Withdrawn

thecolourbox

I'm starting a uni course next month and i think having a tablet like a surface would help with portable note taking and office work etc, and from what I understand any of the Windows tablets have office and Internet explorer so would fit the bill

I currently have a brilliant condition 16gb iPad mini which I've never really liked so only use it for youtube sing or play along sessions.

I know there may be a value difference to factor in but would anybody be interested in a trade or part trade? Would like it in as good a condition as possible

Also have a Mooer Bassman little monster amp that i may consider trading

Thanks

WITHDRAWN

grungebob

You could just download open office for your iPad it functions and looks just like Microsoft office and it's free

thecolourbox

Thanks, I will try it out but I suspect it will be too small a screen, I also think I'll need a proper keyboard like what you can get for the Surface, can't type on the ipad without buying a case that has a keyboard in it, which with the size issue I think it'd just be better to get something fit for purpose

stickyfiddle

You can get MS office and Office² on iPad. Both work well enough. Or even Pages from Apple is actually very good.

Why not just get a bluetooth keyboard for the iPad?

thecolourbox

Thanks, I'm sure you can but it still stands that the screen is too small. So on top of dropping money I could be spending on fuzz pedals on a bigger ipad instead, plus the office apps, plus a big old case with a keyboard in it I hoped I could just find a nice RT that somebody doesn't want it would pretty much do what I want it to straight off

I do have a bluetooth keyboard but it's one more charger I need to carry around, it doesn't attach to the ipad, so I'd have to somehow hold two things at the same time and type, on a screen that's too small. Also did I mention that the screen is too small?

stickyfiddle

Ok, if you're finding the screen to small I won't argue. Sure you wouldn't be better with a laptop?

thecolourbox

Yeah I have a laptop but it's a part time course that I'll be doing alongside full time work so I was hoping essentially to be able to carry it everywhere with me so when I get chance to do some study while at work I can just whip it out. Also so that I don't use reams of paper taking notes and still have to type them up afterwards. I find my laptop too big to do that, and a bit heavy to have in my bag all the time. Tablets I understand are lighter so I'm less likely to walk lopsided haha. Am trying to see if I can test the weight of a Chromebook as well but I suspect that will b laptop weight and not sure how useful they are when not connected to internet.

Just thought it was worth a shout as I don't like the ipad and thought I may as well trade it to some good use.

hywelg

Based on experience with the Surface Pro2 I think you might (will) find it frustrating. I know I can run Photoshop CS5, CorelDrawX7, Office 2010 etc, but the touch interface is cack, even with the Wacom stylus (the calibration keeps drifting out of whack). And Windows 8 is pants, as in absolutely piss poor for touch, forget it.

Get yourself a small laptop/convertible instead. Or an Android tablet, the touch implementation is way way better.

AS for portable note taking. Pencil and pad is far superior and in writing it up later it serves to reinforce the learning process. There are things tech is just not good at and unless you are a really good touch typist, note taking is one of them. You could also consider a small recording device so you could extract notes later?

thecolourbox

Points noted and thanks, though i have tried Android in the past and traded it in for the iPad... But helpful thoughts along the way to consider for sure

Essentially i sort of got the impression RT surface was like a better powered version of Windows Phone which i like. Is this not the case?

Re the learning process, i learn by reading stuff not by going over it a few ways, so if i can type notes as i go that's much more useful to me

meltedbuzzbox

hywelg said:

Based on experience with the Surface Pro2 I think you might (will) find it frustrating. I know I can run Photoshop CS5, CorelDrawX7, Office 2010 etc, but the touch interface is cack, even with the Wacom stylus (the calibration keeps drifting out of whack). And Windows 8 is pants, as in absolutely piss poor for touch, forget it.

the touch interface isn't cack. Especially on windows 8.1, which is windows 7 with a different layout.

The main issue with the surface pro 2 is the weight. Its like its made of lead. I personally really dislike the detachable keyboard on the surface 2 and 3. 

The screen on the surface pro 3 is much nicer, its bigger and soooo much lighter. The keyboard is still a bit meh though. 

The one usb port (and additional on charger) can be a pain. 

The Lenovo Yoga 2/3/flex/whatever they are called are worth a look. The looks are a bit bland but you get the best of both worlds. 

meltedbuzzbox

the surface rt is a pain. 

it works but you cant install bugger all on it due to its cpu. 

I wouldn't recommend one personally

thecolourbox

Thanks, all noted and my mind opened to other ideas

For the RT drawbacks though, everything ive ever heard as a criticism doesn't bother me hugely, i only want office and email, hopefully a pdf reader, and to watch videos on it for the online bit of my course? I'm pretty sure it could handle that?

meltedbuzzbox

thecolourbox said:

Thanks, all noted and my mind opened to other ideas

For the RT drawbacks though, everything ive ever heard as a criticism doesn't bother me hugely, i only want office and email, hopefully a pdf reader, and to watch videos on it for the online bit of my course? I'm pretty sure it could handle that?

from when I last used mine it couldn't install a compatible version of silverlight. 

Its pretty much a dead platform, I would personally steer well clear. 

TPReggie

Hi @thecolourbox ;

I have a Surface which we don't use, it was primarily bought for my wife to do work on at home (she is a childminder) but has since been replaced by a laptop for Christmas which is more powerful so is not needed any more. It has full office on it and we bought a case for it and a keyboard (believe it or not they were not sold together.

It is the RT edition, and I would echo everyone on here that is is not a full version of Windows and you can only really install stuff from the MS store and so on as apps - I would not disagree that it is a dead platform and I doubt we will see any further RT releases. 

Saying that, it worked great for what we bought it for - which was the use of office/excel and e-mail and web browsing. I am mentioning and confirming the restrictions of Windows RT more for full disclosure than anything else. 

If you are still looking and are interested in a trade let me know via pm and I will send you further details and photos etc.