Bifurcator wrote:
I've recently been shopping for ultra-book (laptop) convertibles (win-8 devices) and from that experience I must conclude that iPad and tablets in general really, are no longer of any interest to me at all. Some of these with i5, 4gb ram and 128GB SSD are sub-$1k. They blow away the similarly priced $830 iPads with only 1GB RAM and slower 64GB flash storage. The connectivity alone leaves Apple's iPad in the dirt with USB 3.0, BlueTooth 4.0, built-in card readers, WiFi, mini-HDMI and so on.

Some of the smaller pads and tablets still look kinda interesting tho. There's the way overpriced iPad mini and the Galaxy line which seem like they might have a place in a photographers bag. <shrug>

douglasf13 wrote:
Agreed. I've owned a Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and iPad all at once, and they're each good for different things. I don't really enjoy creating much content with the iPad, but it is great for viewing content around the house and on the go.

If your MBP or MBA folded into a tablet form-factor would you still feel the same?

Bifurcator wrote:
douglasf13 wrote:
Agreed. I've owned a Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and iPad all at once, and they're each good for different things. I don't really enjoy creating much content with the iPad, but it is great for viewing content around the house and on the go.

If your MBP or MBA folded into a tablet form-factor would you still feel the same?

There were old-school laptops with a hinge in the middle that allowed for the screen to be swiveled around so it could face out when the laptop was closed. Felt flimsy and cheap. If you want a tablet, get a tablet. Otherwise get a laptop. These "all things" machines that are coming out these days don't hold much appeal IMHO.

The open screen things look horribly exposed for the rigours of travel. As wifi is getting big where I go, internet cafes are closing their operations running PCs, so I will have to look into a device. I figure a slim laptop with a mid-sized screen will be the best compromise, maybe a 12" screen or thereabouts. Has to be light and reasonably strong/shockproof, that or something so cheap you chuck it away every year or two.

But that would be for keeping in touch/web, not back up or (ugh) image work on the road - wrong task to environment match. I use a terrific backup product called a Nexto Extreme, basically a small encased HD of whatever size that takes all card types and connects to PCs. It does various checks of data integrity, but I have never had a problem with cards - ever. I keep intact all cards I fill, they (SD) are so cheap, but need an extra verifiable copy.

Steve,
Yeah the ones from yesteryear were pretty bad. 2.5 to 3.5kg and not solid feeling when folded around. The Dell offering I think it was called Inspiron or something, didn't even work right as the clasps for the rotating screen were whack! These days however the heaviest are like 1.5kg and all the ones I've held feel almost perfectly engineered! The same feeling all around as holding a MBA. Conjunct that in regard to the fact that back then what few tablets did exist were quite unpopular - so no one really even wanted a tablet form except a few businesses who were doing data acquisition in the field. Touch screen user interfaces have also greatly matured since then so these days a person doesn't need a mouse or keyboard (at all) and can quite comfortably achieve pretty much any task. And perfectly can if they grab something to use as a stylus.

So I'm not sure the dated reference holds up at all when talking about 2012/2013 models.

Okay, but your enthusiasm still doesn't change my mind. And just to show I'm not totally against "all things" machines, I have been considering picking this up: http://www.teac.eu/hifi-audio/reference-series/h-338/dr-h338i/

Looks cool! But ya probably shouldn't confuse what I said with "enthusiasm".

Sales pitch, then?

Of what? What was I selling? The only brand I mentioned was a failure in the distant past.

My only point is that the new state of the art tech for convertible systems is beyond being able to be compared with those of the past. And my conclusion was that therefor an opinion which uses past quality as a measure for the current stuff isn't really justified.

Bifurcator wrote:
Steve,
Yeah the ones from yesteryear were pretty bad. 2.5 to 3.5kg and not solid feeling when folded around. The Dell offering I think it was called Inspiron or something, didn't even work right as the clasps for the rotating screen were whack! These days however the heaviest are like 1.5kg and all the ones I've held feel almost perfectly engineered! The same feeling all around as holding a MBA. Conjunct that in regard to the fact that back then what few tablets did exist were quite unpopular - so no one really even wanted a tablet form except a few businesses who were doing data acquisition in the field. Touch screen user interfaces have also greatly matured since then so these days a person doesn't need a mouse or keyboard (at all) and can quite comfortably achieve pretty much any task. And perfectly can if they grab something to use as a stylus.

So I'm not sure the dated reference holds up at all when talking about 2012/2013 models.



At 1.5k, that makes it impossible to be held in one hand with any comfort. This then becomes a pain as you need a surface to lay the laptop onto. The beauty of a tablet is I can hold with one hand and use the other hand to operate ( touch ) the system. Makes it a pleasure.

I travel a lot and quite often I have both a laptop and iPad with me and for convenience there is no question which one I use. Laptop is required for the business, but it stays put until I am in an office.

But that's the heaviest as I say. Some models are lighter than the iPad in their tablet form.

Bifurcator wrote:
But that's the heaviest as I say. Some models are lighter than the iPad in their tablet form.



I haven't found ones lighter than the iPad. If you want tablet functionality, get a tablet. If you want to do serious work on your system, get a proper laptop. Inbetweens are jack of all trades...master of none...IMHO.