Umm, I just didn't like it :-(

[GreyFox7]

Wish it came in black. That would help. I think they light color is part of what makes it look flimsy to me.

Take it to MACCO and get a custom paint job.
you may not be a troll but that's a first class whining job I'll give you that.
Wouldn't even try to talk you into it but thanks for dropping by with your turd. I think Tim is calling you, Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse.

 

[mitchellvii]

You may wish to rethink the better battery life notion of the i3. Head over to anandtech for some benchmarks.

And at present, the screen issue is a rarity.

I've read a number of differing viewpoints on this. Depending on who you speak to in real world use the i3 gets about an hour more. Also the heat would be an issue. You could fry an egg on my Surface Pro.

Good on the screen issue. We get bad screens on the Tab S too. Happens with new devices.

 

[mitchellvii]

I think it comes down to this. Aesthetics versus functionality. Not crazy about the aesthetics, love the functionality. Also stuff always looks like crap in BestBuy due to the lighting. It's why they don't use flourescent lights in bars.

Looking at some i5 vs i3 benchmarks and it looks like the i5 wins most of what I would be using this tablet for by 20 to 30%. Of course benchmarks are not real world. I think if I go for this as a tablet accessory to my R7 I'll go i3. If I go for it to replace my R7 I'll go i5.

 

[mitchellvii]

Just spent some time reading through the threads. This device seems to be having A LOT of problems: overheating, throttling, freezing, pen disconnections, fragile screen, poor battery life. If the i5 is constantly throttling down what's the point of having an i5? Has anyone here had a 10/10 experience with their SP3?

 

[Tsurugaya]

People with devices that work 100% have very little incentive in visiting boards like this.

 

[mahdi75]

Just spent some time reading through the threads. This device seems to be having A LOT of problems: overheating, throttling, freezing, pen disconnections, fragile screen, poor battery life. If the i5 is constantly throttling down what's the point of having an i5? Has anyone here had a 10/10 experience with their SP3?

The throttling depends on the usage. Some programs (Games, Video encoding) use CPU and GPU constantly. This is where SP3 starts to throttle. Although using a small fan (there was a video on reddit about this) or putting it in front of air conditioner (tried myself) really reduces this.
In other kinds of work (programming, databases, etc.) you'll most likely not see any throttling.

 

[Moonsurface]

This is quite a good review I watched last night, I was interested because it shows him using Photoshop and Lightroom which is my intended usage. Not sure if it'll help but I thought it was quite fair and without too much bias and he's used it for a month and seems happy with it.

 

[ctitanic]

Because I WANT to like it. Specs and features wise this is the machine I wanted the SP1 to be. Now that its here hard to walk away.

My problem is that in my experience users that need some kind of push to buy a device they usually end unhappy and blaming for it those who "convinced" him about buying it. And when this happens in a forum the unhappy user comes back to make the life of the rest a miserable one. So I hope that this is not going to be the case.

 

[scfoster]

The resolution on the small screen is extremely high so it depends on your eyesight (seriously). I'm in that borderline region of having to wear reading glasses, so there comes a point where high resolutions on small screens become an issue.
So I think your question related to MS Access is more about screen real estate rather than processing capability. With 8GB RAM MS Access works just fine (FYI, I deal with BI tools, SQL Server, Oracle and Teradata).
Had a Galaxy Note 12.2 (still have a 10.1). Returned the 12.2 (no regrets). The 10.1 is collecting dust as the SP3 just works. The Macbook Air has also not been used in weeks (which truly shocks me - I have to admit).
Never been a Jihadi about hardware, operating systems, etc. They're just tools to me and if they work for me I use them. If they don't, well....... they collect dust then get sold.
I'll be the first to state I prefer Mac OSX over Windoze. Just a personal preference (I think UNIX is better for me). However, MS really caught my attention with the SP3. Enough so that I'll put up with Win 8.1 as the hardware features far outweigh my personal OS biases/preferences. My REI BlackDiamond Bullet Daypack Backpack feels almost empty now with the SP3 in it. No need for any other hardware (ipad, Android tablet, etc).

 

[puma]

I don't know but after using the sp2 and 3, I can't touch other oem's stuff anymore.. it's just not on the same level of quality as far as the build and the polished feel. To me it's like using a Samsung filled with the touchwiz horribleness or a Nexus android phone.. I want the pure experience, not the OEM sub par hardware, feel, and worst of all bloat. I, myself, cannot go back to Dells, Acers, or Samsung tablets for windows anymore.

 

[mmoran27]

I have both a macbook air and sp3. No it cannot replace a laptop no matter what MS tries to sell you. Keyboard / Trackpad is not optimal (Flimsy, bounces as you type on angle, key travel depth, etc). Trackpad seems inferior to Macbook Air trackpad also. It almost makes me want to carry a bluetooth keyboard / mouse.

 

[mohcho]

To the OP. I had a SP2 with the "magnesium" finish that was very problematic and was not very wear friendly. I only had it a few weeks and the finish near the charging port was starting to wear down very quickly. This is a well known issue with others, so Microsoft's fix was to make the finish like the original Surface that did not run into the same wear problems.

That's my take on that colour option. I may not may not be right on the choice of Microsoft to change the colour, but I believe it was in response to issues with the finish with the SP2.