Ok bitches, I’ve got a new toy at work. I’ve been given a Surface Pro 3 to try out and see what I like/dislike about it. No clue if these will replace our laptops in the foreseeable future though.
So far? I like it. For business use it’s great, it takes up way less space on my desk if I remove the keyboard. Much lighter than my laptop too. Its on Windows 8.1 which has taken a little bit of getting used to but it’s not awful. Windows 8 was terrible, they have definitely made improvements.
Using it at home? Meh. The screen is far too big to use as a tablet and the keyboard is too flimsy to have it sit on your lap as you would a laptop.
Biggest complaint about the keypad that I was given is that there are no mouse buttons (you press on the mousepad. Sometimes the right mouse click works. Other times… not so much). Also this particular keypad isn’t backlit. There is a backlit keypad that you can get. Not an issue in the office certainly.
I find the tactile qualities of the keyboard lacking too, in addition to not really liking the mouse. In general, I feel like keyboard skills are lessened with it vs. a typical laptop. Do you agree?
Hard to say so far. I am still getting used to the keyboard so currently I am not as efficient on it as I would be on a laptop. I might get used to it though. The mouse buttons definitely take getting used to.
I don’t know if my company will let us upgrade to Windows 10 or not. If so, I will guinea pig myself and see what it’s like.
Okay. Here’s the tough question. Would you have bought it for yourself?
Would I have? No.
Would I now? We’ll see. I do really like it here at work. It’s the using it away from work that is taking some getting used to. So as a personal device I remain unconvinced but that’s mostly because when I use a laptop at home it literally sits on my lap. If I was to use this at home sitting at a desk and using a dock with a proper mouse and keyboard? Then I would like it.
Anyway, long answer short… no I would not buy this device for myself but that may change as I use it more and get used to it.
You hit the two issues I had with the Surface Pro for me …
Due to the keyboard/kickstand it was very challenging to use while mobile. It was almost unusable on an airplane and difficult to use without a nice, large surface to keep it stable.
The mousepad portion of the attached keyboard was a dismal experience. I had the touch and type keyboards and both were subpar.
You hit the two issues I had with the Surface Pro for me …
Due to the keyboard/kickstand it was very challenging to use while mobile. It was almost unusable on an airplane and difficult to use without a nice, large surface to keep it stable.
The mousepad portion of the attached keyboard was a dismal experience. I had the touch and type keyboards and both were subpar.
drn92
Also the scrolling actions for the mouse are completely opposite of any laptop I have ever used. You want to scroll down a page? Move your fingers in an upwards motion. HUH?
Isn’t this the way it should work? If you have a physical piece of paper on your desk, and you want to move the bottom of the paper toward the top of the desk, you move your finger up. This is how my mac is setup, but my wife’s windows laptop is the opposite. Regardless of preference, this should be configurable, is it not?
Timely thread. My IT Dept just stopped in yesterday and offered me a new laptop to replace my existing or a Surface Pro 3 for business travel. Either to replace me desktop computer if I want (they only want to license one unit per user. So no more desktop and laptop)
I just began researching this topic.
I am not a mouse pad person. I need a physical mouse or a mouse button
If they are going to give you a Surface just make sure that they buy you the keyboard and you’ll want to buy a wireless mouse for when you are on the road.
Also the scrolling actions for the mouse are completely opposite of any laptop I have ever used. You want to scroll down a page? Move your fingers in an upwards motion. HUH?
This can be changed on a mac laptop and I’ll bet it can on yours.
At home you’d be better off with a Surface 3 (not Pro). Smaller screen and much cheaper. Unlike the early RT models, the Surface 3 has an x86 processor (Atom) and real Windows 8.
if it’s for business I would suggest something like the hp spectre x360, best of both worlds, I think the surface is cool as an additional device but not as a primary computer, but then again I tend to like bigger screens…
if it’s for business I would suggest something like the hp spectre x360, best of both worlds, I think the surface is cool as an additional device but not as a primary computer, but then again I tend to like bigger screens…
They have a docking station. You can plug a big monitor (HDMI) keyboard and mouse into a Surface, but it’s a pain in the ass doing it every day. It becomes a breeze with a docking station.
If they are going to give you a Surface just make sure that they buy you the keyboard and you’ll want to buy a wireless mouse for when you are on the road.
Yeah, i would get the whole kit. Docking, mouse, keyboard, etc
I just came back from a Microsoft Store to touch/feel the SP 3. The girl that helped me wasn’t as knowledge as I hoped. My take aways are:
I would have to get use to W8.1. Seems messy to me Don’t know if W10 is gogn to better or worse (my personal laptop is W7, not sure what my work desktop and lapops are)
With a docking system. A true desktop replacement
A decent laptop replacement. I like a larger screen on my current laptop. No DVD player, only one UBS port, etc. so I would need to possibly buy some externals
Not a stand-alone tablet replacement. The service rep was not really understanding my questions about Apps. My tablet now is the Galaxy Note 10,1 2014 edition (which I love). My phone is the Galaxy Note 4, so I am use to the Apps and Google Play Store. The Apps page on the sample SP3 seems to be just shortcuts to webpages, and not real mobile Apps.On this end, I would still bring my Note 10.1 as well, when I am travelling