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Apologies for the mistake in my OP. Corrected now. However it doesn't change the point I was trying to make. It still has the horrendous aspect ratio when trying to manhandle the thing and god forbid you use it in portrait...

Having had an iPad 3 and a Surface 3 side by side at one point, I can tell you that 4:3 isn't that much different than 3:2. It's the difference between a legal pad, and a notebook.
 
lol no as I mentioned in my OP, stylus feels just as laggy as before. However you may want to just acknowledge that my review was not just a giant bash post. I did mentioned quite a few positives about both products. If the stylus works for you and you don't notice/feel the lag when/if you design then high-five bud! :) Unfortunately not the same for me or my circle. To each his/her own.

Thank you for the honest review. Gave me a good insight into the reality behind the blurb. Sorry that you got so battered by some merely for posting.

(It is unfortunate, but inevitable, that with so many Trolls around trying to stir things up because they think it is "fun", that many people are very suspicious of pretty well anybody's opinion but their own ;))
 
This will force Apple to up their game.
The Macbook Pro has been the only game in town for quite a while as regards a light, solid, well performing laptop.
Now MS have thrown down the gauntlet and it'll be better for all us consumers when Apple picks it up.

I was kinda hoping the whole "Super thin but super weak" thing with the new macbook would die. This might help that happen. I'm fine with light, but not at the cost of power, at least not to that extent.
 
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Thank you for the honest review. Gave me a good insight into the reality behind the blurb. Sorry that you got so battered by some merely for posting.

(It is unfortunate, but inevitable, that with so many Trolls around trying to stir things up because they think it is "fun", that many people are very suspicious of pretty well anybody's opinion but their own ;))

Appreciate the post. It truly was an honest review on my experience regardless if some believe me or don't. I totally understand why they would be skeptical. Most have not had the opportunity to test these hands on and i was lucky enough to do so. I got one number wrong in my post which btw were very quick notes I did between keynotes earlier today (had about 5 mins) to share here and all i edited here was the formatting so it was easier to read. I know I'm not trolling or lying so its whatever to me. Was just trying to help answer some of the questions and curiosities that I had read in earlier posts on the thread. ;)
 
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Having had an iPad 3 and a Surface 3 side by side at one point, I can tell you that 4:3 isn't that much different than 3:2. It's the difference between a legal pad, and a notebook.

honestly you are the first person I have ever come across that feels the aspect ratio is okay and similar to an iPad. I personally think they feel completely different in portrait mode. For one, i don't feel like an idiot reading an e-book on an iPad. On a surface on the other hand.. well its ridiculous. Again though Ive given up trying to convince you of my authenticity, just trolling me at this point. Have a nice sleep under your bridge.
 
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You assume they didn't consider OSX when they developed iPad. I'm sure the iPad filtered through a ton of hard decisions to get to where it is.

These surface tablets are netbooks with touchscreens. Might as well just get a MacBook.
I didn't say anything about the iPad Pro - I was referring to Apple releasing a MacBook with a touch screen, so I'm not sure why you're saying it'd be better to buy a MacBook when it lacks one :p. You can't deny the surface is far more versatile than any MacBook available at the moment.
 
honestly you are the first person I have ever come across that feels the aspect ratio is okay and similar to an iPad. I personally think they feel completely different in portrait mode. For one, i don't feel like an idiot reading an e-book on an iPad. On a surface on the other hand.. well its ridiculous. Again though Ive given up trying to convince you of my authenticity, just trolling me at this point. Have a nice sleep under your bridge.

If you were talking about the 16:9 versions, I'd agree with you entirely. But from the 3 on, the Surfaces lines were designed to have a more squarish aspect ratio. In usage, the S3 is only a bit longer than the iPad. Unless you're holding them side by side for a direct comparison, they look nearly identical.

Air.jpg

S3.jpg


And as for lag...

Not the most exciting video in the world, but notice how close the strokes track to the tip of the pin.

So yeah, still calling shenanigans.
 
If you were talking about the 16:9 versions, I'd agree with you entirely. But from the 3 on, the Surfaces lines were designed to have a more squarish aspect ratio. In usage, the S3 is only a bit longer than the iPad. Unless you're holding them side by side for a direct comparison, they look nearly identical.

Air.jpg

S3.jpg


And as for lag...

Not the most exciting video in the world, but notice how close the strokes track to the tip of the pin.

So yeah, still calling shenanigans.

