Windows Tablets For Fieldwork

[Randall Garrett]

Some Surface Pro 3 comparison pix

Have to be brief - am between stops, but wanted to put these up since posting pictures of a real SP3 is no longer restricted. (I've read that you can go into a store like Best Buy and see them this weekend for yourself.) The following are my pictures of my Surface devices (two also show my Q584 for size comparison.) Note, the SP3 pictured is pre-production, so I'm only showing our own software on it. Once the device is out in the public in shipping form, I'll go into more detail on some specific items to pay attention to if you think you might like one. FWIW, I really like the device, but (again) note that for some of you, it may not be the right device. I'll have some more info later on some more info where it will likely make sense for you - I just cannot go into those details just yet.

• The first picture is of my SP2 next to a pre-production SP3 in "laptop mode." Note the 1.4" larger screen really comes into its own with the aspect ratio change. See how much more usable area is available, even though I am showing an older interface configured to take up as much room as possible. The shipping version of our software will look different but I wanted to show this in a "worst case" scenario. Also note the difference in reflectivity between the SP2 and SP3 side-by-side. In the real world, both displays look better and the drop in reflectivity is not quite as noticeable. (No snarky comments on my choice of keyboard colors, please, LOL)
• The next picture is a "profile" shot showing the difference in thickness. The SP2 is the thickest device at the back left. I messed up on this shot - the front left is a regular Surface 2 and I had meant to put my iPad there. The SP3 is the back left one and the one at front right is the Q584. The S2, SP3 and Q584 are the same approx. thickness as my iPad.
• The third shot is simply an overhead shot to show relative surface area (no pun intended, LOL.) Again, note how much more usable drawing area is afforded by the aspect ratio change with only a 1.4" increase in size (SP2 vs. Sp3. The importance of the aspect ratio can also be seen by comparing the usable draw area between the SP2 (upper left) and Q584 (lower right.) The SP2 has a 10.6" screen and the Q584 has a smaller 10.1" screen but it has a 16:10 aspect ratio vs. the crummy (for our purposes) 16:9 aspect ratio on the SP2. The 3:2 (15:10) aspect ratio of the SP3 is the best of these.

Again, all these shots were taken with my personal cell phone camera. They are a little washed out because I was subjecting them to the harshest lighting conditions available to me. I am not allowed to take the SP3 outside yet, and posting pictures showing this has... ummm, adverse effects to my relationships ;-)


Hope this helps for now. Feel free to ask questions. Better yet, go fondle one! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Just keep in mind that any SP3 you see is NOT a shipping product and no reviewer is allowed to post on the finished product (meaning the few niggles mentioned by even the most unbiased reviewer - not to mention the typical "blogger" - are not necessarily accurate, yet.)


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/

 

[kakarotto]

man it really looks good.

 

[Randall Garrett]

Yes, it does. As always, the proof is in the pudding and I am looking forward to putting it through its paces under real work conditions. I really wish I could get my hands on a Core i3 model since I always like to have at least one example of the lowest compute & thermal unit for testing available "mainstream" appraisal apps under out typical working conditions. At $799 retail, it may be a better "bang for the buck" choice than some of the moderate Bay Trail models for a lot of people, but I cannot even get my hands on a sample unit in that configuration for another 6 weeks. As it is, my initial order is for the i5 models since those retail units arrive on 06/20 and I absolutely need them ASAP. I won't likely even bother buying a Core i7 model at this point since I have access to them for short comparative software testing/comparison.

