Android tablets have MicroUSB to USB converters so you can use thumb drives, mice, keyboards, etc. with them. Depending on the budget I like the Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2 over the Vaio.
It's somewhere like this: Setting> Wireless and network> Tethering and portable hotspot> portable Wifi Hotspot
Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 8 Wifi only version costs about 750 € here (that's for their 8.3" tablet). The Acer Iconia W4 seems like the much better deal if I go with an 8" Windows tablet, but thanks for the suggestion. I actually did try to use my android phone for presentation but the generic adapter i bought didn't work. that said, i've seen youtube videos of people succeeding in connecting their android phone or tablet to an external presentation device so i'm sure it's possible. still, i think that would be good for one connection. i would still need to buy some sort of preseter device that works via bluetooth since my phone and tablet only have one port (the same one used for charging), which would be taken up by the VGA adapter, and then I'd have to worry about whether the presentation app is compatible with my powerpoints. I use OfficeSuite on Android, which seems to work fine with Microsoft word, excel and powerpoint files I've tried, but I haven't tried it extensively, for example, to see whether it can handle special powerpoint effects and embedded videos. No, I decided it's simplest just a have a proper windows with me to avoid any potential complications and conflicts, plus I'm curious about Windows tablets and want to try one for myself to replace my aging (first generation) Samsung Galaxy Tab 10. I'd prefer one with full size USB and HDMI ports of course, but all these tablets all have only micro-HDMI port (if any), and only some large tablet convertibles, like the Sony VAIO Tap 11, have the full sized USB port, so I've resigned myself to having to accept the micro-ports. Hopefully the next generation of Windows tablets will start offering full-sized ports. (Although micro-ports might be better if all the periphals, flash drives, cables, etc. worked with them without adapters).
Thought i would add abit more to my original post: While the HDMI is a mini port, the USB 3.0 is a "normal" sized port and the powered dock/stand expands USB 3.0 from 1 to 3 ports. This was also included in the box which i use all the time - http://store.acer.com/store/acerame...productID.277069100/parentCategoryID.66266900
Thanks. I saw one in a shop recently with i3 core and 64 GB SSD. It looked impressive, but the deal in that shop was not particularly good. It was also huge for a tablet, and I had started to move more towards a smaller device in my thinking. So I ordered the Acer Iconia W4 with 3G (I should get it over the weekend), which did not look particularly impressive in the shop, but it's small and light, good battery life, no fan, and hopefully it works well for tablet use and mobile powerpoint presentations. Strictly speaking, I probably didn't need the 3G or GPS functionality (since I can do that on my Android phone), but I wanted to give a Windows tablet a fair go, which for me means having the normal tablet functions available like being able to use it as a hotspot via 3G and being able to use it for GPS navigation. I want to see how well that stuff works with Windows 8.1.
International Data Corporation (IDC) issued a report about tablet sales. 1. Apple 2. Samsung 3. Lenovo 4. ASUS 5. Acer Group Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, July 24, 2014 http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS25008314 Microsoft Surface article here: http://www.computerworld.com/s/arti...Surface_inventory_renews_profitability_doubts
fwiw, i did receive my Acer Iconia W4 tablet. it's too early to really comment whether it was a good or bad buy, but my initial impressions are that the plus side is having full Windows in a small tablet and therefore being able to use full MS Office and all your favorite Windows applications like Thunderbird (with PGP/Enigmail). It also has a micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports, battery life seems good so far. These are all huge pluses. The minus side is that Windows 8.1 and associated software are not as smooth or touchscreen friendly as Android or iPad OS/apps. In particular, the default resolution makes everything really small and program menus and buttons are designed to be clicked with a mouse rather than a finger. The touchscreen keypad is also lacking; no swyping, predictive text, layout not optimal, keypad doesn't pop out automatically when entering a text field, and Windows programs don't resize themselves to accommodate the keypad when you start it from the system tray. also, the 3G is working poorly, even though the same SIM card works fine in my Android tablet. The Windows Store is also still in its infancy, and some "apps" there are basically just regular Windows programs that install a shortcut for the "desktop" program into the metro screen. To sum up, if you need Windows on the go, then I think Windows tablets are perfectly fine and usable, but you shouldn't expect them to work as well as Android or iOS devices for mobile use at this time - I'm sure Windows will catch up though; that's the Microsoft MO. EDIT: The 3G works fine now, but only after I disabled the PIN on the SIM card. Windows was having trouble with it. Also, my ZoneAlarm firewall refuses to work with Window's built-in hotspot (aka Internet Connection Sharing), and ZoneAlarm says they don't support that. Not sure how other firewalls will do with it. With firewalls disabled, I'm able to use the tablet perfectly well as a 3G hotspot for my laptop though.
