Frank — Thank you for this information. It does assist me; however, it also shows how frustrating the switch from from a MBPR and iPad to a SP3 can be. That list of alterations (I would argue many are concessions or limitations) you posted are contrary to using my two Apple devices. Never have I had to limit them in anyway to stretch out the battery throughout a day. I never go below 50% brightness (most of the time I hover around 75%), let alone down to 25% as you first suggested.
As for comparison of the SP3 to the iPad based on wattage, again, I was making the argument you made of the SP3 vs. MBPs. The specs of the two are irrelevant based upon the MS argument that SP3 can replace both Apple devices. There is no 15-inch SP3 so why are you comparing it to a MBP of that size?
I would think most SP3 advocates would welcome questions from current Apple users as myself. Referring to us as "fanboys" in other posts is discourteous and unproductive.
Well, when Microsoft suggests that an SP3 can replace a MacBook and an iPad (or, I would argue, any notebook and any tablet), they certainly don't mean to imply that you can get equal battery life to the two combined. Nor do they even imply that you'll get the same battery life as either of them separately. They merely make the point that the SP3 can function competently as both a notebook and a tablet, thus limiting the devices you must carry around with you to get full functionality.
Really, you're setting up something of a straw man here. Certainly, if you use two devices either concurrently or subsequently, you'll get significantly longer battery life. And if you compare the SP3 (a full-on Intel Core-based ultrabook-class machine with a complement of ports and a high-rest 12" screen) to an iPad with a mobile ARM processor, smaller screen, and other limited specs), the SP3 will come out wanting. Compared to a thicker, heavier device with a larger battery, the SP3 will also suffer.
It's not that you're
wrong, it's just: what's your point? If you need computing resources that last more than (in my experience, about 7 hours) on a single battery charge, then the SP3 isn't the machine for you. Maybe I'm missing something, but is anyone arguing differently?