What I think a lot of folks will find upon their own examination is that what some "journalists" write about a 12" tablet being "simply too large" to be practical, is one of the things that appraisers will like, given our declining eyesight. In hand, I can now opine that the 1.76 lb. weight doesn't feel bad and that the new active pen is very responsive and accurate - for our purposes, it seems like the new NTrig pen/digitizer is actually superior to my old fave, Wacom. (For some artist types, the Wacom may be preferred.) I will, of course, be comparing/documenting the outdoor screen performance in typical appraiser conditions and looking at anti-glare screen treatments for those who appreciate same (like me, LOL.) What I can sat at present, though, is that the SP3 meets or exceeds the outdoor performance of the SP2 (which was slightly better than the SP1 due to a moderate change in screen tech) and equal to several of the moderate Bay Trail "business class" devices, even though the increased size puts it at a disadvantage in that respect. I'll need to explore and understand WHY before I comment fully and offer meaningful advice to those who need outdoor screens.

Of course, we're not likely to see Core M stuff until early next year, possibly mid-spring (?) but even so, that excites me due to the certainty of even better battery life, thinner/lighter designs, etc. I will, of course, be benchmarking early Core M devices ASAP though the tablets of choice will not come until after the Ultrabooks.

And, just for you kakarotto ;-), I am to test a couple of the new AMD devices. I am promised two which I am being promised will see the light of day. I am familiar enough with the CPU/GPU specs to appreciate the possibilities, so it mainly depends on these manufacturers' execution.

Hope this helps for now. Gotta run and I may be "off line" for the next 36 hours or so - I have a private mobility consultation to attend to this weekend.


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/

 

[kakarotto]

Hahaha look forward to it. I've always preferred amd over Intel as a bang for buck processor and o love radeon graphics solutions. I've been disappointed with the lack of amd tablets. I've got a t100 for now, and I'm also looking forward to broadwell as well

 

[Randall Garrett]

Short, factual video on SP3

FWIW, below is a link to a short video on the SP3. As is my norm, this is not an advertisement (read: hype) style video - it is simply a quick video showing various aspects of the SP3 in a way that static pictures don't. The reviewer, Lisa Gade, is a well known and well respected reviewer who does not inject an appreciable bias into her reviews, unlike most of the "reviews" done by the multitude of "dorfus" (IMHO) blogger types who have such a limited view on what is important to the "average" (or, in our case, "intended") audience. Her reviews tend to be factual and less opinionated, which should be appreciated by us valuation types...

You can tell that she shot the video quickly as it is sort of rough and she fails to point out some items that this user base might be interested in. I fully expect her more in-depth review to be more complete. Items I noticed were that it is hard to tell much from the side-by-side shot of the SP2 and SP3 because the SP3 is sitting awkwardly on a slightly raised surface and not level. (Hopefully, my own pictures here help with that.) She also fails to point out the microSD slot when talking about storage options, but you can clearly see it behind the "kickstand." I feel that this is an important aspect for you folks and should be a virtual requirement for any device you consider. I will go into why I feel that way in a later post, but for now, just bank on the fact that most of you already prefer a device with the ability to store various items on a removable/exchangeable medium. The lack of a storage card slot on a device is (for me and our customers) essentially a non-starter item when considering which device best fits the intended use case scenario.

Mostly, her comments echo my own observations though, of course, my own comments are more geared toward items which are important to appraiser types. That is, if you'll notice, most folks seem to focus more on the "laptop" use case and less on the "tablet" user. IMHO, the SP3 is a pretty good combination for both use cases - better than most previous attempts by MS and most other manufacturers. Most reviewers tend to not really understand the importance of the pen for those who want/need it, so they scribble on various "art" type apps and talk about pressure sensitivity, etc. To be fair, and I've yet to see anyone point this out, the demo SP3 units are all locked down by an app that "freezes" the OS into a state where not everything works. This is intentional and a reasonable thing for MS to do on its pre-release hardware. Yet, folks who don't know this (nor take into account that they are working with pre-release hardware) will comment on items like spotty pen functionality (this is mainly a "driver" and 3rd party app issue), battery life (the 7.5 hour average battery life vs. the claimed 9 hour life is a known issue that MS has said will be corrected prior to retail units shipping), etc.

