That's interesting about Modbook being spun out Justin. I wonder what is going on there. Love to get on the beta test for whatever it is.

Ouch

http://www.wimp.com/newtablet/

Originally Posted by Justin_Meisse

I read that the pro version, the one with the stylus, will be priced comparable to "ultrabooks" so $1400 and up.

Ultrabooks are cheaper than that. I can't see the pro selling well if MS goes for that price...

Originally Posted by aesir

Yes, but you can't just add on a wacom stylus to whatever you want. It needs special shit going on in the screen.

Well fucking said haha

Irreal,
That was the most impressive save i have ever seen! It was like watching someone causally dodge being hit by a car while having a conversation.

Just FYI on the Modbook

http://www.modbook.com/modbookpro

Looks like something might actually come out.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/28/t...ks-survival-i/

I've got a series 7 slate from samsum and im hella happy with it. But I'll definitely be upgrading to a surface(unless samsumg 1 ups them before release). Having a beefy slate is actually so nice to just sit around and doodle on.

Looks like MS officially announced specs and pricing on the Surface Pro:

http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-...ows-8-pro/home

They still don't mention any pressure sensitivity or Wacom Digitizer though. On the upside, it's a few hundred bucks cheaper than the Series 7 Slate.

Seems like ill be repurchasing a samsung slate even though the design is so much better on the surface. specs just not up to the task.=(

Wait, maybe I lied. It's dual core or no?

Not sure it does have the 4000 igp which normally is on i7 mostly. Most i5s come with the 2500. But it is supposedly an ultra book i5.

FWIW. The next year gen of I series igp performance is supposedly going to be 2X the current gen. Which means it might even be good enough to do like 3d coat or Mudbox.

To bad no one offers a APU tablet.

drew you seem to forget that i could not care about 3d coat even one bit. heh.

Decided im going to get the ativ pro if it is ever in stuck any fucking where. I'll upgrade to the larger format surface that will come out some time later next year instead.

So MS friend and engadget have confirmed its wacom tech. No idea on pressure levels.

The Lenovo Thinkpad Helix is also worth checking out.

http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/...1123323/review


I really like the Sony Vio duo and its design factor, too bad they chose to go with n-trig for the pen digitizer, which means its a no go for art.

( i bought the ativ pro and am happy with it. Though it took forever and now the surface is right around the corner. gah!)

soooo anyone has it already and can talk about photoshop and zbrush?

I have done a lot of research on the subject and I wanted to share MY experience so far for those that are on the fence. I was originally going to opt for the Surface Pro but ultimately chose to get the Asus Taichi and so far I'm not upset about it at all.

The Surface Pro is about an inch smaller. This inch does make a bit of a difference, especially at 1080. But I used the ativ 700 alongside an RT 10 inch tablet a few months ago and I was surprised by the difference between the 10 inch and the 11.6.

I personally couldn't work with the keyboard or kickstand feature of the Surface Pro. I sit with my device on the couch and on the floor and in bed. I use other apps other than art apps as I assume a lot of you will do. I wanted something more sturdy and laptop like.

I also did want something slimmer and I really don't like to spend a lot of money when I can help it...unless I think it's worth it. And the 150 bucks extra to go from the Pro to the Taichi was, in my opinion, worth it.

For the ones who take issue with N-Trig, which is what the Sony Vaio Duo 11 and the Taichi have, I have been using in Sketchbook Pro and some basic stuff in Zbrush and you CAN do art with it just fine. I'm really not sure what the fuss is about. I used the ativ 700 for a little and the Taichi (Wacom vs. N-trig) and their both about equal in my opinion. Photoshop pressure sensitivty isn't working yet but N-Trig told me to expect it in their latest Taichi driver next week. I'll sketch in Sketchbook Pro any day over PS though.

I chose not to go with the ativ 700 Pro because of the keyboard issues which many have complained about and the fact that it's a more plastic-based device. And not as sexy.

I chose not to go with the Duo (even though it had more RAM) because, again, I use it for other things like typing and stuff and maybe people complained about the size of the keyboard and the lack of trackpad.

Lastly, I do want to point out that with most of these devices, you will need some sort of keyboard or keyboard device. One issue I'm currently trying to work around is ZBrush...since it requires you to hold "Shift" down to smooth, for example, the touchscreen keyboards do not support this interactivity. I have also tried bluetooth virtual keyboards from devices like my phone onto the screen and they do not work either. It definitely has something to do with the Shift key being continuously pressed vs. another key being just pressed once and registering. For example, my phone with the virtual keyboard allowed me to hit the "B" key to bring up the brush palette just fine. So in that regards the Taichi has it's limitations in that the keyboard is not exposed on the touchscreen side. So I'll either buy a small keyboard or one of those programmable mice. Unless anyone else has a suggestion.

