Surface Pro Anticipation

Had been waiting for mine....but when I heard MS Store sold mine out from under me...got the Sony Vaio Duo 11. LOVING this thing so far.
 
You had a reservation and they sold it?

jordan12 said:
It is very bulky. I wouldnt want to use it as a tablet.
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It's been my experience that it's not too bulky, but the aspect ratio makes using it less pleasant than it could be. ~4:3 for tablets seems to be The Right Thing.
 
heatlesssun said:
Except for HD video. There really is no perfect aspect ratio for all purposes.
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ARM based tablet users are more video prone than x86 based productivity tablet users.

However the best selling ARM based tablet is 4:3 and all x86 based productivity tablets are 16:9.

Make sense of that...
 
Andyk5 said:
ARM based tablet users are more video prone than x86 based productivity tablet users.

However the best selling ARM based tablet is 4:3 and all x86 based productivity tablets are 16:9.

Make sense of that...
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I think it does make sense for productivity purposes because when dealing with things like documents, spreadsheets, etc. vertical scrolling tends to be better than horizontal. More ideally Windows tablets would be 16:10 but those screens are pretty rare these days.
 
wonderfield said:
You had a reservation and they sold it?

It's been my experience that it's not too bulky, but the aspect ratio makes using it less pleasant than it could be. ~4:3 for tablets seems to be The Right Thing.
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It would depend on what you are using the device for. Movies as mentioned are better off with 16:9. When I am viewing PDF's and annotating them, I prefer a wider format to 4:3. When I am using it in "desktop mode" I would cringe at 4:3. I quite like surfing in portrait mode at 16:9. To be honest, I can't think of any situation where 16:9 would be worse that 4:3, though I can see many scenarios where 4:3 would be a terrible aspect ratio for.
 
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Andyk5 said:
ARM based tablet users are more video prone than x86 based productivity tablet users.

However the best selling ARM based tablet is 4:3 and all x86 based productivity tablets are 16:9.

Make sense of that...
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The iPad may be 4:3 but it looks like most other ARM based tablets are closer to 16:9. The Galaxy Tab 2, the Kindle Fire etc.
 
Andyk5 said:
ARM based tablet users are more video prone than x86 based productivity tablet users. However the best selling ARM based tablet is 4:3 and all x86 based productivity tablets are 16:9. Make sense of that...
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I think Microsoft was able to justify it more easily because of their desire to have 'full-size' keyboard attachments. To get a device as wide as they needed, 4:3 would have made the tablet impractically large. For other manufacturers, it probably has more to do with display cost and availability. Business-end decisions.

16:10 might have been a reasonable compromise. It wouldn't be a huge improvement, but it would give more breathing room for the OSK in landscape orientation. At 16:9, there's shockingly little real-estate available for anything but the OSK.
 
After using this for almost a week I can say I love the Surface Pro. Onenote with the Wacom stylus is simply awesome. I love the fact that I can write in Onenote, annotate pdf/documents and have it all already waiting for me on my work computer by the time I get back to my office.


I am using lightroom 4.3 on mine and that is working well. Photoshop CS6 can use some work, and I believe they are working on that.


I also love that I can use Office 2013. I have already worked on a few of my work excel spreadsheets, used oxygen xml editor and dreamweaver CS6. Handing/typing emails has been a more enjoyable experience compared to other portable products (other non-touch ultrabooks and tablets).


So far the only think I have found that I do not like is sometimes when I unattached the keyboard, the onscreen keyboard does not come back on.


I plan to compare/review this to my MBP, my other ultrabook and my ipads/android tables...
 
darktiger said:
After using this for almost a week I can say I love the Surface Pro. Onenote with the Wacom stylus is simply awesome. I love the fact that I can write in Onenote, annotate pdf/documents and have it all already waiting for me on my work computer by the time I get back to my office.


I am using lightroom 4.3 on mine and that is working well. Photoshop CS6 can use some work, and I believe they are working on that.


I also love that I can use Office 2013. I have already worked on a few of my work excel spreadsheets, used oxygen xml editor and dreamweaver CS6. Handing/typing emails has been a more enjoyable experience compared to other portable products (other non-touch ultrabooks and tablets).


So far the only think I have found that I do not like is sometimes when I unattached the keyboard, the onscreen keyboard does not come back on.


I plan to compare/review this to my MBP, my other ultrabook and my ipads/android tables...
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I can't remember. Did you have the 64gb or the 128? If 64, how has that affected the experience and what, if anything, have you had to do to compensate based on your usage?
 
darktiger said:
So far the only think I have found that I do not like is sometimes when I unattached the keyboard, the onscreen keyboard does not come back on.
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YES, this is the only issue I've run into, but it's only been when the device was in suspend with the keyboard on. If I remove the keyboard and then unsuspend, sometimes the onscreen keyboard doesn't appear for me to login.
 
