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As s*ds law would have it my aging laptop and tablet have both died so I need to replace them.
Having had a quick look online I have been blinded by science and am no clearer as to what I want. Would the great hive mind be able to once again save the day and suggest something suitable?
My current laptop needs are pretty much purely for editing photos & copying cd’s both of which are transferred over to my NAS. And route planning on Ordnance survey or Viewranger.
My tablet was used for browsing the internet, games (non intensive / app based) sketching, occasional films, maps and route setting (not as detailed as the laptop) and everyday convenience.
I was wondering if I actually need a laptop AND a tablet to be able to all of these things. I know I’m not a technical user so don’t need a massive powerhouse of a machine but I don’t think a tablet would suffice when it comes to proper file management and trying to work through thousands of photos etc.
I’m looking for something with the power of a laptop but the efficiency of a tablet (instant on / opening of apps) and in an ideal world would still have a pen so that I can draw when the mood strikes.
All of my peripherals have been set up with Windows so if an Apple product was the most suitable for my needs would this cause a major headache?
I’ve a maximum budget of £1,000 but obviously would be happy to have some change left over.
If anyone has any ideas or has something that fits the bill and can provide feedback that would be great.
Thanks 4130
Surface is what automatically springs to mind, but you would need an external cd/dvd drive.
The pen/drawing/sketching experience is the best on the market so I`m told.
Surface..... It just does everything well even our Apple Fanboy tech director is converted
Thanks, i did see the Surface and that was kind of what got me thinking along the lines of a single machine. but the basic one (m3 over i5) still pips a grand once you buy the additional keyboard and pen. and would the m3 processor be up to the task when editing photos etc?
Bump - Any thoughts from the day time crowd?
I have a Surface for work - it's the bigger, more powerful one, Burnie been very impressed with it.
My iPad is basically redundant now. Appreciate at nearly £2k it's not exactly cheap, but if I had to buy my own, I think the lower spec one would be fine.
A £1000 budget is going to mean you'll to compromise, either with the low end Surface and put up with it being slow for photo-editing or possibly look at a desktop + tablet combo (although even then you'd struggle to get a desktop with a decent screen + a decent tablet for under £1k). I guess it depends on how much photo-editing you do and what sort of editing is it as that's the part of your requirements that make the £1k budget an issue.
Cheers Hob, so do you think the M3 processor will be sufficient for photo editing?
Cheers Fuzzy, for the most part the photo editing is cataloging a few 1000 photos and touching up / fixing where required. nothing too intensive but i don't want the speed of the computer to put me off working through them.
i don't want a dedicated desktop, i'd rather a laptop so i can work wherever. i don't mind a bit of compromise as i know if i was to buy a separate laptop and tablet i'd be well over budget and would have to compromise anyway.
thanks
I have a Surface Pro, an iPad Pro and a Macbook Pro. The Surface is a work issue and the two apple products are my own personal items. I mention this only because it means I've got experience of using all three.
I use the Macbook Pro for photo editing, managing a website, writing, etc but all of it is personal use. I use the iPad pro for both work and personal use, including extensive note taking in client meetings etc. I use the Surface for work - email, PP, Word, Salesforce etc.
I would suggest that while it's possible to use just a tablet for the things you're describing, it's far from ideal and would be a very frustating user experience.
I have used my Surface (it's the i7 model) for photo editing in Capture One (which is ostensibly a Light Room equivalent) but it's a pain and I hate it. the screen is too small and the machine is just too slow to effective with 20mb+ files.
I also never use the Surface as a tablet; the pen user interface is dreadful even before you compare it to the iPad pro. I also loath the Surface for its fickleness; it randomly discharges the battery when it should be in sleep mode, it forgets the external monitor settings, it frequently just turns itself off and needs a hard reset to restart. It's a pain. It looks lovely, but it's form over function.
The iPad pro is better in many ways but it is still just a tablet and that's it's limitation. The Surface is a pretty good lap top but a rubbish tablet; the iPad Pro is a brilliant tablet, but not remotely a laptop.
If you're tied to doing anything like reasonable photo editing, I think you need a laptop. You can do it also in LR on the iPad pro, but I also suspect that the experience of this would, like the Surface, be deeply frustrating even with the larger 12.9" screen.
I don't know how current they are but you might consider the Macbook Air or Macbook as a reasonable compromise at your budget or alternatively buy a second hand laptop.