OFFICIAL I just got my SP3

[annabanana]

I got my SP3 two weeks ago and am totally loving it! I have the first Pro but am so happy with the larger size, longer battery life, the pen and many other things. I got the cyan type cover and Office 2013 at the same time. Have not decided on a case yet.

 

[Eclectified]

Picked up my SP3 yesterday. Going back tomorrow. I managed to get one with a jacked up hinge. Basically, when I open it, for the most part it feels fine. Sturdy. When opening it beyond where the second click on the Pro 2 would be, there's a click in the right hinge. It sounds as if 2 pieces are catching on one another.

Also, the bezel is uneven along the top(landscape) where the pieces meet on the right corner. I can feel the sharp corner. It isn't enough to cut, but enough to bother.

Also, is anyone else noticing vertical lines on the green Xbox tiles and on the light blue Food and Drink tile? I hope that's just my unit as well.

Apart from those issues and struggling to figure out how to get pressure working in GIMP and FireAlpaca, this thing is great. Slightly heavier than the 2012 Galaxy Note 10.1 and much lighter than the laptop it's replacing.

Here's hoping that my second Pro 3 is free of issues!

 

[kontrol1]

"Also, is anyone else noticing vertical lines on the green Xbox tiles and on the light blue Food and Drink tile? I hope that's just my unit as well."

Color banding

http://www.surfaceforums.net/threads/surface-2-color-banding-on-start-menu-tiles.6475/

 

[Eclectified]

Color banding

http://www.surfaceforums.net/threads/surface-2-color-banding-on-start-menu-tiles.6475/

Thank you! I had no idea there was a name for that. Hopefully this is a display driver issue that gets resolved, or if I'm lucky, it won't be an issue on my replacement unit.

As for pressure sensitivity, I reset the Pro to factory settings and reinstalled NTrig and FireAlpaca. Pressure sensitivity on the first try. It takes a bit of pressure to get it to go, but I know I've read something about that.

 

[kontrol1]

Thank you! I had no idea there was a name for that. Hopefully this is a display driver issue that gets resolved, or if I'm lucky, it won't be an issue on my replacement unit.

I didn't know either. Saw it on my SP3 so had to find out. I think it is on many of the units(not all) with varying level. Don't think there is a way around it at the moment.

 

[EddySnoozah]

I have had my Surface Pro 3 (128 GB i5) for about 4 days now and my first impressions are very favourable. I love the larger size and I think that this is definitely the right way to go. For me, this size of screen is much easier to work with. In fact, if MS shrink the bezel a bit and make the whole thing a tiny bit bigger they could easily take it up to a 13" screen without increasing the overall size of the whole thing too much. If that proves to be the case and then they combine that with improved battery life with the next generation of Intel chips then I may well be unable to prevent myself from upgrading. I have a 13" Toshiba Portege laptop and this Pro 3 easily replaces that in terms of lightness and portability and not getting hot when I am working with it on my lap. Apple introduced the iPad with its 10" footprint and people seem to have become fixated on that. If we had gone straight from laptops to tablets like these, then no-one would have expressed any surprise about size. My only slight gripe is that MS could have added a second USB port - that would help to increase productivity for me, but I can get by with one. The pen is an unexpected bonus, I wasn't really bothered about the pen until I tried it in PowerPoint and with minimal knowledge was able to quickly sketch out a rather complex shape for the design of a print item that I had been struggling with the week before on my work lap top using the non-touch version of Power Point 2010 that I have on it. I think that it would be fun to see if I can find a fairly simple photo-editing app or program that will allow me to add text to pictures and draw on them directly with pen. Any recommendations in this direction will be gratefully received.

 

[suprafly]

Got my SP3 yesterday was going to get SP3 core i7 512 ssd, when it comes out on Aug 31ist. But after thinking about it and realizing it will cost well over 2G's with all the added accessories, I think I will go for the SP3 core i5 256 ssd instead for testing and everyday use before I can fully weigh in on upgrading to the i7.

So I am happy to say that the SP3 core i5 256 ssd is snappy and fast and very easy to use for everyday computing needs.

Also I can say after getting the firmware updates, that MS release on July 17 things have improve and the system is stable, now and more responsive. Watching HD videos, with VLC player is awesome and playing music is a blast.

 

[GerardT84]

I've been on the Surface Pro 3 128gb i5 for 2 days and I love it. Was going between a MacBook air and this machine and I have to say that I am very impressed. The keyboard allows you to handle any kind of work you need to do, the hinge is very sturdy, and the machine feels like it is a very quality machine from the minute that you open the box.

I would like to see more out of the Windows marketplace as well as some apps optimized to use the Stylus, but overall this is a very solid and stable machine. Loving it so far.

 

[thisiscarlo]

First post on this forum!

My Macbook Pro started suffering from performance issues ever since I accidentally dropped it from the bed late last year, and decided to get a brand new computer once I had funds for it.

Leaned towards the MacBook Air but around that time the SP3 was just announced, and after digging further and playing around with it in stores I fell in love with the unit and placed an order yesterday.

Looks like I'll be waiting for the mailman all day tomorrow

 

[dstrauss]

Joy of a thirty day owner - I got my i5/256GB on release day, June 20, directly from Microsoft. After the last two updates, battery drain and WiFi connectivity are resolved, and it has truly become the best piece of hardware I have purchased (going back to my first laptop in 1986 - a Toshiba T1100 Plus). It is so good, in fact, that it survived the 30 day return period and is now a permanent part of my computing life (those of you who know me from other forums a LOL because no computer ahs survived that 30 day torture test since the release of Windows 8). For me, it is the perfect (and lightest, thinnest, most powerful) ultrabook, and does double duty replacing my iPad as my go to tablet.

Like others around here, I agonized over whether to switch it out for an i7/512GB beast. Although the 512GB is tempting, there is NO WAY to justify the $650 difference unless you deal with large VM's; edit tons of RAW photos; or keep massive databases on your computer. Thanks to a $99 128GB SanDisk mSDXC, I have a 384GB pool of data storage, supplemented by my 1TB OneDrive attached to my Office 365 Home Premium subscription (in fact, I have 2TB available, because we are only using 4 of the 5 subscriptions at present - Ed Bott even suggested getting the family plan and creating a set of five 1TB "drives" in the cloud for your personal data).

 

[MHC48]

In spite of what I thought was good parenting, two of my college age daughters wanted Macbooks. so I just had one of them buy a SP3 for me at her college bookstore with the student discount and no sales tax. It'll be here in two days when she comes back home. After over two years I still have a lot of affection for and prefer the size of my Surface RT, but it's just too damn slow refreshing pages on the internet.

 

[thisiscarlo]

Pleasant surprise -- the mailman arrived with my Surface early today! And I've spent the past 6 hours playing with it and getting reacquainted with Windows. I have to say -- I LOVE THIS THING!! Far, far more versatile than an iPad could ever be. And the battery life is much better than my Macbook Pro ever was -- I'm at 4 something hours of use and I'm only down to 56% after a full charge. I was a little bit hesitant after reading reviews about the keyboard but I think those are all blown out of proportion -- yes, it's not as nice as the Macbook keyboards (it has a bit of "bounce" to it) but it certainly is not much of a problem typing on it for long periods. I wouldn't mind, that's for sure, and I do a lot of typing for my work.

The multiple windows option is amazing and is perfect for multitasking. I love how links in the Mail app open in a new window while still keeping the Mail app open at the side. I can totally see myself replacing my Macbook Pro with this -- I was getting really tired of not being able to work outside my house because of performance/battery issues from the MBP but thanks to the SP3 looks like I'll be able to work comfortably in coffee shops again