So that's what I know...

From what I have heard thus far there is not a working Wacom driver for the surface pro yet. This means no pressure sensitivity in Photoshop/zbrush yet, but it will have sensitivity in sketchbook and a few other programs.

EDIT: Quickel, the on-screen keyboard will let you hold shift down but you have to first enable the standard keyboard layout from the settings. Open the charms bar -> settings -> change pc settings -> General -> Touch Keyboard -> enable Make standard keyboard layout available. Then you have to switch the on-screen keyboard layout to the standard key board layout by clicking on the icon on the bottom right of the on-screen keyboard and choose the standard layout.

Once that is done you should be able to tap the shift key and it will stay locked until your press it again.

That said, I would recommend you look into the program Art Dock. It is a free program that adds a customizable on-screen keyboard that is designed to be used with photoshop, zbrush, 3ds max, maya and etc. For me it has eliminated most of my need for a keyboard and any time I do need one I can just use the standard on-screen keyboard.

I'll have to check out those settings. From what I read Art Dock was only for the Slate 7 and EP121 and had issues with Windows 8. So I figured it wouldn't even work with my device?

BTW, your suggestion on the windows layout worked - so glad to have a solution that works somewhat. Now I just have to figure out if I can make the keyboard interface smaller.

That is true, it is designed for the SS7 and the EP121. I personally have the SS7 and it works just fine for me in Windows 8 except you can't disable the touch screen like you could in Windows 7 (this disabled the touch screen everywhere except for the art dock itself which was a great way around bad palm rejection, now I just wear my smudgeguard when I'm working).

I suppose it may need to be updated to work with some of the newer Windows 8 tablets. Hopefully the developer will update it. Still it might be worth keeping your eye on it as it really is quite useful. I love being able to configure the buttons to do whatever I need them to, and this is especially important if you use hotkeys that are different than the standard/whatever hotkeys the developer uses.

I'm glad the keyboard layout switch worked for you. Unfortunately I'm not aware of a way to change the keyboard size aside from switching between windowed and non-windowed views.

I'm pretty excited about the Surface Pro, even though it's battery life won't be all that great. I'll have to wait and see when they release them here in Germany though (and whether they just convert the USD to Euro, 1:1)..

3rd Gen Intel Core i5 Processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000
4GB RAM—Dual Channel Memory

Sounds like a i5 35xx for me, and that's pretty good. My HTPC runs on a i5 3570k and the intel graphics are quite good.

edit: the price is a bad joke... 900 euro is insane, with that amount of money i buy a i7 3770k with a 660ti oc and one of the new touch monitors.

I was really interested in a surface but I opted for the Samsung ATIV smart PC Pro and it rocks, Ive done all my art jam stuff on it and its just fantastic to sit on the sofa and relax whilst doodling, The artdock works great on windows 8 aswell even though its not designed for it, so you dont need the keyboard that much. 4gb of ram means zbrush and photoshop run really well. The screen resolution is amazing too

the negatives are,

-tiny 64gb hard drive (but it is ssd, and it has a micro sd slot which I use for everything non system based, 32gb for £13 so its not too bad).

- battery life is 6 hours so it does need charging alot.

- slight delay on first touch with the digitiser pen in zbrush, so a stroke will start ever so slightly late which isnt a big deal once you are used to it, gonna look at zbrushes settings for this though

- Pricey!!! I paid just under a grand for it


I think these hybrid tablet/laptops are fantastic for mucking about on the sofa and relaxing but I would not replace my desktop with one. For me its given me a new found love for personal art as its just so much more accessible.

Originally Posted by Blaizer

Sounds like a i5 35xx for me, and that's pretty good. My HTPC runs on a i5 3570k and the intel graphics are quite good.

edit: the price is a bad joke... 900 euro is insane, with that amount of money i buy a i7 3770k with a 660ti oc and one of the new touch monitors.

While the price is fairly high I don't think it is overpriced. It is priced similar to ultrabooks with comparable specs such as the MacBook air, Asus Zenbook, Acer S7 and etc. It is also only slightly more expensive than the 128 gb Ipad with wifi only, but you get a full desktop OS with support for legacy programs and a built in Wacom digitizer making it basically a portable Cintiq. Hell, the Cintiq 12wx is $999 and it is just a monitor and it is less portable than the Surface Pro.

The gadget is quite small, and imho it's super overpriced for what it offers. Like too many people, i won't pay 1000+ euros for a tablet with 128gb ssd and a low profile i5 using its integrated card, and for what? for using the new ms office on a ultra small screen at 1080p? for viewing images?

If someone will use it 6h per day... it may be good for them. But for the average user, this gadget is a huge waste of money. BTW, the price is super bloated. The pro version does not cost 1000 euro , they want to earn a lot with this.

The battery life is a joke aswell.