Tablet for note-taking, wireless streaming, and productivity? Help please!

General Questions.

1. What is your budget?
Up to $800 (but lower is better of course )

2. Would you consider purchasing used/refurbished?
Not at the moment.

3. Do you prefer a media/mobile tablet like the iPad, Windows tablet PC, or notebook convertible?
Prefer a stand alone tablet with either a keyboard dock or bluetooth keyboard.

4. What size Tablet PC would you prefer?
I'm having a tough time figuring out the correct size I want. Looking and playing with recently released tablets, I'm liking 8", 10", and 11.6" tablets.

5. Which country do you intent to purchase from [where do you live]?
United States of America

6. Do you have any preferences to brand loyalty or dislikes?
Not necessarily, but I prefer expandable memory so Apple products most likely are not useable.

7. How many hours battery life do you require?
Ideally 7+ hours (more is better of course )

8. What will be the primary usage scenario of this tablet? (Email/Web Surfing/Drawing/Word Processing/Entertainment/Notetaking etc)
Email, Web Surfing, Work Processing, Note-taking, Entertainment (on to TV), Drawing.

9. Do you have an OS preference? For example, do you own an iPhone and a Mac, or are you a Windows fan? Do you own an Android device and use Google services frequently?
I currently have an iPhone 4S (switching to Android in a few months), but am very comfortable with Windows. I would most likely want to install many of the programs I have on Windows right now, so I am pushing more for those.

10. What software and tasks do you intend to run? (Microsoft Office or other Word Processing Suite/Photoshop/3D Studio Max/Autocad etc)
Microsoft Office, SAS, Photoshop or an equivalent product (rarely though)

11. Do you intend on playing Games? If so please list.
Yes, but light games like Braid or graphical equivalent. NOT graphically intense games.

12. Would you like to stream content through your home theater system?
I would absolutely love that! Ideally there could be attachments on my TV, but I would prefer to use my tablet with connecting anything else to it.

Screen Specifics

1. Any preference on screen resolution?
Depending on screen size: 720p for 8" and 1080p for 10+"

2. Will you be using the tablet outdoors? Do you need to be able to see it through glare from the sun?
Occasionally but not necessary.

3. Do you require a pen? With or without pressure sensitivity? Do you prefer Wacom or N-trig?
Yes, pressure sensitivity isn't necessary, but would be preferred. Wacom or N-trig doesn't make a difference, but I prefer a pen that is very accurate and doesn't stray (played with a Dell Venue 8 Pro, lots of straying).

Component Specifics

1. What size Hard Drive and Memory do you require? Would you like expandable memory?
Ideally, 64GB with expandable, but willing to go down to 32GB. At least 2GB of RAM, but prefer 4GB.

2. What sort of inputs do you require, if any? Would you like full-sized USB and SD card slots? Are microUSB and microSD ok? Do you require HDMI inputs?
Required: microSD, microHDMI/HDMI (if wireless streaming isn't available)
Prefer: full-size USB (not necessary but would love)

Misc
1. Other non specific items ~ please add other items you require not covered above?
Having a dockable pen would be great. Weight isn't too big of an issue, but I would prefer something I wouldn't get tired of holding.

2. Additional requests ~ anything other you wish to take into consideration?
Ideally I would want this tablet to be powerful enough last me at least 3-4 years. I've tried to do my research before asking so the ones I found most interesting so far (haven't seen them all yet!) are the: ASUS Vivotab Note 8, Dell Venue 8 Pro, Microsoft Surface Pro 2, Sony VAIO Tap 11.

ASUS Vivotab Note 8: Love the small size, integrated Wacum pen, and price. Screen might be a little too small for productivity however. Not sure how much it can handle.
Dell Venue 8 Pro: Love the small size, design, and price. Screen might be a little too small for productivity and pen was horrible when I last tried it. Not sure how much it can handle.
Microsoft Surface Pro 2: Love the power of the mission and pen was great. Heard battery life has increased. Price is a little high (but great machine) and wish pen had a docking station.
Sony VAIO Tap 11: Love the form factor and USB 3.0! Pen was alright when testing. Keyboard was great, but wish the magnet was stronger.

I would love to get everyone's opinion and especially any tablets I might have looked over. Thank you in advance!

 

I have SP2 and before this I tried convertible tablets like Thinkpad Helix & Fujitsu T902. So I would suggest get SP2 for general purpose work and for some serious work for 8GB RAM machine. It is really nicely built machine. Rest other machines have plagued with some issues. SP2 is working just great. This will easily last 3-4 years. In future, you can also buy power keyboard and the total battery life will increase.

 

I can't really afford another machine on top of the tablet I buy, but I have fairly strong desktop workstation at home for my hardcore gaming, 3DS Max, and video editing. So whichever tablet I get will replace my 6 year laptop (very strong machine, but heavy and has been powering off randomly).

Has your battery life decreased since you've gotten it? And how portable would you say it is?

Since SP1 came out in 02/13 and SP2 came out in 10/13, do you think it is better to wait for the SP3 (if they do end up releasing it) or just buy the Surface Pro 2?

 

Any other advice from anyone else?