tablet as portable desktop

[roaming pear]

Sooo I've never really liked laptops... It somehow always bothered me that the keyboard is attached to the screen...
and so I never really got one... but in the last few years tons of tablets have come out and some of them even have full pc software on them...

What I want to do is have a portable desktop, meaning I get a 60 percent keyboard along side a tablet (and a not so bulky tablet stand).  And I would carry this around to wherever I need like the way someone might do a laptop..

But I am so confused by the vast amount of options to choose from... And I might have even missed some options that are good ones..  Also, I'm trying to get a white one.. (I have been in a white mood lately)

Here are the things I want to do with this setup
Draw sketches
Do design work... 
Possibly make comics
Edit text that have been sent to me in psd form..
write / edit documents in some type of office suite...
watch movies / clips from online
check email
...
...
other stuff / play around with the possibilities of tablets...
Also, I like AMD and possibly Nvidia better than Intel...  I like to use alternatives to stuff that is very popular

Now here is where the confusion may be beginning......

ipad air
 - I have used an iphone for a couple years and I'm used to the OS, so the ipad would make sense,
 - but it doesn't seem as easy to connect a keyboard or a mouse too. 
 - Plus there might be other options out there that might be better for me...
 - lightweight
 - nice hardware design / appearance
 - white available
 - I have also used other people's ipads and am a little familiar with it..
 -  it might be too popular for my tastes...  but it does also have a lot of app support

ipad mini
 - not sure if the small size would be adequate for me
 - white available

Samsung note 8
 - not sure if the small size would be adequate for me
 - white available
 - I think the note 8 works with the samsung galaxy smart dock.  The dock has 3 usb and hdmi I think...
   + It seems very interesting, but I don't know much about how it works.  Does it need a power supply?

Samsung note 10.1
 - The samsung note 10.1 2014 looks nice
 - white available
 - has a stylus
 - has a new os I am unfamiliar with
 - I am not sure how easy it will be to do the same things I do on my win 7 pc on an android tablet
   + can I switch between programs the same way?
   + what might be a difficulty for me using this tablet as a win 7 user?
 - get sketchbook pro for free (I think)
 - s pen
 - I heard other styli don't work as well as the s pen.. and the s pen becomes ergonomically uncomfortable after a lot of use..
 - micro sd slot
 - micro usb port (?)

Dell Venu Pro
 - full win 8
 - has wacom digitizer technology (I think)
 - can run photoshop
 - intel processor
 - win 8 takes lots of space for the os and leaves little for installing of programs such as photoshop or office suits..
 - is white available?
 - includes some stylus I think
 - has a usb port or a micro usb port
 - no stand
 - the back fake leather looks nice

Note Pro
 - bigger 12.2 screen
   + Do I need a bigger screen?

Galaxy tab
 - seems very similar to Note, but without s pen...
 - should I get the tab and get a special styli to use instead of s pen for note?

surface pro
 - has a stylus
 - full win 8
 - can open photoshop...
 - has a stand
 - has a usb port
 - it has a fan that makes sound when tablet is heavily used
 - its thick
 - intel processor
 - has wacom digitizer technology
 - no white

Vizio 11.2 tablet
 - full win 8
 - I guess can operate photoshop
 - amd processor
 - very nice display
 - no white
 - expensive compared to others in the same category...
 - doesn't seem to offer wacom digitizer technology

Samsung win 8 tablet (forgot the actual name)
 - white
 - full win 8
 - resolution quite low
 - intel processor I think
 - its samsung and win 8, but well.. the resolution is low...

wacom cintique companion
 - no white
 - android and win 8 available
 - has buttons to press
 - very good for drawing
 - super expensive...
 - people complain about it online despite the hefty price tag...
 - intel processor for win 8 version
 - can run photoshop in win 8 version...
 - super duper expensive...

So here was a few of the tablets I have been looking at in the past few months to figure out what will work for me...
Obviously nothing will work out exactly the way I want it to be, but some of my main concerns for the galaxy note and android tablets in general is that....
1)  how similar will the expereince be to that of a desktop when I attach a keyboard and possible a mouse..?
2)  Can I edit psd files in android?
3)  how powerful are the win 8 tablets when compared to a laptop... Can they open any psd file a laptop can? I heard that depending on how big the psd file is, the win 8 tablet might freak out or go slow at least... How slow?
4) I'm sure I have more questions, but maybe I'll ask later...

[exitfire401]

Surface Pro and iPad air are probably going to be your best bet. I'd personally go for the surface pro because it has a full OS on it. You'll have everything available to you that's available for windows, as well as a touch screen that takes pressure input.

[Lanx]

surface pro

get a real OS, the rest are trash

[roaming pear]

Thank you very much..
Also, There is surface Pro (1) and Surface Pro 2. 

Surface Pro 1 seems to be at a reasonable price (almost similar to ipad ), but Surface pro 2 is like almost 1000 dollars or over 1000 depending on the model.

Is it really worth it to pay the 400 dollar difference and go with the 2?
Was the surface pro 1 at the price of the pro 2 when it first came out?

It seems one of the only drawbacks to the surface pro 1 is that it has about 4 hours of battery life.  ....

[swill]

surface pro

get a real OS, the rest are trash

I didn't think the surface ran linux.

[Lastpilot]

TBH, I was really surprised when I held a Surface Pro 2. The resolution, the way windows ran on it, the build quality. All very nice

[IvanIvanovich]

I am also in the market, looking for tablet capable of some similar use cases. I am only looking at Windows 8.x based tablets as I refuse to get locked into Apple again and have not liked Android much though it is tolerable to use. Now that WIMboot has been introduced it alleviates having windows take up 1/3 of the available space. In addition with Windows you have onedrive and most models can also accept mini SD cards for all your project files, mp3, etc. so as not to take up space on the primary flash that would be better used for programs.
I am currently debating between the Fujitsu STYLISTIC Q584 (comes in white ) and the HP ElitePad 1000 G2. I feel the quad core Atoms have good enough performance and like they have 4GB of memory which will certainly be of benefit for more demanding apps like Ps and perhaps some light gaming without breaking much past the $700 price point. If you don't want to break past $300 the Dell Venue Pro seems to be pretty good choice.

[Lanx]

Do you want new or refurb, every two to three weeks microsoft sells refurb 64 surface pro 1 for 500. They sell it on their ebay account. Otherwise sometimes bestbuy has new surface pro 1 for 500 to 600.

Surface pro 2 has more screen res i think?

[exitfire401]

Surface pro 1 is nice, my only complaint towards that is that the stand only adjusts to 1 angle whereas on the 2, it adjusts to 2 angles. The pro 2 is quite a bit faster, so it is worth the price difference, it's just up to you as to what you want to go with.

[osi]

If you get a surface -- make sure it is not a surface RT. You'll hate yourself later. Lots of silly limitations without a lot of widespread vendor adoption for RT.

There are a few manufacturers that offer a tablet/laptop combo type deal. It's basically a tablet with a detachable keyboard very similar to the surface line. Samsung and Lenovo I know have models like this for sure. There are others out there probably as well

[tp4tissue]

surface pro 2 on sale today $100 off

[swill]

this might be too off topic, but does anyone know how easy it is to run linux on a surface pro 2?  i would be interested to know of peoples experiences if they have.