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Plus that kickstand always looked so inconvenient to me. On normal laptop I can adjust screen angle however I want. The kickstand also require a bigger surface

Plus that kickstand always looked so inconvenient to me. On normal laptop I can adjust screen angle however I want. The kickstand also require a bigger surface to put it down properly. On normal laptop I am fine as long as the bottom half can fit on the table (or any flat surface), here there is need for much more space, seems very inconvenient especially when working in tight spaces like server room, car, or small coffee table.

josefresco 9y ago
So buy a f*cking laptop! I'm only half-kidding - but criticizing an integral part of a product, when there are multiple alternatives with exact the feature your desire is ... silly.
- techer 9y ago
  This looks like a laptop to me! Having read your comment I imagine I have to reassess. But in my head while watching the video I was evaluating it to replace by old MacBook Pro.
  - lmm 9y ago
    It is a laptop, or at least a laptop replacement. Try the kickstand setup and see whether it's good enough for what you want to do or not. Criticising the kickstand is absolutely reasonable, but do so based on experience rather than speculation.
- pdabbadabba 9y ago
  Well...the product GP is criticizing does bill itself, right up top, as "The most versatile laptop."
  - josefresco 9y ago
    It's a throw-away marketing headline not some super-technical classification. One-click away is a comparison grid of Surface products which includes ... a laptop.
  - allwein 9y ago
    It can be the most versatile laptop without catering to all use cases.
- nathanasmith 9y ago
  >criticizing an integral part of a product, when there are multiple alternatives with exact the feature your desire is ... silly. So hypothetically if a laptop came with 4 hours of battery life due to "muh thin and light", criticizing that is silly because other laptops have 10 hours? With that logic, nobody could have an opinion about any "integral part" of any product at all. Wew, lad.
snuxoll 9y ago
My wife inherited my 1st generation Surface Pro after her beater HP laptop died two years ago, out of all the things I expected her to complain about the kickstand was never an issue (the touch cover pissed her off to no end though, so I bought a type cover instead). I can see some people not digging the kickstand, but I'd say give it a try before dismissing it.
pizza234 9y ago
I own a SP, and I actually like the form factor, which I find much more flexible than it looks. I didn't find any condition where I can't use it. I don't have experience on a car, but I routinely use it on my lap in the public transport, on airplanes, and on "small coffe tables", as long as I accept "90% of comfort". Of course, the SP is a hybrid, so if the laptop form factor is a requirement (or "100% comfort"), then no hybrid is an appropriate choice (except the Surface book, which is arguably overpriced). Regardless, it's definitely wrong to state that it needs more space; it actually needs less than a laptop, as it only needs three contact points - the kickstand, the screen bottom, and the top/lower side of the keyboard.
tbihl 9y ago
As some others have said, the kickstand can actually be more convenient in tight spaces (especially flights.) Most of the time, it's perfectly lap-able (typing this from a chair by my pool.) Additionally, it has the great feature of elevating the heat source off the ground. This comes up any time I want to sit it on, for example, my couch. With my old laptop, the fan exhaust was largely getting smothered in upholstery, but with my surface pro it's sitting 6 inches above the table/couch/surface. You can barely use it in your lap if your legs are crossed, and the keyboard can't be used if you're holding the device in mid-air. Other than that, my complaints are all about heat dispersion/generation, not the form factor.
emptythought 9y ago
Honestly this is the number one reason i quit using my SP. I know a lot of people here love them, but it was just too obnoxious to use on my legs, soft surfaces, and lots of other places. I will agree it was awesome on plane tray tables, but that was about the only "oh cool! obvious advantage!" location. i found myself wanting a normal laptop that could hold itself up repeatedly, and kept switching back to my macbook pro

josefresco 9y ago

So buy a f*cking laptop! I'm only half-kidding - but criticizing an integral part of a product, when there are multiple alternatives with exact the feature your desire is ... silly.

techer 9y ago
This looks like a laptop to me! Having read your comment I imagine I have to reassess. But in my head while watching the video I was evaluating it to replace by old MacBook Pro.
- lmm 9y ago
  It is a laptop, or at least a laptop replacement. Try the kickstand setup and see whether it's good enough for what you want to do or not. Criticising the kickstand is absolutely reasonable, but do so based on experience rather than speculation.
pdabbadabba 9y ago
Well...the product GP is criticizing does bill itself, right up top, as "The most versatile laptop."
- josefresco 9y ago
  It's a throw-away marketing headline not some super-technical classification. One-click away is a comparison grid of Surface products which includes ... a laptop.
- allwein 9y ago
  It can be the most versatile laptop without catering to all use cases.
nathanasmith 9y ago
>criticizing an integral part of a product, when there are multiple alternatives with exact the feature your desire is ... silly. So hypothetically if a laptop came with 4 hours of battery life due to "muh thin and light", criticizing that is silly because other laptops have 10 hours? With that logic, nobody could have an opinion about any "integral part" of any product at all. Wew, lad.

snuxoll 9y ago

My wife inherited my 1st generation Surface Pro after her beater HP laptop died two years ago, out of all the things I expected her to complain about the kickstand was never an issue (the touch cover pissed her off to no end though, so I bought a type cover instead). I can see some people not digging the kickstand, but I'd say give it a try before dismissing it.

pizza234 9y ago

I own a SP, and I actually like the form factor, which I find much more flexible than it looks. I didn't find any condition where I can't use it. I don't have experience on a car, but I routinely use it on my lap in the public transport, on airplanes, and on "small coffe tables", as long as I accept "90% of comfort". Of course, the SP is a hybrid, so if the laptop form factor is a requirement (or "100% comfort"), then no hybrid is an appropriate choice (except the Surface book, which is arguably overpriced). Regardless, it's definitely wrong to state that it needs more space; it actually needs less than a laptop, as it only needs three contact points - the kickstand, the screen bottom, and the top/lower side of the keyboard.

tbihl 9y ago

As some others have said, the kickstand can actually be more convenient in tight spaces (especially flights.) Most of the time, it's perfectly lap-able (typing this from a chair by my pool.) Additionally, it has the great feature of elevating the heat source off the ground. This comes up any time I want to sit it on, for example, my couch. With my old laptop, the fan exhaust was largely getting smothered in upholstery, but with my surface pro it's sitting 6 inches above the table/couch/surface. You can barely use it in your lap if your legs are crossed, and the keyboard can't be used if you're holding the device in mid-air. Other than that, my complaints are all about heat dispersion/generation, not the form factor.

emptythought 9y ago

Honestly this is the number one reason i quit using my SP. I know a lot of people here love them, but it was just too obnoxious to use on my legs, soft surfaces, and lots of other places. I will agree it was awesome on plane tray tables, but that was about the only "oh cool! obvious advantage!" location. i found myself wanting a normal laptop that could hold itself up repeatedly, and kept switching back to my macbook pro