Tablets for work and play

[HuskyHawk]

Does anybody have a tablet that they use for both fun (browsing, games, media...watching UConn on Watch ESPN for example) while also trying to use it as a light laptop replacement? I'm tired of toting my laptop around just in case I need it.

My gen 1 Nexus 7 is a pain to charge, and the USB port has fallen apart. I'm looking to upgrade. Considerations so far:
1. iPad or iPad mini.
Pros: Same apps I've purchased on my iPhone (which may also be replaced next November), nice build quality, stable OS that is well supported. Good sizes on either device.
Cons: Word processing apps suck (track changes essential for my work). In order to get corporate e-mail I need to hand over the keys to the company via Citrix/Xenprise, which is always on. Calendar app sucks. No expansion of storage.

2. Windows 8 tablet.
Pros: Lots of variety in brand, size, quality, capacity etc. Native Office at no charge. Native Outlook is better than Apple's. Mobile management at corporate is by VPN, easy to turn on and off from work to play mode. Windows desktop apps run on it. Most allow expanded storage.
Cons: Mostly 16x9 widescreen, prefer 4x3. App selection is much more limited (though key apps like Kindle and facebook are there). Not sure if Watch ESPN is supported. Compromises on Intel Atom (batter life good, power less so) vs Intel Core i chips (weak battery life, tons of processing power). OS consumes lots of storage (offset from Micro SD).

3. Android. Pretty much out of the running. It isn't as good as the iPad at what the iPad does well, or as good as Windows at what Windows does well. This from a guy with an Android tablet now. For a phone it makes a better choice (and S5 may replace my iPhone).

 

[Fishy]

Funny...my Nexus 7 died the same way.

The biggest problem I have with the Microsoft tablets is Windows 8 and the general form factor of the Surface. It's huge, the power brick is huge, it's heavy, the fan is constantly going, there are few apps, Windows 8 is an abortion and the tablet occasionally does stuff like this....



Some of the smaller, cheaper Windows tablets look much better than the Surface, but I haven't tried any of them. I am, however, profoundly disappointed with the Surface. (Not sure whether any of the new ones are 4:3 - 16:9 is a pain in the ass.)

As far as the iPad goes, they sort of have this knocked. After the Surfaces were a debacle, we gave up and just went with iPads.

I use Pages and Editorial for writing. Pages uses Word's Track Changes and collaboration is in real time. Editorial is a Markdown editor that I like quite a bit. We use Fantastical for calendars, Evernote for freaking everything and PDFpen and Scan+ by Smile Software for dealing with PDFs, contracts, proposals, etc.

Everyone in my office uses Omnifocus and raves about, but I generally use it for a couple of days and then retreat back to simpler answers.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yeah, at this point the Windows tablets I am leaning towards are the Lenovo imiix 2 and a couple of similar ones. Surface pro has the Corei chip so needs a fan. The new Intel Atom chip that came out a few months ago is a leap ahead of the old one, and has no fan and good battery life. So the form factor of those tablets is iPad like in terms of weight, thickness.

The mobile management is key for me. With Apple I turn it over to the company 24x7. With Windows I turn it on and off with VPN. Just got an iPad mini for my daughter today ($50 back at Target). Going to set the old gen 1 iPad up for work and see if I can live with it.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

I like the Surface 2 more than the i-pad but neither is perfect.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Surface 2 with RT? I've been looking at the new Lenovo Thinkpad 8 tablet. 8.3" full 1080P HD screen, new higher level Bay Trail Atom processor, and full Windows 8.1. Office is included. The real challenge of these things comes from connectivity to work. Our IT locks iPads down quite a bit with Worx, so even your own device is limited.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Ordered an Ipad Air. Apple has them in the refurbished section now. Comes with iWork for free as well.