5 ms·

I've been happy with my Surface Pro; the two changes I'm most looking forward to are the docking station and Haswell. The extra pixel density is a nice-to-have,

by RyJones 13y ago

I've been happy with my Surface Pro; the two changes I'm most looking forward to are the docking station and Haswell. The extra pixel density is a nice-to-have, but being able to pop it in and out of a docking station is killer. There are some other minor things I'd like addressed (the impossible-to-use microSD slot, for one. The always lost stylus is another), but I'll rebuy and probably hand the Surface Pro on to the kids.

Fuzzwah 13y ago
Are you using it for anything in particular which benefits from the touch input? If so, is the stylus an important positive?
- nigelsampson 13y ago
  I like the stylus for scribbling notes / impromptu architecture diagrams in one note, especially in meetings. I definitely view it as an ultrabook replacement. My only major gripe is that it's not a comfortable machine for on the lap work compared to a proper laptop.
  - r00fus 13y ago
    Could this be fixed with some of those iPad cases with built-in keyboards (except, of course, made for Surface)?
    - nigelsampson 13y ago
      Potentially, because the join between the type cover and tablet is obviously flexible it moves a lot when laying on a non uniform surface (my thighs). Also because of it's width I feel like I need to sit with my knees together to try and balance it, trying on one leg feels stupidly awkward.
- jgon 13y ago
  I own a surface pro and bought it particularly for the stylus and touch input. I tend to take a lot of notes at work, and also as I am working on side projects and one day I took a step back and looked at my desk and said "Is it really 2013 and I am pretty much scraping away at dead trees with a piece of metal dipped in ink like a caveman!?". I had notes spread out over dozens of binders, notebooks, engineering pads, etc, etc. How is this still a thing?! I also lost a bunch of notes from my schooling simply because the box they were in got lost. It felt to me like the equivalent of conducting all of my correspondence via paper letters, and keeping them in boxes in the basement. Of course, instead I do it through email, all nicely searchable at the drop of a hat. So the first thing I will say is that OneNote and the pen are a great writing experience. I do kind of miss the feedback of a pen against paper, but the "inking" in OneNote is top-notch, somehow looking even better than my regular writing. The response is really quick as well, which makes a big difference in feeling like you are actually writing instead of watching a line chase your pen around the screen. I've tried the Galaxy Note 10.1's stylus and S-Note and it is nowhere near as good. Syncing my notes to the Microsoft cloud is of course an added bonus for easy backup. That said, the widescreen aspect ratio was pretty dumb, especially for something billed as a device for being productive. I really can't understand it from any direction, I mean writing a document will be worse, editing photos is probably worse, I guess maybe people editing video will be happy? A better, wider aspect ratio closer to paper would be a serious improvement. At the end of the day however, I am able to take notes and do sketches, designs, etc, in a way that has a great writing "feel", offers search via really good text recognition, and offers seamless backup. I got mine discounted at a conference, so I can't say if I'd pay $900 for the ability to do this, but if I was back in University it would be an absolute no brainer. You probably won't find a better "writing" experience on the market, and if you do a lot of that then I recommend it.
  - mikestew 13y ago
    "How is this still a thing?!" Because the alternative costs $900 and doesn't fit in your pocket. Oh, I get what you're saying, I loved OneNote back when I had the old TabletPC. It's the best thing going, IMO. But I'm not spending that kind of money to run an OS I have no other use for, just to take notes. Make a $300 machine with a good digitizer that runs nothing but OneNote and I'd buy two.
- RyJones 13y ago
  Usually, I don't need the stylus; I'm using the keyboard and touchpad. However, when I do need it, I can't find it because it attaches where the power cord attaches, so I'm always removing it and setting it down, then forgetting to pick the stylus up. If they had a place to dock it on the top edge, that would be great. When my daughter uses my Surface, she uses it as a WACOM replacement, so she needs (and finds) the stylus.
Casseres 13y ago
What about the microSD slot makes it impossible to use? (I'm thinking about getting a Surface Pro 2.)
- RyJones 13y ago
  The angle of the edge makes insertion tricky. The lack of visible indicator as to which direction is correct; It would be nice if there was a little glyph showing the expected orientation.
  - Casseres 13y ago
    Okay, thanks.

