Windows 8 Trial tablet ? Anyone offering ?

[ihaveaproblem]

Is there anyone who's offering trials of windows 8 tablets when they are released? Doesn't matter if its the Microsoft one, asus, dell etc.

Would love to get my hand on one to try out and see if they will work well in education.

[ihaveaproblem]

Anyone ?

School is considering to buy 500 + ,but we would really like a trial of the RT version now it's released.

Asked Microsoft themselves and they said no..

Guess they don't want school's business and rather we buy apple iPads instead ( Who actually gave us a trial )

[Trapper]

Try MISCO they've run trials before.

 

Where in the UK are you?

[InterwebsGuy]

Asked Microsoft themselves and they said no..

Probably because the RT is really a consumer device (things such as Office on the RT are licensed for non-business use, etc). Microsoft would probably rather you have the non-RT - full blown ones when they are released.

[Theblacksheep]

Contact Samsung or a reseller like Insight/misco should be able to get you some Samsung gear on your behalf.

[jamesfed]

One day it will sink in WINDOWS RT (surface RT) IS FOR THE CONSUMER ONNLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY....

 

It is not manageable through AD, you can't image it, you can locally manage GPOs, although it does multi user login it is for Windows Live/Local account only.

 

No school should even think about using them in this manner especially when full Windows 8 Pro (x86 powered) tablets can do everything your current Windows 7 PCs can do with the nice touch features.

[gshaw]

One day it will sink in WINDOWS RT (surface RT) IS FOR THE CONSUMER ONNLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY....

 

It is not manageable through AD, you can't image it, you can locally manage GPOs, although it does multi user login it is for Windows Live/Local account only.

 

No school should even think about using them in this manner especially when full Windows 8 Pro (x86 powered) tablets can do everything your current Windows 7 PCs can do with the nice touch features.

 

I guess it's the fact people want the quality \ cachet of the MS Surface design & brand but aren't willing to fork out £1000 for the Pro as that's crazy money if you're buying 20+ of them for a class etc.

 

As I read on another forum an Atom based mid-range Surface would clean up the market but I can only guess MS haven't done it either because

 

a) they want to try and make an extra £500 from people \ businesses gullible enough to pay £1k for a tablet

b) they want to take the consumer and top end business markets but leave the middle to their hardware partners to keep them sweet

 

Either way the non-MS tablets out so far aren't doing it for me from a quality \ design perspective, the Acer one to me looks rather naff but that's personal opinion, others may see differently.

 

Like I say, there's nothing from a technical perspective that would stop an RT being a suitable productivity device, it's purely an irritating business model that holds it back and I guess others are thinking along the same lines.

Edited November 7, 2012 by gshaw

[Arthur]

@gshaw. The Surface Pro shouldn't cost £1,000.

[EduTech]

The Surface RT should not be classed as just for consumers, Office RT is licence for consumer use granted but if you purchase an Office 365 Office ProPlus Subscription (or if you have a plan with it included) then that entitles you to use it for business use also.

 

Granted it cannot be added to the domain, but it does have the ability to connect to Remote Desktop Services etc. Local Group Policies (and I am sure management tools will be brought out soon by 3rd Parties)

 

:-) I doubt the PRO version will come out at the £1,000 mark! It needs to be in the price range where such businesses will be able to purchase them as a business device for users across the board.. not just the CEO! hehe

 

James.

[jamesmay]

Try and get hold of a Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2, they have one with 2gb ram and 32gb ssd for about £350.....

[Max_Power]

Try and get hold of a Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 2, they have one with 2gb ram and 32gb ssd for about £350.....

 

Ordered one of these with windows 8 pro but no where near £350 mark. Due to ship next week (apparently)

[SYNACK]

Big thing with any of these is to wait for the next gen CPUs, the Atom ones are already out giving you 9hrs of battery life. The i5 ones are due shortly, with surface Pro which should also manage a decent battery life. Current gen CPUs will cut that in half, if you want it to work well get the next gen CPU version or grab the Atom ones if you need them now.

[gshaw]

@gshaw. The Surface Pro shouldn't cost £1,000.

 

Hope you're right, at £700 I'd be tempted for "prosumer" use but any more than that isn't worth it imo

[quietriot1983]

Try Lanway

[Haptic]

We have trial units of Windows 8 devices, please contact your account manager for availability.

 

Note - please don't test them in the 'lovely little darlings' sense...we'd like them to come back in one piece!

 

Joe 'Solo'

[HansGarre]

I have heard about windows8 tablets from ASUS (2357), Samsung (005930), Acer, Dell, Sony vaio And Toshiba. Samsung series7, series5 ultrabook, Nokia Lumia900 that may support for education.