Help me choose a very mobile Windows computer

[Muse]

I own 5 Windows laptops, three 14", two 15.5". I also have a couple of cheap Windows 10 tablets for use when traveling: RCA Cambio 10" Windows Tablet with Detachable Keyboard W101. I've used the tablets, but they drive me crazy. The biggest problem is that neither of them is able to consistently remain in landscape mode, which is the only one I want. I could use portrait, sure, if it would let ME decide. But although the design supports that, in my experience it ain't happening. In settings I can lock it down to landscape (which is what I've done in my desperation in trying to get them usable), but all of a sudden, while in landscape mode with no provocation by me it will change to portrait and I'm looking at everything sideways... even though I've locked orientation down to landscape in settings! I give up, I figure I'll have to wipe them and get rid of those two tablets. They weren't much over $100.

I need to go Windows because I use a Microsoft Visual Foxpro application of my own design to manage and access my personal data. AFAIK, there's no way that would work on an Android device, and Apple implementations, if any, are apt to be problematical.

Is Microsoft Surface the only game in town for a reliable, high quality light & compact very usable mobile Windows computer? I've never even seen a Microsoft Surface in person.

 

[Muadib]

I'm pretty sure Best Buy has them on display. Give them a call to be certain.

 

[Muse]

I'm pretty sure Best Buy has them on display. Give them a call to be certain.

You mean MS Surface, I guess. Yeah, I should check that out. I'm wondering if there is decent competition I should consider.

There's a BB about 3 miles from me. I checked out my current printer there before buying it off Amazon a almost 4 years ago:

Brother HL-5470dw printer shipped by PCNation

Works great. I replaced the toner, broke the cartridge in the process, but managed to repair it with epoxy glue. Later, a year or so ago, a driver tweak solved the toner not sticking well, info supplied by Brother support. Sometimes it really helps to call support. I thought a firmware update might solve the problem, but couldn't update, so called support. A few tweaks of the driver screens solved it. Suppose I should pursue the firmware update, but things are working OK now.

 

[Muadib]

You mean MS Surface, I guess. Yeah, I should check that out. I'm wondering if there is decent competition I should consider.

There's a BB about 3 miles from me. I checked out my current printer there before buying it off Amazon a few years ago:

Brother HL-5470dw printer shipped by PCNation

Yes, I meant the Surface (Sorry.). I guess something from Apple would be it's competition.

 

[ElFenix]

lenovo miix 520 was a surface competitor, looks like it's EOL though.

 

[Muse]

Yes, I meant the Surface (Sorry.). I guess something from Apple would be it's competition.

Yeah, Apple is a no-can-do for me because my apps won't run on it.

 

[Muse]

Been poking around the internet. Many options, some pretty expensive.

For MS Surface, there's the Go, which has 10" screen, max 8GB RAM. There's the Surface Pro, vesions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. I'm looking at a 4 with 16GB RAM, used. 13" screen (almost), heavier than the Go, but more powerful. Just one USB port, and it's an A port. My Lenovo P1 has ports galore, 15.6" screen, but twice the weight.

 

[Muse]

I'm pretty sure Best Buy has them on display. Give them a call to be certain.

I haven't gone to BB yet, but been researching them a whole lot and am pretty convinced I'd be pretty happy with what appears to be a very good bang for the buck portable/travel computer right now, being the Surface Pro 4. Used, of course! Or, if I'm feeling flush enough, a Surface Pro 6, new. I'm watching a bunch on Ebay. 16GB of RAM, I have it now in the laptop I'm typing on and I'm so liking the fact that this machine has so far refused to slow down. Makes my other computers (~1/2 dozen) seem relatively awful!

 

[Muadib]

I haven't gone to BB yet, but been researching them a whole lot and am pretty convinced I'd be pretty happy with what appears to be a very good bang for the buck portable/travel computer right now, being the Surface Pro 4. Used, of course! Or, if I'm feeling flush enough, a Surface Pro 6, new. I'm watching a bunch on Ebay. 16GB of RAM, I have it now in the laptop I'm typing on and I'm so liking the fact that this machine has so far refused to slow down. Makes my other computers (~1/2 dozen) seem relatively awful!

