Devices for WiFi on the ships ......

[mountainmare]

POA1 that's why I asked the question--no big boy apps, just put my photos on a memory stik , check e-mail and surf if I need to. To me that's a travel toy, not a replacement for my real computer.

[sail7seas]

Do an Internet search for:

 

How to run Windows 8 in Windows 7 mode.

 

My 'Tech Guy' told me he'll set it up for Windows 7 for me. He knows I don't want Windows 8. He will put my e-mail account, favorites list etc into the Pro.

I will have to ask for help learning how to load books. I'm still one that holds the real book but I'll load some into the Surface Pro to have a few waiting for me to read. :)

 

 

Edited May 26, 2015 by sail7seas

[jayellbee]

Some thoughts on iPad versus Surface 3 for travel

 

First you need to decide what how you are going to use the device. By that, I mean what tasks are you going to perform - read books, listen to music, read email, run a 10,000 cell spreadsheet, wite a dissertation, manage an inventory database for your store, do intensive photo editing on hundreds of pictures, etc.

 

If the answer is any of the last four choices or if you intend to hook up the device to a monitor at home for your primary computer, then the Surface Pro 3 with the optional keyboard is the right choice. That will cost you on the order of $950 for a 64 GB (about 40 GB usable) or more for a larger system. The system will use an Intel Core i3 or i5 processor which means it will suck power and generate heat. The Surface Pro has to have a fan, so it will make a noticable sound while in use and the battery will run down faster than other devices. Due to its larger screen size, it is heavier and more awkward to hold than either a Surface 3 or an iPad.

 

The new Surface 3 at $499, $50 for the pen and $129 for the keyboard is $300 less expensive than the Surface Pro. It runs full Windows (8.1 at this time) on an Intel Atom processor. This means it will run slower than the Surface Pro, but is probably sufficient to run a 1,000 cell spreadsheet or write a 20 page paper. It is smaller and lighter than the Pro and does not require a fan, although some benchmark tests indicate it gets warm on intensive calculations. It is much easier to use in protrait mode for reading than is the Pro. The optional pen can be used to pen OneNote immediately and is nice to jot down a phone number or something similar. The Surface 3 has been released for only a month and there may be unknown glitches show up, but so far, no major problems have been reported.

 

If you are going to use the device primarily for reading, games, music, email, or light internet, then the iPad is a better choice. The new iPad Air 2 is very light and is powerful enough to run Word or Excel on the 1,000 cell spreadsheet or 20 page document. A 64 Gb system will give you about 54 GB of usable storage and will run for about 8-10 hours on a full charge. The on screen keyboard is good enough for email or entering internet addresses, but an external keyboard is needed to do any intensive work. The system does not use a mouse of any kind and navigating in some apps can be a pain.

 

The iPad Air 2 and the Surface 3 (not Pro) will end up costing roughly the same. In general, the iPad is easier to operate than the Windows devices. The trade off is multitasking is limited to running only one app at a time - no split screen. It also ties you to the Apple store for apps (although there are hundreds of thousands of apps to choose from) and is cranky about transferring data on and off the system (you will come to know and hate iTunes).

 

Any of the systems will connect to wifi (although a visit to the internet cafe may be in order for initial setup) but the slow speed of the connection makes it useless for much more than checking email once you are more than 50 miles from shore.

 

On a personal note, I tried to get my wife to use a laptop for twenty years and she never liked it at all. She tried my iPad for twenty minutes and I had to buy her one of her own or never get to use my iPad.

Edited May 31, 2015 by jayellbee