Surface Pro 2 is incredible

[Imaginer]

Pretty crazy story to report. I had pre-ordered a 64GB SP2 from Microsoft.com and got it on launch day. Have been loving it ever since; it really is a fantastic machine that has done well for me both at home and on the road.

Yesterday, I woke up and went to turn on my SP2 from sleep. Nothing. I tried to power the machine on for a good 20 minutes. The battery was fully charged from the night before. Nothing was happening at all - nothing on the screen, etc., but the Type Cover 2 would light up occasionally.

I brought it to my MS store. The computer turned on perfectly, as if nothing had happened, and the problem was not replicatable. That said, they agreed to swap it out, but were unable to because they were completely out of stock and backordered. After a brief chat with the manager, we had agreed that I would receive the first 64GB model to arrive as a replacement for my machine.

He then told me to quickly hold on, and went to the back. He came back with a 512GB model, and offered it to me for the 128GB price. $100 upgrade for a machine that costs $1800? DONE. I took it without blinking, and with my student discount ended up paying $900 + tax for the 512GB Surface Pro 2. Insane deal.

I also grabbed Microsoft Complete. Not a huge fan of warranties but considering it covers drops and spills and because the unit is basically not repairable, a direct swap out for a new/refurb is attractive to me.

Great day all around.

Wow! That is very good on your situation! But I don't want my Surface Pro 2 to malfunction in that manner, and maybe getting lucky like that. But if I did, that is a great way to handle things.

 

[bearxor]

So the Venue 8 got me really thinking about getting a larger tablet. So I went to BB today to play with a SP2 and spent about a half hour with one trying to figure it out.

I decided I can deal with a larger screen size, but the SP2 is too thick, too heavy and too expensive. I could probably forgive two out of the three but it's simply way too expensive for me.

I'll definitely be returning the Venue 8 and ordering the Venue 11 though. I wish MS had Bay Trail in the Surface 2. I think there's more future in Microsoft's hardware ecosystem, but I think Broadwell will be the time to jump on it.

 

[zerogear]

I'll definitely be returning the Venue 8 and ordering the Venue 11 though. I wish MS had Bay Trail in the Surface 2. I think there's more future in Microsoft's hardware ecosystem, but I think Broadwell will be the time to jump on it.

Next version is always the version to "jump" on it.

 

[dagamer34]

Can a Surface 2 owner hang out here or will I be chided for using Windows RT.

 

[rh71]

how is the microsoft store for free apps & games compared to apple/google play?

 

[podspi]

Can a Surface 2 owner hang out here or will I be chided for using Windows RT.

How do you like it? I think there are some advantages to the RT version (lighter, passively cooled) but the question is whether it is worth giving up x86 compatibility for it.

 

[zerogear]

how is the microsoft store for free apps & games compared to apple/google play?

Probably less, but I installed Steam. And playing assassins creed brotherhood on mine.

 

[zerogear]

Probably less, but I installed Steam. And playing assassins creed brotherhood on mine.

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/pzuux4fi8guoyh5/BP65Sw0QeJ

 

[StrangerGuy]

So the Venue 8 got me really thinking about getting a larger tablet. So I went to BB today to play with a SP2 and spent about a half hour with one trying to figure it out.

I decided I can deal with a larger screen size, but the SP2 is too thick, too heavy and too expensive. I could probably forgive two out of the three but it's simply way too expensive for me.

I'll definitely be returning the Venue 8 and ordering the Venue 11 though. I wish MS had Bay Trail in the Surface 2. I think there's more future in Microsoft's hardware ecosystem, but I think Broadwell will be the time to jump on it.

MS should have went Baytrail for the Surface 2 and that is such a huge missed boat opportunity, because I'm definitely not interested in a stupidly overpowered and overpriced tablet like the SP2. If I want to play PC games I have a gaming PC thank you very much.

 

[rh71]

Probably less, but I installed Steam. And playing assassins creed brotherhood on mine.

will it grow like google play has? We knew that was going to grow since Android was becoming more and more popular. I'm not sure I see Microsoft's store growing the same way despite how well this SP2 is doing. It's not exactly an entry-level everyone-has-one kind of thing.

