Experience using Windows tablets

Relationships with laptops did not work out, because I like it when the screen is far from the eyes, and putting a laptop and connecting an external keyboard and mouse to it seemed perverse to me, plus such a design would take up a lot of space on the table. If we talk about using it on the road, then, of course, the laptop has no competitors, but my need was to be able to work stationary and at the same time not to carry a system unit with monitors to other cities or places. I started exploring the Windows tablet market. The choice was small: in fact, there were only Asus Vivotab and Microsoft Surface. Asus has weak hardware and a slightly cut-down Windows, things were better with Microsoft, but the price was quite high. During the search, another tablet option from Gigabyte was found. The model was called S11M, according to the description it looked quite interesting, but it was not possible to find it on sale. And then I decided to see what was on Ebay. Fortunately, I found the Gigabyte S11M, but not quite ordinary, but in a corporate version. Some American company Transource slightly modified the devices for corporate use and sold them to various customers. From the modifications, as I understood it, there was a card reader built into the case, as well as a slightly more powerful processor and an active cooling system, because of this, the tablet was slightly thicker than the original. The seller on ebay stated that the devices were either refurbished or used, but all in working condition. The price was very attractive and I ordered it.

When the tablet arrived, it turned out that the charger was faulty. According to the parameters, I found a similar charger from Asus netbooks. The tablet itself was fully functional.

As a result, I got a tablet with the following specifications: CPU i5-4260U, RAM 8Gb, SSD 256Gb, Full HD IPS touchscreen display with a diagonal of 11.6 inches and a viewing angle of 178 degrees, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, front and rear cameras. There were also full-fledged USB, VGA, HDMI, and other ports. It ran on Windows 8.1 but updated to Windows 10 without any problems. The package also included a magnetic keyboard case. The tablet had an accelerometer sensor, which allowed the image to be rotated from landscape to portrait mode when flipped. If necessary, the screen orientation could be locked with a button on the case or in the OS settings. I really liked the optical sensor and mouse buttons on the case, which made it super convenient to use the tablet while holding it in my hands.

I did not use the standard keyboard, but at first glance it is quite good, plus it has backlighting. I bought an external mouse and keyboard, and despite the small screen, it was quite comfortable to use it at a remote distance. I mainly used it for everyday tasks and software development. The touch screen turned out to be a convenient thing in some usage scenarios. Using it in your hands, like a tablet without a keyboard and mouse, was helped by both the built-in Windows tools (automatic pop-up of the virtual keyboard when typing and enlarged UI elements) and the optical sensor with mouse buttons on the case. Under load, the fan was noticeably audible, but it did not cause any discomfort. The sound, although claimed to be very cool with Dolby Home Theater v4 technology, is quite quiet and seemed mediocre to me, it was easier to listen with headphones. The battery lasted for 3-4 hours, sometimes longer. I used it until mid-2023, while the OS was constantly updated, I installed various software and did not particularly care about its maintenance, but it worked just as quickly and clearly as on the first day. The computing power was quite enough for my tasks, the slowdown in work was manifested only when simultaneously running java applications, docker containers, and a locally deployed RabbitMQ. I had no complaints about the device, except that the back cover-stand was not fixed rigidly, and if you touched the table, the tablet could change the angle of inclination. Otherwise, it worked 200%.

I think many will consider it perverse to work on such a device, and even with such a small screen, but in my case, I rather got what I wanted.

In 2023, the tablet clearly showed battery degradation, and after six months without a power outlet, it lasted for 20-30 minutes of work at most, and it could suddenly turn off due to incorrect residual charge determination. The battery could be replaced, but by that time the Microsoft Surface Pro 9 had been released and I wanted to try it. The hardware in it is much more modern, the i7-1255U processor, RAM depending on the configuration can be chosen 8/16/32Gb, IPS LCD touchscreen with a diagonal of 13 inches and a resolution of 2880 x 1920, SSD 128/256/512/1024 Gb, plus type-c and Thunderbolt 4 ports. In general, there are two versions, one positioned for high performance, the other for mobility and high autonomy. And the second version differs by the presence of a 5G modem, as well as a different architecture based on the Microsoft SQ3 processor, made in collaboration with Qualcomm. Accordingly, not all software will be able to work on the second version.

Considered the i7 version, the price in the maximum configuration is generally inadequate, settled on the 16/256Gb version. I wanted 32Gb of RAM, but either it was only possible in the top configuration, or there were no options with a smaller SSD volume available for sale. Bought it in black, its appearance is, of course, bombastic. The tablet is light, thin (thinner than my mobile phone), stylish and elegant, the body is made of aluminum. Immediately replaced the SSD with a new one with a capacity of 1Tb.

Of course, after Gigabyte it's like switching from a domestic car industry to a good foreign car. The rear stand is very strong and tight, allows you to firmly fix the tablet, good and loud speaker sound, good autonomy, quiet cooler, high speed, bright and clear screen. Also bought a branded stylus, a cool thing, especially when you communicate with someone online, it's convenient to draw diagrams and so on. Surprisingly, it recognizes handwriting quite well, despite my handwriting. Plus, it conveniently magnetizes to the body.

You can find many more advantages, but there are still some disadvantages. The first is that there are only two USB Type-C ports. Of course, many things are now connected via wireless technologies, but nevertheless, if wired connections are needed, then most likely you cannot do without a USB hub or docking station. To connect the same external 4G modem, I had to buy a USB hub. For some reason, it was a bit uncomfortable for the eyes to work with it at first, but now it's fine. Under load, it heats up quite noticeably at the back in the processor area. If you connect an additional screen, then the fun begins. The fact is that the aspect ratio of the tablet screen is 3:2, and when a monitor with a 16:9 ratio is connected, it is not possible to align the image by height on the monitor and on the tablet, so there are some inconveniences if you use the second monitor as an extension of the first. Also, various branded accessories are indecently expensive.

In the end, I can say that Windows tablets are an interesting product with their own pros and cons, but they are quite niche and are unlikely to become mainstream. In terms of computing power, they are not inferior to laptops, if you do not take gaming laptops into account, and they are much more expensive than laptops of the same level. Personally, I like the tablet more than the laptop because it provides the same capabilities, only more compact and convenient for my usage scenarios.