Do you find a tablet useful for work?
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@Carnival-Boy said:
I meant they are a bit cheaper than similarly spec'd Windows Pro ultrabooks, which is a fairer comparison than iPads.
I'm not sure that I agree. A Surface Pro form factor to me makes it useless as a laptop (doesn't sit in your lap) leaving it primarily targeted at the tablets market. If I was shopping for one, it is only my iPad that it would compete with.
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@Dashrender said:
What would you consider an alternative? A laptop? A laptop would would be the best alternative, assuming you wanted a single device to work from regardless of where you are. No syncing or copying of files to worry about.
Isn't that even worse? I think it compares more favourably to an iPad than to a normal laptop.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Minion-Queen said:
Most of them are sales people so that is their main machine. In the main office they have the docks for them and big monitors etc. to connect them to. They really like them for their portability.
I wonder how much they like them only because they have not experimented with a well implemented alternative. I'm not implying that that would be better, but it is difficult to gauge the actual level of success when looking at end user happiness because "it works" doesn't mean that "it's better than the common alternatives." Often end users never see a successful alternative but have had failed alternatives in the past which results in them seeing "functional" as meaning more than it should.
Because of their needs they have to be on windows. Laptops were used previously and they decide to go with an easier to travel with tablet. But compared to their old laptops they are very happy with them.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
You were never meant to compare a Surface (Pro) to an iPad. But the marketing surely doesn't educate you to this fact either.
Never meant to because they didn't want you to realize how much better the iPad is?
What is the Surface Pro meant to be compared to if not tablets or laptops?
It should be compared to a laptop, and probably only a laptop because there are few if any real tablet apps for it (sadly).
Of course your later mentioned post that you (Scott) can't compare it to anything other than an iPad because of it's lack of lapability - while I completely understand what you are saying, I think you've overstating that case.
Really, the Surface Book is what MS needed to come out with since the Surface 3 Pro. Something with a real keyboard and lapability. Sadly that have still failed on the lapability of the Surface Book. Due to the guts and battery being in the lid, it's highly unstable on a lap making is nearly useless there.
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As someone who has tried out all kinds of tablets and laptops. The Surface is a crossover. It is more laptop than tablet.
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@Minion-Queen said:
Laptops were used previously and they decide to go with an easier to travel with tablet. But compared to their old laptops they are very happy with them.
That was my previous question - what do they have that an ultrabook doesn't have? My ultrabook weighs the same, so I find it just as easy to travel with. In fact, I find it easier, because the clamshell design means I don't have to have a clunky cover for it. It's also quicker to open it up and start using it, and I can adjust the screen angle really easily.
The only thing I can imagine a Surface being better for is if you're trying to show someone else your screen - it's easy to hand them your Surface, or hold it one handed to show them. And the screen is brighter than most ultrabooks. So I can see why a salesman might like them if he has to show clients stuff.
Some people compare a $1000 Surface to a $500 laptop, but that's not fair. For a $1000 you can get some pretty good, lightweight ultrabooks.
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FOr $1,000 you can get a decent desktop replacement of a laptop around 15" in size.
Your ultra books aren't going to be much bigger than 15" in most cases anyway, right?
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@dafyre said:
Your ultra books aren't going to be much bigger than 15" in most cases anyway, right?
I believe they have to be small than 14" to be called an ultrabook. Mine is 12.6" which is the perfect size for me. Any bigger and it wouldn't fit in my bag.
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We came in after the fact (just started with the client). I am not positive what all their decision process entailed on this. I just know they are super happy with them.
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@Minion-Queen said:
We came in after the fact (just started with the client). I am not positive what all their decision process entailed on this. I just know they are super happy with them.
Ultimately this is all that matters anyhow, right?
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Yup! If I didn't have so many devices that I didn't NEED my surfaces I would probably be using them. But because I have 2 ipads, a MacBook Pro and my desktop... I have no need for them.
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@Minion-Queen said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Minion-Queen said:
Most of them are sales people so that is their main machine. In the main office they have the docks for them and big monitors etc. to connect them to. They really like them for their portability.
