My new Surface Pro Tablet

[hemi79]

So I have been thinking really hard about a new mobile device to get. I wanted to the ability to work with Microsoft Office (a necessity), so the android and iOS were out of the question. And no I don't like the work arounds with other apps. I needed the full versions of Excel and Word. Other software like Mathcad on my mobile device would be sweet. So after much trying at my local best buy and surfing the web for reviews I decided on the Surface Tablet Pro (currently typing on it). I have to say I am very impressed. However, the weight and dimensions of it throw me off. I was expecting it as every review mentioned its weight as a CON, but Im living it now. Aside from that one thing so far I just have to get familiar with Windows 8. And hopefully 8.1 helps. It is super fast!! The screen is Awesome! and really I mean Sweet Awesome. Im not a big fan of TV on my computers, but it is just so enjoyable to surf and catch some high end pics and videos on it.

Anyway, if you've read this far here is my biggest concern and I have 14 days to make peace. I ended up spending $1,005.00 in the end with the keyboard (type not touch). I realize that with that money I could afford a Mac Book Air, a little more and a Mac Book Pro. Writing on the surface tablet is really nice and I can see how it will come in handy once I begin my masters (fingers crossed), but really I didn't buy it for that reason. I was afraid of the AMD processor in the Fujitsu Q572 and for that reason alone I didn't go for it on New Egg for $672 shipped. The biggest thing for my mobile device is Office, and Web.

Any thoughts or tests you all think I should try. Its gonna be tough to let this baby go honestly. Oh, just FYI I subscribed to Office 365 and it is pretty cool stuff.

Thanks,

 

[foghorn67]

My only advice might be to wait for a Haswell version. But I'm honestly thinking about getting one now because my laptop is dying.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Windows 8.1 will arrive in October. That'll mark the 1 year anniversary of Windows 8 and the first Surface RT tablet. I'm hoping there is a complete Surface refresh, including Surface Pro with a Haswell at this time.

 

[hemi79]

My only advice might be to wait for a Haswell version. But I'm honestly thinking about getting one now because my laptop is dying.

Yeah you're right I thought about that too. However, I do get the feeling that the Haswell version is probably going to be atleast $200 more expensive. I mean, this version I got was $100 off, so I get a feeling that the Haswell model will start at $999 or something like that. I did fail to mention that the unit get very warm. But I don't really care, I just hope it isn't a problem internally in the future.

 

[Canbacon]

So I have been thinking really hard about a new mobile device to get. I wanted to the ability to work with Microsoft Office (a necessity), so the android and iOS were out of the question. And no I don't like the work arounds with other apps. I needed the full versions of Excel and Word. Other software like Mathcad on my mobile device would be sweet. So after much trying at my local best buy and surfing the web for reviews I decided on the Surface Tablet Pro (currently typing on it). I have to say I am very impressed. However, the weight and dimensions of it throw me off. I was expecting it as every review mentioned its weight as a CON, but Im living it now. Aside from that one thing so far I just have to get familiar with Windows 8. And hopefully 8.1 helps. It is super fast!! The screen is Awesome! and really I mean Sweet Awesome. Im not a big fan of TV on my computers, but it is just so enjoyable to surf and catch some high end pics and videos on it.

Anyway, if you've read this far here is my biggest concern and I have 14 days to make peace. I ended up spending $1,005.00 in the end with the keyboard (type not touch). I realize that with that money I could afford a Mac Book Air, a little more and a Mac Book Pro. Writing on the surface tablet is really nice and I can see how it will come in handy once I begin my masters (fingers crossed), but really I didn't buy it for that reason. I was afraid of the AMD processor in the Fujitsu Q572 and for that reason alone I didn't go for it on New Egg for $672 shipped. The biggest thing for my mobile device is Office, and Web.

Any thoughts or tests you all think I should try. Its gonna be tough to let this baby go honestly. Oh, just FYI I subscribed to Office 365 and it is pretty cool stuff.

Thanks,

Biggest piece of advice I can give you is to install Windows 8.1 preview and the custom Wacom drivers. 8.1 preview is amazing and makes things smoother. The new start screen setup is really nice and the everything search is great. The wacom drivers give support for the digitizer in adobe products.

i am enjoying my Pro a lot understanding it gets a bit hot and it sucks batteries. However, I can go 5-6 hours without a charge. It is really nice to have for trips.

