Umm..... there's always the surface pro 2.... which isn't much worse than 3..
performance wise, 2 is faster than 3...
but 3 is the one that's thinner + lighter...
There are NO ALTERNATIVES to the surface... it's best in class...
But it's just too small, the Pro 2. My laptop is 12.1" and I wouldn't want to go smaller. And I would want a bigger screen for work and to switch or work with two programs side by side much easier than on a 10.6" screen.
i've got the pro, which is identical to the pro2 except a bit slower. i can't speak to the 3's formfactor but the pro is a very good device. comfortable to use, very flexible either on the desk or lap. Even the type cover is a surprisingly nice typing experience. i've gotten a ton of mileage out of it. if i were in the market for a windows (note i say windows, not linux) laptop right now, i'd be buying a surface. as far as pro2 vs 3, i can't speak to that.
This sounds very promising
I've read a lot of reviews about the Pro3 and it really seems like a very good laptop replacement. As far as I've read the average battery hours are 8hrs (browsing, listening music, working office), which is quite nice.
If you plan on using the pen much, you could read the reviews so you learn about its limitations. They changed the type of pen between Surface Pro2 and 3.
If I remember correctly they switched from wacom to n-trig. And as it seems it's really really good and very quick in response when you start writing or drawing for that matter. I couldn't see any delay while they wrote via pen. Was very quick and accurate. I also read that many was talking down the n-trig digitizer (it is a digitizer right?) as he had some small number that is used for recognizing the pen and the input of the pen. Still it was very good especially on the edges of the screen, but still very accurate and I still couldn't see any big delay. So I think there is no real limitation but maybe the buttons for shortcuts as it "only" has 3 buttons so far. For me it seems like the pen for the Pro3 is somewhat similar in responsivness and quickness as the S Pen from Samsung which I already used for some time.
One small detail that irks me with the Surface-line is that neither has more than one USB port (out).
I'm still waiting for some other maker to come out with a better windows tablet than MS's.
Yeah the one USB port is really a bummer.. I also thought about getting a USB hub for that to get more ports and use a KB and a cable mouse.
I hope some other manufacturers want to hop in on that wagon and produce something similar so Microsoft has to reduce that pricetag for the Pro 3.
I use a Surface Pro (original) daily since my big desktop is in a shipping container somewhere in the Pacific right now.
Why what how?
I absolutely love it.
I was talking about it in another thread, but it's the only "laptop" I've ever had that lets me change what keyboard I use with it without adversely affecting the ergonomics. I use the Touch Cover when I don't want to carry much with me. It works fine for 1-5 emails and light web usage. If I need to "do work", then I use one of my Pokers with a lightweight BT mouse. It's awesome for that.
I really love the multi-option interface. Touch is great for scrolling up webpages, etc. Pen is great for drawing. Mouse/KB is great for traditional office stuff.
I'll probably upgrade my Pro to the Pro 3 in the fall if/when the offer a processor bump. I don't mind the change in pen tech; I get sick of Wacom and their politics sometime anyway (us early adopters really felt it while Wacom withheld their WinTab drivers in the beginning so there was no pressure support in Adobe apps to keep the Surface from competing with their more serious tablets).
This sounds very reassuring for me about getting a Pro 3
As they got back to the drawing board and recreated a better typecover and bigger screen, but still getting it thinner, lighter and a bit better. As far as reviews go and all the benchmarks they did the Pro 3 is ahead just by a small portion in points in those benchmarks. Maybe a different or "better" SSD who knows.
There should be a somewhat new processor unit in the i7 versions as the build-in gpu is the HD5000 (Intel Core i7-4650U) if it helps. I'm not really good with the mobile CPUs so I don't know if it's correct what I'm talking about, I only see that the i5 is lower from the label name (Intel Core i5-4300U).
My wife gets jealous when we're on the couch and I'm using my Surface in "touch mode" but I can look up something in my client database or scroll through our pictures from vacation. Her iPad won't do any of that (not without VNC'ing into my Surface, heh).
I don't use the pen a ton anyway. It's not easy using apps like Lightroom because of the high-dpi. I usually plug into a large external monitor for that.
From the Surface Pro 3 Event from Microsoft they showed a new version of Photoshop and all the other programs which are better for the pen to use. You also can scale up the icons so you can "click" them with the pen much easier. Seems also very optimized for the pen usage. And like I said the pen seems very responsive and stuff. There was also a video on youtube from two german cartoonist who said it's much better now with the Pro 3 to draw than with the Pro 2.
Regarding price: I find the Surface is pretty inline with prices on comparably-specced ultrabooks, especially metal-bodied ones. They do seem to hold their value better than other 'normal' ultrabooks based on ebay sales.
Well maybe you are right, but there are still ultrabooks that are under 1000$ and are on par with the Pro 3 performance wise. Also there are a lot with multi-touch and they are also lightweight, maybe not as much as the Pro 3 but still. It's still just so much you need to pay.
I hope they will do some kind of discount to make it more affordable. Like the Pro (1) and Pro 2 right now, as all the sellers want to get them out of their storages. I know this won't happen with the Pro 3, but dreaming about is still okay right?
heedpantsnow have you tried to use a bluetooth keyboard on your Pro? Would be interesting to know how quick the battery runs out with two bluetooth devices parring with the Pro.
I'm really sorry for my english, I have such a headache right now so it seems my engrlish broke down totally
