Poll What do you want to buy, Surface Pro or Surface Book?

[daniielrp]

Or, it'd be super cool if there was a light weight base with just battery, no keyboard. Kinda like a lightweight, dummy docking stand where you get extra battery and it serves as a stand and connects just like the dock.

Unlikely, most of the weight is battery.

 

[BearFlag]

I'm having some trouble deciding and need some advice. I'm currently an owner of a SP3 as my sole at home device. I like it but in retrospect the screen size was too small as my primary PC.


I went to the MS store and tested both the SP4 and Surface book. I didn't think the SP4 was a significant upgrade as far as the actually device but loved the new keyboard and touchpad. I thought the Surface Book was amazing aside from the screen wobble (slightly annoying).


I also noticed that the new xps 15 with infinity display came out with great reviews (Review: Dell XPS 15 Fixes the Worst Thing About Windows Laptops).


So my dilemma is to either:

Option 1 - buy the new Surface Book and sell my SP3 (not much return)
Option 2 - buy the new Dell XPS 15 + new SP keyboard (for my current SP3) so that I use the XPS as my laptop and SP3 as my tablet/portable devise.

Any recommendations?

 

[No_ax_to_grind]

I'm having some trouble deciding and need some advice. I'm currently an owner of a SP3 as my sole at home device. I like it but in retrospect the screen size was too small as my primary PC.


I went to the MS store and tested both the SP4 and Surface book. I didn't think the SP4 was a significant upgrade as far as the actually device but loved the new keyboard and touchpad. I thought the Surface Book was amazing aside from the screen wobble (slightly annoying).


I also noticed that the new xps 15 with infinity display came out with great reviews (Review: Dell XPS 15 Fixes the Worst Thing About Windows Laptops).


So my dilemma is to either:

Option 1 - buy the new Surface Book and sell my SP3 (not much return)
Option 2 - buy the new Dell XPS 15 + new SP keyboard (for my current SP3) so that I use the XPS as my laptop and SP3 as my tablet/portable devise.

Any recommendations?

If SP3 is sole home device, what is a (any) laptop for? School? Work? If so, Option 2's a gimme on the expense side unless you completely trick out the XPS 15.

 

[GreyFox7]

If you want bigger screen the XPS 15 @ 15.6 is 3.3 inches bigger... vs 1.2 inches bigger for SB.
i7-6700HQ quad core, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB PCIe SSD, NVIDIA Geforce GTX 960m 2 GB DDR5 +++ $1699.
That will power you through the toughest jobs. Everyone deserves a system like this Plus that SP3 sweet combo.

 

[jnjroach]

Wobble was just a minor concern.
The big deal is the portability and utility of a built in stand when I want to use it as a tablet. In order to support angles on a table/sofa/lap while browsing, i'd have to lug around another 1.5 lbs. This defeats the benefit of it being a Surface tablet. Now it's just another heavy convertible.

Maybe some company can make a case that has a stand. Something that doesn't interfere with the bottom connection that can be always on even when docked.

Or, it'd be super cool if there was a light weight base with just battery, no keyboard. Kinda like a lightweight, dummy docking stand where you get extra battery and it serves as a stand and connects just like the dock.

That is why there is still the SP4....the SB is a laptop first and primary the tablet functionality is secondary.

 

[BearFlag]

If SP3 is sole home device, what is a (any) laptop for? School? Work? If so, Option 2's a gimme on the expense side unless you completely trick out the XPS 15.

Yes, it would be for the several days per month, I need to do work from home. Trying to work on spreadsheets and view documents on a 12" is just too hard. So your saying Option 2 is better?

 

[No_ax_to_grind]

Yes, it would be for the several days per month, I need to do work from home. Trying to work on spreadsheets and view documents on a 12" is just too hard. So your saying Option 2 is better?

If you're just doing spreadsheets I'd get an external monitor, even a keyboard and mouse if you don't have them already. Way cheaper than both options you've laid out. You can get a good 23" 1920 x 1080 FHD IPS panel for $100 these days. That is, unless you don't have a home office with desk.

 

[BearFlag]

If you're just doing spreadsheets I'd get an external monitor, even a keyboard and mouse if you don't have them already. Way cheaper than both options you've laid out. You can get a good 23" 1920 x 1080 FHD IPS panel for $100 these days. That is, unless you don't have a home office with desk.

No I need something that is portable as I work at cafés or conference rooms sometimes. I like having a tablet for reading, surfing the web, etc. But I've realized definitely need portable laptop functionality with a screen larger than 12 inches.

 

[Nuspieds]

That is why there is still the SP4....the SB is a laptop first and primary the tablet functionality is secondary.

Yes, but just because tablet functionality is secondary doesn't mean it should lack Surface-standard tablet functionality: The kickstand.

We're not complaining about the battery life in tablet mode (again, we understand and agree that the SB is laptop first and tablet second); what we are complaining about is the lack of the basic physical feature that all Surface tablets have provided: A built-in kickstand.

The built-in kickstand has always distinguished the Surface from other devices: There was never a need to buy a third-party cover in order to provide the functionality of getting the device to prop itself up. Yes, better battery life and overall performance when the SB is docked with the keyboard is not an issue; in that mode, it's still a Surface.

However, when I switch to tablet mode and am unable to use the tablet in the traditional, standard Surface style, then that's when it is no longer a Surface. That is what is disappointing about the SB.

 

[BearFlag]

If you want bigger screen the XPS 15 @ 15.6 is 3.3 inches bigger... vs 1.2 inches bigger for SB.
i7-6700HQ quad core, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB PCIe SSD, NVIDIA Geforce GTX 960m 2 GB DDR5 +++ $1699.
That will power you through the toughest jobs. Everyone deserves a system like this Plus that SP3 sweet combo.

That's exactly what I was thinking. The only advantage to the SB option would be just dealing with one device instead of two.

 

[CrippsCorner]

For me it'd be between a midrange Surface Pro 4, or just the Surface 3. The Surface Book is beautiful, but I just don't need that kind of device, or indeed the power.

I won't be buying a new computer until 2017 though, so who knows what the line up will look like then!

 

[kensmo]

I really, really wanted to get a SB but I decided to pre-order a SP4 instead. I already have a year-old Macbook Pro so I didn't need another laptop. I needed a Windows tablet. The short battery life of the clipboard was the deal-killer for me. I needed something that will primarily be used as a tablet. I've got an old iPad that I watch Netflix in bed but the battery is wearing out. I thought about an iPad Pro but the the SB4 seemed like a much better deal since it doubles as a Windows PC.