Advice Should el Teed get a Surface Pro??

[TdC]

as title. I has munnies and...

PRO
-a Surface Pro can be handy for my upcoming final skool year (eep!)
-a Surface Pro is a generally secksee bit of kit

CON
-why the fook do I need a surface pro when I have this delicious and mega cool VAIO?
-a surface pro avec that ass-ugly type keyboard is almost redic expensive


ADVISOR ME!!!

 

[Tilda]

Its brilliant for note-taking. Just get an Office sub too. Then print lecture slides directly to onenote, and write on them flawlessly with the Surface Pro's pen, while recording sound. I can't recommend it enough!

 

[Syri]

If your vaio is a pretty light and fairly recent model, I'd say stick with that. The surface pro is alright, but the touch parts of windows 8 still seem a bit of a gimmick to me, and I can't see most desktop apps being usable on it without a mouse, which kinda defeats the object of it. It's nice if you want something portable and running a pretty much fully featured office, but if you already have a lightweight option anyway, I personally wouldn't bother.
If your vaio is a brick though, and you want to downsize without losing too much in the way of software compatibility, it's a decent enough device.

 

[TdC]

yeah my Vaio is current (i7/8GB) that I currently use for just about everything school and workies related. only thing kind of bumming me out is that I have a 100GB striped set of SSD in it where I would rather upgrade to say...2x128 or maybe even Intel's 240GB (and then two ofc). If only I didn't wuss out on opening the lappy up 0o

 

[TdC]

yeah my Vaio is current (i7/8GB) that I currently use for just about everything school and workies related. only thing kind of bumming me out is that I have a 100GB striped set of SSD in it where I would rather upgrade to say...2x128 or maybe even Intel's 240GB (and then two ofc). If only I didn't wuss out on opening the lappy up 0o

ah boo, it seems Slowny uses a weird thing in the Vaio Pros that makes it difficult to swap for other SSD's. I found a replacement 256GB version of my current disk for 700 euros. FUCK THAT

 

[Aada]

If you want a Surface wait for the eventual Haswell version, there is no point spending £800 on something that was a very delayed launch here when the next one will be announced this year.

I bought a Surface RT, set it up and an 3 hours later I was returning it to PC world and thankfully i managed to blag a refund.

The Pro is fucking heavy btw not a tablet you would be holding in your hands for long and it gets hot too really hot.

 

[Scouse]

I bought a Surface RT, set it up and an 3 hours later I was returning it to PC world and thankfully i managed to blag a refund

Why did you return it?

 

[Aada]

Why did you return it?

Awful screen/resolution for starters that was my main niggle, using an ipad or a nexus 10 you notice shit screens a lot more after 2 hours I just knew I wouldn't be able to get on with it.

 

[Moriath]

If your gonna get office buy it out right not sub that stupid cloud stuff you paid over what a purchase price is in only 2 years

 

[Tilda]

Surface pro is heavier than RT, but by so much. I hold it in my hands for reading just fine. It runs warm if you have loads running at once - it is a tablet sized pc. If I didn't play games properly, I could very easily use it as my main PC. Its screen is brilliant and if I wanted to, it could quite happily drive a big 2400x monitor. People on the Surface forums have had it driving 2 24" monitors without breaking a sweat.
Pro resolution is higher rez than ipad and nexus 10.

But its not about the random numbers, its about the fact for note taking, no other tablet will let you write (with a waacom stylus, so its like writing on paper) into software like onenote, having printed your powerpoint slides into it, and record audio of the lecture and link it with your handwritten notes. Android and ipads can't touch this.
I imported mine from america via a friend, came to about £700 including 128gb HDD and the type keyboard.

Office - I get student office which is like £40 iirc for up to 5pc's. So it goes on my SurfacePro, desktop and GF's desktop. Not gonna pay 3x £100 for office for each of them.

 

[Moriath]

Bah student prices hehe

 

[Embattle]

Personally I stand by what I said in the other thread about the pro, the second gen will be much better.

 

[Tilda]

Personally I stand by what I said in the other thread about the pro, the second gen will be much better.

I've no doubt the 2nd version will be better, but tbh I doubt the UK will see a Pro2 until next summer at the earliest. For right now the Pro is brilliant and going to be class leading until probably next summer.
TdC, if you want me to make some sort of usage video I'm very happy to. If you have Onenote, I can even share a notebook with you so you can see exactly what I mean.

 

[TdC]

cheers Tilds, that's nice of you mate. I have Office and one-note but currently the note is not online enabled. I will do that presently.

Here's the thing:
- I'm basically considering the Pro as a super-tool to aid me do my final year.
- My final year is coming up in a couple weeks so I don't have time to really consider alternatives (there are non other than laptops tbh) or wait for second gen machines (trust me I would prefer haswell, really).
- I already own Office 2010

My concerns:
- I've heard bad shit re the touch-screen. Can fingers hack it as a general mouse replacement or do you need the stylus *all* the time?
- I've also heard bad things about compatibility with non-win8 or older programs. I *require* Office and Visual Studio 2012 / Netbeans / Eclipse. Possibly a light version of MSSQL or another database. I also require JAVA and .NET
- I've heard that it can mess up the rez / visual experience with older or non-win8 progs.
- can one attach external storage to a Surface Pro? (eg like a USB drive)

 

[Embattle]

The res issue is explained in this review - http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/381856/microsoft-surface-pro

Yet, it’s compromised as both a laptop and tablet. The kickstand design makes it almost impossible to use on your lap, and the Full HD display makes icons and text tiny in desktop applications that don’t provide an option to scale for the screen. Photoshop is almost impossible to use on the 10.6in display, for example.

