Help needed! Which Windows 7 tablet to buy? (as low a price point as po

[L1520]

Hi Everyone

Can you recommend a decent tablet that can run Windows 7 & Windows 8, with 10" touchscreen, bluetooth & internal GPS, wifi (and 3g if possible) that could be used in my lounge & in my car instead of my WP7 phone for Satnav.

I have an 8 month old Samsung NP-RC520 laptop (i5 processor, 6GB RAM, bluetooth, hdmi out etc) & and an HP Touchpad 32GB (with touchstone dock & HP case) running Android CM9 alpha 2 that I could put up for sale to cover some of the cost (not decided which price to sell them for yet - maybe ?450 - ?500 for them both as a package).

My budget is whatever I can sell my laptop & Touchpad for, plus ?100 ish.

If I buy from a retailer or e-retailer I'd consider refurbished.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Detection]

I would hold on a few months, Windows 8 tablets are not quite here yet and I say it will be well worth the wait rather than getting one that is running 7

Saying that, I know the "ICONIA TAB W500" can run 7 and I imagine it will run 8 as well if not better

[gunny2k6]

for now ... most x86 tablets are nt any good the only 1 with anything near the performance of ur laptop is the Asus Slate !! ...

any others are only single core Atom's with 1 or 2gb ram ... and most have a VERY low res Screen ...

windows 8 and metro screen MS aim at 1360x768 and up screen res, mostly all current x86 tabs use very low res of 1280 X 720 and below

SIDE NOTE - HP TouchPad can be modded to run Android btw !! ... can even dualboot WebOS and Android ;) google XDA Dev Forums, - EDIT SORRY just re read ur post u got android already ;p

Windows 7 and touch screen - EPIC Fail ... buttons et6c are way too small !

PS if your trying to basicly make a InCar PC idea out of a tablet or say a mini itx pc ;) ... http://www.centrafus...rafuseAuto.aspx

also Google Maps can also be used as SatNav - my parents do this with my dads Samsung Galaxy Tab.

from what i read on some places even say Linux - Ubuntu as a touch pad isnt realy that good either

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Sure you wouldn't wanna wait for Windows 8 tablets?

Q4 2012

[gunny2k6]

the only Tablet out on the market that supports the specs for WIndows 8 Tablet screen res is http://www.zoostorm.com/Products/93-zoostorm-sl8-3310-9500-tablet-pc.aspx

but as you can see .... crappy hardware !!

as said the Windows 8 Tablets being launched ..

HOWEVER at first they wont be x86 Option btw those should be ARM tablets and will run WOA (Windows On Arm) which is Windows 8 but made for ARM Processors and as such wont run all or any normal desktop software .. as so far none of the standard Windows Application out support ARM ... only Micorosoft have Office 15 working on there.. they will also be locked down very heavly ..even more so then iOS . so you wont be able to do that much from launch unless some realy good genius cracks the security

[L1520]

Thanks for our replies so far, very interesting reading.

I'd just like to add that the only tasks I'll use the tablet for are web browsing, storing music on (for in car use via bluetooth to stereo head unit) watching movies & HD catchup tv (iplayer etc), Sat-Nav (in car), emailing & the possibly odd word document.

Sat-nav is important as is the screen quality.

I already use Windows 8 on my laptop, but I'm concerned about the resale value of my laptop / touchpad dropping over time hence why I'm looking @ selling sooner rather than later.

Shame a decent spec Win7 tablet is not available now for ?300 odd with spec I need lol!!

Any more input from others in addition to those kind enough to have posted already would be appreciated :-)

[Muhammad Farrukh]

I thought TouchPad was pretty good one for browsing and stuff you listed.

You can always estimate the value of your current laptop, and buy a rather cheaper one, a Netbook, if you may, to get you through the year.

Reason to got through this , if you buy some Windows 7 tablet now, you might get around with it, and feel good that you got one and all, but later this year, its re-sale value will fade away. Almost entirely.

And running Windows 8 on it may not be as good as running it on the newer ones.

Also, almost all of the current 7 tablets have average displays, so that gives you another reason to wait.

Waiting sucks, but in this case, I assure you, it will pay-off

[L1520]

I thought TouchPad was pretty good one for browsing and stuff you listed.

You can always estimate the value of your current laptop, and buy a rather cheaper one, a Netbook, if you may, to get you through the year.

Reason to got through this , if you buy some Windows 7 tablet now, you might get around with it, and feel good that you got one and all, but later this year, its re-sale value will fade away. Almost entirely.