 

[hemi79]

For you all who have the Surface now, can you share what screen protector, case, bag you use for it? And did you all create a recovery for the surface already? I wanted to download the 8.1 preview, but I lack a USB drive to put the recovery on it right now and im just going to wait for tomorrow. A friend of mine said he saw a school mate drop a surface RT 1/2 foot up from the floor and the screen just went to pieces. :-/ any one hear any horror stories similar to this?

Thanks for the replies...

 

[foghorn67]

Not sure about accessories, but check out Sketchbook and Artrage.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

electronics arent like chicks, you cant just turn them in for the better model once the return period is over. id just keep it and be happy. intel/windows is already great, so other than a little battery life, surface pro 2 isnt going to be that much better

 

[Imaginer]

I absolutely love mine and travel everywhere with it. I get in, get things done, and put it away.

If I need 3D demanding power and the applications that use it, I am by an outlet anyways with a trackball. Or just plug in any previously released Windows peripheral like a game controller if I feel like it.

If I need to leisurely browse the internet, I am not gimped at all like other mobile platforms. And despite people's opinion on Internet Explorer, Modern IE is great to use with the touchscreen (though lacking in some extra features like Firefox and Opera - but those options are also available)

You can game with releases about 3 years ago with no problem at 720p. Even Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn runs reasonable. Don't expect fast action FPS games on this though. Borderlands runs under 20 FPS at 720p with not much of a one on few battle going on.

The bar has been set. Cost wise, know you are getting what is basically a three way marriage between a Cintiq, Ultrabook, and Tablet at a very reasonable price. This considering the Cintiq is just a digitizer display only with no multitouch for around $1000, Ultrabooks with the power inside the Surface Pro are around $1000, and the cost of the tablets vary.

 

[hemi79]

Yeup! Im happy with it!

Im definitely not gaming on it. Like ever.
I spent long hours last nite on it instead of my self built i7 3.5GHz desktop and i was very satisfied. Bluebeam Revu is awesome and i missed using it from my previous Fujitsu T4410 tablet experience. I learned some nice shortcuts to windows 8 and changed some settings. Im 10 times more productive on it than on my previous iPad mini. And i an still very impressed with the Surface Resolution.

Thanks for the heads up in on accessories. Ohh and im just more of a PS3 gamer, and more like just Black Ops 2 fan.

 

[Red Storm]

I would have waited for the Haswell refresh. Battery life on the current Pro is way too poor in my opinion, plus it's a pretty thick device. Haswell should fix both of those problems.

 

[MrX8503]

Ever used Open Office? Its basically MS Office, but really light and open source. It works on Windows and Mac.

 

[runawayprisoner]

If you downclock the CPU, you still get respectable performance, and the battery can last 5-6 hours instead of the usual 4. If all else fails, you can get an external battery pack from IntoCircuit that can charge the Surface Pro up to 2 times (more like 1.5) and extend runtime to 10-14 hours while out and about. Both the battery and Surface Pro takes about 2 hours or so to charge to full capacity, so not much is lost there. Plus the battery can be used to charge other devices as well.

I don't think Haswell will give that much of an improvement. It won't magically make the tablet last twice as long, for instance. MS also needs to make the battery bigger for that to happen.

Most Haswell Ultrabooks are seeing something closer to a 25-30% battery life improvement, but as said above, you can get that out of Ivy Bridge by underclocking the CPU.

 

[DarkTXKnight]

If you downclock the CPU, you still get respectable performance, and the battery can last 5-6 hours instead of the usual 4. If all else fails, you can get an external battery pack from IntoCircuit that can charge the Surface Pro up to 2 times (more like 1.5) and extend runtime to 10-14 hours while out and about. Both the battery and Surface Pro takes about 2 hours or so to charge to full capacity, so not much is lost there. Plus the battery can be used to charge other devices as well.

I don't think Haswell will give that much of an improvement. It won't magically make the tablet last twice as long, for instance. MS also needs to make the battery bigger for that to happen.

Most Haswell Ultrabooks are seeing something closer to a 25-30% battery life improvement, but as said above, you can get that out of Ivy Bridge by underclocking the CPU.

Can you provide the power settings you're using to down clock the CPU etc.? I love using my SP, but I can't seem to get more than 3-4 hours out of the tablet...

