User experiences between Surface RT and Surface Pro

[Silverfox]

Ok, thanks for the info, I will try and explain my reasoning behind this and people can tear me down if I am talking junk. My understanding is that wp8 is optimised for touch and a lot of people prefer to use it using a touch screen.

I don't have any hardware at home, so I have no external storage or external displays. I am rarely at home.

I use my iPad for music, media, browsing, documents, email, basically everything you could use a RT for you. The one thing that I cannot use the iPad for, is running Microsoft software such as SQL server, or development tools, or creating virtual machines, for running oracle, or being able to run other operating systems, such as Linux/Solaris for example.

There is a big question over why I would use a pro over a ultrabook, if I wasn't interested in a touch device, I would get an ultrabook, this is a non-brainer, a dell xps 13 is better spec, than a pro in every area and is about £1000, but it isn't touch.

The things I like about the pro, is the pen and the weight which are big plus's for me. The storage and battery life are not so much of a big deal for me, as I am always near a power source and I can be selective on what I store on the pro And unless it is work related, I have 3 smart phones and a iPad that i can also use for mundane tasks.

The pro has to be a laptop/desktop replacement, so far I have seen no reason why it cannot be that tool. But a lot of my decision will depend on the UK price when it is released in the UK and what alternative are also out there at that particular time.

A lot of people have a problem when trying to compare their setup/working practices with mine. I live in a hotel 7 days a week, wherever I am working at the time apart from the rare times I am home and I do practically everything on my iPad. Everything I take with me, fits in my rucksack, clothes and technology. So the pro fits my lifestyle if i want to put it that way. I must be able to carry it everywhere, so weight is extremely important. I don't drive so i walk or use public travel everywhere.

Maybe as others have pointed out, a ultrabook or hybrid might be better, but I have been using Microsoft products for over 20 years and I want to believe that the pro is a viable tool for what I need it for.

Sorry for the long post

Hope that helps a bit

Thanks
Darren

 

[Russ]

Darren --

That's a good summary, but my only question is: Why the iPad? What can you do on the iPad that cannot be done on the Pro?

Ladyfriend and I both have, or had, iPads. She gave hers to one of her grandkids, and I am about to do the same with mine. We will also both be passing along a couple of decent laptops to our kids or grandkids.

Somewhat like you, she does not drive in China, so is dependent on public transport or, sometimes, local pickup by one of her manufacturers. Not only is weight an issue, but just having another device to carry and keep track of would not make sense for her (or me, but I don't travel much anymore).

Just a thought.

Take care,
Russ

 

[kristalsoldier]

Darren...the case you make is a powerful one and there is one thing - among others, of course - that you posted that makes a lot of sense. Leaving aside the Touch element, the use of the pen in the Surface Pro is a powerful argument. That, and the fact that you move around a lot means that having a form factor that allows you to have the best (under the circumstances) of two form factors - a laptop AND a tablet - which the Surface Pro does would be of advantage for you. If necessary, you could hook up the Pro to external monitors (when you are traveling) would go a long way to make things easier for you - aside from some niggling issues with external monitors etc. (if I am not mistake, that is). If after you extend the storage of the Pro and you want more storage, may be a portable wireless storage device may be of help.

 

[Russ]

the use of the pen in the Surface Pro is a powerful argument.

Kristalsoldier --

I am not so adept with the pen, but Ladyfriend thinks it is a Major Plus -- so much so that she bought an extra one to take on her trip, fearing that she might lose it along the way and not be able to replace it locally. She loves the ability to make quick, handwritten notes in Chinese, and, using the handwriting recognition feature, have them converted for email or saving. She also uses it to make modifications to, or notations on, product pictures she takes along the way, then email them back to her product people here in the US.

Candidly, I considered the pen to be just an afterthought until I saw what she does with it. Now, I'm a believer (but I'm still not very good with it).

Take care,
Russ

 

[kristalsoldier]

Kristalsoldier --

I am not so adept with the pen, but Ladyfriend thinks it is a Major Plus -- so much so that she bought an extra one to take on her trip, fearing that she might lose it along the way and not be able to replace it locally. She loves the ability to make quick, handwritten notes in Chinese, and, using the handwriting recognition feature, have them converted for email or saving. She also uses it to make modifications to, or notations on, product pictures she takes along the way, then email them back to her product people here in the US.

Candidly, I considered the pen to be just an afterthought until I saw what she does with it. Now, I'm a believer (but I'm still not very good with it).

Take care,
Russ

Hi Russ...

At least you have been able to try it. I have not had that pleasure! But I do think it would be very useful (but not that useful that I would give up the RT for the Pro).

 

[Russ]

give up the RT for the Pro).

