Originally Posted by
Fundulopanchax
I have a Microsoft Surface RT (not available any longer) a Surface Pro 3, a Samsung Galaxy 5 Pro, an HP laptop/tablet, and Apple iPad air 2. Among them, The iPad air is a pleasure to use as it is lighter than a feather and has excellent screen and so forth. If only it had Windows (the real Achilles Heel of Apple machines) and USB port it would be perfect. The need for a special WiFi external hard drive (I use many 250 - 500 MB files so they cannot be emailed) is a pain in the sense that I have to load it using my real (PC) computer so it adds an extra step. But... the iPad Air 2 is an amazing experience.
I use my Surface RT a lot for mobile presentations since it has Office and is quite light. I had hoped the Surface Pro would be a true laptop but I dont like the keyboard much better than the Surface RT keyboard and I really hate the prop stand, it is never at a perfect angle. I have several colleagues who use Surface Pro as their only laptop - yikes, I would commit suicide!
The Samsung Galaxy tablet is extremely nice, with a finish near that of the ipad (I also use Galaxy smart phones and the tablet is much like a large one). The problem with Android tablets is that they do not have office and they do not support many of the software programs that I use with the ipad. I do take it on airplanes a lot since it is very comfortable for web browsing and book reading. Actually the iPad is even better for book reading, I have never used anything better.
The HP laptop/tablet - I forget the model, it is the one where the screen pivots to a tablet, is my favorite laptop of all time. I have had it for 3 years and have dropped it several times but it always works and the pivot mechanism seems to be indestructable. It came with Windows 8 which is not one of Microsoft's better products but I changed to Windows 10 when it became available, a much, much better platform. However, I got it at the time because I hoped it would be a "better Surface." However, in tablet mode, it weighs a ton (it is actually very light but very much too heavy to hold for a long time) so I have probably used it in tablet mode less than an hour over the 3 years I have had it. It is an awesome laptop, however.
I have taken a close look at the iPad Pro. It is pretty cool but the screen is just too darn big for me to consider as a replacement for the Air2. I can certainly understand people becoming very attached to them though.
So, what do I recommend? Even with its shortcomings noted above, the iPad Air2 is always a joy to use and both it and the Galaxy Tablet are joys to behold. Comparing them to cars, the Air2 is an Audi A7, the Galaxy Tablet a Ford Fusion (mine has 132,000 miles on it now, has never been in the shop and still gets about 40 miles per gallon - it is not even a hybrid, so I am not criticizing the Galaxy at all!), and the Surfaces are both like my 1995 Jeep Cherokee (it has 280,000 miles on it). They are workhorses but rather crude. In car terms my Surface RT must have close to 280,000 miles on it. I bought it about 2 weeks after Surface was introduced.
Ron