Do you like the Surface Pro?

[68bucks]

I have had the SP for about a month now and I must say I am not impressed. I am testing the SP for our IT dept. I have been doing the same with an iPad for nearly a year now. I think its an iPad 2 so not the most current issue. I'll start by saying the iPad is the first Apple product I have used and I am not an Apple fan by any stretch. I find iOS a constant work around to get what I want to do done. I travel somewhat frequently and the attraction of a small, light device I can leave in my bag through security is great. The first thing out of the gate that was an issue is no cellular service. For someone that travels that is a huge disappointment. In my world it is essentially a small laptop. I can only connect when I'm in wifi range which, where I travel is usually the hotel at the end of the day. That leaves me with a cell phone for email again. That's fine with short messages but for longer emails with attachments and stuff a phone sucks. So I would have to go back to a separate device to pay for and lug around or do some weird PITA tethering set up to get connectivity everywhere. Been there done that, no thanks.

Beyond the cellular issue is the dire lack of apps, which has been beat to death. Hopefully it will improve over time but how long? I just find very little in the windows store that is useful or even very interesting. I really like the full desktop capability. I can run a real VPN and connect to our network to access files. I like the ability to actually have a file structure and to save and move things around. To be able to grab a file later and easily attach it and send it. The iPad file structure/ handling is a nightmare, it doesn't actually exist IMO. The availability of a full version of Outlook is a great tool to have.

The display is awesome, bright and crisp. I do find the wide screen a little less suited for .pdf's. In the wide view you are sort of limited to the page width view and the portrait view makes the page too narrow to be easily read in full page most times. Its really nice for browsing though.

For most stuff the speed is great, really snappy. It does not have the capability of a powerful laptop though. I use CAD software and the full W8 sounded great because it would allow me to run my software on the road. It would be great to have the tool while traveling just for light work mostly to show models or drawings not to really generate things. When I tried though different story. This thing really chokes on it and usually will crash unless the file is real small. Did't fill the need. iPad on the other hand has an app that allows some display and manipulation. It isn't very powerful but it gets the job done usually. No such option for the SP.

I love the full USB port, the key pad is nice and memory expansion is great. I am adapting to W8 as this is my first exposure. The OS is not something I have a problem with. Its basically W7 for the most part just takes a little while to find stuff at first.

The battery life has been mentioned frequently too and I agree it is poor. I haven't encountered a time I have been dead without power access but that is mainly because I never use it unless I'm near wifi and then I have power available. I'm not a watch a video on the airplane guy so that isn't an issue. I'm sure it would last long enough for me to type a long report or something if its fully charged prior to flight. With fairly heavy use on the iPad I don't even have to charge it every day. That would never happen with the SP.

All told on a 1-10 scale I can only give the SP maybe a 5. I have been carrying both the SP and the iPad when I travel and I find myself reaching for the iPad more than the SP. That might change over time as I get more familiar with it and discover more capabilities but from the onset I think Microsoft missed the mark by quite a margin for a device for business travelers. Other than weight there is little difference for me from a laptop but I'm keeping an open mind. Just my 2¢.

 

[JohnF]

I've had an iPad for about 6 months before I got the Surface Pro. I've had the SP since the initial release date and quit frankly have not picked up the iPad since.

There's nothing I cared about on the iPad that I'm missing on the SP. There's plently I have now on the SP that was missing on the iPad. I never had cellular service on the iPad so that wasn't an issue. I can use the WiFi hot spot on my Lumia 920 if I need to connect to the internet. While the battery life isn't as good as other tablets it's right in line with ultrabook laptops. For my usage I need to charge it about every third day. On a day I'm using it heavily I make it through the day ok. In long working meetings I take and use the charger just so it doesn't keep going to sleep (which messes with my RDP session).

As the previous poster said, iOS feels like a constant work around. Moving to the SP was like taking the blinders off. It's a real computer in a tablet form factor.

 

[68bucks]

I'd like you to be a little more specific. What did you not miss that the Surface offered on equal footing? What does the SP offer that the iPad didn't? If you didn't use cellular for data I'm guessing that you didn't travel too much. Hot spots on a phone really doesn't get for most business travelers. If I'm wrong here business travelers please chime in.

The battery I don't think is even a discussion. Under similar usage the iPad 2 I have has twice the battery life. That is whether I am traveling using cellular, or on wifi. If I'm on my home network or my office network, at a hotel, whatever, the battery isn't close.

I'm not trying to bash I'm just trying to relate my specific experiences.

