Terrible Build quality II: magnesium alloy body

[mrfroid]

During the last 4 years I traveled with my aluminum Macbook Air 13 for about 2 years. Didn't notice any scratches on top the lid. Unfortunately, different story with SP4 after just one month of traveling. Same guy, same attitude towards how to keep your laptop safe, but different results. All the time SP4 was either on my lap or in backpack's sleeve for a laptop. The only thing I could think of what could have damaged my tablet is credit card that i keep there (so not to have all of them in your wallet when you travel). But I did that when traveling with Macbook as well.

Yes, SP4 is cleaned with wet/dry tissues before making this photo And unfortunately I don't get BSOD or white spots on the screen so there's little chance that this device one day will be replaced for me.

 

[dream3]

Yes, Microsoft continuously screws up something for the 4th time knowing what the outcome will be. It's impressive they keep using that ridiculous magnesium crap instead of going with anodized aluminum like apple's been doing for years, or at least try something different. I mean, it's 99% the same laughable paint job as the surface pro 1. Considering these are tablets and not notebooks it's just insane.

People that really USE a surface device are forced to install skins if they want to preserve the device enough to be able to resell it in the future, given there are no feather cases available in the market.

 

[mrfroid]

Unfortunately I've read about many problems surrounding SP4, but this one was not the one I was aware of so wasn't uber-super careful. Skin might have been a good idea... OK, let's hope I'll have some hardware problems while I'm still on guarantee

 

[hughlle]

How on earth are you storing it? My sp3, sp4, and s3 are still as new, going in and out of a bag (which has many brass zippers, metal pens, keys etc inside) and sliding around desks all day long. I can't believe that that has been in a protective laptop bag with nothing but a credit card.

 

[mrfroid]

How on earth are you storing it? My sp3, sp4, and s3 are still as new, going in and out of a bag (which has many brass zippers, metal pens, keys etc inside) and sliding around desks all day long. I can't believe that that has been in a protective laptop bag with nothing but a credit card.

I was surprised too. Of course that you have to understand that when I'm traveling, my backpack is full to the maximum so that credit card might be brushing into the body quite heavily. Still nothing similar happened to MacBook which btw has other problem - anti-glare covering on the screen which because of the pressure goes off so after a few months of traveling I've noticed prints of keys and trackpad on the screen

 

[MaxBuck]

Magnesium is a softer metal than aluminum. Not surprising it scratches more easily, but it has FA to do with "build quality."

 

[MikemanSP4]

I have traveled all over the place with my SP4 - to add fairness to the equation, its only been three months of travel, but during which I have pulled my SP4 out on trains, in airports, bars - yeah you name it, I've pulled it out to use it, or play with it, or just show it off. But before I went pulling it out, I wrapped it up with a nice "Urban Armor Gear SP4 Case. Sure it adds a little weight to the unit, but the protection is off the chain. I got mine on the A-Zon for about $70.00 which is more than fair when I consider I am protecting around $2000+. I mean a mere drop from 3 feet could turn my unit into a useless square Frisbee...Weee. But not one scratch on it.

Pros - Great protection from scratches, bumps, drops - Peace of mind knowing my investment has an Otterbox encasing it. Not one scratch on it - Wooot! Pen holder, warranty, blah-ba-blah...

Cons - SP7 i7 now has a blanket of warmth, its good in cooler temps, but the summer is coming up. Thus far no overheating, time will tell..... The Micro-SD card, well I have to take the case off to change it out. So I bought a 200 GB Micro-SD. Dremel Tool can fix the rest.

I could go on in both the PRO's and CON's - but this isn't a Case Advertisement. But perhaps wrapping your unit before whipping it out to show it off might be an idea. Hindsite 20/20

 

[mrfroid]

I'm not the one who wraps his amazingly looking electronics so they look like shit and no one would buy them if they originally looked like that But yeah, maybe it was false assumption from my side that there is a difference between TV set which you install and leave in the same place forever and a tablet that is always on the move. I've had Macbook for the last 5 years and the biggest difference between Apple and Microsoft for me is that for Apple everything works well out of the box meanwhile for Microsoft you have to... buy cases, tweak system settings, etc. Everyone just wants to use their devices for work and play and not to play with different setting for it to work.

 

[MikemanSP4]

I'm not the one who wraps his amazingly looking electronics so they look like shit and no one would buy them if they originally looked like that But yeah, maybe it was false assumption from my side that there is a difference between TV set which you install and leave in the same place forever and a tablet that is always on the move. I've had Macbook for the last 5 years and the biggest difference between Apple and Microsoft for me is that for Apple everything works well out of the box meanwhile for Microsoft you have to... buy cases, tweak system settings, etc. Everyone just wants to use their devices for work and play and not to play with different setting for it to work.

I hear ya Mr. Froid on the wrapping up an amazing device to make it look like poo - but in this case (no further pun) My case actually added a level of professionalism to the overall "look" and design. I think it looks awesome out of the box, but so do cell phones.....and a wise man once told me, buy a case - save your device from silly things.

If you want to compare Macbook to Microsoft - I have a few words - the first one that comes to mind is "Proprietary", another is "Jailbreaking". Microsoft just joined the tablet arena in comparison to a company (American also) that has been doing it for decades. Sure out of the box Macbook may have less errors, but they still have errors, thus the updates etc. But you can't download, watch, install without getting out of Jail first. Boo on Mac. Great product for folks that don't really want to "explore".

Thanks for your thoughts and input to my comment.

 

[nnthemperor]

I too will be the last to install anything more than a clear silicon cover on my phones let alone on my tablets and laptops. My Sp3 from 2yrs ago is still without blemish.

 

[MikemanSP4]

I wish they sold a clear type cover for the SP4 - I love the way this thing looks and performs. I was recently at Starbucks in Nuremberg and I saw a ton of Notebooks etc. - but not one Surface Pro. Just bulky laptops, cell phones, a few rotten Apples. It felt good to have probably one of the "top performers" in the bunch. Anyhow....if anyone observes or runs into a clear cover for the SP4 - please pass it along.

 

[Yillbs]

While the surface is a nice device, i'm debating on doing what I did to my iphone ( see image ), wrap it with " Carbon Fiber ", it doesn't increase weight very much, and the thickness is hardly noticeable. It's very nice on my phone. you'll notice a bulge on the back of my phone, this is by design on my part, it's a piece of metal that's under the wrap I use to connect it to a magnet on my dashboard for easy viewing.