Microsoft Surface Pro review | The Verge
theverge.com/2013/2/5/3955130/microsoft-surfa...
theverge.comPosted Feb 6, 2013, 2:01 AM UTC
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theverge.comWelp. Looks like I'm waiting for the Haswell model.
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About the same time as when I'll be eBaying my Pro
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Yup. I'm already way too in love to not buy this Saturday. Ill be flipping this on Craigslist when the new one comes out.
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That could be a long wait my friend.
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Everywhere I read about the RT they complain about the RT's horrible performance problems. I just can't understand that, I have never noticed slowness and I use mine daily. Are my expectations too low or something?
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You need to manipulate the screen Topolsky style- like you're on coke jacking off a hummingbird. That's when you see the lag.
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Agreed, I use my Surface RT all the time and it runs with perfect smoothness 99% of the time. And any device will lag 1% of the time...
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Cameras worked well.
6 :|
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Fair enough. I just thought it was silly that they don't say a single negative thing in the article and then give it a 6. If:
There are two cameras on the Surface Pro, both capable of recording 720p video. In my entire time using the device, I only ever used the rear camera explicitly for testing, because taking pictures with a two-pound, 11-inch slab of metal is ridiculous. On the other hand, the super-wide-angle front-facing camera does really well for video chat.
means just barely over average, I guess a 7.5 total score is pretty good...
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I really don't understand the viewing angle issue. I can easily hold the device at any viewing angle comfortably by flipping the touch cover and using my hand to hold the device with no effort... Am I missing something?
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Yes, typing and holding the monitor at the same time.
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I really dislike TheVerge, they have some fundamental issues...
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Does anyone really type in their laps for long periods of time? I can honestly say I don't and anytime I'm out I always see people using laptops on a table, never laps.
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This is what I hated about this review. The surface is a tablet, so use it as a freaking tablet when you're sitting down on the couch! Of course the kickstand and flimsy magnet keyboard won't work when you're laying down, it's designed to be used at a desk. Just use it like you would an iPad when you want to use it as a tablet!
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You've clearly never flown / worked out of a hotel lobby / sat on your living room couch / watched Netflix on your laptop in bed / pooped and reddited / sat on a park bench (I work from home and get bored easily) / a million other ways you'd use a laptop on your lap
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I have flown many times. I have worked out of hotels... in my experience they have tables and places to charge. I have been known to sit on my couch in my living room... this is where I use my iPad and not put a laptop on my lap.... by the way this is the trend now. I used to watch Netflix with my laptop but do that with my tablet now. I don't like sitting on park benches I'm usually playing with my son at the park. pooped and reddited..... kind of, by the way your laptop sounds disgusting now..... I use bacconit on my phone. A million other ways you'd use a laptop on your lap... actually I think there is only really one way to use a laptop on your lap, maybe a few but they all look roughly the same. Essentially a device with a monitor and keyboard is resting on your lap either facing you, or maybe on the off chance facing someone else. Hope this helps.
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At home, I don't own a desk; either I put my laptop on my coffee table, or I put my feet on my coffee table with the laptop in my lap. The latter happens far more often than the former.
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Then Surface may not be the right option for you.
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Guess it's the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix for me.
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/tablet/thinkpad/thinkpad-helix/
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The Helix costs $500 more. Definitely not worth it to me.
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But its actually usable as a laptop. Oh and lenovo pens are much better than the one Microsoft is bundling
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Why do you say that? Just curious.
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Its rigid so you can actually use it on your lap. Lenovo keyboards are also the best on the market and the track point really grows on you after a while. I kinda wish the type cover had a track point.
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I used my surface RT on my lap many a times. And you are also assuming there is no other dock/keyboard coming out for the surface, which is just silly considering the new pins on the bottom of the Pro.
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Was going for the helix as well but after seeing this: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2027162/lenovo-s-thinkpad-helix-delayed-until-march-or-april.html
surface pro it is.
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Compares the Surface Pro to the iPad. Irrelevant review. Period. The Verge are once again proving that they are basically positiveapplereviews.com/comparisons_to_ipad.html
0/10.
They are not even close to being similar devices in any way other than form factor.
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i think anand covered this issue well by comparing it to both, separately.
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It has the hardware of a macbook air, compare it to that.
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It completes with the iPad. It provides Ultrabook function in a tablet shell. Why doesn't it compete with Ultrabooks? Because there are more drawbacks than pluses in that category.
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Why doesn't it compete with Ultrabooks? Because it can't last more than four hours.
The 10.6" display Surface Pro lasts longer than the 11.6" display Macbook Air.