 

[J515OP]

68bucks it sounds like you have a misinterpretation of what the Surface Pro is. You keep saying it is like a laptop and comparing the battery life to a tablet with a mobile ARM processor. The Pro is a laptop and because of that you don't need store apps any regular PC program will work. Of courts the battery life is gong to be worse but you certainly get more performance, this isn't even disputed. You may have found one particular use case where it falls short of you needs but across the board a Pro will run circles around any ARM tablet.

Maybe the Pro isn't the device for you. If anything it sounds like your use case would be more in line with the RT but in that case you can stick with the iPad given your specific requirements.

As far as connectivity a mifi would be the best solution.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Well, I seem to be traveling a lot too recently. And, I use my phone as a wifi hotspot and connect my RT (and my Nexus 10 - more on which later) to it with no problems. At other times, I am within a wifi net. I can see where the battery-life of the Pro may pose a problem - especially for long haul flights. As for the Apps, I would second J5 here. The whole point behind the Pro (at least in my view) is to allow for the access of legacy apps. The Win Store is of secondary importance. This is not the same as in the case of the RT where the Store is critical because of the limitation of the RT platform. That being said, I have not faced any problems there either. If I want to use some legacy stuff, I RDP into my home/ work machine. I don't really play games - so that's not a problem for me. If I want to watch a movie - depending on where I am - I use either the RT or my Nexus 10 (believe me the RT+Nexus10 feel smuch lighter than any laptop that I have carried thus far - cumulative weight excluding chargers is 680 gms + 603 gms, which is about 1.28 kgs and which is like the feather weight Vaio VGN TX, the Asus U and some of the svelte Samsung 9 series machines). I am happy to carry both devices because their slim profile does not increase the bulk of my hand-bag, two devices means I don't carry ANY books/ reading materials (all are on my Nexus 10 and some on the RT)...most importantly, and perhaps this is a function of my job, but I need a device which I can use like a reference book - you know when you write papers etc. and you had reference books? I use the Nexus 10 in the same way and it is damn convenient. Having said all this, I do appreciate the fact that usage patterns and needs will dictate personal preferences. So, your experience may be an example of that. Mine certainly is!

 

[machistmo]

Do you like the Surface Pro?

I ask because it appears many of the comments here are focused more on demeaning the Surface rather than admiring it. It seems a bit odd to come to a Surface forum and read so many negative remarks.

I wonder; is it simply that your expectations for the Surface were much higher than the end result? I ask because it seems there may be a large group that thought the Surface Pro was going to replace their desktop (side note: Desktop, really? That is so 2004-ish).

Well, even though it might be against the popular consensus here, don’t hate me but... I like the Surface Pro.

Just to clarify, I like it; I’m not IN-LOVE with it or anything like that. I mean, I guess it’s kinda cute; a little square though.

Well, that’s just my opinion... I could be wrong.

If people are bashing the SP, it's because they don't have the Dell S2340T 58.4cm (23") multi-touch monitor details | Dell for it. That is what is really going on here.

[video=youtube;vvYvjy-lmcM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvYvjy-lmcM[/video]

 

[mitchellvii]

If people are bashing the SP, it's because they don't have the Dell S2340T 58.4cm (23") multi-touch monitor details | Dell for it. That is what is really going on here.

[video=youtube;vvYvjy-lmcM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvYvjy-lmcM[/video]

Why spend all that money on a touchscreen monitor when the Leap Motion Controller is about to come out for $75?

https://www.leapmotion.com/

Touch is obsolete.

 

[machistmo]

Why spend all that money on a touchscreen monitor when the Leap Motion Controller is about to come out for $75?

https://www.leapmotion.com/

Touch is obsolete.

Because those controllers suck. Period. We have tested similar devices and nothing replaces touch. Nothing. Touch is obsolete? Even the 71 year old guy down the street likes Windows 8 on my system and he downgraded to 7 on his own. His comment was "If I had one of those, I would still have Windows 8." He tried the touch pad and hated it. Kinect, leap motion, its all been there, WII controllers. They never seem to get enough traction. Touch is there and its human nature to touch. Gestures ill save for other drivers on the highway

At $75 its worth grabbing one even though I am 95% certain it will end up in the plastic bin of devices that promised so much and ended up being a giant gimmick. I have a container filled with crap like this controller. Months of waiting for the NEXT BEST THING, only to find out that someone with video editing skills can make even the worst product seem great. So far, I love my touch screen. It always works all the time. It is honestly one of the best things I have invested in lately.

