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Surface Pro 3 Review

anandtech.com

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Re: Surface Pro 3 Review

#51

Post by lstamour »

bcoates wrote: post #11
fumar wrote: post #3

I agree with Anandtech the Pro 3 is almost there, but not quite. The Surface Pro 1 sold me on the idea of an everything device. It had its limitations, but it worked as a laptop, desktop, and a tablet. Each scenario had its limits and the most limited one was the laptop perspective. As a tablet it worked great with movies, browsing the web, light gaming, etc. As a desktop it was powerful enough to run the adobe suite…

The article makes it sound like there's no place at all to attach the pen on the Pro 3, is that true? I'm a heavy pen user w/ my Pro 1, that would be a dealbreaker for me.

You can "attach" the pen magnetically to two positions on the surface device itself, including the power area where you're used to, and magnetically to the power bar also, iirc. Plus a loop for the keyboard if you buy one. Personally, I used the Universal 13" Snugg case I also got at the Microsoft Store and was very happy putting the pen in with the power adapter.

Re: Surface Pro 3 Review

#52

Post by lstamour »

RyJones wrote: post #13
fumar wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True. It comes with an attachable pen holder, but it is held on by glue. I do miss the pen's ability to attach to the Surface. The eraser nub is now a button on the pen. The top of the pen activates OneNote. The pen does feel more durable and better in hand. I would check it out in person.

I kept losing the pen on my Surface Pro because I needed power more than the pen. Very annoying.

Now that it doesn't attach there, I think you'll develop new habits to avoid losing it in the future. Happened to me too because the pen was tiny, black and ... less useful.

Re: Surface Pro 3 Review

#53

Post by lstamour »

storgendibal wrote: post #49
victorvation wrote: post #41

The Surface Pro 3 seems an awesome device for students. Being able to read PDF textbooks, hand-write notes while using diagram/drawing tools, browse the internet, follow along with (and write on/annotate) lecture slides, word processing with a physical keyboard, writing on PDF practice exams, etc, all in a single device is extremely convenient.

I have been using the SP1 as a student for over a year now and love it. I print all PDF hand-outs to OneNote and annotate them with notes from class. Everything is indexed so I can search across 5 quarters worth of notes in an instant and access them from any device. I'm in business school (don't hate :) ) so most of our content is in the form of HBS case studies and diagramming and drawing graphs/charts is pretty co…

If you haven't seen it in person, you'll love the new 3:2 aspect ratio. I want all my laptop/tablet devices in that ratio in future. So productive :)

Re: Surface Pro 3 Review

#54

Post by RyJones »

lstamour wrote: post #52
RyJones wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I kept losing the pen on my Surface Pro because I needed power more than the pen. Very annoying.

Now that it doesn't attach there, I think you'll develop new habits to avoid losing it in the future. Happened to me too because the pen was tiny, black and ... less useful.

Yeah, I bought an aftermarket pen and promptly list it, too.

Re: Surface Pro 3 Review

#55

Post by varkson »

Pxtl wrote: post #32
fumar wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am experiencing many of these issues. I think they will continue to roll out firmware updates. But, the software needed a little bit more work. For Chrome I would disable scaling. 1. Right click Chrome shortcut icon and choose "Properties." (if you do this on an icon in you startbar, then you'll need to right click again on the third one up that says "Google Chrome.") 2. Click Compatibility tab. 3. Check box for "D…

In general Chrome has terrible DPI support. I've noticed this across-the-board, not just in Win8/Surface.

One of the many reasons I had to switch to IE on my laptop, it just sucked way too much.

Re: Surface Pro 3 Review

#56

Post by ufmace »

akuma73 wrote: post #47
vxNsr wrote: post #45

Just a note: I too have noticed that my trackpad (on my HP envy laptop) will sometimes lose 2-finger scrolling or any multitouch support, usually it's just in chrome but sometimes it'll be for eveything. I have a touchscreen as well so it's not as big a deal but often the only way I've found to fix the problem is to restart the machine. I'm assuming its a driver problem possibly with symantic. I'm dreading calling HP…

This happened on my Zenbook prime as well. You need to restart the synaptics driver, which was very annoying. I got rid of it and just went with a Macbook Air. It's just better in so many ways.

