Help choosing a 2 in 1 for couch/bedroom browsing

[mike208]

I am the type that loves to research products before I buy them, but it seems with 2 in 1's there are so many and not so many roundups, that the ones there are all pick different ones as the best. I have yet to go see any of these in person, may do that today, only been reading about them online. I am currently using my wifes Sony Vaio 14 inch widescreen laptop, but its getting a little old.

As I said I am looking at 2 in 1's, I mainly want the laptop for web browsing on the couch, but would be nice to have the tablet for using occasionally in the bedroom. I get the convertibles will generally be heavier than a stand alone tablet, but for the most part I would probably have it laying on the bed beside me maybe propped on a pillow, not usually actively holding it up. That being said I am willing to consider a standard laptop if they are that much better for the money.

Money wise I think I am willing to go around $1000, but ultimately that is probably more than I need, so I am willing to look at more budget friendly models as well, as long as they are nice and will last me. I am perfectly capable of upgrading RAM and hard drive if the model allows it.

Size wise I feel like 11 inch minimum, 13 is probably about right, but as I plan to use it as mainly a laptop, I may be ok with a 15 inch as well, even though that will make for a huge tablet lol.

Some of the models I have heard good things about are the yoga 900, the HP spectre X360 and obviously the MS surface and surface book. I've also heard good things about the dell xps laptop(not 2 in 1) it actually seems to be one of the most liked laptops available from what I have seen and is 1 of the laptops I would consider in place of a 2 in 1, but the 2 in 1's do appeal to me. The dell 13 or 15 7000 series seem to be some of the better budget minded 2 in 1's, but 1 review I read of the 13 rated it good, but it had a lot of cons listed.

Again mainly using this for web browsing from the couch or bedroom. I am a tab-aholic, so I definitely want a machine that can keep up, I do have a desktop for more power hungry tasks, but as it hasn't been updated in a few years this new device I get may in fact be more powerful lol. I probably wouldn't be doing any major gaming on it, as I can always upgrade the desktop for that and I am more of a console gamer(like the idea of being able to stream xbox one to other windows 10 devices)

So any suggestions? I know I may not have given a ton of info, but I have to run out for a bit, can update later, just looking for some suggestions and opinions. Thanks

 

[Commodus]

If you're going to primarily use it as a laptop, I'd focus on laptops. The Yoga 900 would be my pick if the size is fine. The Surface Pro 4 would be good if you mainly use the laptop functionality on a desk, but not if you want that keyboard while you're sitting on the couch or resting in bed -- that's when you'd want a pure tablet mode.

 

[mike208]

If you're going to primarily use it as a laptop, I'd focus on laptops. The Yoga 900 would be my pick if the size is fine. The Surface Pro 4 would be good if you mainly use the laptop functionality on a desk, but not if you want that keyboard while you're sitting on the couch or resting in bed -- that's when you'd want a pure tablet mode.

When you say to focus on laptops do you mean laptops only or do you mean the not detachable kind like the yoga 900?

 

[giantpandaman2]

Surface Pro 3 or 4. Maybe even just a Surface 3 if you don't need the power.

For browsing + occasional typing there's really not much better. The magnetic charge cable is also nice for not worrying about getting it knocked off a table or a bed. They are going to be faaaaaar lighter and less awkward than most laptops when sitting in bed.

Surface Pro 3/4 have great lapability for couches and beds due to the infinite kickstand positions. They only really suck when in awkward places, IE sitting on a rock or stump. Besides, if you're only browsing using it as a tablet is more comfortable.

 

[TeknoBug]

This was being discussed in another thread; Dell Inspiron 7000 (13" special edition edition too), HP Pavilion x360 or x2, and of course the Surface Pro 3 or 4.

Just for browsing an i3 4012Y or 4202Y at minimum is plenty enough but if you're going up to $1,000 then you can get an i5 ULV easily.

My wife has an Acer Aspire Switch 11 with the i3 4012Y, it's not exactly a 2-in-1 since it detaches as a tablet as well as flipping 360 degrees and it's quite good.

 

[mike208]

Surface Pro 3 or 4. Maybe even just a Surface 3 if you don't need the power.

For browsing + occasional typing there's really not much better. The magnetic charge cable is also nice for not worrying about getting it knocked off a table or a bed. They are going to be faaaaaar lighter and less awkward than most laptops when sitting in bed.

Surface Pro 3/4 have great lapability for couches and beds due to the infinite kickstand positions. They only really suck when in awkward places, IE sitting on a rock or stump. Besides, if you're only browsing using it as a tablet is more comfortable.

I really like the MS surface devices, but I have an ipad 2, and I found I rarely used it once my wife got her laptop(I kind of stole it). I feel like I would need the surface pro 4 for the bigger screen, I went and looked at some today and 11 inches seems small. The base model plus keyboard is pushing my budget, is it worth it? I was also worried about lapability with them, you have used one I take it?

