I am quite interested in buying one of the Pro units to replace my iPad now that they have the battery life issues fixed.
While it is still not quite as high resolution, the screen is far less reflective than the iPad display.
It has a proper Wacom pen with palm rejection so it's
actually useful for sketching and writing rather than finger painting. The image is right on the surface of the glass too, unlike the iPad.
I hate having to convert media to get it running properly on my iPad. With the Surface Pro being x86-based, anything will play on it - and with a 1080p screen it will be displayed at 100% and sharper than the scaled image on an iPad.
The hardware is really solidly built - possibly even better than anything Apple currently makes. They knew what they were up against and arguably over-engineered it.
I really wish Microsoft would start building other PC hardware so that someone is at least giving Apple some competition. There's nothing out there which competes with the MacBooks.
It's a shame that Microsoft has fallen into the trap of criticizing its competitors, rather than running ads which point out the unique features of their device.
The "dance" videos with the cover are reminiscent of the old iPod ads, but the problem is that the iPod was already established in the market and everyone knew what it was before they started airing ads like that.
Nobody wants a sort-of laptop that has no keyboard hinge. It's difficult to use on your lap.
It's a tablet that is more functional than competing tablets when you are at a desk because you have a built-in stand, and (optionally) a keyboard and trackpad.
It seems like they have also greatly improved its usability if you do try to use it on your lap with this revision - but still not as good as a laptop if you want to use the device that way. (though no tablet is)
a platform that shouldn't exist in the first place (Surface 2/Windows RT)
So, in your opinion, should iOS not exist either?
iOS seems like a good option now, because it's six years old and there are hundreds of thousands of apps.
Windows 8 has been out for ten months.
I'm still waiting for one in "Zune Brown"
While the original Zune was an ugly device, the final iteration was pretty nice:
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The point is, Microsoft didn't successfully innovate here. They took a successful idea (the iPad) and tried to copy-cat it while using their own desktop OS, shoe-horned into something they thought more suitable for a touch-screen.
Yes, it's terrible how they've been copying the iPad since 2001.
whilist not built in, the smart cover does the same damn thing on the iPad.
The smart cover/case is a terrible stand. I have a big dent in my iPad that proves it.
Go all Intel - Intel has the chips now for it - and they would have full blow Windows x86 capabilities on all their surface tablets (make marketing much easier).
Intel is getting there, but they're still far too slow for a good desktop experience. It would be like running Windows on a Netbook (very slow) rather than an Ultrabook. (MacBook Air class hardware)
surface 2 had 3.5 hours battery life. 75% increase = just a bit more than 6 hours.
still crappy
once that thing has 10-15 hours battery though, id be tempted.
The Surface Pro 2 is running the same generation CPU as the MacBook Airs, with a larger battery. (42Wh instead of 38Wh)
It's a 1.6GHz chip rather than the 1.3GHz chip in the Air, but it uses an HD4400 graphics rather than the HD5000 so you should expect similar battery life as a current generation Air - which is far beyond 6 hours.
And then you have the optional battery cover which adds another 30Wh on top of that.
You could get 8-10 hours with the built in battery, and something like 14-17 hours if you also have the battery cover attached. It's not a very elegant device with that cover attached though.
I picture myself getting a Surface 2 with the docking station. A real desktop keyboard, mouse, Ethernet connection and monitor would be attached to the docking station on my desk. Now I can take my computer on the go, yet have a full desktop at home.
Imagine where this leads if the third generation adds Thunderbolt, and has support for external graphics cards.
While I have a desktop PC at home already, and a Retina MacBook Pro, I really like the idea of having a single device as my computer, which is both an excellent mobile device, and capable of high-end performance when docked at home.
Then I saw the super-tiny mouse pointer and tiny font and the person was using the tiny touch-pad to move around.
I'm not one to toss around the "FAIL" word, but that's the first thing that came to my mind.
That sounds like someone changed the desktop size from 150% to 100%. Items should be the same size as an 11" MacBook Air. (but Retina quality)
Microsoft just doesn't understand that one of the big differences between Windows and Mac is as follows; Every Mac regardless of prices comes with the great iLife package of apps in addition to excellent mail, calendar and contacts apps. You can buy a new Mac and instantly start doing things.
If the Windows Essentials apps (or whatever they're called this year) were as complete and great looking as iPhoto, iTunes, iDVD, Mail, Contacts and Calendar I would be switching back. I prefer Windows 8 (desktop) over Mac but the total software integration of Mac OS and Mac to iPhone just cannot be beat.
That's an interesting point. I don't find the iLife suite of programs particularly useful, and replace them immediately when I buy a new Mac (Lightroom for photo editing, for example) so that's not something I had really considered before.
I do wish that the Pro version came with the same stripped-down version of Office that the "RT" version comes with - that's all most people need for home use. I'll probably end up sticking to LibreOffice on the desktop, which lacks any sort of touch support.
This will fail until it gets unanchored to Wi-Fi and picks up LTE. When it gets LTE, it has a potential to compete.
LTE in 2014
Browsing the web in LANDSCAPE on a 16:9 screen? lol.
It's crazy what people consider doing on laptops and computer monitors! I don't know why they aren't all 4:3.