I can't wait until you hold the surface book for example in your hands. Remember the conversations we have been having. You will feel silly. I call trolling on your shenanigan claims. My OP specifically talks about the book when it comes to awkward holding in portrait. I don't really care if its the same aspect ratio as the 3. Its super awkward to hold in portrait. That may be a personal thing but thats how it was for me. Who knows maybe the iPad Pro will be just as awkward though I doubt it. Anyway No more feeding you /end
 
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6 months with surface pro3, I have zero trust for any Microsoft hardware. They just don't know how to do it right. They are so "Lazy". By lazy, I mean they didn't test it enough. The production has tons of issues left to end users. Surfacw pro3 is really really a bad notebook. It is also a terrible tablet. Today, I only use it by connecting it to big screen and big keyboard. It is an awful awful device to use.
Would you care to give some Details about what exactly is bad about the sp3? We have a few deployed with a salesteam and so far the feedback has been pretty good.
Granted they mainly use office applications and out own sales software that our IT department outfitted with a real cool touch ui, so maybe the usage scenario is very different from yours.
I am mainly interested because I am seriously considering the sp4 (if i come up with more usage in tablet mode) or the sb (if its more usage with the keyboard attached obviously) as my next purchase and would like to know the flaws of the prior generation to be able to check if they fixed it...so, your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
 
If you were talking about the 16:9 versions, I'd agree with you entirely. But from the 3 on, the Surfaces lines were designed to have a more squarish aspect ratio. In usage, the S3 is only a bit longer than the iPad. Unless you're holding them side by side for a direct comparison, they look nearly identical.

Air.jpg

S3.jpg


And as for lag...

Not the most exciting video in the world, but notice how close the strokes track to the tip of the pin.

So yeah, still calling shenanigans.
if you read he said the lag FROM surface 2 is back...that link is from surface pro 3
 
if you read he said the lag FROM surface 2 is back...that link is from surface pro 3

No, he said it's always been there. Though even if that's what he said, I still have my doubts, since the 2 used Wacom tech, while the 4 is using the same inhouse tech the 3 did.

Really, the only way you can get the pen to lag by any noticeable amount is if you're using a heavy application, working with an incredibly high resolution document, and you start bogging down the CPU. I was able to get my S3 to lag by using a 200px brush on a 2048x2048 image. But that isn't a problem with the stylus tech, so much as I was pushing the little tablet too hard.
 
Also worth noting - I just finished attending the Adobe 'Sneaks' keynote where they demo tech and apps that may or may not make it to market next year via their roadmap. All of the Adobe partners were creating amazing apps for creative work specifically for iOS. All of their demos were on the iPad Pro and the full adobe desktop suite on the Mac Pro. None used the Surface Pro 4 or the Surface Book and they made no mention of developing their apps for Windows.

LOL, it's understandable, there are already tons of apps for Windows, and real apps not toys like on iOS. It's only natural the developers are curious about the iPad Pro because it's the new kid in town and may have some potential in the future.
 
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LOL, it's understandable, there are already tons of apps for Windows, and real apps not toys like on iOS. It's only natural the developers are curious about the iPad Pro because it's the new kid in town and may have some potential in the future.

Plus, last year Adobe were all about showing off their apps on the Surface. Though they do tend to use Macs more often than not, since that's kind of their traditional home.
 
If privacy and security were such big seeling points, BlackBerry would still be on top.

And that's a sad, sad state of affairs. Windows 10 bets that Google and Facebook have done their job "educating" people into not caring, and that no one indeed, cares about privacy anymore.

If you don't care about privacy or security, you will not get it. But don't come crying later that some hacker ( or your government ) has every bit of your life out there for public scrutiny.
 
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Plus, last year Adobe were all about showing off their apps on the Surface. Though they do tend to use Macs more often than not, since that's kind of their traditional home.

I am watching the Graphic Design keynote from yesterday at Adobe Max where they demoed Illustrator running on Surface Pro 3. That's a real application on a really powerful tablet. On the Mac they only showed how they improved the zoom compared with Illustrator CS6. :)
 
Currently attending Adobe MAX in LA. Here are my first impressions from a professional creative perspective:

Just got to play with the new MS Surface Book and Surface Pro 4. Here are my initial reactions:

