Need some input

[pelov]

I've been debating between getting a tablet or lappy for my on-the-go work and pr0n and am wondering whether tablets + docks like the Asus Transformer are a viable option for pr0nductivity.

I have Android on my Samsung Galaxy S and am quite comfortable with it but I've been hearing some not-so-good things about Android on the tablet, particularly about its clumsy nature with a keyboard.

Would a Transformer with Tegra3 be sufficient for some basic pdf reading, email, web browsing and the occasional text documents? And what's the battery life like? I'm likely going to be using it pretty much 6 hours + every single day of the week and require at least 6+ hours without a charge with much of that time not in idle.

Do you guys think that a Tegra3 Transformer is a viable option or should I have a look at a smaller laptop with a 6 or 9 cell battery?

Some input from people with a Transformer+dock would be great.

edit - I was looking at the Trinity laptops, sleekbooks more specifically, but at 15.6" form and a 4-cell battery, 1 stick of 4GB RAM I'm not going to buy that POS.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

The Transformer with dock will give you a lot more than 6 hours of battery life.
As far as the Android keyboard goes, that's the beauty of Android. If you don't like it, install a different one.

 

[pelov]

But would I have to worry about application support on a tablet? tablet w/ keyboard?

I own an iPad, err, owned, that I was quite comfortable but I gave it away because I saw no need for it. I definitely require something with a keyboard but my biggest worry is whether I'll be able to manage with Android on a tablet compared to a laptop + LV chip. I'm not going the Apple way, if I wanted to waste money I'd rather wipe my cornhole with Benjamins.

is the functionality roughly the same? I don't particularly require the MS apps and use LibreOffice/OpenOffice anyway.

 

[zerocool84]

If you're going to be doing real work, laptop always.

 

[vshah]

the only advantage of a transformer + dock would be the insane battery life. it would probably be OK for short documents as well. any way you can try one out?

 

[pelov]

Do they have them at bestbuy?

My only worry is about using something like the Transformer+dock as a laptop replacement. I know the battery life is absurd (10+hours) but it's the usability of the Android Apps on a tablet+keyboard that worries me. That's not something I can try out at a retail store, either. That's why I wanted the input from somebody who owns one of these things.

How does Polaris Office work? Is it bearable for writing long papers and opening MS office and OpenOffice files/formats?

Is the Tegra3 enough for a browser running 3-4 flash-enalbed websites with a PDF opened and music player on?

 

[vshah]

i've used docs to go and quickoffice, and they both work fine for editing. you might try reading anandtech's transformer review, iirc he wrote the whole thing on the transformer itself.

remember that flash will stop running as soon as you quit the browser (you won't hear flash music etc. if you are in another app)
so i'd say tegra 3 could handle that no problem.

 

[Mopetar]

If you're going to be doing real work, laptop always.

Could always go with a netbook as well. I have a friend who picked up one with one of AMD's Atom-like chips in it. Said he got around 10 hours with it while running Ubuntu and if you're primarily browsing the web and using Open Office, you probably don't need to run Windows.

 

[pelov]

Could always go with a netbook as well. I have a friend who picked up one with one of AMD's Atom-like chips in it. Said he got around 10 hours with it while running Ubuntu and if you're primarily browsing the web and using Open Office, you probably don't need to run Windows.

I was thinking the same thing, actually. Particularly the windows bit. I'd prefer running Linux anyway but if he's getting roughly 10 hours on Ubuntu that might be what I'll get.

I was considering the ARM+dock option because I didn't particularly need the x86 or was tied down to MS due to Office/legacy.

Does anyone know when the new AMD APU's for the netbook segment are coming out? Or know where I can grab a good little netbook with an AMD APU that doesn't have the additional MS licensing fee? The Asus Eee models that Newegg had for a while are sold out.