Microsoft Surface Pro Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on February 5, 2013 9:00 PM ESTTouch and Type Covers
Surface Pro features the same magnetic dock connector that Surface RT does. Unlike similar hybrid or convertible designs that came before it, Microsoft didn’t make the mistake of requiring a different set of docks for the Pro. All existing Touch and Type covers work perfectly with Surface Pro. Microsoft maintains that we will see other accessories that use this custom dock connector, even from third parties.
I already shared my thoughts on both covers in our Surface RT review so I won’t rehash all of that here. In short, the Touch Cover is probably one of the best tablet display covers I’ve ever used. It adds a marginal thickness (~3.3mm) to the tablet, but in exchange for the slight inconvenience you get a cover that you never have to remove and a keyboard that, albeit not perfect, is at least better than typing on a glass touchscreen.
The Type Cover is a bit thicker than the Touch Cover (~5mm) but you get real keys, which does wonders for improving the typing experience.
Both covers feature integrated trackpads, and neither is particularly great. Reaching out and touching the screen is a far better experience than trying to use the integrated trackpad for anything serious. Microsoft also offers a Surface styled wedge mouse, but I feel like having to carry around something else that’s not attached to Surface detracts from the whole tablet experience.
The more productivity focused nature of Surface Pro almost makes you want to use the Type Cover exclusively with the tablet though, whereas I felt the Touch Cover was the right pairing for Surface RT. You can obviously use either with Pro. As a writer I’m more likely to gravitate towards the Type Cover given its superior typing experience.
I’m beginning to wonder if there might be a fair amount of manufacturing variance between Touch Covers. If you remember back to my Surface RT review I mentioned that the Type Cover seemed to miss keystrokes. With my Surface Pro review unit Microsoft sent another Type Cover. This one seemed to miss fewer keystrokes than the original Type Cover I tested with. I originally surmised that missed keystrokes with the Type Cover might have been a performance issue, but with a full 17W Ivy Bridge under the hood of Surface Pro I don’t think that’s the case. Although Microsoft spent a great deal of time focusing on the build quality of Surface, I wonder if the same didn’t necessarily apply to the Type Cover.
Although the added thickness of the covers didn’t really bother me with Surface RT, I have to admit it did with Surface Pro. It’s all about perspective since the Surface Pro + Touch Cover is still thinner than most notebooks, but for a tablet it definitely doesn’t help Surface Pro feel any more svelte.
I wouldn’t give up either cover and I used Surface Pro with one attached at all times, this is just another plea for a thinner design - something I’m sure we’ll get with Surface 2.
This brings me to my next point, which is about the lack of any keyboard bundles with Surface Pro. Microsoft charges a hefty premium for both of its covers. Touch Cover will set you back $119 while Type Cover is $129. While I can logically justify the price tag of Surface Pro, you really need to add $120 - $130 on top of that because it doesn’t come with a physical keyboard of any type. Given the more content creation lean of Surface Pro, I’d like to see the $899 or $999 include a Type Cover. I understand that heavily eats into margins of a device that’s likely already pushing the limits given that it’s really at the forefront of a brand new tooling and manufacturing process for Microsoft, but it really has to be done. Perhaps once economies of scale kick in Microsoft might look into tossing in a free Type Cover.
Earlier I spoke about the issues with the kickstand while using Surface RT in your lap and how many of those same complaints apply to Surface Pro. The same is really true for the keyboard covers. While the kickstand + keyboard cover combination does a great job approximating a notebook when used on a desk, in your lap it’s a different story. The combination works, but it’s obviously not as rigid as a notebook. And you’re pretty much hopeless if you’re sitting in a funny position. Whereas you could cross your legs and still use a notebook in your lap, doing so with Surface Pro with kickstand and keyboard cover is far less manageable. And good luck trying to use Surface Pro as a notebook in your lap if both of your legs are crossed. The lack of rigidity in the connection between the keyboard and display combined with the fixed position kickstand can create some awkwardness. It’s all workable, but it becomes a lesser experience compared to a notebook. This is the Surface tradeoff.
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WCHS - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - link
Sorry Anand, this is not the only solution. The best solution to this question is Ipad Mini + Ultrabook. I hate it when companies try to combine two good things and end up with one bad one. I don't even notice my Mini being in my ultrabook bag. I get both - I get long battery life, ultimate portability, full applications access when I need it, and can even use both at the same time - for the almost the same price as Surface Pro + keyboard.andrewaggb - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - link
but you have the downside of your data being split between multiple devices... you download your mail twice, your music twice, whatever it is you work on twice... or you do entirely different things on both so there is no overlap.Or you read an email on your tablet because it's more convenient (this happens to me all the time), but you need to respond and you need to type a fair amount and sometimes include files or content that's on your laptop. So you end up switching devices. Maybe it's just me, but this happens to me a lot.
