Before upgrading my desktop to Windows 8, I thought it would be good to try it out on a small portable device. And, the only way to really test it would be on a touch screen. Two devices caught my eye: the Dell XPS 12 Convertible Ultrabook and Sony VAIO Duo 11 Ultrabook. Base models in each range are
- Intel® Core™ i5-3317U Processor 1.70 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.60 GHz,
- Full HD: 1920 x 1080
- 4GB Dual channel DDR3
- 128GB Solid State Drive
- Intel® HD Graphics 4000
- 11.6 inch screen (Sony), 12.5 inch screen (Dell)
- Windows 8 (64bit) – not the RT version
Both have a screen that flips from laptop to tablet mode. My $$$ were spent on the Sony machine (as seen on the desk on the channel 10 news – so thats why the Channel 10 app was so prominent in the store!!). It’s my intention to compare its abilities against the iPad. So far, there are a few things that the iPad does better
- Touch: The Sony might be a touch tablet, and have much the same touch gestures as the iPad, but many of the regular Windows applications aren’t touch aware (apps from the windows store are different) . It’s annoying when you can’t just spread the fingers to zoom in on such a small screen.
- I wasn’t able to get the Zinio reader to install on Win8
- iTunes had to be the full application – apps vs applications terminology will get messy
- IE-10 was friendlier than Chrome on Win8 (small screen and half-screen keyboard are annoying)
- Narrow portrait mode on Win8 wasn’t as nice as the screen proportions on the iPad. So far i think it’s too narrow.
I’ve only had the Win8 machine for a few days. Part 2 of my adventures will follow soon.