in being used like an ARM tablet, same logic applies to ARM tablets in my opinion.

      ARM tablets is developed more for content consumption, apps were mainly developed for those things. I know that Words exist on ARM devices, but, it's still very limited compared to what you could do on a x86-64 device. Not to mention, PCs are more widely used in businesses and other areas for work. Statistical analysis programs like SPSS, STATA, etc are not available as far as I know and I think TeX on ARM devices are very limited as well.

      • scotty on 24/09/2015 - 19:19

        Asus C201 or C100 Flip Chromebooks + crouton to side load Linux — nice little/cheap ARM laptop / tablet that can also do LaTeX very well.

        • iridiumstem on 24/09/2015 - 19:27

          I stand partially corrected then, I thought I've heard that compiling on ARM devices are very slow.

          Though, I think iPad Pro would not be able to be used to sideload linux, so…

        • scrimshaw on 25/09/2015 - 18:22

          @Oversimplified:

          the iPad Pro was a missed opportunity IMO. They could've made it into a proper work machine if they had stuffed in a Core M processor, gave it 4GB of RAM, expandable SDXC memory and made it run OSX.

          It's not quite deserving of the 'Pro' naming just yet. Maybe they should call it the iPad RT (lol)

  • Mikinoz on 24/09/2015 - 10:57
    +1

    After using both i recommend an ultrabook, surface pro is good although as others have said the keyboards let it down. I guess its dependant on the usage ie spreadhseets are not a lot of fun using an sp3

  • DirtyBoots on 24/09/2015 - 11:17
    +2

    I moved from a Surface Pro 3 to an ASUS UX303LA (no touch screen) around March this year. Very happy with the ultrabook. For the $1000 or so I paid for it and another $90 for another 8GB of RAM, it's a solid machine. Light, responsive, easy to work when mobile / on plane, even with the extra couple of inches in screen realestate / size (13.3"). Would definitely stick with an ultrabook for corporate use over a Surface, especially when you use it mostly as a laptop not tablet.

    • Penalty boxer on 24/09/2015 - 17:23

      Not such a bad deal at DSE too: http://www.dicksmith.com.au/ultrabooks-premium-notebooks/asu…

      • DirtyBoots on 25/09/2015 - 00:56
        +1

        Yeah, particularly if you stack another 10% off, gets it back down to around the $1000. One of the nicest things about that machine as it comes with both memory and mSata expansion slots- not very common in ultrabooks I've found. Biggest gripe with the above DSE deal is that it packs the same 4th gen i5 4210u that I have in mine, from memory this model has a better chip in it now, just old dick with old stock it seems..

        • melfes on 25/09/2015 - 01:30

          Any chances you are aware of a book that is UX303 + touch function? Cheers

        • DirtyBoots on 25/09/2015 - 10:57
          +1

          @melfes: Yeah, there's a line that has them. DSE has one here: http://www.dicksmith.com.au/laptops-notebooks/asus-13-3-ux30…. If you are serious about one of these though, have more of a look into the product line and make sure that you're getting good bang for buck- there's a lot of iterations / variations across these model lines..

  • kywst on 24/09/2015 - 12:26

    Maybe check out some Core M tablets coming out of China?

    Onda V919 CoreM www.onda-tablet.com/onda-v919-3g-core-m-tablet-pc

    Not sure how accurate your touch sensitivity needs to be but I have used a stylus with their tablets and seemed okay for drawing apps. You'll find that 4GB is plenty unless your going to be running memory intensive services/processes (SQL for example) The build quality was surprisingly decent and sported an alloy rear. Ordered Monday morning, delivered Wednesday DHL.

    *in before someone raises the trust China issue…

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