I have a 128GB, also I have a 64gb Sandisk 64gb microcard and running programs off that that I do not use that often has been no issue.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0... sd&qid=1361486655&s=pc&sr=1-4&srs=2530343011

Also I have a slim 32gb sandisk usb drive to move things around (plus it sits almost flush to the surface side)
http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruze...8&qid=1361486744&sr=1-9&keywords=sandisk+32gb

After installing basic programs, Adobe Photoshop CS6, Dreamweaver CS6, Indesign CS6, Office 2013 (complete), some games/apps off microsoft store, I still have around 84GB on my C drive.

I also removed the recovery partition/stuff to a 8gb usb flash drive and placed that in my safe. That freed a few gb......

Also when I work with my 5D Mark III CR raw files.. those are stored on my USB 3 SSD external drive.
 
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gwu168 said:
Not unless you get a speck of sand on the tip of the pen...
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Possible I guess. I've had a lot of pen based machines over the years and have never had one scratched from using the pen or anything for that matter and I've never used screen protectors, they simply get on my nerves though I do understand the piece of mind in the extra protection. I'd think you're more likely to scratch from things other than the pen.
 
no glass at all is scratch proof so its worth it to protect them, sand is everywhere. I have run some phones without protection and sooner or later they all get a nasty scratch.
 
rudy said:
no glass at all is scratch proof so its worth it to protect them, sand is everywhere. I have run some phones without protection and sooner or later they all get a nasty scratch.
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Have had an iPhone 4 and then iPhone 5 for the last 3.5years, not one scratch on either and never used a protector.

The back of the iP4 did get scratches, not the front.
 
I know people with all versions of iphones and all have scratches if they dont use them a screen protector, I guess you are just incredibly careful or clean or something. I am not saying it cant happen but the fact is nothing is scratch proof at all. Not to mention the same glass is used in tons of android phones and any given point in time almost all new phones are using the same glass.
 
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rudy said:
I know people with all versions of iphones and all have scratches if they dont use them a screen protector, I guess you are just incredibly careful or clean or something. I am not saying it cant happen but the fact is nothing is scratch proof at all. Not to mention the same glass is used in tons of android phones and any given point in time almost all new phones are using the same glass.
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Phone sit in your pocket all day, and that is much more likely to get sand rubbed against the screen. I have a protector on my S3 exactly for that reason (my Droid 1 got a bunch of micro scratches on the screen without one). On a tablet thought, unless you are seting it face down and standing on it, you should be safe. I've had my ipad1 for 2+ years with no protector, and not a single micro scratch. The keyboard cover is adequate for protection when traveling (in a case).
 
I'm looking for something portable as the surface, i'm a college student and i'm wondering if I can write all my notes on the surface? the few videos I have seen it seems it takes people ages to write simple words out.

I'm also looking for light gaming between classes.

I don't think battery life will be an issue for me.

I don't want a laptop, i like the idea of it being versatile.

Do you think the surface is for me?


edit: forgot to ask, this isn't my main concern, but is there any way I could stream my home PC games to the surface to play while im away? or would that be too slow/laggy? something like what the ps4 is trying to achieve.
 
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DF-1 said:
I'm looking for something portable as the surface, i'm a college student and i'm wondering if I can write all my notes on the surface? the few videos I have seen it seems it takes people ages to write simple words out.

I'm also looking for light gaming between classes.

I don't think battery life will be an issue for me.

I don't want a laptop, i like the idea of it being versatile.

Do you think the surface is for me?
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Not sure what you're looking at but inking on pretty much any Wacom based Windows 8 device is pretty solid. Handwriting in OneNote should be very fast and responsive as well as using the onscreen writing panel for ink to text conversion.
 
I have been using the surface pro for one week....

Onenote is awesome.. I write fast and it keeps up without lag or anything.... By the time I get back to my office... my notes from the meetings are on my computer.

I have played Civ5 and Diablo3 on my Surface Pro.. they play great.

I get over 5 hours... that includes watching some videos, using onenote in meetings... might use Lightroom, read my news via pulse, and do some surfing.

I have a MBP 15" and love this a lot more (as portability goes).


DF-1 said:
I'm looking for something portable as the surface, i'm a college student and i'm wondering if I can write all my notes on the surface? the few videos I have seen it seems it takes people ages to write simple words out.

I'm also looking for light gaming between classes.

I don't think battery life will be an issue for me.

I don't want a laptop, i like the idea of it being versatile.

Do you think the surface is for me?


edit: forgot to ask, this isn't my main concern, but is there any way I could stream my home PC games to the surface to play while im away? or would that be too slow/laggy? something like what the ps4 is trying to achieve.
Click to expand...
 
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DF-1 said:
rather have somewhere to return it to in case I somehow REALLY don't like it. (which I don't think will happen)
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Having played with one at the Microsoft store here, even though I have no use for one, I want it so badly....


I'll probably break down and buy one.
 
