HP Spectre X2 $549

[sm625]

Core m3 12" 1080p 4GB/128GB

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-spec...lver/4563803.p?id=1219768916394&skuId=4563803

This is very nearly Surface Pro 4 caliber on a reasonable budget.

 

[Pardus]

link to price is $799.99

 

[sm625]

wow that ended fast.

 

[Pardus]

Price changed, now down to $599.99. No idea why.

 

[Chiropteran]

Surface 3 128GB for $499 from Microsoft is a better deal, IMO.

 

[waffleironhead]

Does this work on the AT&T network?

Just looked, Verizon only. Boooo! Thought I could dump this buggy surface 3.

 

[fleshconsumed]

Surface 3 128GB for $499 from Microsoft is a better deal, IMO.

Nope, not even close. Surface 3 uses Cherry Trail Atom CPU with eMMC for storage, Spectre X2 is using Core M and real SSD. HP is way faster than Surface 3. At only a $50-100 difference, I'd rather get HP.

 

[Chiropteran]

Nope, not even close. Surface 3 uses Cherry Trail Atom CPU with eMMC for storage, Spectre X2 is using Core M and real SSD. HP is way faster than Surface 3. At only a $50-100 difference, I'd rather get HP.

On paper, I'll agree, the HP specs are nice. But in reality, you will open the device and be greeted by a ton of pre-installed garbage apps and programs, which will suck away the performance for very questionable gains, if any. Microsoft doesn't add junk-ware, so the Surface comes out of the box ready to run at 100%.

In any case, neither device is good for gaming, and I'd argue that the Surface is "good enough".

And if you have a problem, have fun with HP, while you can take a Surface to any Microsoft store and get immediate help.

The above link bares this out- check the customer rating and satisfaction for the HP vs Surface 3, the results speak volumes.

Of course, YMMV. I don't think this is a bad deal, I just think at $100 off the Surface 3 is a superior value. If you don't mind reinstalling windows and drivers to clear out all the HP crapware, and don't mind gambling with HP service/support, buying this tablet might make a lot of sense.

 

[fleshconsumed]

On paper, I'll agree, the HP specs are nice. But in reality, you will open the device and be greeted by a ton of pre-installed garbage apps and programs, which will suck away the performance for very questionable gains, if any. Microsoft doesn't add junk-ware, so the Surface comes out of the box ready to run at 100%.

In any case, neither device is good for gaming, and I'd argue that the Surface is "good enough".

And if you have a problem, have fun with HP, while you can take a Surface to any Microsoft store and get immediate help.

The above link bares this out- check the customer rating and satisfaction for the HP vs Surface 3, the results speak volumes.

Of course, YMMV. I don't think this is a bad deal, I just think at $100 off the Surface 3 is a superior value. If you don't mind reinstalling windows and drivers to clear out all the HP crapware, and don't mind gambling with HP service/support, buying this tablet might make a lot of sense.

I have had experience with both CoreM (Dell Venue 11 Pro 7140 with 5Y71 CPU and SSD) and Cherry Trail (HP Envy Note 8 with z8300 and eMMC). The CoreM/SSD combo is light years ahead of the Cherry Trail/eMMC. On CoreM/SSD there is zero lag when opening start menu and very minimal lag when opening/using "modern" apps, on Cherry Trail/eMMC there is 1-2 second delay after the News app loads, but before list of stories begins to show up, and there is a split second delay on every UI action such as swiping left to slide Action Center open, swiping right to bring up a list of open applications, or even pressing start button. CoreM/SSD and CherryTrail/eMMC are not even in the same ball park performance wise. I might tolerate Cherry Trail in an ultra portable 8" device that primarily gets used for reading PDFs/News/watching youtube videos, but I would never ever buy Cherry Trail an anything larger than 8".

To your other point, HP is probably going to put more bloatware on their laptops, but no one is stopping you from uninstalling it, or doing a fresh install altogether. The Windows Key is now built into the BIOS, you don't even need to enter it when reinstalling.

The CoreM/SSD HP Spectre x2 is way more capable machine than Surface 3 with its gimped Cherry Trail/eMMC combo and totally worth extra $50-100. The only negative thing I've read about Spectre X2 is less than stellar display, so one will have to decide where to put his priorities.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Does this work on the AT&T network?

Just looked, Verizon only. Boooo! Thought I could dump this buggy surface 3.

Doesn't Verizon have to make LTE devices unlocked? And I believe most contemporary LTE modem chipsets have wide support (that is often just software locked, would be curious how different that would be for Win10 vs say Android). I haven't checked to see, but I'd think there should be a chance that you could put a GSM LTE SIM and it might work.

A quick look seems to show mixed results. Some apparently have gotten T-Mobile SIMs to work and others weren't able to.

TabletPCReview forum

I have had experience with both CoreM (Dell Venue 11 Pro 7140 with 5Y71 CPU and SSD) and Cherry Trail (HP Envy Note 8 with z8300 and eMMC). The CoreM/SSD combo is light years ahead of the Cherry Trail/eMMC. On CoreM/SSD there is zero lag when opening start menu and very minimal lag when opening/using "modern" apps, on Cherry Trail/eMMC there is 1-2 second delay after the News app loads, but before list of stories begins to show up, and there is a split second delay on every UI action such as swiping left to slide Action Center open, swiping right to bring up a list of open applications, or even pressing start button. CoreM/SSD and CherryTrail/eMMC are not even in the same ball park performance wise. I might tolerate Cherry Trail in an ultra portable 8" device that primarily gets used for reading PDFs/News/watching youtube videos, but I would never ever buy Cherry Trail an anything larger than 8".

To your other point, HP is probably going to put more bloatware on their laptops, but no one is stopping you from uninstalling it, or doing a fresh install altogether. The Windows Key is now built into the BIOS, you don't even need to enter it when reinstalling.

The CoreM/SSD HP Spectre x2 is way more capable machine than Surface 3 with its gimped Cherry Trail/eMMC combo and totally worth extra $50-100. The only negative thing I've read about Spectre X2 is less than stellar display, so one will have to decide where to put his priorities.

Don't forget the HP comes with the keyboard. I do think the HP is a better value, but frankly prices on all of these seem out of whack. The Surface 3 should be $500 with the pen and keyboard. The HP should be about this price normally (I think its $799 MSRP), and the Surface Pros should be more reasonable (I'd say they're about $150-300 overpriced across the board, which if they came with the type covers would be more reasonable).