OK. I haven't used the tablet for work or anything other than watching movies in the airplane and gym, for which it works really well, but I'll give some comments. Short version: The main thing that's good about a Windows tablet is having a full working Windows 8.1 Pro at your fingertips (I'd avoid Windows RT though), which has worked really well, like normal Windows, although it can also be a little tricky to use on touchscreen because Windows base programs like Windows Explorer are designed for use with mouse and keyboard, and Windows touchscreen apps are sorely lacking. Also the touchscreen keypad is just bad compared to android keypads like SwiftKey or Keymonk. Apart from that you can basically install any Windows program you'd use on your laptop into this tablet (no need to look for android or iOS alternatives that may not work as well, no compatibility issues), except big games or programs that require major graphics and processing power. Microsoft Office works well, for example. This tablet is also very light (425 grams) and small (8" screen), so it truly portable and could be easily used for GPS navigation in a car too (although you might have to buy an app for that). Battery life is good, it's quiet, no heating issues. But I'd like more ports and better external keyboard/mouse support. Longer version (details and minor points): -- The battery life was (is?) really good. I watched about 6 hours of video on an airplane recently and still had 40% battery left. Since then though it's been less impressive, maybe I installed something that uses lots of battery, or maybe it's the WiFi/3G/Bluetooth services... For security I'm only using Windows 8.1 built-in firewall and Windows Defender. -- The screen is really good and sharp, excellent brightness controls, easy to see even in daylight. I wouldn't want the resolution to be any higher and cannot imagine it would make watching videos, for example, any better. The external speakers work fine but are nothing special. -- It has three buttons, a Windows button, a power button (also screen on/off with short press), and a volume button. The buttons are a little flimsy feeling and the power button can be hard to press. My Samsung android devices have better buttons fwiw. -- Windows 8.1 boots really fast - it's comparable to an Android phone or tablet. -- The device is quiet (no fan) and doesn't heat up noticeably. -- It has a camera and camera app which works, but beyond that I haven't done anything test the quality of the pictures. Also lots of the apps don't have an obvious menu and/or settings button (unlike most Android apps), so I'm always a bit confused about how to use them and end up switching to desktop mode where I can use good old Windows programs. -- 3G, GPS, hotspot (aka internet connection sharing) work well, although ZoneAlarm (and maybe other firewalls) don't support Internet Connection Sharing. I also had to remove the PIN lock from my 3G SIM card because Windows 8.1 was having trouble with it. (It would lock the card in sleep mode and then fail to open it). Also, I haven't really made any use of GPS yet other than to check that it's working. fwiw, it comes with an app for Bing Maps and I think you can also download a google maps app. -- Programs work reasonably fast. Microsoft Office works well, but I haven't tried any games on this. Obviously it's not going to be able to handle anything too graphic intensive given the atom processor. -- the Micro USB port works well for reading flash drives, external hard drives with their own power source, wireless mouse and other devices. I also added a 64 GB MicroSDXC card to this tablet for extra space. I haven't tried an external hard drive that doesn't come with it's own power source, but my understanding is that a small tablet like this may not have to power to use one. -- I bought an Acer bluetooth keyboard for this, which works poorly, and I'll probably never use it. Some times when I press some key, let's say "k" and I'll get kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk then I have to press backspace and it'll erase the whole line or paragraph... Bluetooth mouse also has micro-freezes which makes using it unpleasant. Basically I'll just use the touchpad keyboard unless some program absolutely requires a physical keyboard. Or I may try to connect a wireless keyboard and mouse to the micro-USB port. -- The screen is really small so it can be hard to click on some menus with my sausage fingers. There are some built-in gesture controls, but I'd like more, plus a program to add your own. Also this is with the Appearance and Personalization -> Display set to Medium (125%). At the default size it would be really hard to use. In fact, I did have to spend a few hours setting everything to my liking when I first got this tablet, which can be a bit tricky if you are not familiar with Windows 8. -- Most of the apps require a Microsoft account, which I initially created, but then switched to a local account