Spec me a laptop/tablet/web device doodad, bitches!

[Sheriff Fatman]

As title.

I've never really needed a lappy, and when I did, work provided one, but I now find myself living in hotels and need something more useful than a phone. It doesn't have to do anything beyond basic web stuff, watching/listening to stuff and wi-fi. Budget is probably around £200-400.

Any ideas?

[Thompy]

If you really only need those things and don't need a built in physical keyboard or Windows programs then I'd recommend* nothing but the Nexus 10.

Unless of course, you know, iPad.

*I don't have one, actually but if I needed such a thing my Google-fu suggests it's the best.

[Dog Pants]

I have an iPad 2 and I don't think I'll ever be without a tablet again. I find the hardware nice, but as with any Apple product it's expensive for what it is and anything you buy is tied into your iTunes account. Oh yeah, and iTunes. I think Pnut bought a Nexus 6 recently.

[deject]

Yeah I'd check out a Nexus 7/10 or iPad, they might fit the bill just fine for you. I recently bought an ASUS VivoBook S400CA, as through my research I discovered that it's the cheapest, decent Windows 8 touchscreen ultrabook. It cost me just under $700 USD, so it's probably outside your budget. You could ignore the touchscreen, but honestly getting a new, Windows 8 laptop without a touchscreen is kinda dumb and definitely short sighted.

[Dog Pants]

Nexus 7. The Nexus 6 was Rutger Hauer wasn't it? Probably not suitable for your needs.

[Sheriff Fatman]

My irrational hatred of Apple means an iPad isn't an option, unfortunately.

I suggested that budget because I hadn't planned on using it for more than a few months. However, I would like to give W8 a go, so I might be tempted to spend a little more and look for a more functional, long-term option.

That said, £650 for something I might not use that much might be a bit of a folly. Hmm, Nexus 10 ... looks to fit the bill, but I don't trust Google that much these days either.

[deject]

If you're thinking Windows 8 tablet device (i.e.: not a laptop), I would avoid Windows RT devices and stick with the Atom based full Windows 8 devices like the ASUS VivoTab Smart or Acer Iconia W510. While they don't have the performance of an Ivy Bridge laptop, they'll also have significantly longer battery life that you'd be more accepting of in a tablet. The battery life is still going to be short of an iPad (we are talking about x86 vs ARM, after all), but it's a good compromise between performance and longevity. You probably won't notice the slowness of the Atom CPU in a Windows 8 tablet as much as you would in a crappy netbook, as Windows 8 is better optimized for low performance parts than Windows XP and Windows 7 were, as well as the fact that the majority come with some form of flash storage to boot.

The VivoTab has gotten pretty much favorable reviews from everyone, so it's probably worth a loot.

[Sheriff Fatman]

The VivoTab Smart (or ME400C, as they have decided to call it here) looks to be just the job. Alas, no-one has it in stock and there's no mention anywhere of the cover/keyboard thingy being available for sale at all

I may have to wait - and I'm not very good at that ...

[Sheriff Fatman]

Got the VivoTab Smart from Argos in the end. It's very nice.

[deject]

Got the VivoTab Smart from Argos in the end. It's very nice.

Sweet! I really like what ASUS had been doing lately. They're making really solid products, generally.