 

[zerogear]

will it grow like google play has? We knew that was going to grow since Android was becoming more and more popular. I'm not sure I see Microsoft's store growing the same way despite how well this SP2 is doing. It's not exactly an entry-level everyone-has-one kind of thing.

Yes, it's definitely growing, while still missing a few games mainly from developers who don't have resources to support multiple platforms, they're being developed more and more (Tiny Death Star, Angry Birds, etc) the majority of mainstream games are available.

 

[bearxor]

Can a Surface 2 owner hang out here or will I be chided for using Windows RT.

How do you like it? I think there are some advantages to the RT version (lighter, passively cooled) but the question is whether it is worth giving up x86 compatibility for it.

I'd be kind of curious as well. I'm just not sure full x86 compatibility is worth giving up when the Venue 11 Pro is $50 cheaper.

 

[Deeko]

You know what I discovered today....portrait mode.

Ok, I know portrait mode is pretty universally panned by everybody. But today I was lounging on the couch watching football with my knee up, and my SP2 against it. Turns out, when you don't have to support the awkward weight of it, portrait mode is AWESOME for browsing forums and such. I was surprised (especially since I've had a Surface for a year).

 

[bearxor]

Yeah, my concerns have essentially been about portrait mode. It's insanely useful for web browsing and is still kind of awkward on a 16:9 or 16:10 tablet.

 

[joejoe666]

this is way too expensive for me. however, if i buy a used pro (not 2), will that work similarly to the pro 2? does the pro have the same stylus as pro 2?

 

[Ns1]

this is way too expensive for me. however, if i buy a used pro (not 2), will that work similarly to the pro 2? does the pro have the same stylus as pro 2?

Yes. Just less battery life, slower, and only one angle on stand.

 

[foghorn67]

I do not want Bay Trail in this laptop. I like the fact it's a full fledged Haswell. This will pretty much replace my desktop and laptop and tablet. I'll keep my N7, but it's usage will be more than halved.

 

[bearxor]

It's not the Surface Pro people want Bay Trail in, it's the lower end Surface instead of the nVidia Tegra chip.

But the Dell Venue 11 Pro should be able to hit that market.

 

[rituraj]

Pretty crazy story to report. I had pre-ordered a 64GB SP2 from Microsoft.com and got it on launch day. Have been loving it ever since; it really is a fantastic machine that has done well for me both at home and on the road.

Yesterday, I woke up and went to turn on my SP2 from sleep. Nothing. I tried to ..........

He then told me to quickly hold on, and went to the back. He came back with a 512GB model, and offered it to me for the 128GB price. $100 upgrade for a machine that costs $1800? DONE. I took it without blinking, and with my student discount ended up paying $900 + tax for the 512GB Surface Pro 2. Insane deal.

I also grabbed Microsoft Complete. Not a huge fan of warranties but considering it covers drops and spills and because the unit is basically not repairable, a direct swap out for a new/refurb is attractive to me.

Great day all around.

I hate you, you lucky bustender.. I hope your sp2 gets possessed by a daemon and shows you unwanted things all day..

On a serious note though, can you tell us how it is as a tablet? I mean 'holding it above your face on the bed' tablet. Is the weight really that much as some sites are reporting.

 

[Ns1]

I gotta say, stylus input really brings back the good old days of Palm.

 

[SLCentral]

I hate you, you lucky bustender.. I hope your sp2 gets possessed by a daemon and shows you unwanted things all day..

On a serious note though, can you tell us how it is as a tablet? I mean 'holding it above your face on the bed' tablet. Is the weight really that much as some sites are reporting.

I don't know how to totally articulate how I feel about it. I consider it more of a laptop-first, then a tablet. The weight is definitely not ideal. I'm coming from an iPad (original edition), which I then sold for an iPad Mini, so the size difference is definitely substantial. While I frequently read books on my Mini, I don't think its very realistic to do frequent reading on the SP2. Maybe that's in my head, but it's just too big. Not only heavy, but also just big. I felt the same way about the original iPad, FWIW.

In bed I used to use my Lenovo x220 for surfing the net instead of any tablet. I enjoyed the form factor quite a bit, and the fact that the screen could bend all the way back even up to 180 degrees made it very easy to find a comfortable position to both surf and type. Considering when I'm on my personal computer, I'm almost entirely (when not traveling) either in bed or lounging on my couch, this was important. Being comfortable in bed and on the couch were my two biggest concerns about the SP2 going in.