Edit - Update - Just played some touch games, pinball and jetpack joyride - They didn't suck.

 

[mitchellvii]

Because those controllers suck. Period. We have tested similar devices and nothing replaces touch. Nothing. Touch is obsolete? Even the 71 year old guy down the street likes Windows 8 on my system and he downgraded to 7 on his own. His comment was "If I had one of those, I would still have Windows 8." He tried the touch pad and hated it. Kinect, leap motion, its all been there, WII controllers. They never seem to get enough traction. Touch is there and its human nature to touch. Gestures ill save for other drivers on the highway

At $75 its worth grabbing one even though I am 95% certain it will end up in the plastic bin of devices that promised so much and ended up being a giant gimmick. I have a container filled with crap like this controller. Months of waiting for the NEXT BEST THING, only to find out that someone with video editing skills can make even the worst product seem great. So far, I love my touch screen. I always works all the time. It is honestly one of the best things I have invested in lately.

Edit - Update - Just played some touch games, pinball and jetpack joyride - They didn't suck.

You have tested devices similar to the Leap Motion? Similar how? The Leap Motion is a huge leap forward in non-touch control. There is NOTHING like it so to say you have tested devices "like it" and found them lacking is meaningless.

Who knows, it could suck but if it doesn't it will be touch screens that end up in the bargain bin. I mean c'mon, rubbing your greasy fingers on a screen to move things around? So Fred Flintstone.

If the Leap Motion works touchscreens are finished. We'll see but non-touch control is clearly the future. Hell in 5 years we won't even have screens at all now that the have figured out midair laser projection.

 

[machistmo]

There are all sorts of similar products. All lack the basic touch quality. There are controllers that do similar things, pads that mimic a touch screen and gesture controllers like the MS Kinect(which is actually not bad). I don't think this device is going to kill touch and to say so is ridiculous given they are not even released. But as far as instinctive controls, touch is the future. Minority report is a ways off as yet. I have seen this stuff before and seen it capture a niche market at best.

Microsoft is working on this stuff too:

Microsoft's 'Secret' Projects That Will Completely Rock Your World - Seeking Alpha

I am not sure any of that stuff will rock my world.

 

[machistmo]

You have tested devices similar to the Leap Motion? Similar how? The Leap Motion is a huge leap forward in non-touch control. There is NOTHING like it so to say you have tested devices "like it" and found them lacking is meaningless.

Who knows, it could suck but if it doesn't it will be touch screens that end up in the bargain bin. I mean c'mon, rubbing your greasy fingers on a screen to move things around? So Fred Flintstone.

If the Leap Motion works touchscreens are finished. We'll see but non-touch control is clearly the future. Hell in 5 years we won't even have screens at all now that the have figured out midair laser projection.

When I was a boy they told me that we would have flying cars in the year 2000. That everyone would be driving them.... They told me I could shop from home on a touch screen and change the color of a selected item with the touch of my finger.. One of those things was correct and the other one? Where the hell is my flying car? Affordable and requiring zero skill to fly and navigate? I want to take off from my garage and fly to work on auto-pilot while I surf the web on my in console browser..

 

[machistmo]

You have tested devices similar to the Leap Motion? Similar how? The Leap Motion is a huge leap forward in non-touch control. There is NOTHING like it so to say you have tested devices "like it" and found them lacking is meaningless.

Who knows, it could suck but if it doesn't it will be touch screens that end up in the bargain bin. I mean c'mon, rubbing your greasy fingers on a screen to move things around? So Fred Flintstone.

If the Leap Motion works touchscreens are finished. We'll see but non-touch control is clearly the future. Hell in 5 years we won't even have screens at all now that the have figured out midair laser projection.

How did you know I rub my greasy fingers on my touch screen? Are you spying on me? In 5 years we wont have screens? Really? iPhone 1rst Gen and 5th Gen.. Same Phone slightly larger screen with faster chip. I don't see leap-motion taking over the world and I see a limited use for gesture based Pc interaction. Imagine that on a plane? In a bus station? Even in a cube, unless you're designing something or manipulating large drawings. I see its uses but I don't see it replacing touch. I know you're excited about it and by all means, be my guest... I just don't see something as instinctive as touch going away anytime soon. I see the pricey touch monitors for Windows8 coming down in price. All that being said, I don't use touch as my main control set either, it simply is a nice addition to a toolbox. I do use touch more and more as I become accustomed to it. Maybe this new controller will fit there? I doubt it but we will see... Like I said, I've seen gesture control before and none of it ever got me excited beyond my first 10 minutes with it.