[Q] TF vs HP 2740p or Lenovo X201t for work

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I've been doing lots of research lately to find a tablet for my wife - primarily for work, but also for play. She currently has an old Dell laptop and iPhone 4 for reference. She would be using this new machine to input information as she travels from patient to patient (whether in the car or the office), so portability, battery life, and quick input (aka touch input) are key features.

I've narrowed it down to 3 machines:

• HP 2740p (12.1" capacitive screen, windows 7, convertible tablet)
• Lenovo X201t (12.1" capacitive screen, windows 7, convertible tablet)
• Asus eee pad Transformer 32GB + laptop dock

I know these are quite different machines, basically either a small, but powerful and much more expensive, Windows 7 laptop or a smaller, efficient, relatively powerful (for Android) tablet. I have no problem maintaining / tweaking / hacking both android tablets and Windows 7 tablets and getting them into a more user friendly state for my wife to use, so that's not really an issue.

My question is does anyone have side by side experience with the TF and either the HP or Lenovo? The screens on the windows tablets are matte and do ok outdoors, but how would the TF with a matte screen protector perform outdoors? Is the TF 10.1" screen too small for work? My wife primarily uses the laptop for low complexity word processing and spreadsheets (so a keyboard is crucial), email communications, and internet research, but I am sure how she uses it will change as we explore touch input - so is Android Honeycomb (currently) too limiting? I know my program possibilties are much more capable with a windows machine, but do we really need those. I've read that many have basically replaced their netbook / laptop with the TF, but I think this is based on how one needs to use the machine.

We will also be using this for some personal use (i.e., playing netflix, entertaining the kids, ebook reading, etc.) so that plays into some.

Thanks for any insight one can offer. I'm trying to keep costs out of the decision and get what she needs, but for what it's worth I can get the TF 32GB + keyboard dock for $650 shipped vs a refurbished HP 2740p with an i5 560M for $1,050 + extended slim battery (~10 hrs) for $100 + 1.8" 60GB SSD for $140 = total just under $1,300 and just over 4.5 pounds for somewhat similar battery life and bootup / resume speed as the TF.

Originally Posted by Gabes Dad

My wife primarily uses the laptop for low complexity word processing and spreadsheets (so a keyboard is crucial), email communications, and internet research, but I am sure how she uses it will change as we explore touch input - so is Android Honeycomb (currently) too limiting?

YES, Honeycomb is too limiting; the office suits available for it are only good for viewing and small quick edits. Despite having a touch screen, even the smallest word processing task takes too much time. Therefore I wouldn't recommend an Android Tablet for office related tasks.

EDIT : If cost is a factor, then get a 10" netbook, that would be far more efficient than a Transformer with a keyboard.

It should do fine with normal word processing (nothing fancy like graph inserts, etc). I think Quickoffice HD's spreadsheet supports equations and such, haven't tried anything on Excel yet.

Phoenix and frosty, thanks for your input.

Since none of the machines are available locally, I might have her look at the Acer Iconic tab A500, which is in stock locally at Best Big to at least get a feel for Android Honeycomb and the screen size / resolution.

Sent from my Liberty using XDA App

If I needed it for work I would want to make sure that I was using the same apps that my colleagues used. For me that would be MS Office with full macro and add-in support so would restrict me to a Windows device. Your wife may have similar requirements.