This was being discussed in another thread; Dell Inspiron 7000 (13" special edition edition too), HP Pavilion x360 or x2, and of course the Surface Pro 3 or 4.

Just for browsing an i3 4012Y or 4202Y at minimum is plenty enough but if you're going up to $1,000 then you can get an i5 ULV easily.

My wife has an Acer Aspire Switch 11 with the i3 4012Y, it's not exactly a 2-in-1 since it detaches as a tablet as well as flipping 360 degrees and it's quite good.

Yeah I saw that post and posted in it I believe. But that user seemed to have ended his search I think, and he had a more specific need. I will take a look at some of those more closely. I probably need to do some more research on the various processors. My wifes laptop has a core i3, but as I said it is 4+ years old I believe. I see some of these have core m, some have 5th or 6th gen core iX. My understanding is 5th gen is more low power for laptops and 6th gen is better performance, not sure how they compare to the core m but I assume they are also good for low power consumption.

 

[mike208]

This was being discussed in another thread; Dell Inspiron 7000 (13" special edition edition too), HP Pavilion x360 or x2, and of course the Surface Pro 3 or 4.

Just for browsing an i3 4012Y or 4202Y at minimum is plenty enough but if you're going up to $1,000 then you can get an i5 ULV easily.

My wife has an Acer Aspire Switch 11 with the i3 4012Y, it's not exactly a 2-in-1 since it detaches as a tablet as well as flipping 360 degrees and it's quite good.

Haha, just realized that was actually your post. I figured mine was different enough to start but after looking at the devices today, I think an 11 inch would be too small for me, and while I would like a bigger display for use as a laptop a 15.6" makes for a huge tablet. I'd really have to try that(more than I could in the store) to see if it would work for me.

 

[Commodus]

When you say to focus on laptops do you mean laptops only or do you mean the not detachable kind like the yoga 900?

The Yoga 900 and other convertible laptops are fine. It's more the detachables that you have to worry about.

 

[giantpandaman2]

I really like the MS surface devices, but I have an ipad 2, and I found I rarely used it once my wife got her laptop(I kind of stole it). I feel like I would need the surface pro 4 for the bigger screen, I went and looked at some today and 11 inches seems small. The base model plus keyboard is pushing my budget, is it worth it? I was also worried about lapability with them, you have used one I take it?

You really can't compare an iPad to a Surface Pro. The Surfaces are just far more useful and productive, not to mention they are full blown computing devices. Like I said, they work fine on laps. They just aren't very good when you are at awkward angles, ie outdoors.

As for screen size, that's understandable. Of course quality of the screen is also important. The largest negative on the Yoga is the poor contrast ratio on their screens. Mobile Tech Review has pretty good breakdowns on the advantages and disadvantages of each laptop. Given your needs, you may even want to step to a lower tier of product, as you don't really need the portability and lightness of the more expensive laptops that you've mentioned. Just be sure to get a screen and a keyboard you can live with.

Do you really need a 2 in 1? Touchscreens are great and all, but the added cost doesn't seem worth it given your demands. The 12.5" screen on my SB is about as big as I'd ever want on a tablet, and I write on it all the time. Any bigger and it just gets awkward unless I'm at a desk. Since you're thinking 13" or bigger...not the most usable as a touchscreen.

 

[mike208]

You really can't compare an iPad to a Surface Pro. The Surfaces are just far more useful and productive, not to mention they are full blown computing devices. Like I said, they work fine on laps. They just aren't very good when you are at awkward angles, ie outdoors.

As for screen size, that's understandable. Of course quality of the screen is also important. The largest negative on the Yoga is the poor contrast ratio on their screens. Mobile Tech Review has pretty good breakdowns on the advantages and disadvantages of each laptop. Given your needs, you may even want to step to a lower tier of product, as you don't really need the portability and lightness of the more expensive laptops that you've mentioned. Just be sure to get a screen and a keyboard you can live with.

Do you really need a 2 in 1? Touchscreens are great and all, but the added cost doesn't seem worth it given your demands. The 12.5" screen on my SB is about as big as I'd ever want on a tablet, and I write on it all the time. Any bigger and it just gets awkward unless I'm at a desk. Since you're thinking 13" or bigger...not the most usable as a touchscreen.

