InspectHerGadget
Active Member
I bought my Surface 3 for my wife. Yes, I know, contradictory but it is hers but I thought it was a good idea.
She really likes it and says it is noticeably faster than her Surface 2.
She asked tonight, 'I can't find the charging port there's three holes there?'. I was somewhat dismissive and explained that you have to look closely.
She has a point though and the fact is she is far sighted and she puts it on to charge last thing at night and often has taken her glasses off.
The Micro USB port is a clumsy design though, not only is it very small, you have to look closely to see which way to insert the plug. It requires reasonable eyesight and light to do this without scratching the Surface (as it were).
The other issue is one of safety. This is a very expensive device and unlike a mobile phone is often used with the charger attached. This potentially can result in someone swooping by and either damaging the port or taking the whole device to the floor with potentially catastrophic results.
The other point she made had me thinking also. "I can't see the charging light when I insert it". I said "well it is on the other side" to which she replied "well that's silly". I said "well, if you are looking at it in normal viewing position then you can see it". "Oh, but when it is lying flat on the keyboard at night I can't see it". Mmmm.
I bought their viewpoint that it was practical as there are lots of Micro USB chargers around. Thinking about it and getting feedback from my wife, I am thinking it just slack design. If my wife can figure all this out in 48 hours of owning it, why can't designers figure this out also? I think maybe they all have pretty good eyesight and coordination. Now, some people are born far sighted and just about everyone except those born short sighted have poor vision up close once they reach 45 or so years old.
Overall, it is IMHO, poor design. I was slightly skeptical of the Micro USB but even more so now.
I look at my Surface SP3 and see good charging port design. The charging light can be seen regardless of which side is up. The cord is safe since it is magnetic and anyone swooping past will simply swipe the cord out, harmlessly. It can also be inserted either way and the port is big enough it is probably visible easily to people with less than ideal eysight up close.
Finally the other issue that my wife made that I noticed but she also commented on is that it looks plugged in from one side but not the other as the side slopes. Now the magnetic charger on the SP3 of course there is no such issue as the port matches the slope of the side.
So there you go a multitude of negatives from a simple design decision that I think was a bad one.
Don't get me wrong I really like the Surface 3 but my guess is that the Surface 4 will have a much better thought out charger and port than this anachronistic throwback to el cheapo mobile phone chargers, practical or not. This is a premium device and this could be seen as a cheap cost saving measure which blights an otherwise top end premium device.
She really likes it and says it is noticeably faster than her Surface 2.
She asked tonight, 'I can't find the charging port there's three holes there?'. I was somewhat dismissive and explained that you have to look closely.
She has a point though and the fact is she is far sighted and she puts it on to charge last thing at night and often has taken her glasses off.
The Micro USB port is a clumsy design though, not only is it very small, you have to look closely to see which way to insert the plug. It requires reasonable eyesight and light to do this without scratching the Surface (as it were).
The other issue is one of safety. This is a very expensive device and unlike a mobile phone is often used with the charger attached. This potentially can result in someone swooping by and either damaging the port or taking the whole device to the floor with potentially catastrophic results.
The other point she made had me thinking also. "I can't see the charging light when I insert it". I said "well it is on the other side" to which she replied "well that's silly". I said "well, if you are looking at it in normal viewing position then you can see it". "Oh, but when it is lying flat on the keyboard at night I can't see it". Mmmm.
I bought their viewpoint that it was practical as there are lots of Micro USB chargers around. Thinking about it and getting feedback from my wife, I am thinking it just slack design. If my wife can figure all this out in 48 hours of owning it, why can't designers figure this out also? I think maybe they all have pretty good eyesight and coordination. Now, some people are born far sighted and just about everyone except those born short sighted have poor vision up close once they reach 45 or so years old.
Overall, it is IMHO, poor design. I was slightly skeptical of the Micro USB but even more so now.
I look at my Surface SP3 and see good charging port design. The charging light can be seen regardless of which side is up. The cord is safe since it is magnetic and anyone swooping past will simply swipe the cord out, harmlessly. It can also be inserted either way and the port is big enough it is probably visible easily to people with less than ideal eysight up close.
Finally the other issue that my wife made that I noticed but she also commented on is that it looks plugged in from one side but not the other as the side slopes. Now the magnetic charger on the SP3 of course there is no such issue as the port matches the slope of the side.
So there you go a multitude of negatives from a simple design decision that I think was a bad one.
Don't get me wrong I really like the Surface 3 but my guess is that the Surface 4 will have a much better thought out charger and port than this anachronistic throwback to el cheapo mobile phone chargers, practical or not. This is a premium device and this could be seen as a cheap cost saving measure which blights an otherwise top end premium device.
). I definitely think that it was a bad choice to go with micro usb (especially given that it clearly isn't as cross compatible with other cables and battery packs as MS claim (See GreyFox7's thread on charging).