Good luck in your search!

 

[Muse]

Good luck in your search!

Thanks. I figured out that the SP 6 with keyboard only weighs about 12% more than my crappy RCA Win10 tablet/laptops. Has 12% bigger screen by linear dimension, too. Costs 10x as much but the RCA's are practically unusable, they can't remember which way is up! Nor the setting to lock in landscape mode. Goofy as hell.

 

[lxskllr]

A quick search says that visual foxpro will run under wine on linux. That means you may be able to get something together for android and apple also. If that's your only hard requirement for windows, it may open up some other options. If you have a spare desktop, you could test it out before sinking much time/money in the effort.

 

[Muse]

A quick search says that visual foxpro will run under wine on linux. That means you may be able to get something together for android and apple also. If that's your only hard requirement for windows, it may open up some other options. If you have a spare desktop, you could test it out before sinking much time/money in the effort.

Yeah, I've heard of running FoxPro on Wine. Don't know any specifics. I could post in a forum type place I go for support once in a while, tek-tips.com. World class experts invariably respond, they'd know for sure. I would expect there'd be some issues, but really have no idea. Officially, Microsoft in their EULA forbid running the program on anything but Windows, but I don't think MS supports it anymore, even in Windows. Obviously, some people must (have) run it in Wine anyway!

I do use a few other programs that use Windows, however. I've never run any flavor of Linux! Not avoiding it but have always had some programs I use a lot that AFAIK only run in Windows. I do run some open source stuff in Windows. Open Office, for instance for the occasional Word file I encounter. I should really look into spread sheets. I took a class in one at the city college in the early 90's but FoxPro is my go to for data. Spreadsheets would give me some broader latitude.

I use Pagemaker 6.5 for Windows, but it only runs in 32bit... so I keep a laptop in 32bit. My Total Recorder Standard Edition only runs in Windows. I use it not infrequently. Very handy for me.

I'd love to export my data from those programs to other, more modern programs, but it would be quite a challenge, at least for the FoxPro. It's probably not so much the data as the chops I've programmed for it!

 

[Muadib]

Thanks. I figured out that the SP 6 with keyboard only weighs about 12% more than my crappy RCA Win10 tablet/laptops. Has 12% bigger screen by linear dimension, too. Costs 10x as much but the RCA's are practically unusable, they can't remember which way is up! Nor the setting to lock in landscape mode. Goofy as hell.

Did you take a look at refurbished Surface Pros? Best Buy and Microsoft both sell them, and Newegg might too. I prefer the refurbished market to buying used, because you get a warranty of some sort.

 

[Muse]

Did you take a look at refurbished Surface Pros? Best Buy and Microsoft both sell them, and Newegg might too. I prefer the refurbished market to buying used, because you get a warranty of some sort.

You see them online? I'm definitely interested. I've only found a single source for the machine that has my interest ATM:

Surface Pro 6 core i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

The Surface Pro 6 core i5 is fanless, the i7 is not fanless and has, so I'm told, not insignificant fan noise. All but that one seller has that core i5 configured with 8GB RAM. That configuration doesn't have the 512GB SSD, but I figure I can get along OK without that. Still, I wonder if the configuration I want is even available. Should be, but I'm not seeing it. Amazon doesn't come close.

 

[Muse]

Not impressed with Best Buy. They are selling OPEN BOX for $1728 the same machine that Amazon is selling for $1448 new. Surface Pro 6, core i7 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD.

At Amazon

At Best Buy

 

[Muse]

Heck, I found it at Amazon. The price is very similar to practically the same machine in a Surface Pro 7, which came out Oct. 22, IIRC. I'm gonna take a close look at the 7. No hurries.

 

[Muadib]

Heck, I found it at Amazon. The price is very similar to practically the same machine in a Surface Pro 7, which came out Oct. 22, IIRC. I'm gonna take a close look at the 7. No hurries.

Did you check Microsoft? They have an online store.

Surface Pro (Certified Refurbished)

Each Microsoft Certified Refurbished device is held to the same standards as a brand-new product.

www.microsoft.com

 

[Muse]

I just checked your link there. Thank you! MS Store may be the place if I like the price(s). I did buy my Windows Phone there over a year ago or so.