Biznatch said:
Phone sit in your pocket all day, and that is much more likely to get sand rubbed against the screen. I have a protector on my S3 exactly for that reason (my Droid 1 got a bunch of micro scratches on the screen without one). On a tablet thought, unless you are seting it face down and standing on it, you should be safe. I've had my ipad1 for 2+ years with no protector, and not a single micro scratch. The keyboard cover is adequate for protection when traveling (in a case).
Click to expand...

I have had smart phones in my pocket just about every day for 4 and a half years and I don't have a single scratch on either (Droid 1, Galaxy Nexus). No screen protector and no case. It isn't hard to keep electronics from getting scratched up. Most people are just careless with their electronics as far as I am concerned.
 
Erasmus354 said:
I have had smart phones in my pocket just about every day for 4 and a half years and I don't have a single scratch on either (Droid 1, Galaxy Nexus). No screen protector and no case. It isn't hard to keep electronics from getting scratched up. Most people are just careless with their electronics as far as I am concerned.
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Pretty much this for me as well. Had an iPhone 3g and now the 4s. Only cover I have covers the back of the device.
 
Erasmus354 said:
I have had smart phones in my pocket just about every day for 4 and a half years and I don't have a single scratch on either (Droid 1, Galaxy Nexus). No screen protector and no case. It isn't hard to keep electronics from getting scratched up. Most people are just careless with their electronics as far as I am concerned.
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Same here. I've never had to replace a phone for anything but manufacture defect. But I had the Droid 1 in my pocket for 3+ years. Scratches happen, but I also work on cars etc. so I might get more sand/dust in my pockets than others. It wasn't worth getting a scratch on such an amazing screen, even though I really hate covers on touch screen devices.
 
Just picked my Pro up today, 128gb and got a 64gb micro sdxc card + the type cover, I can't put this thing down I absolutely love it so far! Battery life seems a little better than I read, I got over 6 hours out of a full charge with 35% brightness and balanced performance.
 
DPGX said:
Just picked my Pro up today, 128gb and got a 64gb micro sdxc card + the type cover, I can't put this thing down I absolutely love it so far! Battery life seems a little better than I read, I got over 6 hours out of a full charge with 35% brightness and balanced performance.
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The battery life is way better than reviewers and most made it out to be.
 
Grentz said:
The battery life is way better than reviewers and most made it out to be.
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The device as a whole seems to be much better received by owners then reviewers. For what this device is I think Microsoft has done what it needed to do more so than with the Surface RT I think.
 
heatlesssun said:
The device as a whole seems to be much better received by owners then reviewers. For what this device is I think Microsoft has done what it needed to do more so than with the Surface RT I think.
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To be fair, owner appreciation is often higher than reviewer appreciation because there's an emotional value to thinking you made a good choice.

I can objectively prove that the Logitech G400 is technically superior to the G500 in every way, but G500 owners just dropped $40-60 and don't want to believe they made an inferior choice.

Sorry, G500 owners. :X
 
Jaerb4 said:
To be fair, owner appreciation is often higher than reviewer appreciation because there's an emotional value to thinking you made a good choice.
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I agree but I think it is more than just emotion, it also has a lot to do with understanding the product and the product fitting needs well. For instance, on the mainstream tech sites the people that reviewed the Surface probably aren't digital artists or much into note taking with a pen in something like OneNote. People who use their Surfaces or any Windows 8 tablet for these purposes are very likely to a much higher opinion of their device than the average person or reviewer not only because of emotional attachment but because there aren't really any alternative tablet platforms that do these particular tasks as well as Windows 8 currently.
 
heatlesssun said:
I agree but I think it is more than just emotion, it also has a lot to do with understanding the product and the product fitting needs well. For instance, on the mainstream tech sites the people that reviewed the Surface probably aren't digital artists or much into note taking with a pen in something like OneNote. People who use their Surfaces or any Windows 8 tablet for these purposes are very likely to a much higher opinion of their device than the average person or reviewer not only because of emotional attachment but because there aren't really any alternative tablet platforms that do these particular tasks as well as Windows 8 currently.
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Exactly. And once being a reviewing I can tell you that you often just use it for a bit, then move on. So reviewers often only give a very first impression.

I use a lot of devices as part of my job, and the Surface exceeded my expectations.
 
Just got mine today, the device is very nice. The pen tip, even though it's plastic has some friction to it. The eraser seems to be made out of metal however so I'm reluctant rub it back and forth between the glass. Overall the device just screams quality and is leagues ahead of many other Windows 8 tablets that I've owned or held.

Are there any new updates on touch based browsers? I have been using ie for the past months because it was the only one with decent touch support.
 
Agenesis said:
Just got mine today, the device is very nice. The pen tip, even though it's plastic has some friction to it. The eraser seems to be made out of metal however so I'm reluctant rub it back and forth between the glass. Overall the device just screams quality and is leagues ahead of many other Windows 8 tablets that I've owned or held.

Are there any new updates on touch based browsers? I have been using ie for the past months because it was the only one with decent touch support.
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Chrome and Firefox now support Metro. I've tried them but they still just are as smooth as IE 10 with touch at the moment.
 
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