Fortunately I'm in no hurry to buy any electronic devices in this tax year, because of the whole contracting thing and the need to demonstrate income for the benefit of the house lender. It has to wait. That means I've really sorted through my desire to fill some perceived gap in my toys/tools.
The first thing I've accepted is that my desire to have a thing that's both a laptop and a hybrid might be somewhat misplaced. They're actually two different use cases that don't overlap very much. I really like having a laptop with a keyboard. I've been quite enamored with the Surface Pro 2, and while it's a killer piece of hardware, it's too chunky for a really practical tablet, and too awkward for use as a laptop. So I've kind of let that idea go, for now.
In terms of laptops, my MacBook Air from last year is still a fantastic computer. It's definitely my favorite laptop of all time. There are a number of things that motivate me for something else though. Diana's laptop is going on four years old, and it's slow and heavy. I also want more pixels, and a year ago there was no 13" Retina MBP, and once there was, it was overpriced. There are some beautiful new laptops from Samsung and Lenovo, the latter of which can do this neat tablet-like convertible thing, but the new MBP's are actually a better deal. Never thought I'd say that about a Mac. Plenty of time to sort that one out.
Then there are tablets. Yeah, I'm the guy who used to say that I never had any use for one. Indeed, the first iPad didn't get much use. The replacement was mostly to score the no-contract cellular connectivity. It didn't get much use until recently, when we started loading stuff on to it for Simon. I just sold my original Surface, in part because the performance wasn't great, and the screen resolution wasn't either. I still liked the OS. So what I'm left with is my Kindle Fire HD, which is great for reading, music and video, but the browser just completely sucks. Don't get me wrong, I still believe it was a steal for $159, but I'm a little frustrated with browser rendering and performance in some apps.
So there are three tablets I really like, and believe it or not, they're all Windows or RT tablets. The current line of iPads seem too expensive (with reasonable storage). I also really like the Windows way of multitasking, having two things on screen at a time. Other nice perks, like picture passwords and multiple accounts, are big pluses. So here are the options, I'm thinking about:
Surface 2. Yes, I sold my first gen, but they fixed my two biggest concerns, namely the crappy performance and screen resolution. They feel lighter and thinner, too. I'm still not sure about Windows RT in a world where Atom processors can run "real" Windows, but it's really nice hardware. The kickstand and touch covers are fantastic, and they're super ideal for what I call "lunch browsing." Then Scott Hanselman showed how you can do "real" work with one using a remote VM. I tried it... I'm sold. I still have my touch cover.
Nokia Lumia 2520. Here's one I didn't see coming. It's essentially a giant version of my phone, and in the same colors no less. This one is an RT tablet as well, but the remarkable feature in this case is that will include no-contract cellular capability. Honestly, I've only used that feature on the iPad four times in the last year and a half, but it's handy. I imagine if it's like the phone, it will feel good in the hands. Still, if I need cellular, I still have the iPad.
Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 2. This one came out of nowhere. It's smaller, 8 inch screen, and it runs full blown Windows because it has an Atom CPU. It's stupid cheap at $300. The screen resolution is the same as my Kindle Fire HD, but with a screen that's bigger by an inch, I'm not sure if that hurts the readability. I'm sure you'll see pixels, if only subtly. With it running real Windows, you can run anything, including Chrome.
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