I travel quite a bit teaching classes, humping my 11" laptop and a projector in a messenger bag. I’d like to leave the laptop behind and start using a tablet, primarily to reduce weight. Many of my classes have PPT presentations that use animation or timers (for practice quizzes). Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find an Android app that presents them correctly, so I’m resigned to using Windows 10. (I already have licenses for Office, so that is not an issue.)
What I’m looking for is a Windows 10 tablet, probably with a screen 8" to 11". Battery life is not an issue…the unit will be plugged in and charging all day as I use it. Screen resolution is not really an issue either, as I normally extend the desktop to the projector (or customer-provided video monitor) at its optimum resolution. And a keyboard is really not necessary either, since I’m basically just starting a PPT and running it. (Having a keyboard I can use would be nice, but I’d probably just leave it in the hotel room. I can always add a BT keyboard.) Even wifi performance is not a big deal…I normally turn it off during class.
What the tablet DOES need is a video output (I prefer a mini DisplayPort, but mini or micro HDMI will work), Bluetooth (for mouse and presenter), and a TF slot so I can load the teaching files. I’d also like to have two USB ports, or a way to have at least one USB port available while the unit is charging. Obviously, it needs to be reliable, but performance is not very important, since I’m just going to be running PPT presentations, not gaming or editing videos.
I’ve looked at the cheap (NuVision, Chuwi, Dragon Touch, Fusion5) and the not-so-cheap. A MS Surface would work great, but they’re expensive. ASUS, Lenovo, and Dell also have some nice units, but they seem like over-kill. I literally want something that will give me a year or two of service for less than $250.
So you don’t need battery power or keyboard, and you’ll only be using it with a projector? How about an Intel Compute Stick? It doesn’t have DisplayPort, just a regular HDMI port, but that should work with most projectors. It doesn’t have an SD card slot, but it does have two USB ports so you can use a USB flash drive instead.
That’s an interesting suggestion. I’ll have to take a look at them in detail to make sure that they would work for my PPTs. The only drawback I see is that it doesn’t allow me to have two desktops (one extended to the projector). I sort of like being able to queue up quizzes and presentations without the students seeing them until i want them to. It’s certainly lightweight enough.
Thanks!
Still open for other suggestions. Anyone buy a cheap 8" or 10" tablet and find satisfaction?
Actually, according to the first “answered question” on the listing, it does have a micro-SD slot. That plus a plain-SD converter ought to allow reasonable transfer.
My question on these very-low-power PCs is always ‘what’s the perfomance like?’ I bought a <$200 laptop once right around the time Windows 10 came out. From power on until the desktop was available took eighteen minutes every time. The initial “setup” boot took something like four hours. It was useless.
I always recommend buying from the Microsoft Store (or online). These all come with a good MS Store warranty, and more importantly with an optimized image that is free of all the try and buy crapware out there.
Just looked and I’m not seeing any low priced Windows tablets either on the store or elsewhere
Microsoft Surface Go at $349 might be out of your price range but is a pretty nice unit. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/surface-go/8v9dp4lnknsz/l8m8?activetab=pivot%3Aoverviewtab
Note: it comes with the locked down windows 10S (S for student) version of the software, which means you can only add windows store apps. That said, you can upgrade to the Windows Pro version and then manage it any way you’d like.
Intel Compute Stick is pretty specialized. Generally, it is designed to plug in once and then use it thereafter. For example, plug into the back of a TV to make it a “smart” TV. It’s not really designed to plug in and out of multiple devices every day. It is very low powered and minimum spec’d for every thing by design (as it’s designed to be small and portable). My feeling is you’ll find this and other mini PC’s too limited.
The Surface Go’s connectivity is marginal for the OP - it has a micro-SD slot, USB-C port and a Microsoft-specific Surface Connect port for power & interface. But no separate video output port. So you’ll have to power it through the Surface Connect port and use a USB-C dock to connect the projector and USB device to the USB-C port. Or carry a Surface Connect dock, which weighs 1.2 pounds.
There are some smaller, cheaper 3rd party docks that would work for the Surface Go. I haven’t shopped for one recently, but at first glance this one looks like it might do the trick. It is another $60, there are some cheaper $30-$40 hubs but that could still push past OP’s budget.
Great suggestions, but I think the Surface Go is a bit more expensive than I care to go, especially if I need a dock or adapter. I always have my Fire HD 10 with me for general use, but it has only a single micro USB port that is used for both charging and data. Plus, it can only cast the same video as the display.
I may be on a fool’s errand, but I do wonder if a Dragon Touch or Chuwi 10" tablet would do the trick. They’re less than $200 and have micro HDMI ports. I’d need a micro HDMI to HDMI and VGA adapter, but that’s less than $20. Maybe somebody has bought one and has experiences to share?
An alternative might be a used Lenovo Miix or ASUS Mini Transformer. With luck, I might even find an affordable used Surface 3 with DisplayPort.