Forum member hands on reviews of the Surface Book

[mikecox]

@mikecox,
Some questions:
- When it comes back up, is it booting, or merely resuming what you saw before the shut down?

In the past, it was simply waking up, this last time it was definitively shut down.

- When you 'restart' or 'shut down' and reboot, does it seem to perform this normally?

Yes

- Does your Surface Book shut down when in Tablet mode, normal mode, or both?

I have only removed the "Tablet" once, so I can't answer that question.

- Is there a chance some metal shavings, debris, or pieces of a vinyl cover, etc. are fouling a connector port?

I doubt it. I keep in on my desk 99% of the time. I do have it connected to a Docking station with an external monitor, speakers, USB Hub and a couple SSD.

 

[sharpuser]

Thanks for those responses. Still having the problem? How frequently?

 

[mikecox]

Thanks for those responses. Still having the problem? How frequently?

Neither situation has occurred since I did the hard reboot.

 

[sharpuser]

Okay, @mikecox ,

We are volunteers around here, volunteering to help you if it happens again.
Let us know. I use two Surface Book computers, and would be very annoyed if this started happening.

 

[mikecox]

Okay, @mikecox ,

We are volunteers around here, volunteering to help you if it happens again.
Let us know. I use two Surface Book computers, and would be very annoyed if this started happening.

Thanks, It's nice to know there are volunteers anxious to help!

 

[chekhonte]

Got it last night. Set everything up, installed all of my essential programs and it's what I hoped it would be. The only thing so far that I wish was better is the quality of the screen which is better than average but not up to the standards the price tag would imply. The black levels are acceptable, the saturation seems good, I tuned the white balance, viewing angles are better than average, but there's something that seems a little washed out and flat. I'd normally attribute this to contrast being too low but no amount of fiddling seems to correct it. Nothing that makes me regret the purchase or anything, just a subtle nagging wish that it was better and that feeling will fade. Oh one last gripe, the pen lag is below what I assumed it would be. I bought the newest pen because of the improved response and tilt but alas, it's no better than my surface pro 3. Again this it barely a gripe and something that really doesn't matter.

Most everything else is better than expected. The keyboard is superb, best in class for the Chiclets keys compared to anything else I've used. Great spacing, good tactile feedback and actuation force. It's nice to type on. Battery life seems to be what I'll need to make it through even a long day at work and away from an outlet presuming that I'm not processing video. It's quiet. It doesn't get hot like my surface pro 3 under normal use, the touchpad is nice and smooth. It's sturdier than expected. It has a weight that says it's a serious piece of hardware but not too heavy to lug around. Tablet mode is is something to behold. It blew my wife's mind when I detached it and now she's seriously hinting at wanting one. She's a vet and spends a large part of her work day doing charts so tablet mode would be useful going room to room and keeping her patients' workups organized. while still having a real keyboard for data entry. I wouldn't be surprised if she has the 13 inch in her hands in the next couple months.

The best thing about this for me is it's screen size. With the surface I end up relying on drawing with my wrist. The extra screen real estate now allows me to draw with my whole arm like I would in real life, allowing for more gestural quality of line. This is the main reason I wanted to give this thing a try. It does this well. The subtle bit of resistance the silicone tips give on the glass make it close enough to real drawing where I no longer have to switch between mindsets and techniques of drawing on paper or porcelain and drawing on a tablet. Granted the two will never be identical but the closer the two get, the happier I'll be.

Overall the stress of having spent 3 grand on a laptop is abating. It's well designed object.

 

[gumby15c]

New surface book, i7 13 inch.

Display is superb, well done. I am coming from ipad and the retina display would make my vision blurry, this thing does not!!

Speed is great, wifi in hotel is great, love the detachable screen but have not used it that way yet.

Some issues though:

Occasionally if screen is pressed or lifted, it electronically detaches and detach cue pops up. I cannot repeat this on purpose but it is doing it randomly but corrects itself. Going to windows store on return from trip to discuss.

Keyboard, while great, is pretty hard to read letters in a room lit with a light off angle to keyboard, it seems the backlit keyboard fights with the ambient light, and turns the letters invisible sometimes. Oddly when you stop typing the backlight goes away and you can see letters fine.

Battery, I've read these should last 13 hours, and doing nothing but internet surfing and a windows update I've burned through 50% in about 4 hours. It has not been recharged other than first charge though. It also burned through 1% a day idle over 5 days, not bad in my book.

Lid to keyboard "mag Lock". Will you kids please make it so it's not a childproof pill bottle to pry open the book? make the little lip a little bigger for us people with big hands

Without making it an ipad, maybe just a little more thought to edge of lid and keyboard radius, it is sharp compare to other devices, I think it could be more rounded.

Other than that, this is truly a step above anything apple.