want a new tablet/laptop with some special features

Surface Pro 3 ... a 12 in hi-res display..in a tablet form factor that retails for around $800. Versatile in many portable as well as at-home functions. I've seen nothing else that functional that's worth mentioning of significance. I know it'll drop in price in a little while - they always do; however, I don't know how much it'll drop.

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/products/surface-pro-3

IMHO, it is selling for more money than I think is reasonable but in it's defense it has a pretty durable frame. It has USB and a good 5mb camera..as well as 1080 HD capability.

Oh yes, it comes with an aluminum pen so you can write with/on it....verrry interesting. And you can MS Office..and, of course, Word.

If you need more first-hand info I can help you particulars via my brother-in-law who bought one 60 days ago. He uses it to do prof desktop publishing and publishes webpages with it.

I want to do notetaking at field sites and attach photos of the sites in the text. The usb is a "oops" that iPads seem to have just given up . It seems the ipad is just for fun,(BUT, they now have a 10mp camera.
I don't know whether Id notice too much if I don't blow the pix up too much,

"Thanks, may the Good Lord take a likin to ya and blow you up real soon "-John Candy

I'm a recent convert to the Samsung Galaxy way of life.

I'd suggest talking to a serious techie about their tablets - I've heard very good things from some of our IT guys about them.

yeh ,that 800$ "Starts at" price, does NOT include the external keyboard that's another 149 bucks, so were already pushing a grand and theres probably other things it forgot.

I do a lot of skyping does your brother have anything to say about that feature?

Further expert technical review by CNet is here.:
http://www.cnet.com/products/microsoft-surface-pro-3/

The useful difference between a blown-up print using the 5mp camera on Surface 3...vs any other device in this category is hardly worthy of consideration, IMHO. I know of nothing else to compare. This device really has the niche in this market based on the features/requirements you've listed.

My brother-in-law does not use Skype. However, based on it's 4G technology, as long as you have a decent Wi-Fi Internet connection, there should be no problem with Skyping at all. That is a function of bandwidth and decent quality vidcam, which this device has ...if you recall the device has 1080 HD capability.

As for the price, there's nothing else in the market that competes with these features. I'm looking at the Samsung products and will report back on my superficial assessment.

In the meanwhile, here's CNet Technical Review of Samsung Galaxy Note Pro ($650 on a discount)
http://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-galaxy-note-pro-32gb-wi-fi-black/

{edit: I see a potential gotchya that might affect you. It uses Android 4.4 OS vs Win 8 of Surface 3, is reviewed as 'laggy' ... etc.}

I'd advise looking at the link I provided to CNet review of Surface 3..and notice the pros/cons commentary. FWIW, this runs the new MS Win 8 OS.

In reading the reviews further, that Samsung device need a bunch of $$$ add-ons which makes the final comparative price soar well over the $650-$700 mark. Whereas Surface 3 is highly functional more of a workstation device. Whether or not the Surface 3 is overkill for your needs is your call.

Furthermore, if you are to compare it to any existing Android 4.4 OS device, it wins comparison. However having a serious tablet/workstation the runs on MS Win 8 and does so running smoothly puts it in a different performance category and mitigates the higher price range.

P.S. : They claim it runs 9 hr (?) on battery in Internet browsing mode.

We had some severe storms lst evening ND WE LOST POWER and I am hving the generator "summarized" . So we went without power for several hours.

Thanks for your interest in this topic and it looks like the decision has yet to be made because the iPad air is an attempt to "re establish' gizmo priority .

Glad I was of help. Good to see you back online. Lots of people I know got blasted by summer storms. My good friends in Albany NY got slammed, too. We had a real scorcher...even for us...but with clear skies.

Sorry, I'm unclear...does that mean iPad Air is being considered for purchase?If that's the case, I'm not sure how it fits based on how you said your usage will be.

me neither. If it has no USBs then its out. I don't know why iPad has never put USBs on their unit. everything has to be done via internet

An odd (unknown) peculiarity of Apple marketing and/or engineering dep't. It couldn't be to force loyal Apple buyers up the chain of products, could it? Now that'd be dumb.

I always wish to use Apple, and the new arrival lap from apple is "Apple MacBook Pro" i am planning to buy this laptop.

The ipads don't come with usb ports for quick connects to data sources (like seismographs or transducers)

Use Tablet or laptop of Dell and Sony in which you will be getting new features to work

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