First Reviews of Microsoft Surface Pro: Good Display, Full Windows 8, Compromised Experience

[MacRumors]

The reviews for Microsoft's fully featured Windows 8 tablet/laptop combo are out. The Surface Pro firmly slots in between tablets like Apple's iPad and ultra-portable laptops like the MacBook Air, and some have wanted a similar Mac/tablet hybrid.

The overall consensus is that while the Surface Pro does have some good features, it's ultimately brought down by trying to be both a tablet and laptop at the same time.

Image via ArsTechnica Review

Here is a collection of some of the early reviews:

The Verge

- "There's something really weird about running Windows on a tablet, though. I never think about getting a virus on my iPad, or making sure to comply with constant system updates."
- The Surface Pro comes with a Wacom-made pressure-sensitive and capacitive stylus that attaches to the device and is a "useful companion to the device."
- "It's too big, too fat, and too reliant on its power cable to be a competitive tablet, and it's too immutable to do everything a laptop needs to do."

AllThingsD

- In battery tests, it lasted under four hours - less than half the stamina of the iPad and three hours less than Surface RT.
- "Of the 64 GB of solid-state storage on the entry-level $899 model, only 30 GB of that is free for the user, according to Microsoft. On the $999 model, 90 GB of the 128 GB total is available for the user."
- "As with the original Surface, the Pro is solidly built, with the same innovative metal kickstand that keeps it upright on a desk or table."

Gizmodo

- "Its Ivy Bridge i5 processor, the same you'll find in most ultrabooks, launches apps almost instantly (another big upgrade from Surface RT)."
- "Its screen is too good. Which is to say, its 1080p resolution is so dense on the 10.6-inch screen that desktop programs seem too small, too cramped."

TechCrunch

- "As a laptop it is excellent. I was able to do nearly everything I needed to do including the editing of large documents, photo management, blogging, some minor gaming, and plenty of email and web browsing."
- The physical $129 Type Cover and the capacitive $119 Touch Cover are "essential to the Surface Pro experience."
- "There are obviously trade-offs, but the simplicity of form, the excellent design, and the promising OS make the Surface Pro a real treat - and threat to other manufacturers."

Engadget

- "That keyboard slowed us down and its trackpad continued to frustrate."
- "Photos [from two 720p cameras] are incredibly full of noise and the sensor seems to be completely unable to manage contrast, resulting in images that are either totally washed out or far too dark."
-**"If you're the type who likes to quickly pop on your tablet to check for new email or Facebook messages every few minutes, you may find yourself forced out of that habit here."

The Microsoft Surface Pro releases on February 9 and comes in a 64GB version for $899 and a 128GB version for $999, with the Type Cover an additional $129 and a Touch Cover an additional $119.

Article Link: First Reviews of Microsoft Surface Pro: Good Display, Full Windows 8, Compromised Experience

[nepalisherpa]

Nice to see some positive feedbacks! Hope I get to play with one soon!

[Pakaku]

If it didn't run Windows 8, it would be a pretty decent option...

[Squilly]

I haven't played around with it yet but I want to. Looks promising.

[Sixtafoua]

Tablets won't replace laptops until they're truly better than a laptop, and I think the surface pro hits the nail on the head in that regard. Wether you like it or not, the surface is the future.

[whiteonline]

never mind.....

[appleguy123]

When they're charging that price, the cheap piece of polyurethane keyboard shoukd be thrown in for free.

[impulse462]

I like the idea of it, but I'm not sure if it will ever take off.

the Courier though...

[violaboy]

Or just buy an 11" Macbook Air. I know it's not a tablet, but it would get the job done better and would be cheaper!

[bdkennedy1]

So it's worse than a tablet, worse than a laptop and more expensive than both with less than half the battery life and no keyboard. Apple has nothing to worry about. Zune.

[JoeIsInTheCloud]

Great job, Microsoftrumors.com.

[jacobtaylor1987]

First comment from The Verge says it all.