And it's certainly not perfect. I can't really lie down and use the SP2 with my knees propped up while still having a keyboard, while I could do that with a normal laptop. Instead, I lay it on the bed and then I lay on my side to use the computer with the Type Cover. Hard to describe but I hope that makes sense. I can use it lying down "in my lap" without the Type Cover, but then it's just a tablet. The weight there doesn't bother me.

On the couch I use it much more as a tablet, either having the Type Cover folded back and then propped up with the hinge, or just without the hinge. Both are comfortable and the weight is not an issue.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is certainly not perfect. As a laptop, it's not as comfortable as my old ThinkPad, for various reasons. As a tablet, it's not quite as comfortable as my iPad/iPad Mini again, for various reasons. But, the ability to have one device that does both of these things FAR outweighs the cons, and that is ultimately what it came down to. I'll be keeping the Surface, which I wasn't convinced I would after a couple days use. It's a really great machine that is incredibly powerful and flexible enough to be used at a desk, on a couch, in bed, on a plane, etc. Typing on it with the Type Cover is an absolute joy, and while it isn't a ThinkPad, it comes damn close. I miss the TrackPoint from my ThinkPad, as the touchpad is pretty poor, its certainly useable, and I'm very surprised with myself as to how much I just touch the screen for most things, and how natural it feels. I definitely would NOT have guessed that would happen.

The weight certainly isn't great, and if it was just half a pound lighter I would be a much bigger fan, but its just not a dealbreaker. Keep in mind I'm only 5'7" so if you're a big guy this may be even less of a deal.

Lastly, my only real gripe is the high DPI, which is really a Windows problem. Chrome is virtually unusable (even with tweaking settings), so I've switched permanently to IE 11. Both the Metro version and the desktop versions are great. I'm upset about that because my Android phone uses Chrome, and I miss being able to sync everything up (tabs, history, etc.). Also, Spotify has proven to be almost unusable, due to the DPI settings. On default, the touch doesn't register correctly, and when you override compatibility to ignore DPI settings, everything is so tiny on the 1080p screen it is difficult to use. I use very few x86 apps so this isn't a huge deal for me for the time being, but definitely something to consider.

I went with the SP2 versus the S2 or an iPad, even though 90% of the things I want to do can be done on a tablet, the other 10% makes it impossible for a tablet to be my primary device. Even things as simple as having multiple tabs open and using Alt-Tab to quickly cycle through them, which is the way I browse the internet, is SUCH an improvement over the traditional iPad experience. The ability to use the occasional x86 program is just really fantastic, and IMO worth the additional $ and weight premium over the RT.

One more thing - there really needs to be more Metro apps. The store is pretty pathetic right now, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. I honestly have little hope that it will get better. The Metro experience is so fantastic, that I'd love to be able to use it more. Unfortunately, it is not there yet.

Hope that helps - it was a bit of a ramble but those are my thoughts after using the SP2 for about 3 weeks now.

Edit: I completely forgot. The screen quality BLOWS ME AWAY every single time I've used it. It's so crisp, has such great contrast, and is simply fantastic. This looks and feels like a $2k computer (which it so happens to be, but that's not true of the 64GB model, which, for all intents and purposes, is the same).

 

[Ns1]

^^

Agreed, it's definitely laptop first tablet second. I would not want to lift the surface over my head and read for an extended period of time.

 

[Ns1]

No srsly guys, wtf?

this has to be some kind of sick twisted joke

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...4ad2-8245-a84dd37b29c0?rtAction=1384212224664

//edit

Solved: OneNote365 cannot print via Metro mode. You need to open your notes in Desktop mode, and THEN print.

 

[zerogear]

Really? .5 pounds is substantial? (1.5 Lbs vs 2 Lbs) I don't even really feel the weight difference. -- Time to lift guys

 

[Ns1]

Really? .5 pounds is substantial? (1.5 Lbs vs 2 Lbs) I don't even really feel the weight difference. -- Time to lift guys

i lift my surface pro 2, bro.