Work tablet - surface go? suggestions

Work tablet - surface go? suggestions

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joshcowin

Original Poster:

6,775 posts

175 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
We run Microsoft on PC's in the office.

I am after a device I can use on site (literal building site) to pick up emails, view PDF's do some very basic spread sheets etc ...

The surface go looks excellent for this anyone have any thoughts/ experiences on what work for them?

Any recommendations are welcome, I am not tech savvy or up to date at all!

sgrimshaw

7,311 posts

249 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Surface Go looks quite interesting, especially for exactly what you want it for.

Only on Pre-Order at the moment in the UK, and not due for release until 23rd August.

IMO the smaller of the two would be best avoided, only 64GB SSD and 4GB RAM.

As they are running Windows (and S would be best dumped at the earliest opportunity), a big chunk of that 64GB will be snaffled up by the OS.

That leaves the 128GB SSD / 8GB RAM model, which is £509.99 inc VAT.

Should you want the type cover, then you can add another £99.99 bringing it to £609.98 .... in either case it's a big chunk of cash for a 10" Tablet.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the MS Surface products, but in that arena I think I'd be tempted to look elsewhere.

For your intended use, is having a Windows Tablet a "must have" ?

On the other hand, if it's a company purchase .... I bet it'll be a nice piece of kit wink




sjg

7,444 posts

264 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
quotequote all
Lower one is also (slower) eMMC storage, higher spec gets SSD - worthwhile IMO.

There's meant to be LTE versions coming (so you can put a data SIM in and use that to connect, no dongles/MiFi/phone-tethering nonsense) which would be very appealing for that sort of mobile use case.

Lucas Ayde

3,541 posts

167 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
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I really like the look of the Surface Go - not sure when it will be released in the UK though as the US releases first and is the start of August.

The only thing is that by the time you add the keyboard cover and go for the 8gig/128SSD model (the 4gig model only has eMMC memory for storage, not nearly as fast as a proper SSD) you are probably looking at £650 or more which would get you a very nice dedicated laptop.

HRL

3,329 posts

218 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
I was going to get one for the kids until I saw it had the modern day equivalent of a Celeron CPU.

That put me right off. frown

Only Surface's worth getting are the Pro and the decent models are upwards of 1.5K.

P924

1,272 posts

181 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
thats the problem. Headline price is nice, but pretty much irrelevant, specs are too low, and you still need to add a keyboard.

Lucas Ayde

3,541 posts

167 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
HRL said:
I was going to get one for the kids until I saw it had the modern day equivalent of a Celeron CPU.

That put me right off. frown

Only Surface's worth getting are the Pro and the decent models are upwards of 1.5K.
The CPU architecture in the Go is much closer to a Core m3. Yes, it is slightly cut down like the original Celerons were but much better than the previous 'cheap' mobile option that was the Atom.

According to tech sites, it has about 2x the CPU performance and 2.5x the GPU performance of the Atom based chip used in the Surface 3 and TBH that one was fine for most basic office and internet tasks anyway.

That said, if ultimate price/performance ratio is what you are after just look at regular laptops.

joshcowin

Original Poster:

6,775 posts

175 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
Laptop is not an option. I want a tablet with a detachable keyboard.

I would be looking at and replying to emails, viewing pdf’s (not altering or creating them), keeping a spreadsheet updated and creating basic spreadsheets. Would the speed of the basic surface go really be noticeable.

I would pair it to my phone for data.

It would be used maybe 3-4 half days a week maximum!

Money wise I don’t want to waste money, but I want a devise that will last.

If am i pad is a better option I will go for that!

Thanks so far for the detailed replies it is appreciated!

zedx19

2,704 posts

139 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
Ipad or Android tablet will do all that, sounds like that's more what you need? I have an Android tablet I use for meeting minutes, emails, drawing reviews, spreadsheets etc and I also work in Construction. I have a Huawei Mediapad M5 which I picked up for £260 off ebay, brand new. You can get keyboard cases but I find the onscreen keyboard works fine for my needs. I did buy a stylus to use with it to mark up drawings, work great. You can get the Pro version of the Media M5 which comes with a dockable keyboard and pen, but it's quite pricey still.

