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First Reviews of Microsoft Surface Pro: Good Display, Full Windows 8, Compromised Experience
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Clearly an interesting concept, but not quite ready for prime time. As many have pointed out, other groundbreaking devices have had initial limitations similar to those experienced by the Surface. Maybe by rev. 2 or 3, it will be something with a wider appeal (initial numbers look a bit disappointing). I hope Apple is taking notes.
You have to admit the iPad 1 was more solid and complete than Apple's other first rev products. The iPhone 1 was pretty gimpy when it first came out. Same with the iPod, the MBA. None of them were worth forking over tons of cash for until rev 2.
By comparison, the iPad 2 was a little more well rounded, but it didn't make huge sweeping changes that transformed a half functional good idea badly implemented into something suddenly worth having. It was already decent right from the start.™
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Yes it is slow compared to newer iPads and other tablets. However it still works well. I will be looking forward to an upgrade this fall.
Let's look at a battery life comparison of the Surface Pro that is almost 11" to the MBA 11" using stats from Anandtech
MacBook Air 11" (Core i5-3317U from the mid 2012 MBA 11" review)
Light: 5.5 hours
Medium: 3.95 hours
Surface Pro (w/ same Core i5-3317U)
Light: 5.2 hours
Medium: 3.85 hours
seems the battery life problem is a bit overblown when you compare it to the closest thing it goes up against
MacBook Air 11" (Core i5-3317U from the mid 2012 MBA 11" review)
Light: 5.5 hours
Medium: 3.95 hours
Surface Pro (w/ same Core i5-3317U)
Light: 5.2 hours
Medium: 3.85 hours
seems the battery life problem is a bit overblown when you compare it to the closest thing it goes up against
The response time is not bad. It's faster than a desktop or laptop PC. 256MB of RAM is plenty if you're just using one app at a time. That's how much my iMac G5 had, and it ran a big 7GB OS.
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Not interested in the current surface pro for reasons stated by others.
BUT
Just the other day I was working like crazy on a presentation I had to give later that day. It required looking up references and reading my notes and making figures etc. in addition to general PowerPoint stuff. I literally had to run to make my bus to work and I found myself really wishing that a perfected surface pro did exist so I could continue working on the bus without pulling out my laptop (bus was packed so a laptop wasn't going to happen)
It would be really nice to have one device that I could use for work but also had the versatility of a tablet (I can use my nexus 7 in way more places than I feel comfortable pulling out my MBA).
I'm not sure that is possible and I certainly don't think the Surface Pro as it exists now is the answer but I have to say I'm glad Microsoft is trying. I hope this gets Apple and Google trying harder too.
BUT
Just the other day I was working like crazy on a presentation I had to give later that day. It required looking up references and reading my notes and making figures etc. in addition to general PowerPoint stuff. I literally had to run to make my bus to work and I found myself really wishing that a perfected surface pro did exist so I could continue working on the bus without pulling out my laptop (bus was packed so a laptop wasn't going to happen)
It would be really nice to have one device that I could use for work but also had the versatility of a tablet (I can use my nexus 7 in way more places than I feel comfortable pulling out my MBA).
I'm not sure that is possible and I certainly don't think the Surface Pro as it exists now is the answer but I have to say I'm glad Microsoft is trying. I hope this gets Apple and Google trying harder too.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION! I'M SUING YOU! 
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Yeah, but the tablet stylings do make you want to draw comparisons to the iPad and Android offerings even if it's not exactly fair.
I hope MS doesn't give up on the line after one generation. The Surface needs Haswell for it to really shine.
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Yeah, but the tablet stylings do make you want to draw comparisons to the iPad and Android offerings even if it's not exactly fair.
I hope MS doesn't give up on the line after one generation. The Surface needs Haswell for it to really shine.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION! I'M SUING YOU!
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Yeah, but the tablet stylings do make you want to draw comparisons to the iPad and Android offerings even if it's not exactly fair.
I hope MS doesn't give up on the line after one generation. The Surface needs Haswell for it to really shine.
the el camino of computers!
dang did I really just do a car comparison!? shoot me
The Microsoft Surface Pro. It's not a car like a tablet. Nor is it a truck like PC. It's a...CRUCKAR!
Okay, I'm gonna get my gun and shoot us both.
Of course the Intel is faster, does it surpise you ? If you need to power of an Intel CPU you don't need an iPad (and no Atom as well). A Ferrari blows a Fiat of the track.