by RyJones 13y ago

Fuzzwah 13y ago

Are you using it for anything in particular which benefits from the touch input? If so, is the stylus an important positive?

nigelsampson 13y ago
I like the stylus for scribbling notes / impromptu architecture diagrams in one note, especially in meetings. I definitely view it as an ultrabook replacement. My only major gripe is that it's not a comfortable machine for on the lap work compared to a proper laptop.
- r00fus 13y ago
  Could this be fixed with some of those iPad cases with built-in keyboards (except, of course, made for Surface)?
  - nigelsampson 13y ago
    Potentially, because the join between the type cover and tablet is obviously flexible it moves a lot when laying on a non uniform surface (my thighs). Also because of it's width I feel like I need to sit with my knees together to try and balance it, trying on one leg feels stupidly awkward.
jgon 13y ago
I own a surface pro and bought it particularly for the stylus and touch input. I tend to take a lot of notes at work, and also as I am working on side projects and one day I took a step back and looked at my desk and said "Is it really 2013 and I am pretty much scraping away at dead trees with a piece of metal dipped in ink like a caveman!?". I had notes spread out over dozens of binders, notebooks, engineering pads, etc, etc. How is this still a thing?! I also lost a bunch of notes from my schooling simply because the box they were in got lost. It felt to me like the equivalent of conducting all of my correspondence via paper letters, and keeping them in boxes in the basement. Of course, instead I do it through email, all nicely searchable at the drop of a hat. So the first thing I will say is that OneNote and the pen are a great writing experience. I do kind of miss the feedback of a pen against paper, but the "inking" in OneNote is top-notch, somehow looking even better than my regular writing. The response is really quick as well, which makes a big difference in feeling like you are actually writing instead of watching a line chase your pen around the screen. I've tried the Galaxy Note 10.1's stylus and S-Note and it is nowhere near as good. Syncing my notes to the Microsoft cloud is of course an added bonus for easy backup. That said, the widescreen aspect ratio was pretty dumb, especially for something billed as a device for being productive. I really can't understand it from any direction, I mean writing a document will be worse, editing photos is probably worse, I guess maybe people editing video will be happy? A better, wider aspect ratio closer to paper would be a serious improvement. At the end of the day however, I am able to take notes and do sketches, designs, etc, in a way that has a great writing "feel", offers search via really good text recognition, and offers seamless backup. I got mine discounted at a conference, so I can't say if I'd pay $900 for the ability to do this, but if I was back in University it would be an absolute no brainer. You probably won't find a better "writing" experience on the market, and if you do a lot of that then I recommend it.
- mikestew 13y ago
  "How is this still a thing?!" Because the alternative costs $900 and doesn't fit in your pocket. Oh, I get what you're saying, I loved OneNote back when I had the old TabletPC. It's the best thing going, IMO. But I'm not spending that kind of money to run an OS I have no other use for, just to take notes. Make a $300 machine with a good digitizer that runs nothing but OneNote and I'd buy two.
RyJones 13y ago
Usually, I don't need the stylus; I'm using the keyboard and touchpad. However, when I do need it, I can't find it because it attaches where the power cord attaches, so I'm always removing it and setting it down, then forgetting to pick the stylus up. If they had a place to dock it on the top edge, that would be great. When my daughter uses my Surface, she uses it as a WACOM replacement, so she needs (and finds) the stylus.

Casseres 13y ago

What about the microSD slot makes it impossible to use? (I'm thinking about getting a Surface Pro 2.)

RyJones 13y ago
The angle of the edge makes insertion tricky. The lack of visible indicator as to which direction is correct; It would be nice if there was a little glyph showing the expected orientation.
- Casseres 13y ago
  Okay, thanks.