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New Surface Pro

microsoft.com

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Re: New Surface Pro

#341

Post by neves »

nailer wrote: post #41

One import thing with all Surface laptops that most people don't know: > Support is limited to the country you purchased the device in. Eg: - If you buy an Apple laptop, and need a repair, they'll fix it if it's in warranty, regardless of where you are. - If you buy a Microsoft laptop, and need a warranty repair done in a different country, Microsoft won't help you. I purchased a Surface Book (which I love) in a Micr…

I really love globalization. The companies just defend it when it is in their own self interest.

Re: New Surface Pro

#342

Post by marricks »

Intentionally omitting a USB-C port kind of reveals how petty microsoft is being. Deciding to omit backtracks from a nice universal standard presumably to intentionally hinder Apple who put all there chips in it. Now accessory manufacturers (thumb drives, displays, etc) are forced to support older ports now longer, potentially forever, until MS adopts.

Lest we forget, the dream that was USB-C was that we wouldn’t need half a dozen different cords and adapters to connect things, we could just use one port for everything. Sure dongles are slightly worse than cords, but one cord for everything is the best solution. So Mac users need dongles now, but MS is like “fuck that, give people what they immediately want and screw the future”.

Re: New Surface Pro

#343

Post by Hasz »

ehsankia wrote: post #335
Hasz wrote: post #333

I recently purchased a new laptop, after looking through a bunch of options -- Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, etc. Ultimately, I settled on one from Xiaomi. For $720, I get an i5-6200U, 8gb of DDR4 RAM, 256gb SSD, 1gb dedicated graphics card, a 13.3" panel, aluminum body, backlit keyboard, USB C + HMDI + 2 USB 3.0 ports etc. Build quality is similar to Surfacebook, but I would have to spend another ~600 to match the st…

The issue is, specs often don't tell the whole story. Look at phones for example. The Pixel is still according to a lot of reviewers the best every day phone. You can find other phones with similar specs for half the price, but the hardware/software integration is what really makes a big difference. I'm not saying the extra 600$ is worth it in this case, we'll have to wait for reviews to know that, but generally you'…

I only use specs because it's sometimes tricky to describe qualitative things in a way that's easy to compare quickly.

I was wondering if the pen/stylus input method really was worth the money over a traditional touchpad+keyboard.

Re: New Surface Pro

#344

Post by Totoradio »

Joeri wrote: post #330
passive wrote: post #199

I've been using a Surface Pro 3 as my one-and-only for almost 3 years, and it really feels like time to upgrade, so I've been looking forward to this one. My workload is probably something like 40% reading, 30% writing, 25% coding, and 5% running code, and the Surface has been a nearly ideal form factor for this. The new "Surface Pro" ticks a lot of boxes for me: - Supports my existing keyboard, pen, dock, and power…

Do you actually use it in tablet mode? I always wonder how many surface pro buyers actually use it as anything but a laptop.

I use mine in tablet mode when watching a movie. I get the keyboard out of the way so I can angle the thing just right when on a plane or a train. I also do it when browsing my RSS feeds with NextGen Reader.

Re: New Surface Pro

#345

Post by passive »

Joeri wrote: post #330
passive wrote: post #199

I've been using a Surface Pro 3 as my one-and-only for almost 3 years, and it really feels like time to upgrade, so I've been looking forward to this one. My workload is probably something like 40% reading, 30% writing, 25% coding, and 5% running code, and the Surface has been a nearly ideal form factor for this. The new "Surface Pro" ticks a lot of boxes for me: - Supports my existing keyboard, pen, dock, and power…

Do you actually use it in tablet mode? I always wonder how many surface pro buyers actually use it as anything but a laptop.

It's a laptop* 90%+ of the time. It's a tablet when:

- Reading, watching, or gaming, particularly if I'm walking around frequently

- Taking notes (principle reason I got the Surface was my attachment to handwritten notes)

*I often use the Surface with the keyboard attached, but in positions that no ordinary laptop could support. Laying on the couch with the hinge hooked between my knees and the keyboard on my thighs, or with the hinge hooked over the steering wheel and the keyboard more or less dangling (not while driving, of course).

Even though it's a small amount of my usage, having that capability available to me means I can avoid carrying other things.

