Top of the line tablet pc?

Thank you for considering the following requirements...

I owned a Motion Computing M1400 from December 2004 until it gave its last gasp in 2010. Loved it. Used it daily at work and home, taking extensive notes in OneNote, surfing the web, docking it to external monitor, annotating PowerPoint decks as I presented...

I wish it had been better audio recording in OneNote while taking notes. Even with max RAM, this kind of multitasking was too much for it.

Back in 2004, I had also considered Fujitsu and HP...

When Motion died, I bought a Lenovo convertible tablet PC, mostly for home, but I found the larger size and form factor meant I did not bring to work for note taking. Next tablet pc either needs to be a slate or a super thin convertible.

General Questions.

1. What is your budget?

Not an issue ($2000+) if it can meet my needs for, say, 5 years. Max $1200 if required compromises suggest will upgrade within 3 years.

2. Would you consider purchasing used/refurbished?

Possibly, but not preferred.

3. Do you prefer a media/mobile tablet like the iPad, Windows tablet PC, or notebook convertible?

Either slate or convertible windows tablet pc.

4. What size Tablet PC would you prefer?
5 to7-inches
7.1 to 10-inches
10 to 13-inches
Above 13-inches

Probably 7.1 to 13" would be best

5. Which country do you intent to purchase from [where do you live]?

US

6. Do you have any preferences to brand loyalty or dislikes?

Not especially.

7. How many hours battery life do you require?

The more the better, but will buy extra batteries if required.

8. What will be the primary usage scenario of this tablet? (Email/Web Surfing/Drawing/Word Processing/Entertainment/Notetaking etc)

Note taking, MS Office, mail, Evernote, web surfing...as much a dockable desktop replacement as possible.

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?

Windows 8 because of Notetaking needs, even though plenty of Macs and idevices in my home to integrate with.

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

MS Office, Architectural software, Evernote, OneNote, etc

11. Do you intend on playing Games? If so please list.

Not especially

12. Would you like to stream content through your home theater system?

Yes

Screen Specifics

1. Any preference on screen resolution?

As good as possible

2. Will you be using the tablet outdoors? Do you need to be able to see it through glare from the sun?
See the above linked FAQ for guidance

Not especially

3. Do you require a pen? With or without pressure sensitivity? Do you prefer Wacom or N-trig?
See the above linked FAQ for guidance

Definitely, and likely want Wacom

Component Specifics

1. What size Hard Drive and Memory do you require? Would you like expandable memory?

More the better, but would likely trade max hard drive for SSD's speed and reliability. Max RAM for multitasking.

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?

Full array of inputs preferred, but could "adapt" as necessary

Misc
1. Other non specific items ~ please add other items you require not covered above?

Built-in cellular, fingerprint reader, voice recognition

2. Additional requests ~ anything other you wish to take into consideration?



Thank you!

 

No one chimed in with his favorite? Mine is thinkpad helix.

 

You want lots of RAM but in a slate? If the T902 is too large for you, (it is slimmer than the previous lifebooks) maybe have a look at the Kupa. Assuming it's not vaporware..

 

Helix, Surface, Kupa or the new Gigabyte.

 

I would take a good look at the Sony Vaio Duo. Premium build quality and designed for the road warrior. Max RAM and SSD (with a 512GB SSD just announced at CES), full array of inputs (including onboard LAN!) and is one of the few, as far as I know, that even takes external batteries in this current crop of tablets. I have one that I've been using as my primary work machine for a few months now and it's proven to be a highly functional and *complete* design. (i.e. no weight distribution issues, no dongles required, can travel with multiple extra batteries, etc.)

It's not Wacom, but since you don't list Photoshop/Painter among your preferred software it may not be as much of an issue as you'd think based on past generations of tablets. The accuracy of the nTrig has in the Duo been a pleasant surprise for many of us.

The lack of an onboard pen dock is also a knock on this unit, but that gets mitigated if you get either the travel case or external battery, both of which have pen holders built-in.

 

These are all really helpful replies, and gives me some more leads to track down before the Surface Pro is out to compare to. I wish there was somewhere to try these hands-on side by side. Thanks, everyone.