I wasn't exactly comparing the ipad to the surface, I get that especially compared to the older ipad the surface does a whole lot more. What I was saying is that I found I preferred the laptop with keyboard to the tablet. My use for the tablet would be more for in bed where I would likely have it propped on pillow. I currently can sue my laptop in bed, just figured the tablet would save some space. But I agree the 15.6 inch models do seem big for a tablet, definitely not something I would want to hold like a tablet, but I don't usually use a tablet like that so it may still work. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but it doesn't seem like 2 in 1's are a huge cost over a standard laptop, I will investigate further(I do really like the infinity displays on the new dell laptops). I definitely don't really need the battery life or portability, which is why I was trying to find out if that was the main difference in the more expensive models. The only exception would be if using it as a tablet, obviously lighter and thinner is better. Because of the way best buy locks them down it was hard to get a feel for how they would feel in tablet mode. Not to mention those dang employees that just won't leave you alone, lol.

I will check out mobile tech review. Thanks!


Edit:
Here is what I am seeing in quick searches, please correct me if I am wrong or missing something. Granted I am comparing 2 different brands and 1 is on sale, but this seemed to be one of the closest comparisons I could find and some times its hard to sort through one manufacturers 50 different models lol, why do they need so many.

Dell XPS 13 with 6th gen i5 6200U, 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD for $899 after $50 off for a sale
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-xps-13-3-laptop-intel-core-i5-4gb-memory-128gb-solid-state-drive-silver/4550900.p?id=1219765890607&skuId=4550900

HP Spectre X360 2 in 1 with 6th gen i5 6200U(same as above), 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD for $899 after $100 off for a sale
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-spectre-x360-2-in-1-13-3-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-256gb-solid-state-drive-natural-silver/4334200.p?id=1219732370998&skuId=4334200

So the HP is normally $50 more, but in this case not only is it a 2 in 1, but it has twice the ram and hard drive space. Even assuming the ram and hard drive were the same, I think a 50 dollar premium for the 2 in 1 is probably worth it(unless I am sacrificing something in the process, if so let me know). The dell is slightly lighter at 2.8 pounds compared to the HP at 3.17. I will try to compare like manufacturers as well and see if there is a big price difference there. Looks like HP doesn't have a comparable non 2 in 1 13.3 inch model on best buys site, will have to check another manufacturer. I may have to venture off of best buy for my research lol, hard to compare the dells as well. Best I could find was an XPS 13 with i7, 8GB and 256GB for $1349 vs an Inspiron 13 7000 series with the same specs(i7, 8GB and 256GB) for $899. Obviously you are paying a premium for the better build quality and smaller size and weight on the XPS, but I'm still not seeing a huge premium for the 2 in 1 functionality.

 

[mike208]

Another quick question, how important is USB C, especially on a laptop? I don't currently own any USB C devices, don't know much about it at all, but not sure if that will change in a year or 2.

 

[giantpandaman2]

Another quick question, how important is USB C, especially on a laptop? I don't currently own any USB C devices, don't know much about it at all, but not sure if that will change in a year or 2.

If you were a business or power user, fairly important. For your needs? Likely not important at all.

You can get a decent non-touch laptop for around $600. The big negative is that it's hard to find one with an SSD or a good screen.

The HP Spectre x360 has a great price. Too bad their trackpad drove me nuts. I also don't trust HP. Maybe they've fixed their build issues on their consumer PC's, but it'll take me many many more generations of product before I'd be willing to try them. Overheating, breaking just after the warranty ends, etc.

 

[mike208]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/compare?skus=4503200,4503300&productString=1219755708588*1219755698811&url=%2Fsite%2Fsearchpage.jsp%3FbrowsedCategory%3Dpcmcat247400050000%26cp%3D1%26id%3Dpcat17071%26nrp%3D25%26qp%3Dfeatures_facet%253DFeatures~2-in-1%2520Design%255Esoldby_facet%253DSold%2520By~Best%2520Buy%255Ebrand_facet%253DBrand~Acer%26sc%3DGlobal%26searchVariant%3DA%26sp%3D-currentprice%2520skuidsaas%26st%3Dcategoryid%2524pcmcat247400050000%26type%3Dpage%26usc%3DAll%2520Categories%26seeAll%3D

Is the only difference between these 2 models the processor and SSD size? Best buys site suggests there may be some port differences saying the i7 has an ethernet and 1 fewer USB port, but the acer website lists an ethernet port on both, 1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 and a USB C. Is it safe to say the bump to i7 and double the storage probably isn't worth the extra $130? I can manage with 256GB of storage for sure, and a few hundred MHz and extra cache on the processor doesn't seem like much

 

[mike208]

I'm leaning towards this one, still need to go see it in person. But it seems like a good price for the specs. A good medium size, what do you think?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-aspire-r14-2-in-1-14-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/4503300.p?id=1219755698811&skuId=4503300

 

[giantpandaman2]

I'm leaning towards this one, still need to go see it in person. But it seems like a good price for the specs. A good medium size, what do you think?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-aspire-r14-2-in-1-14-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-256gb-solid-state-drive-black/4503300.p?id=1219755698811&skuId=4503300

Should be fine. I don't know about Acer's reliability anymore. I just haven't kept up to date.