Surface Book Hands On Impressions:
  • Impressive offering from MS. Build quality is OK. Not anywhere near the build quality you get from a Macbook Pro but a really good progression for MS.
  • Screen feels really light when you detach and make it into a tablet
  • But its unwieldy and uncomfortable to hold - still using that weird 3:2 aspect ratio - good luck using this thing in portrait.
  • To detach the screen you have to hold down a button and then hold down the bottom base firmly in the centre bridge to take it off. That was the recommendation from the MS employee (who did not know anything about the device when asked spec questions by an Adobe staff member).
  • When using the stylus in laptop mode the screen wobbles non stop. Not great build quality for sturdiness or weight.
  • When closed there is a big gap between the screen and the keyboard which will allow in lots of dust and other stuff that will creep in from day to day. Nice however to not damage the screen which has been an issue with the MBP since 2012.
Pro 4 Hands on Impressions:
  • Feels (in terms of physical build and user experience) just like a Pro 3 which makes sense as its a new iteration of the same model.
  • However Huge issue on the Pro 4 is that when you shade hard (or put medium-hard pressure in general) using the stylus the screen buckles inwards in the centre. That is terrible build quality.
Stylus Hands on Impressions:
  • You definitely notice the lag. This has NOT been improved since the 2. They brought back the pressure sensivity on the 2 to the 4 which was skipped over on the 3. Thats a plus but the lag is really noticeable so its a deal breaker.
  • Stylus is very comfortable to hold but a little too short for long term use especially for sketching (offers less control and I don't have massive hands). My hand kept hitting the side button by mistake messing with the work flow.
  • The eraser does a weird job of erasing. It erases part of the stroke and then does a negative blur mixture on the rest? So really doesn't erase properly. This was in Photoshop but I saw Adobe have massive issues during their live demo in Illustrator as well. (Could be an Adobe issue?)
  • This stylus does not allow for tilt shading like the Apple pencil. The only thing it does is change the depth and point grade via the pressure output of your hand. You still need to manually switch brush stroke sizes and styles from the menu panel.
  • Nice thing about the stylus is that it did a wonderful job when blending colours using the brush in Photoshop. You were able to create some really nice mixtures and it also created this great pastel look (though may not be great if your not going for a pastel look).
  • Stylus has interchangeable nibs. Still pain in the ass and you will probably lose them. Prefer the idea of tilting the nib to create shades which is more natural to a real pencil.
Closing Thoughts:
  • For me so far its a pass. Will see what the iPad Pro feels like. After looking at the new Apps and App updates Adobe is bringing to market for iOS 9 that were demoed yesterday for an hour at Max on an iPad Pro I'm very excited.
  • Its no longer about needing to use the full desktop pc app for any adobe product vs their app lightweight versions (historically lacking in features) its about Adobe creating options to allow you to use your own work flow. They made it a point to tell us yesterday that they don't want to dictate what your work flow should be like.
  • The new app updates and apps offer a lot of value and new features especially when linked to the creative cloud. Its about using both the apps and the full desktop apps in unison.
  • A lot of these apps will allow you to do things faster then on the traditional pc application because they were designed specifically for these tasks.
  • Also worth noting - I just finished attending the Adobe 'Sneaks' keynote where they demo tech and apps that may or may not make it to market next year via their roadmap. All of the Adobe partners were creating amazing apps for creative work specifically for iOS. All of their demos were on the iPad Pro and the full adobe desktop suite on the Mac Pro. None used the Surface Pro 4 or the Surface Book and they made no mention of developing their apps for Windows.
  • Some of these apps were incredible and the creative community (7000 attending) went nuts. This shows me that there is massive developer support within the creative community for working within the partnership between Adobe and Apple which only helps in affirming the probability that the future of Adobe products on future iOS iterations will continue to grow stronger.
Exciting times and hope this helps.

Edit: Wanted to mention I'm not a troll new poster etc. I had an account and completely forgot the credentials so I decided to start a new account via FB login. Long time lurker since 2007 and occasional poster :)

Edit 2: Corrected mistake stating it was 16:10 aspect ratio to the now corrected 3:2. Spec number mistake but the original point about the awkward aspect ratio still holds true. I just got the number wrong (God cast me down for I have sinned blah blah blah :p)


Did you notice if the issue with the Surface Pro 3 concerning diagonal lines is gone?

If you slowly draw diagonal lines on the Pro 3 they don't appear as a straight line on the screen but are wobbly.
 
Mind you Microsoft's products usually look good on the surface (unintended pun). I have a Surface 3 (the non-pro one) and the charger plug doesn't stay flush to the body and it wiggles when you touch it. This is by design and every unit of the device has this problem. But probably too few people have it and Microsoft stuffs don't generate pageviews. So nobody was talking about this.

To me this is totally unacceptable.

c.f. the image below:

Surface-3-Charger.jpg
Yeah they're not perfect, in fact this is something that would annoy me - I demand charging plugs of the highest quality, something which Apple provides.

I was more referring to the notion that Microsoft was competing with their OEMs, which it isn't because they're hacks and make even worse charger plugs, not to mention the rest of the hardware and their bundled adware.
 
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The specs are contradictory. In one place they say that the laptop is 1.5kg, while at the other site they claim that the laptop is 728g — which I, frankly, don't believe at all. I am very skeptical about this product until I can see it in action.
728g without keyboard, 1.5kg with keyboard.
 
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All of their demos were on the iPad Pro and the full adobe desktop suite on the Mac Pro. None used the Surface Pro 4 or the Surface Book and they made no mention of developing their apps for Windows.

Hey, are those iPad Pros they're using in the movie below? :p

 
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Seems a good time for MS, Windows 10 is solid, these devices look decent as well. Well played :)
 
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