I wonder how much they like them only because they have not experimented with a well implemented alternative. I'm not implying that that would be better, but it is difficult to gauge the actual level of success when looking at end user happiness because "it works" doesn't mean that "it's better than the common alternatives." Often end users never see a successful alternative but have had failed alternatives in the past which results in them seeing "functional" as meaning more than it should.
Because of their needs they have to be on windows. Laptops were used previously and they decide to go with an easier to travel with tablet. But compared to their old laptops they are very happy with them.
Did their old laptops have a super transparent laptop to desktop experience? I often see people failing at that and then liking a "single device" approach in comparison to something bad rather than a more serious alternative.
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@Dashrender said:
Of course your later mentioned post that you (Scott) can't compare it to anything other than an iPad because of it's lack of lapability - while I completely understand what you are saying, I think you've overstating that case.
Well its the key design feature of the form factor, so much so that it is named for it. It's pretty significant, I think, not for the lap itself but other uneven surfaces that laptops work great on and the Surface does not. The Surface should be named that because a "solid flat surface" needs to be provided for it. It's a device that lacks a surface of its own
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@dafyre said:
FOr $1,000 you can get a decent desktop replacement of a laptop around 15" in size.
Your ultra books aren't going to be much bigger than 15" in most cases anyway, right?
Quite a bit less than $1K these days.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
@dafyre said:
Your ultra books aren't going to be much bigger than 15" in most cases anyway, right?
I believe they have to be small than 14" to be called an ultrabook. Mine is 12.6" which is the perfect size for me. Any bigger and it wouldn't fit in my bag.
Definitely 14" and larger are traditional laptops, not ultrabooks. Not sure of the size generally accepted as an ultrabook but 14 - 17" is the range of "normal" laptops that ultrabooks are specifically smaller than.
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@dafyre said:
@Minion-Queen said:
We came in after the fact (just started with the client). I am not positive what all their decision process entailed on this. I just know they are super happy with them.
Ultimately this is all that matters anyhow, right?
Definitely not. What matters is doing the best thing for the business, not doing "just enough".
If our goal is only "that it works" and not "that we are making the best decisions", IT becomes pretty simple and IT pros are no longer needed, with rare exceptions. IT's big value is not getting things to work, but to getting better solutions, safer and cheaper than "just working."
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@scottalanmiller said:
If our goal is only "that it works" and not "that we are making the best decisions", IT becomes pretty simple and IT pros are no longer needed, with rare exceptions. IT's big value is not getting things to work, but to getting better solutions, safer and cheaper than "just working."
Can't be said much better than that.
Make it work in the best, most cost effective solution possible.
+1 SAM
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@Minion-Queen said:
Most of them are sales people so that is their main machine. In the main office they have the docks for them and big monitors etc. to connect them to. They really like them for their portability.
I understand using tablets in sales when you are on the go, but it is hard for me to imagine docking the tablet while at the office. I've always had an iPad or tablet for on-the-go purposes. In real estate, I use a laptop for searching, initial set up and forms and the tablet for field work (property details and pictures, comps, maps, etc). At Waterford, we use tablets for off-site demos (at trade shows, client lunches, events and such). We don't always use it, but it can definitely be useful for when someone needs to see a quick visual on email and file archiving. The tablet is easier to hand over rather than a laptop.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@dafyre said:
FOr $1,000 you can get a decent desktop replacement of a laptop around 15" in size.
Your ultra books aren't going to be much bigger than 15" in most cases anyway, right?
Quite a bit less than $1K these days.
I paid $800 for my Probook 650 G1. Great device - true it's not an ultrabook, but I wasn't going for ultrabook.
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@scottalanmiller said:
If our goal is only "that it works" and not "that we are making the best decisions", IT becomes pretty simple and IT pros are no longer needed, with rare exceptions. IT's big value is not getting things to work, but to getting better solutions, safer and cheaper than "just working."
If the end-users are happy with what we are doing, that is quite possibly a sign that we are making good (political?) decisions and that things are working well, and not "just working". We all know how much politics can and often does come into play, especially in businesses.
In the What is best for the business, I agree. But to a large (or perhaps only some) degree, that involves keeping our end-users (relatively) happy and allowing them to have equipment that is useful to them.