And running Windows 8 on it may not be as good as running it on the newer ones.

Also, almost all of the current 7 tablets have average displays, so that gives you another reason to wait.

Waiting sucks, but in this case, I assure you, it will pay-off

Yeah the TP is ok for browsing etc, but I'm fed up with the compromise that I'm having to mess around with using half baked CM9, plus its not got internal GPS capability which is frustrating (I bought a fire sale at very short notice TP thinking it had GPS).

I also dislike the low screen resolution and the fact its not 16:9.

Worst of all, its not got usb slots (again something I only realised after purchase) which mean I cannot plug in a portable GPS receiver and pair it with my Omnia 7 via bluetooth to use in my car.

If I could get Windows 8 on the Touchpad I'd sell my laptop now & keep the TP until pricing for next gen Windows 8 tablets drops in 2013.

[medium_pimpin]

Another vote for waiting for Win8. I'm excited to see what Nokia creates.

[xendrome]

I would hold on a few months, Windows 8 tablets are not quite here yet and I say it will be well worth the wait rather than getting one that is running 7

Saying that, I know the "ICONIA TAB W500" can run 7 and I imagine it will run 8 as well if not better

W500 not only can run it, it ships with it hence the "W" in the model number. And yes, it runs Windows 8 CP x86 just fine, if you run x64 you lose the GSensor and Bluetooth drivers. Other then that, it's smooth as butter. And that tablet can be had on amazon for... $525 ish?

[migo]

Laptops don't have much resale value given you can get a good enough system for under $500 with warranty if you buy brand new, touchpad wouldn't have much resale value either. At the moment you'll be quite limited, I wouldn't get intel graphics and nVidia currently has major problems with the CP. Off hand the acer iconia w500 uses AMD Fusion, so decent graphics and a similarly 'decent' CPU. The price i think is still a bit high, and with the res you wouldn't get full windows 8 functionality. Unless the w500 is second hand, i don't think you could get it for your stated budget

[L1520]

Laptops don't have much resale value given you can get a good enough system for under $500 with warranty if you buy brand new, touchpad wouldn't have much resale value either. At the moment you'll be quite limited, I wouldn't get intel graphics and nVidia currently has major problems with the CP. Off hand the acer iconia w500 uses AMD Fusion, so decent graphics and a similarly 'decent' CPU. The price i think is still a bit high, and with the res you wouldn't get full windows 8 functionality. Unless the w500 is second hand, i don't think you could get it for your stated budget

Yeah my laptop was ?600 new last July, so I'd expect it to go for ?400/?450 seeing that its in perfect condition. My touchpad I'd be happy for ?120 with touchstone dock.

Then I can spend ?500 ish on a tablet whenever I come to buy one.

A refurbished / second hand W500 for ?200 or less would be a perfect buy for me I'd be happy with that.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Are there particular things that take advantage of the hardware of your current laptop?

I mean if you can sell it for a handsome amount, and get a netbook of some sort, just to get things going till October/November

[The_Decimator]

If you want it in your car, I'd suggest something small for safety reasons, like a UMPC or a netvertible...

EDIT: BTW, I have a netvertible that I installed Windows 8 on & love it, just saying... ('Course, remember that you might have to install some drivers/edit the registry in order to meet the required screen resolution to run Metro apps on these kind of small tablets...)

EDIT 2: Also, smaller tablets tend to have lower price... & that could really be helpful since you want a real Tablet PC, & not 1 of those, "tablets..." They tend to cost more due to being actual PCs, so, I'd go with the smaller stuff...

[L1520]

Thanks for your replies so far.

I am totally torn with what to do - whether to wait or sell my LT & Touchpad asap & take plunge with a W500 etc.

Anyone know what the expected retail of w8 tablets will be at time of release?

I'd really like 3G/GPS capabilities so may be worth the wait just for that.

[efjay]

Thanks for your replies so far.

I am totally torn with what to do - whether to wait or sell my LT & Touchpad asap & take plunge with a W500 etc.

Anyone know what the expected retail of w8 tablets will be at time of release?

I'd really like 3G/GPS capabilities so may be worth the wait just for that.

I'd wait. The W500 is good but the C-50 APU has its limits. Plus Windows 8 will mandate NFC, gyroscopes and more for certified hardware. The W500 will run W8 fine but eventually wont be able to take advantage of all its features. A few months down the line there could be an updated W500 thats lighter, faster and priced similarly. I'd wait for that.

[migo]

I would expect $600 for Windows 8 tablets (which is before tax, so likely ?600 with VAT included).