 

[MrX8503]

If you downclock the CPU, you still get respectable performance, and the battery can last 5-6 hours instead of the usual 4. If all else fails, you can get an external battery pack from IntoCircuit that can charge the Surface Pro up to 2 times (more like 1.5) and extend runtime to 10-14 hours while out and about. Both the battery and Surface Pro takes about 2 hours or so to charge to full capacity, so not much is lost there. Plus the battery can be used to charge other devices as well.

I don't think Haswell will give that much of an improvement. It won't magically make the tablet last twice as long, for instance. MS also needs to make the battery bigger for that to happen.

Most Haswell Ultrabooks are seeing something closer to a 25-30% battery life improvement, but as said above, you can get that out of Ivy Bridge by underclocking the CPU.

I don't know the size of the MS Surface battery, but the MacBook Air Haswell gets 12hrs. That's no small bump in battery life.

 

[Joe1987]

I would hold off for the next gen in CPU's on the Surface, it's going to be a game changer, with all day battery life.

I'm planning on holding off till the third gen personally, if ever.

 

[saratoga172]

I don't have the Surface Pro but I use the Acer equivalent, the W700P. I get about 5-6 hours of battery life with standard use. Office, IE and some tools for work.

This is on balanced power mode.

Only thing I don't like is that occasionally devices plugged into the USB drive will skip or freeze, like mice or keyboards and such. Not often and usually only at startup but it's annoying.

I heard something that Windows 8.1 is supposed to use some enhanced coding that utilizes better power management in Haswell procs. That's how the new Macbook Airs get such good battery life. So 20-25% better with Win 7/8 and 50-75 on Win 8.1...All rumor though so we'll see come the next few months. Microsoft is probably waiting to announce a refresh until 8.1 makes it to market.

 

[hemi79]

cool Stuff, I wouldn't really mind purchasing the extra battery pack, except there is only one compatible and it costs $200. Even so I will probably end up getting it, just not right now. At one point I was really considering returning it and getting the Mac Book Air, but really after some you tube videos of the Air with Windows it just doesn't get my attention. I ordered a case (MoKo) and screen protector for it from amazon.

I spent all day tuning my parent's POS system at their restaurant (boy was it a hassle), and the surface tablet was my sidekick through it all. It was excellent. The touch and pen ability along with the type keyboard and the real applications I can run just made everything so easy (still very frustrating learning to set up virtual ports from google) and especially bearable. And actually my brother stopped by while I was working on the unit (really for lunch) and he was impressed. So impressed I just came from his apartment where I was helping him through some basic of Windows 8 and the very own surface pro he bought 2 hours ago. Yeah, not to rub it in really, he sold his iPad 2 and a Dell 13" XPS laptop (this one was old). I am actually very excited about Windows 8.1. I think im really going to enjoy it even more with the pen come January.

 

[runawayprisoner]

Can you provide the power settings you're using to down clock the CPU etc.? I love using my SP, but I can't seem to get more than 3-4 hours out of the tablet...

Make a new Power Profile with the "Power Saver" profile as the base. Make sure everything else is set to maximum power saving. And then set minimum processor state to 0%. You can leave maximum processor state at anything. I leave mine at 100% just because I figure I may need that extra headroom sometimes.

And then you'll be amazed.

I don't know the size of the MS Surface battery, but the MacBook Air Haswell gets 12hrs. That's no small bump in battery life.

Which MacBook Air?

The 13" Haswell Air is the only one that gets 12 hours, and that's provided I don't run Photoshop or read any website with Flash.

Otherwise it gets nowhere near that amount. I know because I've had the pleasure of playing around with one for a while.

I can run Photoshop on my Surface Pro for 4.5 hours after tweaking power management. Granted, that's not as long as the 13" MBA, but I'm having a blast with a higher resolution screen, multitouch display, and Wacom digitizer.

And I always thought 4 hours was the absolute upper limit that I can ever get out of this. Man, was I wrong.

And I still have the external battery should I need more juice. It can easily take the Surface Pro up to at least another full charge. That's solid 9-12 hours of work for me.

 

[hemi79]

Make a new Power Profile with the "Power Saver" profile as the base. Make sure everything else is set to maximum power saving. And then set minimum processor state to 0%. You can leave maximum processor state at anything. I leave mine at 100% just because I figure I may need that extra headroom sometimes.

