Channel 9 Forums - Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/Dev/App_Themes/C9/images/feedimage.png Channel 9 Forums - Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums Channel 9 keeps you up to date with the latest news and behind the scenes info from Microsoft that developers love to keep up with. From LINQ to SilverLight – Watch videos and hear about all the cool technologies coming and the people behind them. http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums en Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:48:40 GMT Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:48:40 GMT Rev9 14 -14 -1 Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices I tried out the Asus VivoTab RT at Best Buy over the weekend. It is a very slick device. Great display, very responsive performance. The 10" screen is a bit small for me, but my wife said she loved it. The keyboard dock also has a battery inside, so it gives a total 13 hours of battery life when docked. She's not worried about backward compatibility, so Windows RT would be great for her.

For anyone interested in the U.S., OfficeMax is selling the VivoTab RT for $50 off this week. Asus is also giving out free keyboard docks ($160 value) through the end of December on their website.

I also tried the Lenovo Yoga. While the hinges are neat, I'm not too sure about having the keyboard exposed. I can picture the keys getting damaged when someone slides it across a table in tablet mode. Plus, at the $1000 level, I'm more inclined to wait for the various x86 tablets to come out.

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/e2f7e8e3e5a2482fabfaa10000fa13df#e2f7e8e3e5a2482fabfaa10000fa13df Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:10:30 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/e2f7e8e3e5a2482fabfaa10000fa13df#e2f7e8e3e5a2482fabfaa10000fa13df Scott 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/spivonious/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices Yoga is on the top of my list, but haven't been able to play with one. I figure if they have that design the keyboard keys should be nothing short of MILSPEC =)

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/7016c511cdc34885a01fa100010543c8#7016c511cdc34885a01fa100010543c8 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:51:14 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/7016c511cdc34885a01fa100010543c8#7016c511cdc34885a01fa100010543c8 Harlequin 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/Harlequin/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices I tried out ASUS at bestbuy too. And then the SurfaceRT at the local mall. I felt the glossy finish of Asus was more appealing. Also, responsiveness was better than Surface RT.

One thing that annoyed me on Surface RT. I installed AccuWeather app from the store. The animated clouds were showing up on the live tile. But when the app was opened, it slowed down the whole system.

In general, I also felt the many standard apps had a not so desirable behavior.... which is.... the animated icon showing the fetching of the contents. on many apps I opened, I had to wait for the thing to fetch. Although this is more about the app design, but I felt some content should be pre-fetched.

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/4434240fb2054f3ab312a100010c10d8#4434240fb2054f3ab312a100010c10d8 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:15:59 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/4434240fb2054f3ab312a100010c10d8#4434240fb2054f3ab312a100010c10d8 Srikanth_t 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/Srikanth_t/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices @Srikanth_t: I wish I had a Microsoft store near me. It's come down to the VivoTab or the Surface for my wife's Christmas present. Can you expand a bit on the comparison? She would  be using it in her lap most of the time. The fixed angle of the Surface's kickstand worries me for that use case.

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/1957d24c43b74247a80ca100012653f8#1957d24c43b74247a80ca100012653f8 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 17:51:36 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/1957d24c43b74247a80ca100012653f8#1957d24c43b74247a80ca100012653f8 Scott 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/spivonious/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices @spivonious: I don't think any kickstand is really useful for a lap.

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/4f6f2c5241c24f28ac0ca100012ed739#4f6f2c5241c24f28ac0ca100012ed739 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:22:36 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/4f6f2c5241c24f28ac0ca100012ed739#4f6f2c5241c24f28ac0ca100012ed739 kettch 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/kettch/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices @kettch:Actually, the Surface's one is surprisingly usable on a lap. Especially if you wrap the keyboard below it, thus increasing the base.

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/ab12431353e848f497f3a10001304ab6#ab12431353e848f497f3a10001304ab6 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:27:53 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/ab12431353e848f497f3a10001304ab6#ab12431353e848f497f3a10001304ab6 PaoloM 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/PaoloM/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices @PaoloM: Maybe I haven't tried the right posture. If I'm on the couch, I'm usually sprawled in a way that's very comfortable, but not practical for using a device. Tongue Out

I agree that flipping the keyboard under the kickstand is very stable. It works great for setting it on a bed or something else that's not a stable platform.

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/d8c070c124434c979870a1000132b36e#d8c070c124434c979870a1000132b36e Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:36:39 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/d8c070c124434c979870a1000132b36e#d8c070c124434c979870a1000132b36e kettch 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/kettch/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices I am blessed by having a nice couch with a wide and solid armrest where I can just kickstand the surface there and have it as a second screen for whatever i'm watching. Also, my cat can watch it too!

