7 days of love and hate

[reach]

...unfortunately the hate slightly overweighs currently. Having 7 more days to decide, if I keep, or return my SP2, 256.
Can you encourage me to keep it?
Here are the hates, top priorities first:

1) switching it off and on seconds later just doesn't work. Apart from the fact that it takes ages to turn it on anyway (by tablet standards), it really doesn't work sometimes. And somehow I find myself doing this a lot. It drives me crazy!

2) I have to admit that Win8.1 starts to make sense on a tablet, but it's still rubbish. The modernUI apps are buggy as hell. The PDF reader gets blurred when it's active while you turn off and on the device. The IE needs refresh every now and then. The media player doesn't play mkvs. And the number of available Metro-apps it ridiculous. VLC isn't available yet. Firefox is, but is uselessly buggy.

3) no intelligent way to zoom the screen. Correcting a typo in 2 lines above is so easy even on a smartphone, but on the SP2 it's a nightmare. And many Desktop apps are almost useless, because it's so bloody small. For example remote managing a PC via Teamviewer. Why can't I use gestures to zoom here???

4) I love watching movies on a tablet. And with the SP2 I love that I can do different things while doing so. So I start the movie. Then I'd like to share the screen with the IE. But no - IE hasn't been open recently, so I have to interrupt the movie, go back to the Metro screen to start IE and then share it. NOT smart!!!

5) quality. Today I carried it in my hand, naturally swinging the hand while walking. I noticed that I touched one bolt of my Bluejeans. And what's there now? A scratch in the kickstand lid. Sorry, but an iPad can be rubbed on any Jeans and it won't do any harm. This must be terribly fragile.
Also the gap between the glass and the plastic(?) part on top of the screen, on the opposite side as the Windows button isn't constantly small, it makes a slight curve. All reviews said, that the SP2 is the best made tablet in the segment. Well, the segment obviously doesn't include Apple products.

6) Wifi performance! Speed is fine, but reception is rubbish.

7) Type Cover bug hit massively just a few minutes after I used it the first time. Since then it's ok, touch wood.

8) multitouch gestures. They make life so much easier on the crappy limited iPad - how great should they be on a mighty device like the SP2. But apparently there aren't any (apart from browser zoom). Or have I just not found them yet??

9) entering an IP Adress with the virtual keyboard! The dot is on a different screen as the numbers. Nightmare!


So, I really love the idea of the SP2 and there are of course good sides, but the issues above are almost dealbrakers. And what worries me most is that I expected that MS really puts all available brainpower in that product, even more, after the first generation has been such a massive flop. But now I come across things that make me think that they either don't care, or they can't do any better. And Win8(.1) isn't new any more, so one could really expect some of the issues to be fixed meanwhile.
I'm just not sure, if this system has future.
What do you think?


Cheers!
reach

 

[girarcat]

Hi! I'm about to buy a SF Pro 2, but your impressions make me worry, specially the one related to the wifi reception. Last year I bought an Acer tablet PC, and I had to ship it back because of wifi speed. When you were close to the router, speed was fine, but when you moved away, speed dropped dramatically. Is that the same kind of problem you are experiencing? On the Acer it was supposed to be a driver issue, but one year later, there's no solution yet.

A question for the people who already have a Surface Pro: Is the tablet wifi recepection/speed as good as any other device (laptop, ipad, cellphone..) or is it worse? The few days I had the Acer tablet i could check that where I had consistent reception with my cellphone and with my laptop I had really poor reception/speed with the W8 tablet. Is the same thing happening with the Surface Pro? For me that would be a massive drawback...

Bye

 

[LuckyL]

I personally love my Surface Pro 2, there are a few issues but I have not yet owned a device that hasn't got any flaws. For me it's a great device and it has replaced a Windows 8 Ultrabook, a MacBook Pro and an Android tablet - if only I could get my hands on a dock

In regards to the points you raise:

1. I cannot confirm that, press the power button and a few seconds again immediately wakes the device to the logon screen. I don't use hibernation or sleep mode as the device boots so fast.

2.MKV support for modern apps is an issue. I personally use desktop VLC which works just fine. VLC modern app is around the corner I hear but I understand that this can be frustrating.