Kristalsoldier --

Wellll, now, I wouldn't either really, except that a certain Lady was so appreciative of the work I did setting up her Pro that she bought me one. Now I have both. The RT is really better suited to my usage, but in the interest of preserving Sino-American relations, I think it wise to adopt the Pro and let the RT find a home somewhere in my extended family.

Take care,
Russ

 

[Silverfox]

Darren --

That's a good summary, but my only question is: Why the iPad? What can you do on the iPad that cannot be done on the Pro?

Ladyfriend and I both have, or had, iPads. She gave hers to one of her grandkids, and I am about to do the same with mine. We will also both be passing along a couple of decent laptops to our kids or grandkids.

Somewhat like you, she does not drive in China, so is dependent on public transport or, sometimes, local pickup by one of her manufacturers. Not only is weight an issue, but just having another device to carry and keep track of would not make sense for her (or me, but I don't travel much anymore).

Just a thought.

Take care,
Russ

Hi Russ

Going to try and answer your question, which is a good one.

An iPad and a surface together would be the same weight roughly of a normal run of the mill laptop, don't include ultra books in this category. So the weight would be doable.

You have to remember that I have had a iPad since the 1st generation came out, bought the 64gb version for £700, that travelled with me everywhere, I bought it then so I would have something to use before I started working in Norway.

To me there is nothing that comes close to an iPad for what it was designed for, even now. I have never ever had any problem with the iPads that I have owned. I am writing this on my iPad, I do documents, watch movies, listen to music, and spend hours playing games on it.

A pro to me is a laptop/desktop replacement, it can be argued that it can do everything that a iPad can, which is true to a certain extent. Whatever I buy however, whether it is hybrid or pro, it is not a replacement for my iPad.

There are certain arguments that's can put forward, such as
iPad is proven product, stable thought multiple releases
Very good battery life
Extremely light, I read on my iPad extensively, holding it in one hand a lot of the times, to do that with a pro or hybrid is questionable.
Not sure how long the pro takes to charge, but the iPad is quick to charge and hold battery charge reasonably well.

I guess the reasoning for keeping the iPad, is that the pro is new technology and to rely 100% on it as your only device, in its first iteration can be argued as risky, remember my circumstances and the need for a totally reliable device which I am totally dependent on working. Also take into account this, my iPad is 3G. I sometimes stay in hotels, like now, where there is no wifi.

The things I like about the pro, is that I can use the pen for notes and as already mentioned, I can run the apps that I cannot run on the iPad, but to buy the pro purely for stuff that I could do on the iPad, would be extravagant and for business purposes not justifiable. To clarify that, I claimed the 1st iPad i bought as an business expense for use as a business tool which was accepted.

I can totally understand where people are coming from, with getting rid of their iPads if they have just recently got a surface, and will be using the surface to do exactly what they do on the iPad.

However having the pro and the iPad, gives me flexibility of what maybe 15 hours plus combined usage without power, which if you spend time travelling a lot, does come in handy.

A lot of this is conjecture purely because until I have a pro and can use it in anger, I cannot say if it is as good as I hope it is.

So until MS talk about release dates and more importantly pricing for the UK, I am stuck deciding whether to wait for uk release or have it shipped from the US.

Darren

 

[jnjroach]

Your biggest hurdle for your scenario is the lack of storage for VMs on the Pro, it only has 128GB of on board, Oracle VMs tend to be quite large. I use my Surface RT to remote into my Power Servers as I always have an Internet connection with me.

 

[Silverfox]

Your biggest hurdle for your scenario is the lack of storage for VMs on the Pro, it only has 128GB of on board, Oracle VMs tend to be quite large. I use my Surface RT to remote into my Power Servers as I always have an Internet connection with me.

Hmm ok, need to check that, I would be looking at using virtual box and one of the appliances from the oracle site. I can cut it down and remove the developer tools and just leave me with 11g database only. Any reason why you couldn't stick the vm on a USB key or other external storage?

I suppose in a way, I would be interested to know if anyone has found out things that they cannot do on the pro, that they thought they should be able to, if that thread already exists, please post the link.

 

[Russ]

I always have an Internet connection with me.

Jeff --

What are you using for your internet connection? Is it US only?

Thanks,
Russ

 

[jnjroach]

I currently use a Sprint Tri-Fi 4G connection, typically I will rent a connection when traveling internationally or use the Hotel or Work Connection.

 

[Russ]

Thanks, Jeff.

Ladyfriend does about the same -- usually using hotel connections or her manufacturers' offices. She occasionally has some long train, bus or car rides with no access. It may make sense to look into some kind of rented connections for those.

Regards,
Russ