Gen1 Surface Pro 128GB - $599 at Besy Buy!

Microsoft Surface Pro with 128GB Memory 9UR-00001 - Best Buy

This is a killer price on a full PC in tablet form. Some of the Best Buys by me are already sold out.

It's unclear if BB is considering this a "clearance" but if you feel lucky, try to save an extra 10%:
http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_U...f/w&siteID=rGMTN56tf_w-wSX7RQ2AyuwIadNK2iSVCA

So tempted to go get one. Gah I have so many computers already @.@

 

The one issue with the Surface Pro gen1 is that battery life is painful. My Duo 11 has the same Ivy Bridge ULV CPU and I believe a larger battery, and I get four hours and change unless I have my sheet battery attached (which is pretty much a permanent fixture on my Duo 11). No sheet battery option for the Surface Pro though.

 

Right... No, really, those things are a tremendous value. Best Buy is probably selling them at that price out of the goodness of their heart. Holiday spirit, or sumpin' like dat. Yep, that's the ticket, probably. Absolutely, you should go get one. While you're at it, why don't you go buy every other piece of garbage out there that nobody wants, as long as it's cheap. Sheesh...

 

Shocker: previous-generation product with previous-generation processor is available at heavy discounts three months after its successor hits the market. Full story at 11.

 

Very good! That was exactly my point.

 

I took your point to be a jab at the Surface Pro specifically ("While you're at it, why don't you go buy every other piece of garbage out there that nobody wants, as long as it's cheap"), not demand for any product that's been replaced with a significantly-updated version. It's not cheap because the Surface Pro is "a piece of garbage that nobody wants." It's cheap because it's the outdated version. Big difference.

 

Thank you for your insightful and helpful comments.

 

Trying to come up with a positive as 539 is a great deal with the additional discount. Just can not get over that short battery life and only 720p camera's etc..

 

My pleasure. I take this as a great compliment after your incisive discussion of the use of periods in the other thread.

 

Speaking of insanely good deals, Lenovo is currently selling the Yoga 2 Pro for $899, which includes a 13" 3200x1800 touchscreen and a Haswell i3, 4 gb of ram, and a 128 gb ssd. It was a good deal at $1099 (its price undercut a MBA 13 with a quarter of the pixels and no convertible/touch functionality)...at $899 it's just plain insane considering what you get.

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro: Laptop Tablet Hybrid - Multimode Ultrabook Laptop | Lenovo (US)

 

$200 more gets you i5 and 256GB SSD. Only problem personally is the glossy screen.

 

Yeah, both models are a steal. I generally have a soft-spot in my heart for Sony products, but the Duo 13 has a lower-res screen (1080p), and with a 256 gb SSD and an i5, costs $500 more than the Lenovo. Lenovo wins this round.

If you're going to use it as a tablet for even a portion of the time, a glossy screen makes for a lot faster/easier cleaning.

 

I really want a lighter, thinner, more portable convertible. But $1000 is still too much for me IMHO. I know my laptop doesn't have as much flexibility but it costs as much as that Yoga and has 3x the performance. If I didn't want to have my stupid games, I would go for one of these in an instant.

 

Look at all these laptops i can't afford!

 

I'm sure the same could be said of a gaming desktop compared to your gaming laptop. Same price, less flexibility, 3x the performance. It's all a game of compromises.

If you want a versatile convertible far cheaper than the Yoga 2 Pro and the Surface and the Vaio Duo 13, how about an Asus TransformerBook T100? Including full Windows 8.1 (not Windows RT), the detachable keyboard dock, an IPS touchscreen, and a Bay Trail processor, it costs $349 for 32 gb onboard storage + SD card, or $399 for 64 gb onboard storage + SD card.

Best Buy: Asus TransformerBook T100

 

I picked up a Dell Venue 8 Pro for $200. I may sell it though, it was an impulse purchase. I use my Acer AMD 11.6" touchscreen notebook more for portable reasons. I like the idea of the keyboard staying with the tablet so I can use it if needed. The Transformer just detaches so it's not as portable with keyboard. Plus I do like a little bit of power with my tablet/notebook. I've eyed the Yoga before but it's been just too expensive for my blood. $900 is breaching that point though.

And whoa - i3 model is no longer available. i5 is $949 with 128GB now... still good deal... must... resist... purchase...

I have to pay off Christmas still, lol.

I guess I could sell my Venue 8 Pro (~ $200), Acer V5-122P (~$250), and Galaxy Player 5 (~$150) and put towards a device I'd actually use. I'm talking myself into it now, lol.

XPS 12 can be had for $800 though with i5 (ivy) and 128GB / 4GB RAM. Meh, no more impulse purchases for me.

 

The question is are these capacitive screens? My one huge complaint over the tablets is calibration, this at least with the Nexus 10 and the first couple of win8 machines I saw. That and capacitive stylus are so thick at the tip. A far way to go before replacing paper but the active type stylus seems more attractive. Especially considering the small screen and high resolution.

 

The Thinkpad Yoga has a digitizer stylus (Wacom). The Ideapad Yoga models, including the Yoga 2 Pro, only support fingers and capacitive pens. So if you want a digitizer stylus (and most consumers don't), get the Thinkpad Yoga.

 

I know most want capacitive but again I tend to want something just bit more accurate. I still need to see where 8.2 goes though before I would commit to a tablet and even then it would be a tough pill to swallow after 8.0 and 8.1, I just no longer trust M$ at all.

 

Then get a Galaxy Note tablet. Wacom stylus plus Android. The Touchwiz skin even has windowed multitasking.

Considering you have spelled Microsoft with a dollar sign as far back as I can remember, are you sure you lost a liking of Microsoft? Or did you not have it to begin with?

 

M$ is just an imbedded abriviation here, there never was a love/hate thing. Since Geoworks was dead on 486 machines and beyond I was forced to convert to windows as this is where casual users ended up. I always supported friends and family with hardware/software issues and repairs for free or cost.

My early convergence to M$ was at the time of 3.11 for workgroups. I did hate many of the tactics of M$ at the time but they were corporate tactics and not directly aimed at the consumer. The recent shifty tactics and misinformation directly towards consumers and the general public to say the least worry me. As a recent example the quiet change of win7 end of sale date without a public announcement nor even changing the update time stamp to make it look like it was always there. Just a bit shady to me, so this is all IMHO.

 

That's nice...are you going to get the Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition or what? It sounds like it's exactly what you want from a slate.

Amazon.com: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition (32GB, Black): Computers & Accessories

 

for now, even though I dislike capacitive, I will stay with the Nexus 10. It is not optimal but I have gotten used to it and it was a present from the kids last holiday. If I were to purchase today you hit the nail right on the head. This is why I have no issue with waiting for 8.2 and better PC hardware too. For me to say I would never in the future is not right, for me to say there is a long road to go before I would consider a M$ based tablet or otherwise is a truism. Again I can not state for certainty what the future holds but the current path and recent history of events makes me worry.