Items that I have observed which are minor annoyances include:

• The relocation of the "Windows Button" to the right side bezel leads to inadvertent activation when holding the SP3 in the landscape orientation. This can be overcome by simple holding it slightly differently (no, I am not saying "You're holding it wrong", LOL) and/or a software/BIOS-type update. I already know for a fact that we can program around this item, but we'd prefer this item to be addressed at the OS level rather than our own code. It is a minor thing, but something you may notice and it can be frustrating for novice users - especially if you are the type who is just looking for a reason for the device to "fail" because folks like to throw stones at MS.
• The SP3 has no "silo" for the pen. This item is not uncommon in today's devices and true Tablet PC aficionados (rightly IMHO) rail on device manufacturers for this. A few devices have a silo, but unfortunately (for us)most don't. That said, on the SP3, MS includes a little "loop" that you can attach which holds the pen pretty well, and there are other, more practical (IMHO) solutions readily at hand, so overall I'm not that concerned that this particular "deficiency" is all that big of a deal. When the time comes, I'll go into simple things you can do to mitigate this situation.
• The previous SP1 and SP2 had their cameras "angled" so that they were essentially level when the kickstand was in use. In the SP1, it was spot on. In the SP2 it was essentially the same but very slightly compromised by the fact that the SP2 had 2 angles for the kickstand. With the SP3's ability to be leaned back into "continuous" angles, there will be times when the cameras do not automatically face the way you might want. This should be an obvious situation and I find it silly that some reviewers (especially most "tech bloggers" who are an even smaller minority than appraisers!) point this out as a negative item, yet is not an issue that is similarly rated on their devices of choice (read: MacBook, or any other laptop/tablet, for that matter.)
• As much as I like the changes made to the screen (size and aspect ratio), I still believe that more glare reduction is preferred for our use case scenario. My wish for a "factory" anti-glare/anti-reflective treatment for the screen is not likely to be offered by most manufacturers - they are building for inside workers, not those who routinely work outdoors. That said, my own observation is that the SP3 screen performs marginally better than the previous models. Still, I will be discussing "screen protector treatments" in the near future. I should also have some encouraging info on a few special accessories that make the SP3 even better in our typical outdoor work environments, so stay tuned

Here is the link. Hope it is helpful! Microsoft Surface Pro 3 First Look Review - YouTube



-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/

 

[Randall Garrett]

In the FWIW department...

Yesterday afternoon, I received an email from my local Microsoft Account Manager containing a MS-sponsored "Trade-in" offer: Trade in a Surface Pro 2 toward a Surface Pro 3 for up to $675 (depending on configuration.) Discounting the "wishful thinking" type listings, I'm seeing a lot of the top SP 2 models (8 GB RAM/256 GBG SSD) on eBay in the $1000 range, but I suspect that those listings will not find many buyers since the SP3 has been announced.

So, to check how the MS offer stacks up, I checked another "no hassle" service, gazelle (http://www.gazelle.com/new) known nationally for outright purchasing popular devices and found prices in the Good to Flawless of:

• SP2- 64 - $287 to $325
• SP2-128 - $370 to $413
• SP2-256 - $480 to $536
• SP2-512 - $646 to $720

Those prices match up pretty well with the MS offer when you consider one would only pay tax on the difference through MS vs. getting an outright cash payment from gazelle and then purchasing a SP3 outright.

I've already ordered about 10 SP3's for various staff members (mostly Core i5 to be delivered in a week) but also Core i3 and i7 models for testing, which won't be available until August. For my family, though, the MS offer spurred me to pull the trigger on Core i5 models for next Friday vs. wait until August as I figure the trade in value for SP2's will continue to drop.

Anyway, for those who have SP2's and are pining to get the new SP3, I believe this is a decent, no hassle offer. I'm not sure how a regular retailer like Best Buy will offer their SP3's, but I prefer to get my hardware (if available) through MS since they deliver their equipment devoid of bloatware and offer "first party" (MS) backed accidental drop protection policies. I like my hardware to run like it was designed to run and have the peace of mind that if I drop it, things are covered...