because the Microsoft account requires typing in a PIN each time I used the device and there's apparently no way completely around it other than to use a local account. But of course a lot of the Metro apps and Windows Marketplace require you to be logged into the Microsoft account so this is problem. Hopefully there'll be an update that fixes the annoyances with Microsoft account or a third party program for it. Conclusion: So far I'm happy with this Windows tablet, and I think it will work well for my intended purposes, but it's certainly not perfect and I think Windows has a lot of catching up to do in the touchscreen apps and touchscreen user-friendliness department. If you don't specifically need or want Windows on the go, then you are probably better off with an Android tablet. --
I've now been using this tablet a lot for work and presentations so I'll give my (probably) final update: The tablet has worked great for presentations and overall I'm super happy with the purchase because it's extremely small and light but works just like a regular Windows 8.1. When it's connected to a presentation station I get about 4-6 hours out of the battery, which is less than in normal use, but still good enough for my needs. I use a micro-HDMI-to-VGA adapter and also plug the audio jack into the audio port if I want to play video/audio to the audience. I normally connect a presenter (slide changer/laser pointer) to the mini-USB port and also carry a Bluetooth mouse with me. I haven't needed an external keyboard yet, but it'll be necessary if I do Excel stuff or something like that. The good: - The tablet has been stable and fast. Everything has worked the way it's supposed to. - Bluetooth mouse works really well. I said it was crap earlier, but that's when I had both the (generic Logitech) Bluetooth mouse and (Acer Crunch) Bluetooth keyboard connected to the tablet at the same time. Turns out they interfere with each other. I tried using the same mouse with an Apple Bluetooth keyboard (previously used for an iPad) and that combo worked great. The Acer Crunch keyboard works fine on its own as well, but it's really small - good for travel, but a compromise for use. - The tablet interfaces better with the presentation station than my laptop did in terms of multiple monitor use, resolution, etc. although this is probably just because Windows 8.1 and Office 2013 are slightly better and more compatible than Windows 7 and Office 2010 on my laptop. - Slides are easy to change by tapping on the tablet and the tablet also shows slide comments, while the projector shows the full screen view of the slide show to the audience. - I was using Startmenu Reviver for a while, but given my limited needs I reverted back to the standard Windows 8.1 start menu. My use on this tablet is so limited that I just include desktop shortcuts for things things I use, or I go to the metro menu and use apps from there (Camera, Maps, etc.) The bad: - The screen is still really small and inconvenient to use by touch outside of the metro interface. You will need a mouse or Acer Iconia Fine Writing stylus to properly use it. - The metro interface would be fine, but most of the apps (or adding apps at least) require a Microsoft account in lieu of a local account. The Microsoft account in turn keeps constantly asking me for a password, and the only way to completely turn off the password bullshit is by using a local account, but then you cannot make proper use of the metro apps... - I would like a separate port for charging the tablet. Currently it uses the one and only micro-USB port, which means that if the battery starts to run low during a presentation, then I'd need to disconnect my presenter (slide changer) from the USB port to plug the tablet in for charging. On a positive note, slides are easy to change via the touchscreen too. - I would like full size USB and HDMI ports because as of now I need to carry around a number of adapters - I'm worried I'll forget them one day or that the ports will one day wear out from use. - Under PC and devices -> Typing, Windows 8.1 includes options for Autocorrect, Hightlighting of misspelled words, text suggestions as you type, etc. but those don't seem to work for me. (Maybe they don't apply to the touchscreen keyboard, which sucks anyway because it doesn't automatically pop up when you click a text field (in desktop mode), nor does it automatically resize the application you are using when you trigger it up from the system tray). Other comments: - I find a mouse necessary for two reasons (1) it's more accurate than my fingers and given the small 8" screen the extra accuracy is needed, and (2) when I use multiple monitors, I have to be able to move the mouse cursor from the tablet screen over the edge to the external screen/projection - obviously impossible to do with your fingers. Of course you could just duplicate the screens, but even then I'd at least get the Acer Iconia stylus for extra accuracy when clicking menus.