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
Personally I wouldn't be too bothered about the processor but 8GB Ram is a big improvement even for pretty basic office stuff.


joshcowin

Original Poster:

6,775 posts

175 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
zedx19 said:
Ipad or Android tablet will do all that, sounds like that's more what you need? I have an Android tablet I use for meeting minutes, emails, drawing reviews, spreadsheets etc and I also work in Construction. I have a Huawei Mediapad M5 which I picked up for £260 off ebay, brand new. You can get keyboard cases but I find the onscreen keyboard works fine for my needs. I did buy a stylus to use with it to mark up drawings, work great. You can get the Pro version of the Media M5 which comes with a dockable keyboard and pen, but it's quite pricey still.
Great, thanks for the specific recommendation!

Sounds like we would be using it for the same purpose!



joshcowin

Original Poster:

6,775 posts

175 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
desolate said:
Personally I wouldn't be too bothered about the processor but 8GB Ram is a big improvement even for pretty basic office stuff.
Would I see the difference between 8 and 16 when all I’m doing is switching between email (outlook) and excel?

I have no tech knowledge and at present use an iPad for personal use but want something sperate for work!

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
joshcowin said:
Would I see the difference between 8 and 16 when all I’m doing is switching between email (outlook) and excel?

I have no tech knowledge and at present use an iPad for personal use but want something sperate for work!
Possibly.
8gb with an SSD is definitely snappy enough for office tasks including some pretty large excel workbooks.
4gb is noticeably less so.

16gb will definitely be better.

We are now pretty much all in on office 365 so the limiting factor is any internet connection - I now don't use any product for work reasons that isn't 365 and I have to say the experience is pretty seemless be it on laptop or (android) mobile.


edited to add: my requirements are very much common or garden stuff so even the large spreadsheets aren't massively complex, even if they have a lot of entries.

joshcowin

Original Poster:

6,775 posts

175 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
desolate said:
joshcowin said:
Would I see the difference between 8 and 16 when all I’m doing is switching between email (outlook) and excel?

I have no tech knowledge and at present use an iPad for personal use but want something sperate for work!
Possibly.
8gb with an SSD is definitely snappy enough for office tasks including some pretty large excel workbooks.
4gb is noticeably less so.

16gb will definitely be better.

We are now pretty much all in on office 365 so the limiting factor is any internet connection - I now don't use any product for work reasons that isn't 365 and I have to say the experience is pretty seemless be it on laptop or (android) mobile.


edited to add: my requirements are very much common or garden stuff so even the large spreadsheets aren't massively complex, even if they have a lot of entries.
Great info, also office 365 here I believe!

The excel sheets are extremely basic, and usually (99%) on one sheet! Basically a small family firm with no excel training who use excel as it lays out information in an easy to read and alter format!

joshcowin

Original Poster:

6,775 posts

175 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
So looks like I can get a decent deal on the 2017 version of the surface pro 12.3 inch.

Is it worth getting?

sgrimshaw

7,311 posts

249 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
joshcowin said:
So looks like I can get a decent deal on the 2017 version of the surface pro 12.3 inch.

Is it worth getting?
Define decent deal ....

... regardless, the Surface Pro is the latest incarnation of the surface device and to answer the question ... "Yes, it is worth getting."

Watch the spec and the options though ... adding the type cover and pen will add £225 - £250 to the basic tablet cost.

From your description of your planned usage, it's probably overkill, but in a very nice way biggrin

stewies_minion

1,165 posts

186 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
joshcowin said:
So looks like I can get a decent deal on the 2017 version of the surface pro 12.3 inch.

Is it worth getting?
Almost certainly. Hope you enjoy it.

I have the i5 4gb 128gb & it's good as gold.

joshcowin

Original Poster:

6,775 posts

175 months

Saturday 21st July 2018
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Got it for about £650 with keypad, I didn’t want the pen.

Thanks for everyone on here who helped, looked at a few different ones but for the money the surface seemed a no brainier!