Also, FWIW, the MS offer applies to MacBook Airs. The offer is for "up to $650 (depending on configuration.) Checking gazelle.com for how this compares is a little more difficult/time consuming since the format for the site takes a lot more steps if you don't know MBA option pretty intimately. That is, you cannot easily specify a MBA (2013+) model unless you know the various CPU speed and SSD configurations. If you just assume the highest speed CPU and largest SSD, you can easily come up with a 2010 model. Strangely enough (to me) at first blush, the higher prices on gazelle.com seem to be for the MBA 11" models, not the 13.3" models. I guess folks see a value in the additional mobility of the smaller, more mobile-friendly models (?) Anyway, the ranges at gazelle.com for a few of the MBA's are:

• 13.3"-256 - $269 to $302
• 11" - 128 - $435 to $487
• 11" - 256 - $599 to $670

So, once again, the MS offer appears to be competitive, especially when you consider the tax savings and "more immediate satisfaction" aspects - i.e. that you could trade it in and get a SP3 immediately.

Note: (for my MacBook Air friends) I am not suggesting that the SP3 is a better device for your use (or even a suitable replacement, like the MS ads seem to do.) I am merely reporting that the MS ad targets MBA users and following up on how gazelle.com seems to compare. The MS ad seems to be a better deal than gazelle.com and I speculate that MS has an incentive to get MBA users to get a SP3 for advertising purposes. Nevertheless, it may be an attractive offer for those who might want to dump an older MBA and get an SP3 to try out. For SP2 owners who have "SP3 Envy", I'd recommend that you seriously consider this offer - it is predictable that the street value of your regular SP2 is only going to go down. And, to repeat an earlier comment - the SP3 may not be the perfect device for most appraisers (at this time), but IF you already are mostly happy with the SP1 or SP2, the SP3 is a tremendous upgrade and a much better fit for most of you IMHO.

The MS offer expires on 06/19/2014 - the day before the SP3 is due to arrive for sale in stores - so if this is of interest to you, I'd not sit around and get caught up in "analysis paralysis"... ;-) I'm sure that one can find better deals if you want to take the time, but my guess is the most of you would find that it cost you more in time (assuming you value your own time) and hassle factor to sell things yourself, then order something, etc.

Also, for those that do not have a MS Store nearby, don't want to go through Best Buy, etc., IF there is interest, I will approach MS to see what sort of arrangement they can offer you folks.

Hope this helps!


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/

 

[Randall Garrett]

FWIW, here is a fairly "benign" review (more of an extended "First Impressions - the author says he will be putting it through more daily paces and will give additional feedback later) on the Lenovo ThinkPad 10- the more modern and more powerful successor to the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2, one of my "faves" back about 12 - 18 months ago. The author is well known to me and is generally solid, but at the end of the day his priorities lean more toward devices with better keyboards (he is a prolific writer) and is not someone who does inspections for a living. Hence, the "Tablet" part, and more so the pen aspects, are not what he favors - he tends to favor devices that are more "laptop" in nature. Still, it is a fair write-up and if you are interested in this device, worth the 5 or 6 minutes to read & look at the pictures. He gets the screen resolution wrong (for shame, Paul!) and misses that favorable aspect of the device. Additionally, his review unit is configured with Win 8.1 32-bit and only 2 GB of RAM. The optimal configuration for most appraisers is the 64-bit/4 GB RAM model since most of your "real Windows" software is still not optimized for the lesser devices. As usual, this Business Class device will run about 10% - 15% higher "feature-for-feature" than the consumer grade stuff seen at big box stores, but like pocket cameras my experience is that it is worth it, given our less than gentle handling and primarily outdoor work environments. I would not expect to see this device commonly available for another 30 days.

The pictures do a fair job of pointing out the size difference between the illustrated iPad Air and Surface Pro 3, but still leave something to be desired on various aspects that we might find important. I still don't know why reviewer types are allowed to show pictures and I can't... Maybe they have a significant numbers of readers, LOL

Article link: http://winsupersite.com/mobile-devices/lenovo-thinkpad-10-first-impressions-and-photos


Hope this helps!