How good was the trackpad scrolling when it was working compared to the Mac? I got a Macbook Pro recently, and I'm amazed at how terrible the trackpad scroll is on every windows laptop I've ever used compared to it. I have to wonder what the deal is with that.

Re: Surface Pro 3 Review

#57

Post by seanmcdirmid »

vxNsr wrote: post #48
akuma73 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This happened on my Zenbook prime as well. You need to restart the synaptics driver, which was very annoying. I got rid of it and just went with a Macbook Air. It's just better in so many ways.

right except that my laptop costed ~$700 and had a dedicated graphics card and touchscreen while the macbook has nothing at that price point.

Well, you still get what you pay for. Is there a PC laptop with a decent trackpad experience at any price point?

Re: Surface Pro 3 Review

#58

Post by withdavidli »

stcredzero wrote: post #50
withdavidli wrote: post #7

Just got mine yesterday (typing on it for this post). There are some problems on it I wasn't expecting. - Drawing apps like Fresh Paint don't work sometimes when on split screen. By doesn't work, I mean it won't recognize the pen on start up. I would have to full screen the app, use the pen, then I can use the pen on split screen. - Apps aren't adjusted to split screens correctly. The resizing of the apps gets rid of…

Looking at Microsoft's track record, if Apple could execute on a tablet stylus with their traditional level of excellence, they could kill! If I could have a combination of a small Macbook and an iPad mini which could also act like a decent "mini Graphire," this would be simply awesome! They could sell tons of these to the angsty teenage journalling set. It would also be a tremendous boon to designers and game and we…

One of the reasons why I bought the SP3 before the Apple announcement this year is because I know how unlikely they are to come out with a product such as this because it would cannibalize their tablet line. Lesson learned the hard way waiting for an iPod Touch with a good camera (0.7mp...).

Re: Surface Pro 3 Review

#59

Post by sremani »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #57
vxNsr wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

right except that my laptop costed ~$700 and had a dedicated graphics card and touchscreen while the macbook has nothing at that price point.

Well, you still get what you pay for. Is there a PC laptop with a decent trackpad experience at any price point?

Does a macbook has touchscreen at any price-point ? At least with the windows machine if you have trouble with trackpad, touchscreen will come to rescue. Its insane how people get hung up one thing and talk as if that is central. When Apple released Retina branded hi-res, its all about resolution, now that Macbooks are not hi-res than their competition somehow its not that important anymore.

Dude, its just a tool - use it if you can. Your reality or competence of usage of a tool is always subjective, so lets all chill and pick the marbles we like respectively.

Re: Surface Pro 3 Review

#60

Post by seanmcdirmid »

sremani wrote: post #59
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you still get what you pay for. Is there a PC laptop with a decent trackpad experience at any price point?

Does a macbook has touchscreen at any price-point ? At least with the windows machine if you have trouble with trackpad, touchscreen will come to rescue. Its insane how people get hung up one thing and talk as if that is central. When Apple released Retina branded hi-res, its all about resolution, now that Macbooks are not hi-res than their competition somehow its not that important anymore. Dude, its just a tool - u…

> Does a macbook has touchscreen at any price-point ?

Why do I care? I barely use the touchscreen on my 16k RMB X1, and I numb my pointer finger on its precise yet painful trackpoint because the trackpad is useless. Without the trackpoint, I would have to give up, since the touch screen really doesn't work for programming.

> Dude, its just a tool - use it if you can.

A tool that doesn't work, and I'm pissed off about it. This is not a pissing contest, but about having a tool that doesn't suck.

> Your reality or competence of usage of a tool is always subjective, so lets all chill and pick the marbles we like respectively.

I use PCs because of my work. But whenever I use my wife's macbook, I'm absolutely floored by the trackpad...that actually works...why should designers get better equipment than programmers?

People that settle for crappy tools make me unhappy.

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