I'm not sure if surface pro is quite good enough yet, it's unclear to me whether it can drive two external monitors and I'd really rather have 256gb of internal storage. So maybe surface pro 2. I'd happily give up a separate laptop + tablet. Just like I happily gave up mp3 player + phone and often use my camera phone instead of my nice DSLR. Convenience will win in the end.
WCHS - Thursday, February 7, 2013 - link
No, that is the point - you mostly do "different things" on the two devices. Even for the common things - at least they are possible. A Surface Pro will never be an ereader. The other point is that the Ipad Mini has shown that the sweet spot for a handheld tablet is "smaller, especially lighter " than an Ipad 2,3,4 - not heavier. Thats it - the Surface Pro is not "handheld".andrewaggb - Thursday, February 7, 2013 - link
Could be right. I'm certainly not unhappy with the size or weight of my ipad, but it also rarely leaves my house.I could take a 7" tablet with me easily... but I recently bough a galaxy note 2, which is another hybrid device, and I personally quite like it.
I could see myself liking the surface pro for many of the same reasons I like the note 2. But it sounds like the current surface pro isn't quite there yet.
flyingpants1 - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - link
I'd like to see a roundup comparing Win8 i5 convertibles, namely the Surface Pro, the Samsung Ativ 700T, the Dell XPS 12 (the one that has a crazy swinging flippy hinge), the Lenovo Yoga 13, the Asus ones, Taichi and the others.All of these devices have severe drawbacks.
The Surface pro is heavy and has no real keyboard or stand. The storage issue is a big joke. Probably the worst option of all.
The Yoga 13 is large, heavy and the keyboard is exposed.
The Dell XPS 12 is a slightly smaller Yoga and the keyboard isn't exposed on tablet mode.
The Ativ 700T is my favourite so far. Too bad it has a poor connection between the screen and dock..
I think each manufacturer should make a 10", 11", 13" of their tablets. IMHO 13.3" 1080p is more than enough to replace a 15.6".
faizoff - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - link
"The Surface pro is heavy and has no real keyboard or stand. The storage issue is a big joke. Probably the worst option of all."Just curious what is the big joke about storage? It's plainly listed what you're going to get and like any other windows OS you can experiment on your own to maximize space.
Doominated - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - link
Lol, if you think the Surface Pro has a "storage problem" you should try checking out some Yogapad setups. I've seen as little as 60 gigs partitioned to the C Drive out of the box.Sorry to break it to you, but the Surface Pro only has a storage space issue if you have absolutely no clue what you're doing with Windows. It takes all of 10 minutes to get yourself up to almost 100 GB of usable storage. Even more if you buy an mSDXC card.
Death666Angel - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - link
I liked the review overall. And I hope you make a video review for this as well. :DThat said, I did notice some oddities.
First, I find it strange that you compare this so much to ARM based tablets. To me, there is a mountain between those 2 kinds of devices. The comparison to Ultrabooks is much more apt. :)
Secondly, the way you treat calibrated displays. You state:
"Given that the majority of users don’t do any color calibration on their PCs, this becomes a real problem for consumer perception if your tablet doesn’t ship with accurate colors by default."
All I have read on that issue is that our eyes are pretty good at adjusting to different color schemes. So unless you use one device that is calibrated exactly and one that is off, you will not notice a device being "wrong". So for most people, it is a non-issue. Then, you praise Apple for doing the calibration, which is fine because it is an extra service they provide (how much value it is to the standard customer is another matter). But what you don't say is that calibration is not eternal. At least everything I've read on the issue says that you have to calibrate displays every few weeks in order to ensure the continued accuracy of the results. Do tablet/laptop displays operate differently where they don't need recalibration down the road? Because if they do need recalibration, than that whole first calibration is looking much less desirable to me. If I need accurate colors, I have the necessary tools to get it myself. If I don't need it a simple calibration by eye is enough to give me a good result (compare the picture to my PC or TV monitor so that everything looks equal and is easy on the eyes).
Thirdly, your desire for TB. That is simply a personal taste thing and you make that very clear, so I have nothing to criticize. :D I just wanted to say that I do not look at a TB port when buying my PC stuff. The TB enabled things out there are not for me (too expensive, too useless), it adds cost and energy consumption to devices. So I'm pretty happy that MS isn't supporting it here. Unless it comes integrated in the PCH, I don't want it.
That's all I wanted to say. :)
Death666Angel - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - link
Oh, one thing more: Please add metric units to the imperial ones. :)Death666Angel - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - link
Damn, forgot something else: I'm really disappointed by the power adapter. I would like to see everything that is in a reasonable power envelope (sub 60W) to use a PSU attached to the plug (for the wall socket) and not half way between the plug for the wall socket and the device plug.