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

PS - I should be posting pictures of our SP3 units this weekend, for those interested.

/end/

 

[Randall Garrett]

Here is a well done video review on the Lenovo ThinkPad 10 by Lisa Gade of MobileTechReview. As usual, Lisa does a great job of covering the bases. She questions whether we'll see models with 4 GB of RAM, more storage and 4G. I know for a fact, however, that there are devices out there with 4GB and more storage. I have not gotten one with 4G, though - I simply chose not to get 4G in my last order. Seems that all the review units I've seen on-line are the 32-bit variety with only 2 GB of RAM. I've tested both and can say that in typical appraiser use, the 4GB models (when available) are preferred, again mostly due to your likely use of some bloated older software. That said, even the 2 GB models can run Photoshop if you're being reasonable (as pointed out and illustrated in the video.)

Link to video - I recommend changing the default setting to at least 720p.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TUc0BZW80g


Hope this helps!


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/

 

[Randall Garrett]

Minor FYI item. Today, we have an expected update for the SP3 which addresses some known power management issues on the SP3, as well as some "pen" stuff among some more esoteric items. We'll be applying this update to our devices immediately, and I will report on how it goes. It should not delay me being able to post pictures and "general usage scenario" type comments this weekend, though. The information embargo on the SP3 expires at midnight tonight so we're good to go. FWIW to prospective purchasers - If you haven't already got an SP3 pre-ordered, you might aw well just wait for a week and let the hubbub die down. I'm not sure how well stocked up they are on these things, but the build process is fully on-line so I would not expect shortages, or they'd be minor. If you have an SP2 and are interested in an SP3, I can report that they 3rd Party that MS was using to do a trade-in did not offer me as much as gazelle.com did. There was about a $100 difference. If we had been just doing one or two devices, the convenience factor would have likely tempted me to do the MS trade-in thing, but that was not the case with our larger order. The main advantage for single user trade-in is that you just pay the difference. With gazelle.com, you have to purchase the new unit outright and send in your SP2 and wait for their check. Takes about 10 days. Of course, with MS, it was for SP2 only and with gazelle.com, you can move your other devices - SP1, Android Tablet(s), etc. to help afford the new device. Generally, if you are an SP1 or SP2 user, outside of the cost to upgrade, I find the SP3 to be a no-brainer update. If you have an older SP, just do it ;-) The SP3 is a better device all the way around. I'll be able to touch on accessories later this month. Oh, don't forget to get the Complete Care option (through MS) - that is essentially the accidental damage protection policy. I'm not sure how the other sellers' policies are (i.e. Best Buy, etc.) but I've have excellent service through MS and am not so sure I trust the "add on" guys...


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/

 

[Randall Garrett]

Here is another review on the Lenovo ThinkPad 10. This author is also well known to me and we don't always agree ;-) Like me, he's a Tablet PC "veteran" and goes way back - this stuff is not new to him. This review is pretty generic, but I don't find much there that doesn't mirror my own thoughts. He was furnished a 2GB model, so he can't compare the difference that the extra 2GB makes in the upper end models. Keep in mind, though, regarding his comment about the keyboard being almost mandatory - like other bloggers, he is primarily a writer/journalist, not a "field inspection" person, hence his feeling about the keyboard. That said, he is correct about the quality of the Lenovo keyboards - they simply are better than the others. Again, I recommend the 4 GB models for appraisers and I don't expect them to really be available for purchase here for another 30 days. Unfortunately for Lenovo, this means this device won't "hit the streets" until after folks can buy an SP3. My guess is that some (many?) will opt for the SP3 when the lighter Lenovo TP10 would actually be the better choice. YMMV...

http://www.zdnet.com/thinkpad-10-review-great-windows-tablet-good-laptop-7000030643/


-Randall Garrett-
+Apex Software+

/end/