And I still have the external battery should I need more juice. It can easily take the Surface Pro up to at least another full charge. That's solid 9-12 hours of work for me.[/QUOTE

Hey whats the model of the external battery pack u have?

Im gonna definitely try the new profile.

Thanks!

 

[TuxDave]

The 13" Haswell Air is the only one that gets 12 hours, and that's provided I don't run Photoshop or read any website with Flash.

Otherwise it gets nowhere near that amount. I know because I've had the pleasure of playing around with one for a while.

Mine gets a little more than twelve but my usage model is a lot of Microsoft office, a lot of YouTube and typical web stuff. If you're doing a lot of photoshop post processing I think that puts your usage above the typical light to medium load since you are now doing computationally heavy work.

On a series of light days (3 hrs of use) I actually forgot to charge it over three days lol.

 

[MrX8503]

Make a new Power Profile with the "Power Saver" profile as the base. Make sure everything else is set to maximum power saving. And then set minimum processor state to 0%. You can leave maximum processor state at anything. I leave mine at 100% just because I figure I may need that extra headroom sometimes.

And then you'll be amazed.



Which MacBook Air?

The 13" Haswell Air is the only one that gets 12 hours, and that's provided I don't run Photoshop or read any website with Flash.

Otherwise it gets nowhere near that amount. I know because I've had the pleasure of playing around with one for a while.

I can run Photoshop on my Surface Pro for 4.5 hours after tweaking power management. Granted, that's not as long as the 13" MBA, but I'm having a blast with a higher resolution screen, multitouch display, and Wacom digitizer.

And I always thought 4 hours was the absolute upper limit that I can ever get out of this. Man, was I wrong.

And I still have the external battery should I need more juice. It can easily take the Surface Pro up to at least another full charge. That's solid 9-12 hours of work for me.

I bet the MBA shatters your 4-5 hr mark and that's without tweaks.

 

[hemi79]

Realizing I had 15 days to return the Surface, I went back to spend some "real" time with the MBA. I was there enough to have 3 employees ask me if I needed help, and so if your not in the RGV (way South Texas), you probably don't know that down here Best Buy is horrific in customer service. I was there a LOT. I had returned the type keyboard I had purchased with the Surface because I didn't like the way one of the keys felt. Coincidentally that was the day the touch keyboard lowered its price from 119 to 79 and yes I bought the touch. I am actually liking it quite well. Its pretty cool.

I just want to say that while obviously the battery life in the surface is a negative, the MBA did not earn my money. I use Excel, Work, Mathcad, and on the tablet occasionally open CAD to review some things, but preferably no editing in it. Anyways, I just don't feel the MBA as productive in these areas. I guess its interface isn't for me. But its true and I agree 100% with runawayprisoner, having the better resolution, touch, and the pen is just so awesome. also the surface camera is pretty bad, but that I truly do NOT care for at all. I just pop up my iphone for pics, and just for now as I have my eye on the new Lumina with 42MP in its camera. I hope a less expensive juice pack comes out that is compatible with the Surface, or else I will just have to save$200 for the only one I found. Even after the juicepack I feel fine with the money spent. Aside from the battery life, there truly isn't anything I would want from the MBA. It worries me though that at this point a mobile device, whether it is a tablet or laptop, needs to be touch and Pen to completely earn my money. Looking forward to using this baby full blast in graduate school. Good bye paper notebooks!!

 

[saratoga172]

That's been my debate on a new laptop/tablet. Debating what I really want. We have been converting to tablets at work (the Acer W700P) and while they are very convenient, I've used it to read PDF's on planes, it's quick and full featured and has about 6 hours of battery, I find at home or sitting in a chair somewhere I would prefer a laptop for the rigidity of the base and at minimum a touchpad for moving the mouse.

Looked at the MBA for battery life but not sure it'd have everything I really need. And installing Windows would negate the battery life since that's OS X optimized.

Decisions, decisions.

Really like the Surface and similar tabs though. Excited to see what they do for round 2. especially with Haswell and the battery enhancements.

 

[Connoisseur]

I had my mom in the Microsoft store since she's looking for a new laptop for school. She tried the Surface Pro with type cover and a regular ultrabook. Definitely noticed a significant decrease in typing accuracy and speed when using the type cover vs. regular keyboard. I'm still not convinced that the surface pro can truly supplant a laptop for work/browsing purposes. Although the touch screen is pretty compelling...