Surface Pro 3: Six Months Later
- Thread starter benjitek
- Start date
A fair review, I think.
Author Paul Thurrott's opinion:
Likes:
- Kickstand
- Weight and thickness
- Can replace laptop (and desktop via docking station)
- Software bundled is Microsoft Windows only. No 'crapware'.
Dislikes:
- Needs second USB
- Small screen
- Ecosystem only now emerging
Author Paul Thurrott's opinion:
Likes:
- Kickstand
- Weight and thickness
- Can replace laptop (and desktop via docking station)
- Software bundled is Microsoft Windows only. No 'crapware'.
Dislikes:
- Needs second USB
- Small screen
- Ecosystem only now emerging
If it had a second USB then it would need a bigger battery and people would complain with two passive hubs plugged in driving a suite of USB devices the battery life is too short. then it would have to be thicker and heavier... with an even bigger battery. There's no winning only losing. 
markusbeutel
Member
If it had a second USB then it would need a bigger battery and people would complain with two passive hubs plugged in driving a suite of USB devices the battery life is too short. then it would have to be thicker and heavier... with an even bigger battery. There's no winning only losing.
If they make a legitimate keyboard, you could easily fit an extra usb in there, as well as an extra battery...
Unless the Surface Team has a complete change of heart and direction it ain't going to happen, from an engineering perspective they have written off the idea of a solid keyboard attachment, they prototyped a few designs and it brought nothing to the table. The SP3 is a Halo Device that is designed to point to a specific direction in Windows Computing.
Microsoft is perfectly content on letting the OEMs to create devices that have hints of the SP3 but offers more legacy use cases.
I'm happy with the way Microsoft have designed this device, its fully met my needs and also met needs I didn't even know I had, yes extra ports would be nice but I think the way it's designed is pretty optimal using the tech available at the moment while still keeping the size/weight. I like that it's so thin and light, it's VERY positive thing for me, and adding extras would take that away somewhat I'm sure.
. As said I'm sure MS are happy that OEMs to do their own take on the Surface, that was their idea for it after all to show other manufacturers what is possible with this sort of hardware tech and windows 8..
. As said I'm sure MS are happy that OEMs to do their own take on the Surface, that was their idea for it after all to show other manufacturers what is possible with this sort of hardware tech and windows 8..
Why would an extra usb port mean a need for a bigger battery? Isn't it a case like with everything (e.g screen brightness, power use) that if you use it in such a manner, battery life will be effected. How does having a second port automatically mean a need for a bigger battery. You'd just expect to get slightly less run time if you were to use both.
It wouldn't need a bigger battery but another port if on a dedicated bus (i.e a real additional USB Port) would require more power thus either would need a bigger battery or have less battery life. An additional port but not on a dedicated bus would (i.e converting the existing USB Port into a Hub with to connections) would exasperate the current issues people face...
exasperate or exacerbate... or very possibly both... lol
Why would it use more power if you're not using it? Surely if nothing is plugged in, no additional power is being used.
