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Recommendations for a tablet PC on a budget? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by monovergent@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Family is asking me if I can help them acquire and set up a Windows tablet to replace their old one. I've got the software part down, but I'm not too familiar with tablet PC hardware. As far as I know, the use case is:

MS Office, web browsing, streaming, video calls, syncing MP3s onto an iPod via iTunes
Media player when travelling, they like the tablet form factor for this
But most of the time, it'll just stay around the house, so battery life isn't too important

And yes, most of this could all be doable with an Android or even Linux tablet, but I know they'll just keep on using the old tablet if the new one doesn't have Windows 🤷.

500 USD budget
New, open box, or like new condition
True tablet with detachable keyboard
Pen not necessary
Performant enough to comfortably browse the web for the next several years
Battery not too prone to swelling
SD card slot and some level of repairability would be nice-to-have

So far, every tablet within the budget I've come across has its own share of quirks and flaws, so I'd be interested to hear if anyone had a particularly good experience or found a hidden gem among tablet PCs.

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[–] Soapbox@lemmy.zip 4 points 4 days ago

If it really has to have windows on it, than a relatively recent gen surface pro is probably the best.

I still have my surface pro 2 I got in 2013. It was fantastic at the time. I've since put fedora on it, and rarely use it, but it still works great.

[–] FireWire400@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Used Surface Pro 8 maybe. No repair ability but decent value for money

[–] hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 5 days ago

IMO Windows tablets aren't usually good... I had a terrible experience with my Surface Pro 4 (touch issue, battery swelling, keyboard connection), I've heard the recent ones are good enough though.

[–] hperrin@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

On that budget, you should be looking for something like an Intel N100 tablet.

Other than that, you’d probably need to go used to fit in your budget, but then you might have to worry about the battery being in good condition, but you said that’s not a big deal.

Chuwi makes a tablet that might interest you called the Hi10 Max. I’ve owned two of their machines, and they’re fine. Not great, but not bad.