What is your "Go-To" tablet?

I just asked surfaceproartist this, and realized that it's a great question to ask everybody, -especially those of us who have been around the block a few times and have owned a variety of models.

After all is said and done, the very best, possibly the only truly worthwhile metric for "Best Tablet" is...

Which one do you actually use?

For my part, I've got several portables of varying ages and configurations, and I've given them all the old college try for a few months. But personally, I find myself always gravitating back towards my monster Tecra M4. (I've written extensively elsewhere about why.)

I think it would be helpful for new members and potential tablet users to take a look-see at such a list.

So...

Which is YOUR tablet and why?

(Maybe post a pic if you can.)

 

I actually fall back to my Fujitsu Stylistic ST4121 more often than one would think:

- daylight viewable display means it "just works" when controlling my CNC machine on the back deck
- EMR stylus means I never have to worry about a charged pen in the stylus
- it still being on Windows XP means that it will drive an old Canon LIDE scanner

That said, it won't do anyone any good --- no one makes transflective displays anymore, EMR is on the way out, and no one should be running Windows XP on any machine on a network (wireless is switched off, and I use a USB stick to get files on / off) --- and I despair of ever _really_ replacing it.

 

Surface Pro 4 (m3) because it offers the best balance power, size, battery power, etc. for use on the go.

 

Despite all the hubaboo about the new devices coming out, I'll probably still be sticking with my Thinkpad Tablet 10, gen 1. I've been using a Thinkpad Tablet 2 for about 3 years, and a little while ago I upgraded to my wife's TT10 and upgraded it to Windows 10. It's really very snappy in tablet mode. Touch and pen input doesn't lag. Apps open quick enough for me. This little 16:10 10" device hits all the right notes for a secondary device. The bump up to BayTrail is just enough to handle the tasks I need from it smoothly and without issue- namely, run OneNote and Dropbox with ease, do Word Processing, send emails, light browsing, occasional sketch.

Pluses-
-4 GB ram, 64 bit
-Wacom EMR
-pen in the keyboard silo
-bright enough for mobile outdoor note taking
-lightweight and thin enough to hold in one hand
-runs full Windows OneNote and Office
-4g option
-Thinkpad build quality
-great magnetized keyboard dock with good key travel and bounce, that tilts the screen far enough back and has all the appropriate Fn shortcuts
-the all important "lapability" for mobile typing
-real USB and microSD slots
-runs cool and (of course) completely silent

Minues-
-Battery Life- It tops out at around 6 hours real world use, at best. It would be nice if it got 8-10 hours.
-blacks could be blacker and contrast higher
-still looking for an actual 10" detachable clamshell
-no silo on the tablet itself (they fit one on the TT2, why not this one?)
Edit- should have included the EMMC drive. It really can be pretty slow at times. Its particularly noticeable because the OS is actually quite responsive.

 

The Surface 3 has been my "one and only" for nearly two years now (May 5th). I have had to replace it once due to the screen browning that some of the earlier models are prone to. The Surface 3 is light, compact and had decent specs for a fanless tablet. The Surface keyboard makes writing out of the office a pleasure. The docking solution offered by Microsoft was ideal for my office set up. I don't really need anything higher than FHD resolution on a 10" tablet. The size, weight, etc., are ideal. All I have ever wanted by way of an improvement is better action from the keyboard, a more accurate natural feeling pen and Core M power. That is why I'm eyeing up the SGB10 that Samsung is introducing. The 4GB ram, 128GB eMMC is plenty of memory and storage. In hindsight, I would like to have 4G capability. If the Samsung is released at a ridiculous price, the Surface 3 sill has a lot of life left in it.

 

iPad Pro 12.9.
As much as I'd love a Surface Pro 4 myself, I could never live anymore without such a simple, straightforward and yet powerful device.

 

My Surface Pro 3 has been my Go-To Tablet for 2-3 years now

I mean.....my Go-to Tablet when I want to draw and make art and I know I have decent time to sit and do it....my CC2, Ipad Pro, or MSP13 were/are my go to tablets for Art.....but literally for only that usage case scenario.

My Pro 3 on the other hand.....is just so versatile....the Pro 4 Keyboard cover works great....I can't imagine them making a better keyboard ....I almost prefer it to my desktop keyboard. And aside from the Duo-Sense 2 N-trig Pen....which I can still draw with (I just don't enjoy drawing with it over a wacom solution) is suitable if I need to draw something in a pinch, or need to do some quick photo retouching.

The 4th Gen i5 still offers decent performance, the USB Type A-Port and Micro-sd card slot its always useful, the screen is bright, colorful, and responsive......and the kickstand has been useful in ways you would never even think about until the need presents itself.

Aside from the somewhat subpar drawing experience....it does everything so perfectly....If I need to type something....if I need to take a single device on a trip with me, if I need to take the device out for a bit, or I'm unsure of how long I"m going to use it....in all those cases the Pro 3 just hits the bill. Other devices like the Asus Note 8, Thinkpad Tablet 10, or Ipad pro all have too many comprises....either the screen is too small, the performance is garbage, or the OS and lack of ports is too limiting.

Another factor is also Microsofts Protection Plan for the Surface.....which covers 2 accidental breaks and they can be replaced in-store. I've used both of my accidental breaks....and honestly that safety net alone is what would make me grab my Pro 3 over any other device. Even if its not necessarily the best tablet for the job.....its the only tablet that I am confident that my financial investment in can survive any job

 

Dang! I thought I was using the oldest hardware around here, but your Fujitsu Stylistic ST4121 beats my Toshiba dino by a couple of years!



One of the interesting things about these older machines is that they were coming out right at the beginning of the various probability curves, acting as entry seeds for whole spreads of possible trends.

They featured experimental technologies, like the daylight viewable screen on your model. Nobody knew if that was going to be an important deal in the market place, so they put some high quality engineering mojo into the idea -before dropping it.

There are some really inventive ideas to be found when excavating through the depths of old eBay gear.

With a max RAM of 768 Mb, though...

It would have been nice if the daylight viewable screen experiment had come along a couple of years later than it did!

 

This echoes my thoughts perfectly. As an engineering student, I need Core performance--Atom just doesn't cut it. Slightly different from Bronsky, until a Surface Air-like device comes along (possibly the Galaxy Book 10), I will gladly compromise slightly in size in exchange for the hefty performance uptick.

 

I've actually refurbished an ST4110 before which has similar spec to ST4121, great little thing and I really regretted selling it.

Then one of my friends bought an ST5112 C2D and I helped him install Windows 10 on it, runs surprisingly well, noticeably faster than my Latitude D420. I wanted to buy one as well but since I already have my heart on tc1100...