My review of Surface Pro 2

[clemgrad85]

Yes, nice review. I am coming up on 3 weeks with my SP2 (8RAM/256 version) and it is primarily a work computer during the week (probably 90% of the time), and a personal tablet/laptop on the weekend. For the work week, it pretty much stays in the Microsoft docking station and have had no issues at all with it hooked up to my 23" monitor. I was going to get a new touch screen monitor, but am finding everything works just fine using the mouse. Granted, there has been and still is a learning curve with Windows 8, but I am actually finding Windows 8 to be pretty nice.

I guess my only issue thus far is knowing which are the best screen resolutions to set up on the SP2, especially when switching between the monitor "mode" and the tablet mode. I'm not a huge techy person, so any suggestions on which might be the best for this arrangement? I'm 51 so my eyes are not exactly young eyes. As for the keyboard, I purchased the type 2 keyboard and I am still trying to adjust to it. I put the Bluetooth adapter on it so I don't have to be attached to the SP2 when it is in the docking station, and that part works fine....but....still adjusting to the keyboard though getting better with it. If I can find a better Bluetooth keyboard that is a bit larger, I might make that change, but trying to see if I can adjust to this when at my desk.

I am curious if you have updated your SP2 with both the January and February Firmware updates? I did not update with the January or February firmware updates, and seem hesitant to do so because of issues some have had. I have done all other upgrades. By the way....does the previous firmware disappear when a new one comes out? I did not download the January one but it has disappeared since the February firmware update came out. Anyone know the answer to that? Overall, I am quite happy with my purchase.....a good computer that combines work and personal functions.

 

[Omni]

Ive read before that SD cards can fail easily if there moved from device to device a lot. But I believed it to mean all sizes not just one or the other.

Great review however!

 

[CrippsCorner]

Oh well I've only got my full music collection on my micro SD card

most of it is backed up on an old HDD... should be safe, right!?

 

[Korlon]

I've never seen the point to SD cards, unless using it between devices like cameras and laptops and cell phones. With the prices of external drives being what they are, I recently bought a wd passport ultra 2tb for 129.00, compared to a SanDisk 64gb for $100.. external may be bulkier, but at that price per GB difference the SD card just isn't worth it. Add that the micro SD is so dainty that it feels like it could jam or snap while inserting it in the port.

Am I missing something here regarding the SD card? I just don't get it.

 

[Sihaz]

I've never seen the point to SD cards, unless using it between devices like cameras and laptops and cell phones. With the prices of external drives being what they are, I recently bought a wd passport ultra 2tb for 129.00, compared to a SanDisk 64gb for $100.. external may be bulkier, but at that price per GB difference the SD card just isn't worth it. Add that the micro SD is so dainty that it feels like it could jam or snap while inserting it in the port.

Am I missing something here regarding the SD card? I just don't get it.

portablility - single most useful feature. sure they are much slower and more expensive than external but they fulfil a different purpose for me

 

[kevinlevrone]

Am I missing something here regarding the SD card? I just don't get it.

SD cards are not mainly used for storage at this time (although they are quite handy lately especially for tablets with low factory disk space). For storage you have all kinds of other options.

But just try to use a high quality photo camera to shoot pictures and videos and you will see why the SD card stuff for computer connection is crucial. There are often 10+ GB to transfer. The current Wi-Fi implementation sucks on most cameras, the SD card remains the easiest and fastest way to transfer pictures and videos. Not having to use external SD readers, adapters, cables, etc. is a huge plus so a full-size SD card reader would be great.

 

[CrippsCorner]

portablility - single most useful feature. sure they are much slower and more expensive than external but they fulfil a different purpose for me

Absolutely. I try to make my setup look as nice as possible... 128Gb was the maximum on the original Surface Pro so I've managed to get another 64Gb in there and you can't even tell, and don't have a horrible USB drive attached to it

 

[bluegrass]

Excellent review by the way. It does look like we should have a string dedicated to SD cards. My son & I were just talking about SDs & HDs the other day. Since he has & I do to equipment that use both full size and micro SDs he decided it was more efficient to buy only micro SDs and when he needed a full size such as for his camera he could use the micro SD with an adapter. I've been using the micro SD both ways for years and of the 30 or so SD cards I have, I have never had a failure. I love the way I can take the micro SD card out of my camera with 12 hours of HD (I record all day at bluegrass festivals sometimes) & pop in in my Surface and view the recordings. It's a miracle compared to just a few years ago when I had to use mini-tapes. Anybody need some brand new mini-tapes still sealed. Anyway he's thinking of just archiving everything on micro SD rather than purchasing HDs. I was asking about how we could organize them with the ability to find out easily what data is on each one. He mentioned that professional photographers use some kind of book to organize and store their SD's in. I would write a s/n on each micro SD card from 000 to 999. I assume I wouldn't have more than 999 in my lifetime. Archiving & organizing the huge amounts of data we all want to keep these days is a huge task and the amount that we want to keep is not going to get any less in the future. Anyone want to start an SD thread or how about one titled "Best ways to organize and keep massive amounts of data".

 

[xGary]

Touchpad is great???????????????????????? Are we using the same device?

 

[GoodBytes]

I must agree. The touchpad is great. Easy to move across the screen, and when you need precision, you have it. I am a fan of teh texture, but at least the experience is consistent, unlike normal plastic touchpad, where as soon as you have oil and dirt form your fingers, you can't use it properly anymore, until cleaned.

 

[xGary]

I must agree. The touchpad is great. Easy to move across the screen, and when you need precision, you have it. I am a fan of teh texture, but at least the experience is consistent, unlike normal plastic touchpad, where as soon as you have oil and dirt form your fingers, you can't use it properly anymore, until cleaned.

Have you ever tried dragging and dropping something? Or using the touchpad when there is any little bit of moisture on your fingers?

 

[benjitek]

Have you ever tried dragging and dropping something? Or using the touchpad when there is any little bit of moisture on your fingers?

Or tried to visually differentiate the tiny touchpad from the surrounding area -- made of the exact same material in the exact same color. At the very least the could've made the touchpad a different shade, or put a backlit border around it. While it'll do in a pinch, a mouse or external touchpad is what most users quickly use the USB port for -- surprising that someone would actually consider it a strong point of the keyboard, possibly the OP has tiny fingers?