Surface Pro - Thoughts?

Who?

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I know it's preliminary and no one has one of these in hand, but pricing for the Surface Pro was announced today, starting at $899, and it comes with a stylus. Note owners: are you excited about this option, or does it simply not appeal to you (too expensive, too heavy, etc.)? I'm someone who wants a tablet with true stylus support, and I keep wavering about whether to get a 10.1, especially with Windows 8 Pro tablets soon to be released.
 

J HighNote

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OH boy, trying to be unbiased on this will actually be impossible. It's not too heavy. I don't know how the Surface Pro note taking stylus works, but to be fair, I'd suggest looking up some videos on youtube to see what both devices do. I use the S pen all the time. Anything I would normally write down at all, I grab my 10.1 or my Note phone and never lose the information. The S pen has a tip more like a fine line flair or regular pen which makes it very easy to write with, or to use to tap on a small web link with precision. I do know this is the only tablet that truly multi-tasks. You can have two applications open, take a screen shot of one side, use the S pen to draw a freehand shape or a rectangle around something you want to put on a S note or email and just slide it over and drop it on. That feature makes it super for research. There are lots of threads about how we love our Note 10.1's. You might want to look into reviews at Cnet and elsewhere about Window 8 pro on tablets. Also take a look at apps for the windows 8 tablets. Make sure that everything that's important to you is available.
 

Andy847

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Just wanted to add that I was looking at the surface tablet and some of the windows tablets. The Vivo I was looking at when I was at Best Buy last week. They are smooth and work a lot different than the Galaxy Note, so if you have an Android phone or tablet, will take some getting use to. I'm really happy with my Note, was just checking out what was out there. Personally, I can't see paying $900 for a Tablet, because It's not a Laptop. I can get a decent Laptop for that price, so why buy a tablet for that much. For the price the Galaxy Note 10.1 is a great option and has the S pen and is going to get better with the next Update. Plus I think I remember reading a review that the keyboard on the Surface Tablets was kind of cheap feeling and not that good. It's a nice looking tablet though. I worry, that the microsoft store is going to be a ways behind the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. According to the sales guy I talked to at Best Buy, the Microsoft Store is getting hundreds of apps a day. I take that with a grain of salt, as I do with anything any Best Buy employee tells me. LOL. I would say play with both and see what meets your needs.
I think the Windows 8 "Look" is ugly. I didn't know that all those blue squares and red squares on the screen were the apps. I thought maybe widgets or something similar, but now that I know I think they are ugly. To each his own though. Good luck in whichever you choose.
 

StuartV

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I love my Note 10.1, but I am chomping at the bit to try a Surface Pro.

My main reason for buying the Note was to be able to take handwritten notes - e.g. in meetings. The Note is the only current Android tablet that is truly useful for that. However, even the Note is still a somewhat immature platform for that.

In contrast, the Surface Pro will be running full blown Windows 8 Pro - the same as a regular desktop PC. Which means, for one thing, you can run Microsft OneNote for taking notes. OneNote is pretty widely reported to be The Best application around for taking notes. And it addresses my biggest issues with taking notes on the Note - which are the lack of sophistication in managing the notes. No automatic replication/syncing. No PC version of the note-taking app(s). I want to take notes on my tablet and then have them automatically show up on my PC and allow me to file them by project, search them (including text searches of my handwriting), edit them further, etc.. And then have any changes that I make on my PC sync back to my tablet. The Note is not there yet. But, I believe a Windows-based platform, using OneNote, could do all that easily.

And the fact that the Surface Pro has the 2 different keyboard options that attach magnetically and act as smart covers makes it totally viable for me as a laptop replacement for everything except my actual software development work.

I don't know if the SPro will replace my tablet for laying in bed or being on an airplane and reading a Kindle e-book or watching a rented movie. It may be a little too big and heavy and a little too short on battery life. OTOH, that's based on the fact that I already have the Note. If I didn't have a Note already, I would definitely be waiting to buy anything until I could try the SPro.
 

StuartV

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I worry, that the microsoft store is going to be a ways behind the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

If you get a Surface Pro, that is nothing to worry about. There are WAAAAY more apps for Windows than there are for Apple or Android. And a Surface Pro will run them all, just like a regular desktop PC running Windows 8 Pro. The MS App Store thing is only a concern if you're buying a tablet that's running Windows 8 RT (e.g. a Surface not-Pro).
 

Ruel Smith

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If you get a Surface Pro, that is nothing to worry about. There are WAAAAY more apps for Windows than there are for Apple or Android. And a Surface Pro will run them all, just like a regular desktop PC running Windows 8 Pro. The MS App Store thing is only a concern if you're buying a tablet that's running Windows 8 RT (e.g. a Surface not-Pro).

Not quite... Windows apps were developed to be used with a mouse, not a touch screen. Also, most Windows apps are resource hogs. Windows, itself, is heavy and a resource hog, all meaning it requires hardware that drives cost up and the consumer out of the market. Android and iOS apps are specifically designed to use with ARM type processors and are lightweight and task specific on purpose. Also, the app prices are spot on in Android and iOS. Full Windows software applications are plain expensive, but worth it if you need that level of power, which most tablet users won't.

There was a Macbook available as a tablet, called the Modbook, long before the introduction of the iPad. It didn't sell well, either. Tablets are nothing new, but when the iPad was released with inexpensive apps, speedy ARM processor, long battery life, an entire ecosystem around it, and a relatively inexpensive price, it changed the game. A full Windows 8 Pro tablet won't do anything.

Lastly, whether or not it's for the Surface RT or Pro or the desktop version, I believe that Microsoft requires the use of their app store by anyone using the Metro UI for their applications. If you use the classic UI, then you're free to do what you want.

Microsoft is lost in the new landscape. Windows Phone 7 failed. They, then, force the Metro UI on the rest of us with Windows 8. It's failing as I write this with sales slim and flat. Surface has bombed. What next for Microsoft? They're quickly becoming a niche player that has run out of ideas that actually work. They can no longer bully users and OEMs around because their products are yesterday's news.
 

Ron Johnson 4164

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Not quite... Windows apps were developed to be used with a mouse, not a touch screen. Also, most Windows apps are resource hogs. Windows, itself, is heavy and a resource hog, all meaning it requires hardware that drives cost up and the consumer out of the market. Android and iOS apps are specifically designed to use with ARM type processors and are lightweight and task specific on purpose. Also, the app prices are spot on in Android and iOS. Full Windows software applications are plain expensive, but worth it if you need that level of power, which most tablet users won't.

Microsoft is lost in the new landscape. Windows Phone 7 failed. They, then, force the Metro UI on the rest of us with Windows 8. It's failing as I write this with sales slim and flat. Surface has bombed. What next for Microsoft? They're quickly becoming a niche player that has run out of ideas that actually work. They can no longer bully users and OEMs around because their products are yesterday's news.

Microsoft is a long way from dead. They have an enormous amount of cash and are doing more R & D than everyone else. And remember the same things were being said about the Xbox when it debuted -- that Microsoft was too late to the party. And look what happened.
 

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