Hello, I registered on this forum just to post this, and I think we'll be all comparing notes trying to find the perfect setup of accessories for different uses. I was surprised to see the Surface Pro in Best Buy yesterday, so I compared the touch and type covers, as well as inspected performance, build, all the good stuff. I had actually played with the 2 covers before with the RT, and I was sold on the type cover, but its right click button has issues. I decided to troubleshoot and really take some time to decide my cover.
I found the touchpad on the touch cover better than the type cover's (unfortunately). I opted for the touch cover, since I'll be editing graphics and mousing probably more than typing. At first, I thought with the type's clickable buttons, surely it is a better touchpad. With the type cover, I found randomly every other right click wouldn't click, and I tried multiple type covers to make sure it wasn't a damaged demo unit. It's like you can slide and touch on the buttons and them click them and the software gets confused. In other words, I had to carefully lift my tracking hand each time I wanted to successfully right click. That only takes half a second, but it is not how I use my touchpads. My thoughts are the driver/type cover has multi touch detection and if you have 2 fingers on the pad it is waiting for a gesture. For most people, this might not be an issue. It is a minute thing but enough to make me notice, when in a Word doc, why when I right click is the menu only sometimes coming up? Not to mention, on the type cover, the entire touchpad is clickable, leading to a confusing "Am I right clicking on this side or is this a mouse wheel click, or neither one?". For the record, the touch cover's touchpad does not click at all, which I did not think I would like but it seems fine.
So I sat there with 2 Surfaces side by side, a touch cover and a type cover. I clicked, tracked, typed, swapped, right clicked about 100 times, swapped keyboards on Surfaces to make sure it wasn't a software or hardware issue. I could right click on the touch cover without fail, mainly because the buttons are separated below the touchpad. I could rest my finger on the touchpad and click at the same time flawlessly. Back to the type cover, and reproduced the inconsistent right clicking just about every time. Enough to where I could see myself frustrated in an application. To be fair, I preferred the type cover 100% for the typing and key feedback. If you just lift your mousing finger before right clicking, it's fine (I think). It is hardly any thicker than the touch cover. But since I rarely write even this much, compared to how often I'll be mousing, I'm going for the touch cover. At least I wanted blue anyway.
I found the touchpad on the touch cover better than the type cover's (unfortunately). I opted for the touch cover, since I'll be editing graphics and mousing probably more than typing. At first, I thought with the type's clickable buttons, surely it is a better touchpad. With the type cover, I found randomly every other right click wouldn't click, and I tried multiple type covers to make sure it wasn't a damaged demo unit. It's like you can slide and touch on the buttons and them click them and the software gets confused. In other words, I had to carefully lift my tracking hand each time I wanted to successfully right click. That only takes half a second, but it is not how I use my touchpads. My thoughts are the driver/type cover has multi touch detection and if you have 2 fingers on the pad it is waiting for a gesture. For most people, this might not be an issue. It is a minute thing but enough to make me notice, when in a Word doc, why when I right click is the menu only sometimes coming up? Not to mention, on the type cover, the entire touchpad is clickable, leading to a confusing "Am I right clicking on this side or is this a mouse wheel click, or neither one?". For the record, the touch cover's touchpad does not click at all, which I did not think I would like but it seems fine.
So I sat there with 2 Surfaces side by side, a touch cover and a type cover. I clicked, tracked, typed, swapped, right clicked about 100 times, swapped keyboards on Surfaces to make sure it wasn't a software or hardware issue. I could right click on the touch cover without fail, mainly because the buttons are separated below the touchpad. I could rest my finger on the touchpad and click at the same time flawlessly. Back to the type cover, and reproduced the inconsistent right clicking just about every time. Enough to where I could see myself frustrated in an application. To be fair, I preferred the type cover 100% for the typing and key feedback. If you just lift your mousing finger before right clicking, it's fine (I think). It is hardly any thicker than the touch cover. But since I rarely write even this much, compared to how often I'll be mousing, I'm going for the touch cover. At least I wanted blue anyway.
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