This comparison is not helping as it try to match different things. Compare the Surface Pro with its peers like MBA, Acer W700, bunch of Lenovos, Dell, you name it.
For me the Surface Pro and iPad can easy coexists; different animals.
ROFLMAO!!! Yeah, it's faster than a laptop or desktop pc. Load MacRumors on the original iPad and then try it on a MBA, MB Pro or any other modern device and see if it's faster.
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Haswell is vital for this type of device. But you never know with Microsoft. They might scrap it in 6 months. There isn't much 3rd party support for the Surface accessory wise, so who knows what will happen. I think it's a shame because the Surface is a good device. I'll check out the Pro as soon as I can find a store that carries them. They launch on Saturday, right?
yeah, that's when they launch, although a buddy that works for Best Buy (poor guy) says they started displaying it at his store today, so it may already be out there to check out
We've got a blizzard coming in Friday into Saturday with predictions of up to 2 feet, so if that happens, I'll have to wait a few days.
If I'm near a Best Buy tomorrow I'll stop in to see if they have one on display yet.
We've got a blizzard coming in Friday into Saturday with predictions of up to 2 feet, so if that happens, I'll have to wait a few days.
man, I could not deal with that haha, good luck! maybe the meteorologists will get it wrong
I think Windows XP netbook is better than iPad 1.
I don't like iPad 1 industrial design, I don't like the curved back. Does iPad 1 have camera?
I hope they are too, but no matter what it looks like we are going to get substantial snow. We've had almost no snow this winter although it has been cold. Now it looks like we might get clobbered. In the winter of 2010-2011 we had three storms in a couple of weeks that dumped over 5 feet on us. And that's nothing compared to places like Buffalo, NY and the areas bordering the Great Lakes.
How did I know, that the comments section for this article would be riddled with pro-Apple and anti-Microsoft sentiments? I think the only reason this article was posted here was so 90% of the people viewing MacRumours could bash it. Sad.
Even MS has gone on record stating they don't expect the Surface line to set the world on fire. They're using them more as the prestige line. The way they think Win8 tablets should be made. They won't have to sell a billion to justify keeping them around, but hopefully they'll push enough off the shelves for them to want to make one more rev.
Cuz you're right, it's a good little device. It just needs a few more tweaks to the formula to become that must have item we're all wanting.
Apple is falling behind on innovation. The surface has its flaws but creates a new model that merges the mobile and desktop OS and Apps into a tablet/laptop.
The cover that has a keyboard and mouse pad is another example of innovation.
Apple will never add a mouse option to the iPad; I think this is a big mistake.
I think the Air or Pro will eventually get to this point but the way Apple gets things out it will take another 5 years to merge the two Operating Systems into one and 2 years to add touch screens. It will be great when it gets here but we will have a long wait.
I don't know if that's a fair test since they have different wireless cards. I also can't test that right now since I don't have an iPad, but I've used the iPad 1, and it's not slow. It just sucks because it has no camera.
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"Innovation"
aka adding random stuff to a tablet that's been on PCs for decades. USB, woah :O
There are also keyboard cases for iPads. I want the iPad to support mice since it would be useful for office setups, but I wouldn't call it "innovation" if it did. As for the other stuff, keep it on the PC. Flash drives aren't necessary anymore.
OK here's what confuses me about this device. I see complaints on The Verge and elsewhere that the Surface Pro is not a great device for using in your lap to which the Microsoft fans reply that the Surface is not a laptop it's a tablet so just fold the kickstand down if you want to use it on your lap. But then when someone complains about the 4 hour battery life all of a sudden it's not a tablet anymore and isn't fair to compare battery life to an iPad, Nexus 7/10, etc., it should be compared to a MacBook Air or Ultrabook.
OK so then which is it? Is the Surface a tablet or an Ultrabook? If its a tablet then battery life is unacceptable. And if its an Ultrabook than the form factor is crap as you pretty much have to use it on a flat surface and you sacrifice a really good keyboard/trackpad for the touch cover (which The Verge referred to as a gimmick).
OK so then which is it? Is the Surface a tablet or an Ultrabook? If its a tablet then battery life is unacceptable. And if its an Ultrabook than the form factor is crap as you pretty much have to use it on a flat surface and you sacrifice a really good keyboard/trackpad for the touch cover (which The Verge referred to as a gimmick).