SP4 Pen on SP3. Anyone try it out?
- Thread starter Johnny365
- Start date
there is a sublte difference in the way they ink.
the SP3 pen has a thinner line while the SP4 pen has a bit of a thicker line.
The main difference is the feel of the pen while writing. The SP3 pen slides more, the SP4 pen has a little bit of resistance.
I have them both now and I ink a lot with onenote. I interchange their use and note their sublte difference can have on my inking experience.
So if you ink a lot. I think the SP4 pen is a good upgrade.
the SP3 pen has a thinner line while the SP4 pen has a bit of a thicker line.
The main difference is the feel of the pen while writing. The SP3 pen slides more, the SP4 pen has a little bit of resistance.
I have them both now and I ink a lot with onenote. I interchange their use and note their sublte difference can have on my inking experience.
So if you ink a lot. I think the SP4 pen is a good upgrade.
That pretty much sums it up in what I noticed as well. You have more friction and you get 4 tips. Great.
MS should sell the upgrade for SP3 users then for $8, not $80 (this is CDN $ of course).
The Pro 4 isnt any more accurate than the Pro 3 pen is on the SP3.
The Pro 4 pen puts out thicker ink....well just adjust the thickness in one note settings and its the same thing on the Pro 3 pen but $80 saved in your pocket.
To me this pen is a scam for Pro 3 owners. It should be free if they want us to upgrade. Why upgrade if the Pro 3 can only use the same 256 points of sensitivity.
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kristalsoldier
Well-Known Member
If that's your handwriting, it is very good!
There's noone forcing you to upgrade not even Microsoft. In fact some people have been told by uninformed MS sales representatives that the pro 4 pen is not compatible with the pro 3. To upgrade or not is the owner's choice..... it's not like the old pen became redundant.
For me the feel of the nib alone is worth it, and I actually do like having the eraser on top. I wasn't sure if I would but for me it keeps the mode of use consistent with the wacom pen I use on my desktop PC, plus if I do upgrade to a pro 4 one day I won't need to buy the new pen to get the extra sensitivity.
Actually I tried it last week and really do like it.
1 - I do like the extra length it has over the Pro 3 pen.
2 - Love the eraser and no more button to search for by feel when erasing.
3 - Tried all the tips and prefer the one on the left where it has no friction. Compared to to the tip on the Pro 3 pen and the Pro 3 pen has noticably more friction. Im probably one of the few who actually prefer no friction as i like the pen tip to just glide on the screen. Makes it less tiring on the hand.
Listen I really liked it and was contemplating keeping it but i couldnt justify the price of $80 for something that wasnt anymore accurate.
If I did keep it, it would have been for the reasons above, but not for $80. Maybe $8 and free yes!
Infact we had our work xmas party this past weekend and my work gave me a $100 gift card to the mall right near my work. This mall has a MS store and if I wanted i could use the gift card to get a pen, making it FREE for me. But even then, its questionable if I can justify spending a free gift card given to me on something that should be 10% of the cost.
It would forsure make the cost of $170cdn on the Pro 4 keyboard alot easier to swallow, seeing how it would essentially be $170 out of my own pocket for the Pro 4 keybaord and Pro 4 pen.
Cause as it stands right now, I spent $170cdn on the keyboard alone and as much as I love it (and finally after 2 weeks of going back and fourth contemplating the cost), I do believe its worth keeping. The keys on it are just amazing to type on and the trackpad (though still crap compared to an apple) is worth it for the extra size, simply cause I now actually will use it from time to time vs on the old cover I would never use it cause it was so cramped and small.
But At $170cdn? Yes I still see it as me getting ripped off but theres not much I can do but swallow it and take it that I got fleeced by MS.
I could also just go buy another Pro 4 cover from the MS store, and return it at Best buy (Where i got my cover now) and it would make the cost of my Pro 4 cover $70. Still overpriced at $70 but a lot easier to swallow than $170!!!
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It's up to each individual and their own financial circumstances to make that choice as to whether spending the money and not getting the extra pressure sensitivity is worth it. For me it's a premium device and the new pen and keyboard will make my SP3 feel like a new device and a damn sight cheaper than buying an SP4. Even if it was an actual ink writing pen rather than an electronic pen it'd be more than $8 to buy - it's made of metal!!
I don't think Microsoft should sell it for less though just because we want to upgrade, it's the same cost as the original pen and it's better, it's just that you and I bought the original pen a year ago or so, and it's only good design that means we even can use the new pen on the old screen there'd be no argument here if the new pen was incompatible like the SP3 pen and the SP2 screen.If it was an actual problem with the old pen that MS were fixing by introducing the new one then yes I'd agree with you it should be free.
I don't think Microsoft should sell it for less though just because we want to upgrade, it's the same cost as the original pen and it's better, it's just that you and I bought the original pen a year ago or so, and it's only good design that means we even can use the new pen on the old screen there'd be no argument here if the new pen was incompatible like the SP3 pen and the SP2 screen.If it was an actual problem with the old pen that MS were fixing by introducing the new one then yes I'd agree with you it should be free.
@kiwigirl Paid 53€ for the new pen and sold the old one for 36€. Basically I got the new pen for 17€. That's like one family meal at McDonalds. I don't get what the big deal is.
Same for the Type Cover. Sold old one for 70€ and got the new one for 120€. Upgrade for 50€. That's one newly released game. No big deal. Definitely worth the money.
Same for the Type Cover. Sold old one for 70€ and got the new one for 120€. Upgrade for 50€. That's one newly released game. No big deal. Definitely worth the money.
Joe Torres
Member
I agree that the new pen feels different in the hand. I only use my pen for notes at work and light PDF editing so the sp3 pen is good enough. I also like not having to flip it over to erase. So I haven't switched or plan on it unless upgrading to sp4 all together.
The keyboard though is another thing, I love the new keyboard feel and spacing as well as trackpad. I was still under warranty on my old one with Bestbuy so I swapped it out.
slothead
Member
OK, I got my SP4 pen and I pressed the button the end (the one that is now the same color as the pen body), and expected OneNote to come on, but it didn't (?). But then I noticed that there was a white LED flashing on the side of the pen opposite the pocket clip. I shut everything off and the LED stopped flashing (now off), and restarted everything but the LED not longer is flashing (but the pen is still working on OneNote).
See this post (which was in a thread in the Surface Book forum whcih is why it took me a while to find it).
I did that on my SP3 this morning as the SP4 pen had never paired properly with my SP3. (I didn't really care since I rarely used the button anyway but now that there's more customisation in the app it's worth getting it working.
