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Why Did You Buy Your Surface Pro and How Do You Use It?

mitchellvii

Well-Known Member
The ability to ink in OneNote and search on inked text, period. That is the only reason I bought this.

I have it connected to an external monitor and run my database on that while I use the SP to take notes, look thinks up, etc. For me the SP isn't the "show" it is the "supporting cast". That's all good, Hamlet needs his Horatio.

P.S., I have actually found a reason not to despise the Metro UI. The Yahoo Mail app. Sending emails from Yahoo using the browser interface is a pain. The Metro app is pretty nice.
 
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I bought mine because I like having a tablet but I wanted one that could run some photography programs like photoshop and stuff like the Pocket Wizard utils that will most likely never have app versions. I was also tired of not being able to do simple things with my iPad like plug in a usb drive to retrieve files.

Also, I like MS's vision of the future. They seem to be heading towards a single device that when your home, you drop it into a dock (I wish the Pro had a dock but at least you can connect a USB one) and it connects to your keyboard, mouse, multiple monitors, printers, etc. and runs your full programs and is a full, productive computer. When you leave, you grab it and you now have a simple tablet touch experience with the added benefit that your programs and data are with you should you decide to work on the go.

Apple is going down the path of separate devices and data is store in the cloud. This requires developers to make app versions of the programs you want as well as requiring you to buy multiple devices. Then there is the issue with cloud access and bandwidth etc. Both paradigms have their pros and cons but I prefer Microsoft's vision.
 
I bought mine for a job, but plans fell apart. I decided to keep the Pro anyway and am in love with it. I mostly use it for college classes.
I also have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, so I use that tablet to load the class book pdf file and take Notes on my pro w the stylus. I always get comments saying I have the coolest gadgets lol :D
 
Mine has replaced my iPad for most tablet uses, ie music listening, streaming video, web browsing, even magazine reading through Zinio and books in Kindle. It also replaces much of my MacBook usage for cloud music management, light photo management and light gaming.

It does all of those things better than the original devices it's replaced while also letting me use Metro OneNote with a real pen. For about 75% of my computing needs, it's basically become my one device to rule them all.
 
mine has replaced my asus infinity tab which was great, but this offers so much more...the only thing I miss is the battery life of the asus...
 
I guess to sum it up, the Surface Pro is the first device I have ever used that simply does everything.
 
I guess to sum it up, the Surface Pro is the first device I have ever used that simply does everything.

Mitchell --

Yeah, that's about right. I bought the first Pro as a laptop replacement for my Ladyfriend to use in her travels. Her laptop was in serious need of replacement, and I convinced her to wait for the Pro, and she is delighted that she did. Along with the usual business stuff, she does a lot of photo editing, so needed the power of the Pro. An unexpected benefit that she loves is the ability to make handwritten notes in Chinese and convert them for emailing, saving or whatever. In fact her Pro is now on it's "maiden voyage" -- a six week trip to China -- and she reports that she likes it more every day.

I, too, now have a Pro (thanks to her generosity) which I will also use to replace my laptop. It also replaces the iPad that I was using exclusively as a reader of ebooks. Among the assortment of general stuff, I use my Pro as a Remote Capture device for my camera. Previously used my laptop for this, but the Pro is a lot handier and does the job well.

The laptop and iPad will find new homes in my extended family, and I will not miss them at all.

Take care,
Russ
 
Mitchell --

Yeah, that's about right. I bought the first Pro as a laptop replacement for my Ladyfriend to use in her travels. Her laptop was in serious need of replacement, and I convinced her to wait for the Pro, and she is delighted that she did. Along with the usual business stuff, she does a lot of photo editing, so needed the power of the Pro. An unexpected benefit that she loves is the ability to make handwritten notes in Chinese and convert them for emailing, saving or whatever. In fact her Pro is now on it's "maiden voyage" -- a six week trip to China -- and she reports that she likes it more every day.

I, too, now have a Pro (thanks to her generosity) which I will also use to replace my laptop. It also replaces the iPad that I was using exclusively as a reader of ebooks. Among the assortment of general stuff, I use my Pro as a Remote Capture device for my camera. Previously used my laptop for this, but the Pro is a lot handier and does the job well.

The laptop and iPad will find new homes in my extended family, and I will not miss them at all.

Take care,
Russ

So, who got the RT? Send it my way (gratis!) if its only a paperweight for you now!
 
My Surface Pro replaced my iPad because I wanted a device that could replace my laptop as well. The iPad could never do that, but the Surface sure has. I use it in laptop mode to run Visual Studio and play Minecraft, and in tablet mode for pretty much everything else, which is basically web browsing, checking email, reading PDFs, managing my Harmony remote and Kindle, syncing my Windows Phone and playing simple games like Freecell.
 
After running my dear old dell d810 laptop into the ground, and dropping it repeatedly, I wanted a light weight replacement that I could carry without throwing out my shoulder. I thought about an ultrabook, however I really wanted a tablet form. I have a small, tiny really, business and drive a lot to different appointments. I send billing statements and keep track my business activities quite a bit. Having the SP really frees up space and saves me from fatigue. Truthfully, I may have gotten by with an RT, however since I was replacing my dinosaur anyway I'm quite sure the Pro was the wiser of choice for me.
 
So, who got the RT? Send it my way (gratis!) if its only a paperweight for you now!

KristalSoldier --

Well, nobody yet. In fact, nobody has got nuthin' yet. I'm still puzzling my way through it. I'm pretty sure the laptop will go to my older daughter. Her laptop is old and tired, but is her only computer. This is a fairly nice one (HP Envy), so will be a good step up for her. She can deal with the problem of her old one -- not I.

I may hang on to the RT & the iPad until my granddaughters (11 & 9) come to spend a month+ with me this summer. The 11 year old is spooky smart and curious, and with some help (namely, me) could learn to make good use of the RT. That would mean that the iPad goes to little sister, just to keep me out of trouble. Other choice is to give the RT to both of them to share, but I'm not sure that would work out well. I really am not keen on giving the iPad to the 9-year old, because she will do little but play games on it, and I would rather not encourage that. I gave both of them Kindle readers when they were here last year, and opened Amazon accounts for both of them. The 11-year old keeps her account busy -- the other account doesn't get used. So, . . . . I'm in a quandary, but fortunately can take my time with it.

Off topic, but just for your amusement, I'm a bachelor (widower, actually) and live alone, so having those two little girls here is quite a challenge. The last couple of times, I often found myself out among the trees, looking skyward and saying, "Hey, Baby, I need a little help here." Fortunately, my Ladyfriend helps a lot, but she has her company to run, so it's only on weekends. She takes them off to do "girl stuff," and I get a break.

I want the girls to be skilled computer users, because that is our world today and in their future. I sent them a desktop to share at home, and I set up a desktop here for them to use during their visits -- I may even do two this time. Playing games on them is fine, but should not be a full-time diet, because there is so much they can do to learn and expand their worlds.

Sooo, if I could make one of those Microsoft live circles of dots, I would, but the answer is, "I dunno yet, but I'm workin' on it."

Stay tuned; film at eleven, or sometime in June or July.

Take care,
Russ
 
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