3. I'm not sure what you mean with that. Zoom works just as on other platforms Android or iOS. I did not find anything missing in this department.

4. Never used that feature so can't comment on that. I used the SP2 to play movies to my TV which works lovely.

5. Agree. My SP2 lives on a padded bag and I treat it very carefully, yet there is a small spot on the edge of the stand where you can see the bare metal. I have had a Surface RT for a year and there are some scratches. I personally don't mind, it's a tool after all but I understand that these things aren't cheap and that owners might take issue with that.

6. I cannot confirm that. With the SP2 I reach better speeds when copying files on the local network than with my old Ultrabook and MacBook Pro, the Android tablet completely sucked in that department. Also the signal quality is generally better, I have perfect reception anywhere inside my house which can't be said for the other devices.

7. Haven't been hit by that thankfully but I see there are quite a few reports around. I understand there is a driver update in work which will also address the double-tap-drag feature, or the lack of it (my biggest gripe).

8. I don't find any issues here, actually I find that Windows 8.1 came alive for me on the Surface.

9. I presume you have a regional format that uses a comma as decimal separator? I use UK layout any have a dot on my virtual numpad. I just checked by switching to a continental layout and yes, that's a bummer.

As far as modern apps are concerned, these aren't buggy per se, there are excellent modern apps available albeit less than I would like to see. I have the impression that in order to fill the shelves, quality control was more lenient than it should be. I remember the first year with my Windows phone where most apps looked like they were drawn by a toddler, however, this has dramatically changed over the past year.

The Windows App store has to catch up with competition but I definitely see that it picks up so I am confident in that. In the end, I chose the Surface Pro which allows me to run desktop apps so that modern apps will be a welcome addition.

I feel your pain but I believe that you will not find another product that is so versatile and powerful - you will always end up with at least two devices to replace this. The question is whether the one device approach is worth the compromises you have to make. I think most of the issues are addressable and will be addressed. Are you patient?

 

[macmee]

Love the SP2, hate how crap the keyboards are.

 

[DungeonShredder]

install k-lite codec pack basic and media player will play your mkv's to perfection
the xbox video player is another story don't think it will ever play a mkv
didn't get a keyboard with my 128gb sp2
I will when the powered keyboard is released
first program I installed was steam
using a old Bluetooth keyboard and mouse set rocketfish
they work great
wish I could have gotten the 256 version but not available anywhere in Canada
I love the speakers on the sp2 much better than any other tablet I've seen

 

[eltos_lightfoot]

It honestly sounds like you would prefer a tablet to a surface pro 2.

 

[gman713]

Here's a little info on the performance of the SP2 compared to one of best Android tablets out there - the Nexus 7. Try watching Netflix on the Nexus 7 with BT headphones and you get a stuttering mess. With the SP2, Netflix plays with BT headphones as smooth as silk!

 

[reach]

install k-lite codec pack basic and media player will play your mkv's to perfection
the xbox video player is another story don't think it will ever play a mkv
I love the speakers on the sp2 much better than any other tablet I've seen

Hi! I'm talking about the default modernUI compatible player. Is that the mediaplayer, or the Xbox Player? I tried a codec pack already, but Windows didn't let me install it for security reasons.

Fully agree on the Speakers!

It honestly sounds like you would prefer a tablet to a surface pro 2.

Nope! Definitely no. You don't end up with an SP2 by accident!


Thanks to LuckyL for the heads up! Will give it another Chance. Clearly there aint any alternatives.
(and with that small scratch I'd not feel comfortable retuning it anyway.)
I'm just afraid that many of the issues wont be ever fixed. The have been around since quite a while. MS had enough time.

 

[beman39]

wow a lot of in accuracies in your post 1) being you can install VLC player on your SP2

2)every device I have ever owned from IOS to android to webOS, is that if you turn off the device and then turn it back on immediately always made it go wonky or not turn back on instantly! even my note 2 phablet does this, so I don't know what expectations you were expecting

3)no intelligent way to zoom? what are talking about? use 2 fingers to pinch zoom not that difficult...unless you had other idea's?