I probably will get a refurb, or possibly an Open Box, I've done that a lot of times and can't remember regretting it.

 

[Muse]

Weird thing about the listings I see for the Surface Pro's is that they don't specify which version it is... 6, 4, 7, ??? The info kind of hints at it, but I'm guessing. Crazy!

I just chatted up a tech support person there with some questions about the SP 6 and SP7, asking about fanless, fans, cooling for the different configurations and why I'm having trouble finding the configurations I'm interested in.

• The ultimate laptop with versatility of a studio and tablet • 2.5x faster than Surface Pro 3 with a 7th Gen Intel Core processor • Get more done with all day battery life––50% more battery life than Surface Pro 4 • Get to work faster with the fastest startup and resume of any Surface Pro yet • Newly redesigned front-facing speakers and quieter fanless cooling system • Surface Pro Signature Type Cover and Surface Pen sold separately • 1-year limited warranty

I suppose it's a SP 6, but they don't specifically say. Can deduce it's > SP4.

Finally was given Surface support contact info, they aren't available now:

This would be the toll free number for our Surface support: 1-800-642-7676 .

 

[Muse]

Did you check Microsoft? They have an online store.

Surface Pro (Certified Refurbished)

Each Microsoft Certified Refurbished device is held to the same standards as a brand-new product.

www.microsoft.com

Crazy thing is there listings for Surface Pro tablet/laptops do not indicate which version they are, i.e. 6, 7, 2017 ... I did chat with someone the other day, I think Sunday evening isn't the best time to try to get personal help from them, but I can call this during business hours, I imagine:

Microsoft Store Sales and Customer Support:


1-877-696-7786

 

[RossMAN]

Here's an awesome deal on a Windows laptop although I would recommend upgrading RAM and SSD.

You'll have a very powerful and portable laptop for under $400 with free 4 year warranty (assuming you pay with CitiBank CostCo credit card - otherwise it's free 2 year warranty).

 

[Muadib]

Crazy thing is there listings for Surface Pro tablet/laptops do not indicate which version they are, i.e. 6, 7, 2017 ... I did chat with someone the other day, I think Sunday evening isn't the best time to try to get personal help from them, but I can call this during business hours, I imagine:

Microsoft Store Sales and Customer Support:


1-877-696-7786

I saw that on the one that I was looking at. Give them a call tomorrow, and post back.

 

[Muse]

That does look fantastic. I just bought a new laptop, OPEN BOX, a few weeks ago, am typing on it now. It's blazing fast, a Lenovo P1 w/ 256GB SSD, 16GB DDR4 RAM. Weighs 3.75lb, has 15.6" screen. It's possible to travel with it but it's kind of a monster for travel, plus the charger is a 135watt brick. The Surface Pro's had my attention, but last night I looked at Consumer Reports' Dec. 2019 article on laptops/etc. (online, my local library had it) and discovered the LG Gram 13 laptop, which CR rates just a hair below their top rated MacBook. The LG Gram 13 has 13.3" screen, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, weighs 2.1lb. 2.1lb!!! And the battery is off the charts at 72wh, LG claims over 20 hours battery life. Unfortunately, the battery isn't replaceable, so I seen it said. There a several configurations. Keyboard isn't detachable, but it does have touch screen. I think there are models without touch screen. I figure I may not use it much but I DO WANT the touch screen. The keyboard has me concerned. Home and End keys require Fn. Fn doesn't have a lock feature, I figure. I use arrow keys, Home, End, Pg Up, Page Dn a lot and they double up functions on those keys IIRC. And the LG Gram 13 weighs the same as a Surface Pro w/ type cover. Screen is an inch larger. Battery life has to be way better. AFAIK, no pen support, but I've never used one.

 

[Muadib]

Black Friday deal on the Pro 7: https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-surface-pro-7-2-in-1-laptop-deal-2019-11

 

[Muse]

Black Friday deal on the Pro 7: https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-surface-pro-7-2-in-1-laptop-deal-2019-11

It's an i3 with 4GB RAM, which is their minimally featured model of the Pro 7. I figure my minimum would be the i5 with 8GB RAM.