Budget Tablet/laptop with portrait screen

[cellinis]

Hi,

This is my first post though I've been reading Tom's Hardware for a while now. I'm rather new when it comes to tablets, et al - living in the 20th century and everything!

I'm essentially looking for a laptop or a tablet that allows me to write. My current gripe is the horizontal screens. While they are fantastic for pretty much everything else, I do prefer to see my entire page(s) while I write and as such, I'm trying to find a laptop or a tablet with an external keyboard that can fulfill the function with the screen rotated 90° to a portrait screen.

My questions are as follows:

1. Are there any laptops in the market (max 800 Euros budget) that have the possibility of rotating the screen to a portrait mode?
2. Are there any tablets with keyboard docks that can be set up in a portrait mode?

I'm comfortable with both windows and android. Open Office or Microsoft Office, I don't have a particular preference.

Regards,

Cellinis

 

[velo3100]

If you can find it, a nexus 7 should do the job very well.

 

[cellinis]

Thank you, Velo.

A query about that: does it allow keyboard to be docked in a portrait mode and word processing via the keyboard in the same mode? And wouldn't the new Nexus 9 be equally efficient?

 

[jaguarskx]

Will you be doing a significant amount of writing? If so, then I recommend looking into a device with an active digitizer pen which is generally more accurate than using a capacitive pen. However, that does adds cost and there are fewer devices that has an active digitizer.

If you ever used a touch screen device, then you have been using a capacitive touch device. It is rather clunky compared to an active digitizer pen because capacitive pens are kinda like your finger, the end is a soft rounded rubber like material where as an active digitizer pen is like a pen which has a pointed tip. I read a comment which stated the Nexus 9 uses GPS for accurate handwriting recognition, but I have not seen any video review that demonstrated it.

As stated, devices with active digitizer pens are more expensive and you will have far fewer choices. Probably the least expensive tablet would be the Surface 3; pen and keyboard sold separately. The Surface 3 keyboard only attaches to the Surface 3 in landscape mode, but since it has it's own built-in battery and it is a bluetooth keyboard you do not have to attach it to the Surface 3 in order to use it. It also has backlight. That means you can use the keyboard while the Surface is in portrait mode; open the Surface 3's kickstand and then stand up the tablet in portrait mode (it will not be tilted back though), or buy a tablet stand for portrait mode (something extra that you will need to carry). Alternatively, you can buy a universal bluetooth keyboard that can be used with any bluetooth compatible device like the following Logitech Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard K480 (or similar product that is available in your country).

http/www.amazon.com/Logitech-Bluetooth-Multi-Device-Smartphones-920-006342/dp/B00MUTWLW4/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1441396506&sr=1-10&keywords=tablet+keyboard


The Nexus 9 will definitely cost less than a Surface 3, but the Surface 3 allows you to do more like run Windows compatible software. It also has a pretty good feature that records a lecture (audio only) while you are writing notes with pretty good playback features. The link below demonstrates that feature (among a few others); but whether that is useful for you or not is up to you.


https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEb573aGQpA


Perhaps the following article can help you out as well.

http/www.businessnewsdaily.com/7150-best-tablet-with-stylus.html


I definitely recommend you go to a store and try out different tablets before making a purchase.

 

[cellinis]

Thank you Jaguarskx.

Yes, I will be doing a significant amount of writing. My daily output is close to 8,000-10,000 words. As such, I never considered the stylus and my intention was to look for an external keyboard. I have been looking at both Surface 3 and Surface 3 Pro, but the keyboard is only docked in horizontal/landscape mode...

I live in France. And I must admit that the amount of knowledge the salespeople have at most stores leaves much to be desired For instance, I was told that it is impossible to use Surface in portrait mode for word processing. Thanks a ton! I think Surface 3 fits my needs the best, even if it is a bit on the higher end of my budget. But a good machine is worth the extra dough instead of beating your head every half an hour or so when the machine can't keep up with your thoughts!!

 

[jaguarskx]

Most salespeople do not really have much extensive knowledge about electronics. They only know information that is provided by promotional material though some may do their own research on the side, but I don't think they feel they are compensated enough to do research related to their job outside of work on their own time (i.e. not get paid).

Go into stores and try things out for yourself. Take a Surface 3 open the kickstand and stand it up on it's side, detach the keyboard and start typing away to get a feel for it. It will not be the ideal typing position since you will likely be standing up while testing out the Surface 3. That's also assuming the keyboard's battery has not been drained.

The best thing to do is to do your own research online; written reviews and/or video reviews.

Also keep in mind that it can take a while for the Surface 3 to recognize your handwriting. The sloppier it is, the more likely it will take longer for it to recognize your handwriting. It is pretty convenient feature, but not as fast as typing. I think really good typists (with a good keyboard) can type at least 100 words per minute. Here's a video of hand writing recognition on the Surface Pro 3, but it should be the same for the Surface 3.

https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsPrJ-EoX10

 

[velo3100]

I am not sure if the keyboard works in portrait mode. And yes the nexus 9 would be as efficient as the nexus 7.

Thank you, Velo.

A query about that: does it allow keyboard to be docked in a portrait mode and word processing via the keyboard in the same mode? And wouldn't the new Nexus 9 be equally efficient?

 

[Michael_S]

You can go for a cheaper tablet for this purpose, like the one I have recently bought, Spidotech Sleek W1.