 

[mike208]

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Surface-Pro-3/productID.300190600

Man this looks like a good deal, just wish it had 8GB of RAM

 

[TeknoBug]

Should be fine. I don't know about Acer's reliability anymore. I just haven't kept up to date.

Acer makes junk consumer laptops but their 2-in-1 are actually pretty good.

 

[mike208]

Acer makes junk consumer laptops but their 2-in-1 are actually pretty good.

Yeah I wasn't even considering them, but I saw you said your wife had one so I figured it couldn't hurt to look and that one has good specs, metal body and a decent price for it all, not to mention USB C, which I don't have a need for now but better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. Not a lot of professional reviews for it, biggest knock seems to be dim screen. But they do get good reviews on BestBuy.

Hoping to finally get a look at it today.

 

[jhansman]

Spent a half hour browsing notebooks in Best Buy last night, and left with my head spinning. Sooooo many choices now, and the price range is crazy. The Lenovo Yoga series is a really interesting device if you want the 2in1 option; I didn't and opted for their U series notebook (some good deals on their site right now), but was very impressed with the Yoga models.

 

[mike208]

Spent a half hour browsing notebooks in Best Buy last night, and left with my head spinning. Sooooo many choices now, and the price range is crazy. The Lenovo Yoga series is a really interesting device if you want the 2in1 option; I didn't and opted for their U series notebook (some good deals on their site right now), but was very impressed with the Yoga models.

I ended up getting the acer aspire R14 2 in 1. Its supposed to be a christmas present, so the wife hasn't let me play with it much, but I like it so far. 4.19 pounds is heavier than I expected, which almost makes me regret not just going for the 15.6 inch models, but there is nothing close to the specs of this laptop for the same price. You can match the CPU and ram, but almost all of them have spindle hard drives rather than SSD's.

1 thing that bothers me is that this laptop has dual microphones and acer pure voice technology which is supposed to eliminate background noise in the microphone, yet I can only get "Hey Cortana" to function when my TV is at really low volumes. I was hoping for better in this department.

The screen looks great, some reviews said its dim, but it looked on par with what else I looked at in best buy(HP, Lenovo, Dell) and I have it on 40% I think for indoor use.

Hoping to put it through its paces a bit more this weekend.

 

[TeknoBug]

Yeah wife's Acer screen isn't dim at all, but it has a bit of a blueish hue so it's noticeable to me.

Probably need to adjust the mic settings.

 

[mike208]

Yeah wife's Acer screen isn't dim at all, but it has a bit of a blueish hue so it's noticeable to me.

Probably need to adjust the mic settings.

I didn't notice a blue hue on this screen. I will have to check the mic settings once I get to play with it again lol

 

[zinfamous]

I've been exceedingly happy with my SurfacePro4 for 3+ weeks now, primarily couch or bed and with the keyboard, though it does require some contortions and compromises to use in your lap.

The stand is great and you can adjust it to any angle and with the sturdiness of the new keyboard, it can work well in the lap. However, I prefer to use a separate case that I bought, which has it's own adjustable back (via velcro) to use as a prop. I worry that the hinge on the stand will wear down.

It's my first tablet and first laptop in some 5 or 6 years, so it all feels novel to me right now. It is a bit heavy in the hand as a tablet and possibly because I never found much use for tablets, I primarily use it as a laptop. Though the concept is growing on me.

Windows app store is currently very disappointing, however.

 

[giantpandaman2]

Windows app store is currently very disappointing, however.

Steam + Desktop apps for the win. That's what I use on my Surface Book anyway. The App store is just for stuff that I don't want to run in my browser. (Netflix/Syfy)

As soon as I see "bedroom browsing" I put the Surface Pros at the top of the list. No other laptop works as well as they do when lying back. My SB is just too big for that (though it works well on the couch).

 

[mike208]

Steam + Desktop apps for the win. That's what I use on my Surface Book anyway. The App store is just for stuff that I don't want to run in my browser. (Netflix/Syfy)

As soon as I see "bedroom browsing" I put the Surface Pros at the top of the list. No other laptop works as well as they do when lying back. My SB is just too big for that (though it works well on the couch).

Usually when I'm using my laptop in the bedroom I am laying on my side and have the laptop sitting on a body pillow. I rarely use it laying on my back with the laptop on my stomach style so the weight doesn't really bother me in the bedroom. And if need be I can fold it over to tablet to save room. I am sure I could have gotten away with a standard laptop, but again I didn't really see much of a price premium for the 2 in 1, so why not. I don't think a tablet would have suited my needs as well.

Now the next question is, my laptop came with a 50 dollar window store gift card. Should I use it on an xbox game or put it towards the microsoft work n play bundle to get office 365, xbox live both for a year and another 60 dollar gift card, plus the skype and assure which I doubt I will use.