Both are at around 5-6 hours on standardized brightness settings.
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Not according to the link you posted. Compared Light and Medium on both charts. The MBA 11 (not known for its battery life) is marginally higher than the Surface Pro.
Surface Pro 5.2/3.85 vs. MBA 11 5.5/3.95.
They also use different tests. They ran the Surface Pro through their tablet usage tests rather than their OSX laptop tests.
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Does the iPad function as an Ultrabook in a tablet shell? If not, they are incomparable.
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It is a hybrid device. You can compare it to both traditional tablets or other Ultrabooks. It is a great alternative to the iPad, but is a tough sell when compared to Ultrabooks. Comparing it to the iPad allows you to draw the conclusion that the Surface Pro is a very powerful tablet. Comparing it to Ultrabooks results in the Surface Pro resembling more a handicapped device without option for a rigid base and hinge nor proper battery life.
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Is the iPad a hybrid device? No? Then they're incomparable. My phone functions as a television but I don't compare it to a 60" LED because they are not comparable devices.
Keep defending The Verge all you want just like everyone else on reddit, but they're as terrible as the writers were when they were at Engadget.
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I'm so sick of the fucking anti-Windows propaganda that dominates mainstream technology media. Gizmodo complaining about apps that are too high-res - resize the motherfuckers! I didn't see them make note of the shithouse iOS when the iPad was realised.
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Gizmodo/Gawker is just about as apple bias as you can get not counting it run by a bunch of mangina/male apologists .
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The video review was disgusting. He said nothing we didn't already know, and showed us that if you put it on your legs with your legs at an angle equal to or beyond the angle the stand puts the device at, that it will fall over. What a joke.
Wow, its like he's never used a non-apple product before. Who doesn't know what a micro sd slot is? Everything is just "magical" because it was so horrible before and every asthetic touch to the device is a mockery of beauty. I'm reading the rest because it is this, but this guy apparently didn't both to read the manual and is just using this as an opportunity to trash microsoft.
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...I thought the review was relatively fair except for the whole "you can't use it in your lap" bullshit. I use the RT in my lap all the time and don't have any issues. That problem definitely comes down to the individual and it shouldn't have been given such an absolute write-off.
Overall all though I would say the review is fair simply because there isn't much more to tell us. It is a slightly bigger and heavier Surface that runs Windows 8. I mean the only new things he could really tell us is how well the pen works and the battery life.
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I am not sure if the reviewer was exaggerating the lap usage, but the Surface Pro is larger and heavier than the RT. It's possible that it could fall forward easier then the RT.
But the video review was poorly done. It sounded more like they were finding things to complain about.
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Well it seemed like everything clip they showed of the thing he had his knees raised pretty high and that caused it to fall forward.
So he is either pretty tall and/or sitting in a seat that is low to the ground. I am 5'11" and I don't have any problems with it sitting it my lap and it isn't like I am just barely balancing it I can normally move around a good amount before it would fall forward.
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Nah, the dude held his legs at a 30 degree angle every single time. Just flatten out your legs or put them on a lower surface and the tablet will quit falling over.
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Honestly it was just plain silly. It was like a bad infomercial creating a problem that you don't really need a solution to.
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Overall all though I would say the review is fair simply because there isn't much more to tell us. It is a slightly bigger and heavier Surface that runs Windows 8. I mean the only new things he could really tell us is how well the pen works and the battery life.
Exactly. One of the biggest things I look for when I'm reading reviews about a device I want, I look for surprises and things that are flat out broken. There weren't any here, and that means that I suspect I'll be very happy with the device.
After all, the reviewer's needs are not the same as my own needs.
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I await the video showing us how the mac book air, laid flat with hinge fully open doesn't sit nicely on the lap.
Why do reviewers expect to shoehorn new form factors into the old way of doing things?
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I await the video showing us how comfortably the Macbook Air works when you're using it as an ereader while standing.
How awkward would that be!? Ha, it's like it wasn't designed with that purpose in mind or something.
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All I was really interested was the battery life and so far it doesn't look too good :(
Paul Thurrott said he's gotten 4.5-5 hours with normal usage which is acceptable to me. Same as 11" MBA.
I didn't see any of the reviews that I skimmed actually put the thing in battery saver mode.
It is likely in power saving mode by default like competing devices.
Doubtful. Windows computers are almost always set to "Balanced" or sometimes things like "Dell-Optimized" out of the box, but that doesn't do anything as drastic as some of the power saving mode options.
The Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro and Sony Vaio Duo 11 are both hybrid devices and ship with the power saver setting standard.