Buying Windows 8 laptops and tablets

Above: Steve Makris appears on the Sunday, August 25, 2013 edition of the Global Edmonton Morning News.

It’s back to school time and those faced with buying a new computer are surely scratching their heads over the dozens of Windows computer choices. Compared to Apple’s simple decision between a couple of consumer laptops and a desktop, buying a Windows 8 PC is a daunting experience.

Why? Because since the Windows 8 OS launched last year there are so many price points and different models, especially those newer contorted tablet/laptop “hybrid” designs.

Despite the wide choices and price points, you will still get what you pay for. Here is the skinny on how Windows 8 computers, especially laptops, are priced.

PROCESSOR POWER

-The better the CPU processor, the computers heart and muscle, the more you pay. Intel and to a lesser extent AMD have several levels of CPU models based on performance. Some, like the Intel Pentium CPU found in laptops costing only several hundred bucks, are slow, make your laptop hot and drain batteries faster. The newest 4^th Generation Intel Core CPUs are much faster, power efficient and run at lower temperatures, more than doubling the laptop cost to over $800. They come in three performance levels, i3, i5 and i7, each adding more smarts and variable speed when needed.  AMD CPUs comparable to Intel models lower the cost of a laptop by about $100 with a slightly slower performance for office work, media any Windows 8 program, the average consumer won’t notice.

I should note the newest low cost and battery efficient Atom CPU showing up in 8-inch Windows 8 screens is economical and efficient but low on power.  And the NVIDIA ARM processor found in cheaper Windows RT Tablets, running a special version of Windows 8 which includes Office, are fine but will not run older Windows apps.

SCREENS

-The laptop screens come in two versions. For under $800 they feature lower 1366×768 resolution, anyone can easily notice the screen dots, and look good from a limited angle looking straight on. If you are in an airplane or bus seat limiting how far back the lid on your laptop goes, you will have to put up with a whitish screen. The good news is that Windows 8 spurred much sharper and wider viewing laptop/tablet screens with “Full HD resolution” 1920X1080, similar to today’s HD TV screens. Those laptops start at over $800 and the one feature you would appreciate looking for is “IPS” capable, meaning the screen looks good viewed from any angle, including a lid that is angled closer to you in cramped quarters.

DESIGN

-Expect to pay a few hundred bucks for more exotic physical design and functionality of Windows 8 laptops. Add the best of these features above can drive the price of a top Windows 8 portable device past $1,400.

EXAMPLES

I would not recommend the sub $400 laptops. You are better off keeping your older laptop until you can afford decent laptops staring at $500.

-On the light and small side, the Acer Iconia W3, $400, including optional but needed and smartly designed larger keyboard (with a clever carrying slot for the smaller 8.1-inch Iconia runs on the new AtomTM Z2760 Processor with 8 hours of battery. It’s the smallest screen running the full Windows 8. It includes a MicroSD slot, 32 GB SSD drive, 2GB RAM. It’s great for casual office, internet and media use but will not properly run demanding programs like Photoshop.

As a comparison, the ASUS VivoTab 10.1 inch IPS screen, $499, also running on the Intel Atom chip, features more 64 GB storage, larger 8 MP auto focus rear camera and 2 MP front. The screen, the size of an iPad does not need optional keyboards, unless you want to free your screen when running a lot of open applications.

-For affordable decent laptops, The HP Split x2 $799 13.3-inch features a standard 1366×768 resolution touch screen. It is heavy but its removable screen which converts the Split x2 to a nice tablet, contains a second battery for exceptional on road performance. Further its Intel i3 Fourth Generation Processor performs twice as fast as the pricier and less featured standard clamshell touchscreen Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite $829 running on a Quad core AMD chip. The only advantage the Book 9 Lite has its considerably lighter.

-Moving in price and functionality, the smartly designed Microsoft Windows 5 Surface Pro, with 10.6-inch touchscreen starting at $800 with 64 GB memory and the Intel Third Generation i5 core processor, features full HD 1080p resolution. It easily outperforms the previous laptops and I would recommend the more realistic upgraded detachable keyboard $99.

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-For exotic looks and functionality, the similarly powered Dell XPS 12 Convertible Touch Ultrabook, $1,199.99 has a full HD 12-inch touchscreen that swivels around an outside frame to convert to a tablet slate or simply swivel partially to show the person sitting across from you a view.  Very, very, cool.