4)my RT even plays MKV's, App called MobileHD and it streams from my other computers perfectly, dunno why your having trouble... and also you can use VLC player which should fix that for ya too

5)and as for the split screen for sharing your movie with IE, first off you can't do that with an Ipad or android and secondly so you have to pause the movie to open IE and then dock it to the side and resume the movie, isn't that hard really and I don't know why that's such a big deal for ya?

sorry but it seems like your making mountains out of mole hills, and trying to find faults for silly little reasons for returning a perfectly good device...no offence but I find your post lacking any conviction and if it takes such little things to turn you off to a wonderful device then maybe no tablet will make you happy... anyways I hope it all works out for ya

 

[reach]

Hi!
Don't forget there's a lot I love.
We're just talking about MacBook Pro money here, which is, apart from being a MacBook Pro, a thoroughly thought trough product. I would expect the same thing from the SP2, but there are these just obvious issues which the world's biggest computer company hasn't fixed during quite some time. So I'm afraid that they don't care and the SP2 will remain a niche product, not relevant for MS and hence not well supported.

Find some answers in line below:

wow a lot of in accuracies in your post 1) being you can install VLC player on your SP2

I'm talking about ModernUI!

2)every device I have ever owned from IOS to android to webOS, is that if you turn off the device and then turn it back on immediately always made it go wonky or not turn back on instantly! even my note 2 phablet does this, so I don't know what expectations you were expecting

I can't remember ever having waited for my iPad to come on. With the SP2, in just one week, it was just OFTEN.

3)no intelligent way to zoom? what are talking about? use 2 fingers to pinch zoom not that difficult...unless you had other idea's?

I'm talking especially about Desktop mode. Selecting a file/folder in the explorer. That's even challenging with the pen, even more with the finger. No way to zoom here.

4)my RT even plays MKV's, App called MobileHD and it streams from my other computers perfectly, dunno why your having trouble... and also you can use VLC player which should fix that for ya too

again - I like to use ModernUI, so VLC is installed of course, but not my favourite choice on the SP2. Will try this MobileHD, thanks!

5)and as for the split screen for sharing your movie with IE, first off you can't do that with an Ipad or android and secondly so you have to pause the movie to open IE and then dock it to the side and resume the movie, isn't that hard really and I don't know why that's such a big deal for ya?

...and I've purchased the SP2 to overcome the iPad limitations. So yes, it's not a big deal, but it shows the lack of brainpower MS has invested here.


sorry but it seems like your making mountains out of mole hills, and trying to find faults for silly little reasons for returning a perfectly good device...no offence but I find your post lacking any conviction and if it takes such little things to turn you off to a wonderful device then maybe no tablet will make you happy... anyways I hope it all works out for ya

 

[reach]

Hi! I'm about to buy a SF Pro 2, but your impressions make me worry, specially the one related to the wifi reception. Last year I bought an Acer tablet PC, and I had to ship it back because of wifi speed. When you were close to the router, speed was fine, but when you moved away, speed dropped dramatically. Is that the same kind of problem you are experiencing? On the Acer it was supposed to be a driver issue, but one year later, there's no solution yet.

A question for the people who already have a Surface Pro: Is the tablet wifi recepection/speed as good as any other device (laptop, ipad, cellphone..) or is it worse? The few days I had the Acer tablet i could check that where I had consistent reception with my cellphone and with my laptop I had really poor reception/speed with the W8 tablet. Is the same thing happening with the Surface Pro? For me that would be a massive drawback...

Bye

I'm afaid this was my fault: they moved the guest Access Point in our company the same day I brought in the SP2. Now I compared with the Dell XPS 13 and this doesn't even find the Network, while the SP2 is connected weakly but stabile. So heads up, WLAN reception seems perfectly fine!! Speed is anyway fine, made several tests at home with "iperf" and the troughput is considerably higher than on the mighty XPS 13.

 

[girarcat]

Yeah! That's really good news for me! Thanks buddy, I was really worried about the wifi speed/range issue.
Tomorrow is BlackFriday... If I catch a good discount, I'm gonna buy my SP2