Giving away Windows for Christmas: the best for productivity

In our guides to give away Windows we have already covered leisure and mobility, so we only need one thing: productivity and power. And it is that not everything in the world is games and fun, and Windows devices are some of the best we have to do more than just shoot birds with a slingshot.

We will see tablets and some mobile phones, of course, but we are not going to forget the devices that have been with us the longest: laptops and desktops, which are still the best we have if we are looking for raw power.

Tablets for work: power at your fingertips

In this category there's a candidate you're all thinking about: Surface Pro 2. Loading an Intel Core i5, six hours of battery and 4 GB of RAM (in the most basic version), the Microsoft tablet is a good option if you want a powerful tablet (more than many computers) that you can use for everything, even more so with all the accessories it comes with. Of course, it is not cheap: the most basic version costs €879 and does not include a keyboard.

Another of the most interesting alternatives is not cheap either: Sony Vaio Tap 11. This tablet, of which we brought you a first contact at IFA 2013, can be found from €800 with keyboard included The most outstanding aspects, the design and lightness of the tablet. And, of course, having Windows 8 Pro to run any program.

And finally, we highlight the range of tablets from Asus, the Transformer T100 and T300, which include a keyboard to work comfortably. The first has an Intel Atom processor and 2 GB of RAM: if we want more power we will have to go to the T300 and choose an Intel Core i3, i5 or 17 processor with 4/8 GB of RAM.

Mobiles with Windows Phone, the perfect companion

The big advantage of Windows Phones is that they all have pretty much the same smooth performance, and being integrated with the entire Microsoft ecosystem (Office, SkyDrive, Outlook) makes them perfect companions for work Our best choice would be the Nokia Lumia 1520 with its large six-inch screen. However, it is not yet available in Spain, so we have to look for alternatives.

To have a mobile with a large screen, one of the best options is the Nokia Lumia 625: 4.7 inches for €220. And if that one falls short in features, we can opt for the Nokia Lumia 925, which we can get for €479.

Windows 8 Laptops

The first recommended in the laptop section is the Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga. Only with the name Thinkpad we get the idea that this is a device ready to work, and the characteristics confirm it: up to Intel Core i7 processor, up to 1 TB of storage and 4 GB of RAM (here it stays a bit short). The price also accompanies: from 1,299 euros

Also worth mentioning is the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus, a true beast: 13.3-inch screen, 3200x1800 resolution, Intel Core i5/i7 processor and up to 8 GB of RAM. All this from 1,300 euros.

As a cheaper option we have the HP ProBook 400, professional laptops with AMD processors and Windows 8, and that we can find starting at 500 euros .

Desktops, raw power

In the case of desktops, if what we want is power, the best option is to buy a PC by piece: we adapt it to our needs and we can save some money. If we do not want to complicate ourselves, many manufacturers offer tabletops already assembled. In this section we would highlight Mountain with options from 479 euros.

We also have all-in-ones, computers integrated into the screen. A good option at a not very high price is the Lenovo C345, 20-inch screen, 1600x900 pixel resolution, AMD dual-core processor and 4 GB of RAM for 500 euros.

Slightly more powerful is the Acer Z3 605: Intel Core i5, up to 8 GB of RAM, up to 1TB hard drive and a 23-inch 1080p screen. Of course, it is also somewhat more expensive: we can find it from 700 euros (800 if we want it with a touch screen).

In Xataka | Buying Guides