Re: New Surface Pro

#346

Post by sixdimensional »

TekMol wrote: post #10

I use my tablet quite a lot to browse the web. It's an old iPad 2. Everytime a new tablet comes out, I wonder if I should update but cannot find a reason. Is there anything new in this tablet that would benefit me? All I really care for in a tablet is that it is: 1) Fanless (The iPad is fanless) 2) Lightweight (The iPad weights 600g)

I'm in the same boat. I have an iPad 2 and it's starting to feel a bit sluggish (and only 16GB). When I look for something that fills the same need that the iPad does (casual browsing and entertainment), the only thing I keep finding that seems right is the new non-Pro iPad. I haven't been able to convince myself to make the transition to an Android tablet, because those seem to come and go so quickly and the iPad just feels nicer for casual use.

Everytime I pick up a Surface, I think to myself - this is too much for just casual use. Maybe if I wanted all that computing power and options in that form factor, but that's a different use case.

Re: New Surface Pro

#347

Post by e12e »

Joeri wrote: post #330
passive wrote: post #199

I've been using a Surface Pro 3 as my one-and-only for almost 3 years, and it really feels like time to upgrade, so I've been looking forward to this one. My workload is probably something like 40% reading, 30% writing, 25% coding, and 5% running code, and the Surface has been a nearly ideal form factor for this. The new "Surface Pro" ticks a lot of boxes for me: - Supports my existing keyboard, pen, dock, and power…

Do you actually use it in tablet mode? I always wonder how many surface pro buyers actually use it as anything but a laptop.

It's great for drawing/doodling/note-taking and reading books and comics in tablet mode.

Re: New Surface Pro

#348

Post by ocdtrekkie »

marricks wrote: post #342

Intentionally omitting a USB-C port kind of reveals how petty microsoft is being. Deciding to omit backtracks from a nice universal standard presumably to intentionally hinder Apple who put all there chips in it. Now accessory manufacturers (thumb drives, displays, etc) are forced to support older ports now longer, potentially forever, until MS adopts. Lest we forget, the dream that was USB-C was that we wouldn’t nee…

Most people will have replaced their new Surface Pro long before they actually need a USB Type-C port. Apple chooses to act against it's own customers' interests by rushing to new ports and requiring they buy all new hardware. This will be the third generation of Surface Pro that does not require any new accessories.

If I end up buying the new one (which I might for the built-in LTE), I won't have to buy a new type cover, pen, dock, or spare chargers. Everything is compatible. In my car I keep a Mini-DP video adapter, a portable DVD-RW drive, and an Ethernet adapter, all are USB Type-A, and all would still work with the new Surface Pro.

Consider how much loathing I hear from Mac fans about Apple taking away MagSafe. Why would Microsoft do that to their Surface customers? This is Microsoft making a pro-consumer decision.

Re: New Surface Pro

#349

Post by dmix »

sixdimensional wrote: post #339

One trend I am noticing is that I keep sensing a clear difference between, say, a standard iPad vs. a Surface. A standard iPad feels like a tablet appliance, whereas a Surface is a full-bore laptop in tablet form. Mentally, whenever I hold a Surface, I don't find myself thinking of the kind of experience I expect from the iPad. I realize now there is the iPad Pro, which has more horsepower/keyboard/pen etc., but it s…

The primary use-case I'd imagine using with the Surface during the time I'm using it as a tablet is via the web browser. So as long as it has the web browsing UX down in tablet mode then I'd be perfectly happy with a product that switches between tablet vs laptop/desktop mode.

Re: New Surface Pro

#350

Post by kayoone »

Joeri wrote: post #330
passive wrote: post #199

I've been using a Surface Pro 3 as my one-and-only for almost 3 years, and it really feels like time to upgrade, so I've been looking forward to this one. My workload is probably something like 40% reading, 30% writing, 25% coding, and 5% running code, and the Surface has been a nearly ideal form factor for this. The new "Surface Pro" ticks a lot of boxes for me: - Supports my existing keyboard, pen, dock, and power…

Do you actually use it in tablet mode? I always wonder how many surface pro buyers actually use it as anything but a laptop.

i use my SP2 primarily in tablet mode for note taking in onenote. I study part-time and all my writing and notes go in there, which are auto synced to my Desktop and Macbook. In theory i could use the Surface for everything, but then i would need to hookup external peripherals and the note taking experience would suffer with rearranging/unplugging all the time. I wonder how others solve that.
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