the Surface surface ! Very angry!!

[reach]

Hi there!
I recently complained about one scratch in my Surface's kickstand lid. It was from a piece of metal on my Jeans.

Since then, partly because I am(was) still not 100% sure if I'll keep it, I really treated it like a raw egg. Whenever I put it somewhere, I put it on the keyboard's back not to scratch the back when laying and sliding it somewhere.

Today by coincidence I checked the backside of my device and it looks just awful!!! Scratches on both sides and in the middle, where the kickstand hits the body.

How can anybody be so stupid and apply such a sensitive Surface to a mobile device?!?!
How can the world's biggest IT Company be so stupid?!?
Seriously, just because of that I'd return it immediately, but now for sure I can't.
How will it look in 2 years?


Tomorrow I'll sell my iPad. It's almost 3 years old and I treated it with less care. Guess what? I could sell it as new. There are NO visible traces of usage. Just NONE!


Oh boy, I'm really angry! I don't trust this company any more. This is just too much. They are acting so bloody brainless. How can one put regular paint on such a device, not an electrochemical finish (AFAIK) like ANYbody else is doing it for a good reason?
Ok, yes, I know, the SP2 is alone in it's league. And I still want such a device. But why on earth can't they build it properly?

 

[Matthew]

Can you post a pic?
I'm trying to decide whether or not to keep mine too.

 

[bluegrass]

I've had my SP2 about a month now and I don't treat it like a raw egg. If I tilt it around a little to where the light catches it just right, I can see some scratches that would make it obvioulsy look a little used but I don't see it as being that dreadful at all. I'm pretty particular & dont like looking at ugly looking high tech products. You know you're going to fall for the SP2 so why don't you just be a little more careful and live with it. You hardly ever look at the back of it anyway. I would be more concerned about scratches on the glass. I'm thankful it's got Gorilla Glass because I'm not too fond those overlay protectors.

 

[beman39]

could you post pics? cuzz no offence I find it hard to believe that you babying it and you got scratches like your describing, or maybe perhaps over dramatizing, because honestly I don't baby it and have placed it on ceramic/metal/wood/glass and it has never scratched! not one... the coating is very durable

 

[LuckyL]

the finish is an issue and while I personally don't mind I do understand that people can become very upset about this. In the end, if you shelled out north of a grand, you expect some durability.
Should it become too bad, I will resort to a skin like Amazon.com: Matrix Style Code Design Protective Decal Skin Sticker (Matte Satin Coating) for Microsoft Surface Pro Window 8 Tablet: Computers & Accessories as I did with my RT. There are quite a few designs out there and if you get tired of it or, god forbid, it scratches I just apply a new one.
Not ideal, I know and definitely something Microsoft should reconsider with the next generation of the Surface line.

 

[reach]

ok, obviously this won't work without pictures, so here they are:

IMG 7103 - Browse Images - Upload Images For Free - Free image sharing and hosting
IMG 7104 - Browse Images - Upload Images For Free - Free image sharing and hosting
IMG 7105 - Browse Images - Upload Images For Free - Free image sharing and hosting
IMG 7106 - Browse Images - Upload Images For Free - Free image sharing and hosting

The last one suffers from the compression this picture provider applies. I just took the first I found.

So, yes, these sorts of scratches won't come from always placing it on the keyboard as on the pictures. But I can't remember that I've ever put it somewhere on the backside. Before I had the keyboard I either put it on the couch and when I used it bed, I put it on a box of tissues. I'm that careful! So, when- and however it happened, it must have been no more than one or two times.

My point is the iPad. It looks bloody new! I'm selling my stuff on a regular basis - everything! So that's the reason why I take care of my things (that and because I just hate handling stuff carelessly). And when I sell stuff, I'm taking exactly this sort of pictures to show how great the item's condition is. Now my SP2 looks lightyears worse after 1,5 weeks than my iPad after 3 years. That's just... I don't find the right words.

 

[reach]

Thanks LuckyL for the hint. I will try to return mine (I'll argue that this rubbish finish is also a sort of product functionality for which one can return it), get a new one and apply this on day zero.

 

[Matthew]

Wow. The power cable is really taking the finish off. Not good.
I have the RT and was thinking about going to get the 2 instead. Now I don't know.

 

[gwinegarden]

I've had my Surface2 since the day it came out. I use it for several hours a day. It has never been in a case. Other than a few finger prints, there isn't a mark on it.

 

[reach]

Wow. The power cable is really taking the finish off. Not good.
I have the RT and was thinking about going to get the 2 instead. Now I don't know.

...and don't think I'm blindly fiddeling around with the plug or that I have two left hands. Everytime I plug it (not too often, battery life is really good!) I do it with reasonable attention!

 

[reach]

I've had my Surface2 since the day it came out. I use it for several hours a day. It has never been in a case. Other than a few finger prints, there isn't a mark on it.

Maybe the S2 has a different coating or, more likely, the color is more forgiving.

 

[oion]

Wow. The power cable is really taking the finish off. Not good.
I have the RT and was thinking about going to get the 2 instead. Now I don't know.

The Surface 2 has a much lighter fingerprint-resistant finish, so scratches shouldn't be as obvious as the dark-on-silver business in the originals and Pro 2.

That said, given your other thread about how heavy the Surface RT is for your one-handed use case, the Surface 2 isn't going to help you anyway. You should resell and get a sub-10 inch plastic tablet.


As for OP, it's unfortunate, but there is no remedy (besides trade-in under the extended warranty for accidental cosmetic damage, unless you're within the returns window from original purchase) and only a prevention (skin/decal).