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/6c6ec633684c4467af95a10001356238#6c6ec633684c4467af95a10001356238 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:46:25 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/6c6ec633684c4467af95a10001356238#6c6ec633684c4467af95a10001356238 PaoloM 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/PaoloM/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices @spivonious: I tried out both these things for a max 10 mins at each location and did not try the Asus with it's keyboard.

I definitely liked the glossy screen and shiny back of Asus. Not sure if my mind is conditioned to like the "consumer look" of Asus. The tablet itself felt lighter (did not try with the keyboard as i said). Felt more responsive (atleast as far as I perceived it). Ran bunch of apps specifically to test out the responsiveness.

Surface felt industrial and also more "wider". I thought the camera in Surface was sharper. Liked the surface touch keyboard. I might have been prejudiced by the surface review article at "the verge", but I did feel that the bottom of the kickstand was pointy and sharp. I can see how it could scratch your lap if you rest it on your lap. 

   Also, I did not ask if either of them support DLNA. Would be nice to stream content wirelessly to  the big TV.

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/7c7866a7fd344142a67fa100016d15c0#7c7866a7fd344142a67fa100016d15c0 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 22:09:14 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/7c7866a7fd344142a67fa100016d15c0#7c7866a7fd344142a67fa100016d15c0 Srikanth_t 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/Srikanth_t/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices @Srikanth_t: Thanks for the extra info.

We ended up getting the Asus at OfficeMax last night. $50 less than everywhere else.

My wife loves it. She didn't want to go to bed last night because she was still playing with it. The screen is fantastic and the cameras aren't too bad (2MP front, 8MP rear, decent quality in low light). She had lots of apps running and we noticed no slow downs.

Office is a bit hard to use on a 10" screen, but she's not going to be writing any novels on it. She does want a Facebook app, but I showed her how the People app can be a substitute.

I'll post back on here with any updates, but right now it looks like the Asus is the RT tablet to get.

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/20057e880cb842e9a8b2a10100fef5e9#20057e880cb842e9a8b2a10100fef5e9 Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:28:17 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/20057e880cb842e9a8b2a10100fef5e9#20057e880cb842e9a8b2a10100fef5e9 Scott 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/spivonious/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices

, PaoloM wrote

I am blessed by having a nice couch with a wide and solid armrest where I can just kickstand the surface there and have it as a second screen for whatever i'm watching. Also, my cat can watch it too!

I know your cat, I don't know if I would let him near a Surface. Tongue Out

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/43882eda782b4099bdb6a101010670ec#43882eda782b4099bdb6a101010670ec Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:55:31 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/43882eda782b4099bdb6a101010670ec#43882eda782b4099bdb6a101010670ec Sven Groot 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/Sven Groot/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices Actually, there is one issue. While my Windows 8 desktop picked up our network printer (Kodak ESP-7250) automatically, the tablet did not. I've put in a ticket with Kodak support.

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/57d538c8234247ad8a4ca101010c898f#57d538c8234247ad8a4ca101010c898f Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:17:42 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/57d538c8234247ad8a4ca101010c898f#57d538c8234247ad8a4ca101010c898f Scott 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/spivonious/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices @spivonious: you are most welcome.  Glad you guys got it for a discount.  Being a serious VC++, Win32API dev in my earlier jobs, I am super partial to systems that are responsive. Infact, I prefer that apps consume less cpu cycles, less memory, so on. 

Please do post updates, like for example how easy is it to play stuff on the Big TV, Skype experience, good apps, so on.

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/02926823466244519895a101010cc796#02926823466244519895a101010cc796 Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:18:35 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/02926823466244519895a101010cc796#02926823466244519895a101010cc796 Srikanth_t 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/Srikanth_t/Discussions/RSS Coffeehouse - Tried out some Windows 8 devices @Sven Groot: Is his cat addicted to kitty videos, and as a result, made ill use of Paolo's credit card? Big Smile

]]> http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/a856674450de457a9a9aa101011a9ba2#a856674450de457a9a9aa101011a9ba2 Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:08:56 GMT http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Tried-out-some-Windows-8-devices/a856674450de457a9a9aa101011a9ba2#a856674450de457a9a9aa101011a9ba2 System.UnauthorizedException: selected Species does not have access to target resource 'name'. 14 http://channel9.msdn.com/Niners/MasterPie/Discussions/RSS