Tablets

I have the original, first generation Surface. Does anyone else have it? To be honest, I am not a huge fan of it. I got it as a present, otherwise I typically wait until the 2nd or 3rd generation of electronics come out. I find it freezes and is very unresponsive to the touchscreen. It is constantly updating. Every time I turn it on I have to wait for it to update.


I just use it to play around and watch videos but I don’t find it convenient for actually doing work on it. I know the newer Surfaces have the same operating system as a computer compared to just a tablet like the first generation.

 

To be honest, I've given up on tablets all together for the time being. I've had many of them, some cheap, some expensive, and I haven't found any of them to be reliable enough. All of them were Android tablets though and Android itself has some storage problems.

 

I have an iPad for two years now, but I use it mainly for watching TV shows, reading on Kindle, and rarely use it doing work online. I need a big screen, and I have a full size iPad, still I am having trouble with magnifying it to see. It is just a bother to me.

 

Oh good to know. Do you have the keyboard for it as well? I feel like that is the only way to actually do work on it. Otherwise it would take forever to type things out on the screen.

Do you also have Office on your ipad? That was my main reason for not getting it. Although I like the ipad a lot better. Ideally I wanted something portable I could work off of.

 

Yes, my children bought me the keyboard for the iPad so I can work on it when I am not at home. It connects using the blue tooth.

I don't have Office on it though. My son uses Google doc to do his homework, and I am learning to use that as well. Google doc is neat in that you can share your document with other people if you want them to help you with it. For example, my son shares his resume with his sister who lives in California, and I watched them both working on it just as they are sitting near each other.

You can definitely use the iPad for doing work. I have vision problems, so don't mind me

 

I think the ipad is one of the most user friendly tablets. It also seems to be one of the most popular (at least from what I know). I've tried using the keyboard and it is a lot easier to use then the keyboard for my surface!

 

Do you have the surface type keyboard as well ? The surface has a unique OS (Windows RT) that is, well, lacking in the app department. But to compensate for that, it has a free version of Windows Office (not as feature-rich as the version on PC, but way ahead of any Android app) and a complete browser, with flash. That alone quite worth the money, not to mention the kickstand. I have the Surface 2 and now use it mainly for media playback. Just put it on the desk and start playing, no case or external stand needed.

 

I have the first version of the surface. I also have both key boards. I don’t think they are as comfortable as a typical keyboard but they are sufficient to do work on. I am overall just not a fan because I feel like the tablet is very slow to respond. I also think the touch screen is very slow and often it takes forever to open an app.

I am not sure how the newer versions are.

 

It sounds like a problem with the windows software then, have you tried a fresh install ? A new update for Windows RT was released a few months ago, bringing some new features from Windows 10 (mainly the start menu) so apply that might help. In theory, there isn't much that can slow the Surface, no virus or apps (because sadly nobody cares about the OS) and the Tegra 3 chip is still very capable for handling day to day task. Which app are you having trouble with in particular ? I can try downloading it to my Surface 2 and see how it runs for you.

 

I haven't tired the new upgrade. I actually don't use it that much that every time I turn it on it needs a good 20 mins to install updates. It's not just one app in general its all of them. The tablet isn't responsive to my touch and then takes forever to download.

 

I wanted a tablet a while ago, but in my experience it can be kinda hard to find a good tablet that is not an iPad, and then if you feel like buying an iPad you need to be very aware you will be spending a lot money long term. I think it requires a lot research in order to find a good tablet brand.

 

Hmm, sounds like you should get in touch with Microsoft then. They don't provide much support for Surface RT now granted, but at least they will be able to confirm that it was a defect to you (it sounds to me like it's a hardware problem, or a bad install of Windows). If you're lucky, they might recycle the item for you and put the credit towards a new Surface model.
Or you could try reinstalling Windows RT first to see if it fixes the problem. In my experience, reinstalling the entire thing takes about 2 hours top, so just leave it there and go about your usual day.

 

To be honest I don't know any functions a tablet can you that a regular cell phone can't do. I have an Note 5 and it pretty much has the same capabilities and functionalities as a tablet would.