People treat a tablet like an appliance, they want to just be able to pick it up and use it, not fiddle around with settings and updates.

I'm loathe to say it, but for tablets, there needs to be an "It just works" mentality.

[Menopause]

LOL fail Redmond. Try again!

[Ryan.Tanner]

Microsoft Surface = Microsoft Zune 2.0

We've all seen this before... it will die a death much like the Zune.



Laptop>Surface>Tablet

Surface Price>Laptop Price>Tablet Price

Something seems wrong here.

[dagamer34]

At some point in the next 2 years, we are going to get the power of a Core 2 Duo in the thinness of an iPad, and Microsoft's path will probably make sense. Until then, we are going to see the same fumbling that Apple had with the first MacBook Air which was terribly expensive ($1799+), ran too hot, had too little storage, was slow, and only one USB port. And sales didnt take off for a while. And boom, October 2010 revision rolls around with all flash storage at $999 entry price point and a legend is born. Everyone knew that the future of computing would come from the DNA in the MacBook Air, it just wasnt worth owning in 2008.

So just remember that even if the first version sucks (and for any product, it's almost bound to), the revisions are what you really need to watch out for.

[jmoore5196]

I can just see all 192 people who bought the Zune lining up at my nearby Microsoft kiosk to get their hands on this baby!

[kbt1020]

God: Son, would you like to be an angel or a devil?
Surface: Father, I would like to be an angel with a hint of evilness.
God: Son, Half-assed is doomed for failure, and to compensate, I will grant you a kickstand

[appleguy123]

Originally Posted by impulse462

I like the idea of it, but I'm not sure if it will ever take off.

the Courier though...

Don't remind me. That thing would have been revolutionary!

[campingsk8er]

Maybe that's the reason Apple decided to come out with a 128GB version of the iPad. I know you can't compare two different products meant for different things, but iPad 128GB @ $799 vs Microsoft Slate 128GB @ $999. I think we can all agree that the 128GB iPad is a much better deal

[jontech]

The Surface RT cured me of wanting one of these


SOFTWARE SOFTWARE SOFTWARE


I can get a better experience and better pricing on iOS or Android

[Uncle David]

There will be some for whom this will be perfect. Just not me!

[Pakaku]

Originally Posted by violaboy

Or just buy an 11" Macbook Air. I know it's not a tablet, but it would get the job done better and would be cheaper!

One thing this Surface has, that the Air does not, is that touch-screen with a Wacom pen. That to me sounds like a strong selling point, at least to graphic artists. So many pressure-sensitive bluetooth pens are being made for the iPad, with varying success, but the Surface comes with the pen out of the box.

[mrsir2009]

Originally Posted by campingsk8er

Maybe that's the reason Apple decided to come out with a 128GB version of the iPad. I know you can't compare two different products meant for different things, but iPad 128GB @ $799 vs Microsoft Slate 128GB @ $999. I think we can all agree that the 128GB iPad is a much better deal

Although the 64gb iPad still has more actual storage than the 128gb surface

[gatearray]

Originally Posted by dagamer34

So just remember that even if the first version sucks (and for any product, it's almost bound to), the revisions are what you really need to watch out for.

Hmm, I recall the first version of the iPad in 2010 being pretty awesome, and not "sucking" very much at all.

[shiseiryu1]

Originally Posted by Pakaku

One thing this Surface has, that the Air does not, is that touch-screen with a Wacom pen. That to me sounds like a strong selling point, at least to graphic artists. So many pressure-sensitive bluetooth pens are being made for the iPad, with varying success, but the Surface comes with the pen out of the box.

In order for the pressure sensitive table to be any good for serious artists it would have to be bigger than 10". My wife does work on 1.2GB photoshop files and her 21" Cintiq doesn't even feel big enough.

Microsofts tablet is too expensive to be a toy and too diminutive to be a production machine. I can't think of anything serious that I'd want to do on a 10" M$ tablet. If it's something quick like browsing/email then an iPad would be better. If it something serious like graphic design or programming then I want a bigger screen.