To me since you won't be able to wait for a second generation I would really consider Ultrabooks a couple of examples from PCPRO - http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/382597/samsung-series-7-ultra or http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/380956/dell-xps-13-2013

 

[Tilda]

I haven't had any problems with the touch screen, fingers are fine although stylus is obviously more precise.
I haven't had any problems with compatibility, its essentially full windows so it should run normal windows stuff fine, and has done for me.
Not sure, i've used a few programs but mine is mostly used for office. If you want me to try and install something and see how it looks I'm happy to.
It has a USB port so mouse/external storage is fine.

 

[TdC]

have you used it to do any presentations Tilda? I mean, can you remote control it with the stylus or something?

 

[TdC]

cheers Embattle! I was actually looking at that Dell because it's pretty smashing but tbh it's a laptop again and I already have a smashing laptop.

I'm basically trying to justify a tablet and the only way I can own such a thing is if I can use it for stuff I need. currently the Surface Pro is the only thing out there that cuts it.

 

[Tilda]

TdC, I have. Once a week infact.

Powerpoint in the latest version has a brilliant presenter view, so your video output shows the slides full screen, while on your Surface you see the sides, the next slide, your notes etc.
You can also use the pen to draw onto the side, which I've used a lot for teaching anatomy and physiology.
It has USB and bluetooth so I'm sure you can either buy a "side changer" or get an app to do it.
Because I'm usually writing on the surface to make the presentation more interactive, its no problem to just click advance.

 

[Embattle]

Personally I get the impression you don't really need it, but you do seem to want one

 

[Ch3tan]

Doesn't sound like you need one to me.

 

[TdC]

yes, I don't *really* need one: I have a perfectly usable laptop. I suspect most people who buy a thing as the Surface Pro have perfectly usable alternatives.

 

[Embattle]

Well I have a Asus Transformer TF101 with keyboard and a PC so it would be a consideration over a laptop once my TF101 becomes more problematic.

 

[Hawkwind]

TdC, I have. Once a week infact.

Powerpoint in the latest version has a brilliant presenter view, so your video output shows the slides full screen, while on your Surface you see the sides, the next slide, your notes etc.
You can also use the pen to draw onto the side, which I've used a lot for teaching anatomy and physiology.
It has USB and bluetooth so I'm sure you can either buy a "side changer" or get an app to do it.
Because I'm usually writing on the surface to make the presentation more interactive, its no problem to just click advance.

I use the Logitech R400 Presenter, it works fine.

 

[TdC]

cheers Hawkwind!


one more thing...what's your *effective* battery life like?

 

[Hawkwind]

I quite regularly use mine to watch movies and TV on flights. Use VLC and watch Hi Def files on the Micro SD Card (64Gb) lasts around 6-7 hours (Airplane Mode). Using at work for presentations and writing notes in Word with Bluetooth and WiFi up around 5 hours. I have Office 2013 loaded full package which may be heavier on CPU than the Office 365 version others use.

 

[TdC]

cheers dude, very helpful! I have Office 2010 myself, would you say that might be an issue for some reason?

 

[Tilda]

I dont think Office 2010 will be a problem, you just wont have the '13 nifty presenter view.
I usually go to lectures at 9 and run out of battery in my last one about 4, so thats atleast 5 solid hours of onenote, voice recording, screen on and pen input. I keep the net on though for checking stuff mid-lecture.
I usually take my charger and grab a bit of charge over lunch which sees me through to home time.

 

[Bodhi]

I dont think Office 2010 will be a problem, you just wont have the '13 nifty presenter view.
I usually go to lectures at 9 and run out of battery in my last one about 4, so thats atleast 5 solid hours of onenote, voice recording, screen on and pen input. I keep the net on though for checking stuff mid-lecture.
I usually take my charger and grab a bit of charge over lunch which sees me through to home time.

That nifty presenter view is present on my copy of Office 2007. Can't say I ever use it as I never prepare what I'm.going.to say, just the key points on the slide then make the rest up as I go along, but it's there.

Not sure if I'd bother with a Surface Pro if I already had a Vaio Z or other ultra portable, can't see what you gain in all honesty. Taking notes with a stylus sucks balls compared to using a keyboard, and the surface pro appears to be a heavy beast (heavier and worse battery life than the New Vaio Pro, which is a full blown laptop). I'd stick with what you have and get an iPad / Tablet Z / Nexus 10 for tablet use if you're desperate.

 

[TdC]

thing is Bods mate I need the extra battery pack to get the milage out of my Vaio. it's a lovely lappy but when I have to take the power brick everywhere then what is the point? as soon as school is over I am flogging it (the lappy): got two years hard slog out of Vaio Z nr 1, two years out of Vaio Pro (aka Z) nr 2.

I want the Surface for general handiness and *because* it is a PC shoved into a tablet form factor. I'd love to wait for haswell and all that lovely stuff but I don't have the time.