Microsoft Surface Pro 2 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 21, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- Surface
- Surface Pro 2
Final Words
Surface Pro 2 is a good improvement over its predecessor. The platform is quicker, quieter and boasts longer battery life as well. The new kickstand is awesome, as are the new touch/type covers, and the new display is a big step in the right direction. If you were tempted by the original Surface Pro, its successor is a solid evolution and that much more tempting.
I really like using Surface Pro 2 and Windows 8.1 in general as a productivity focused tablet OS. The screenshot below really helps illustrate what I would love to do on most tablets, but what I can only do (well) on a Surface:
Writing an article on the left, touch enabled web browsing on the right. Switching between both applications is seamless, and I’m just as fast (if not faster) from a productivity standpoint on Surface Pro 2 than on a traditional notebook/desktop – at least for this usage model. There’s really something very compelling about having the best of both worlds in one system. I literally can’t do this well on any other tablet, and ultimately that’s what Microsoft was trying to achieve with Surface. You can do it with Surface 2, you can just do it a lot better with Surface Pro 2.
When Surface Pro first launched, it wasn’t just a good device, it was arguably the best Ultrabook on the market. Surface Pro 2 launches into a much more competitive marketplace. I don’t know if I can make the same statement about it vs. Ultrabooks today. That’s not a bad thing as it is still a very different type of device, but it does make for a more difficult buying decision.
Surface Pro 2 isn’t the perfect notebook and it isn’t the perfect tablet. It’s a compromise in between. Each generation, that compromise becomes smaller.
What I was hoping for this round was an even thinner/lighter chassis, but it looks like we’ll have to wait another year for that. Battery life is still not up to snuff with traditional ARM based tablets, and Surface Pro 2 seems to pay more of a penalty there than other Haswell ULT based designs – I’m not entirely sure why. Parts of the rest of the world have moved on to things like 802.11ac and PCIe based SSDs. Microsoft appears to be on a slightly strange update cadence with its Surface lineup, and for the brand’s sake I hope we see that rectified next round. It’s not enough to just put out a good product, you have to take advantage of all technologies available, when they are available. Just like last year, my recommendation comes with a caution – Surface Pro 2 is good, I’m happier using it than I was with last year’s model, but the Broadwell version will be even better. What’s likely coming down the pipe are improvements in the chassis and in battery life. You’ll have to wait around a year for those things, if you can’t, then this year’s model is still pretty good.
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Imaginer - Tuesday, November 5, 2013 - link
Origin also works well, so there is that option.VanDiesil - Wednesday, November 6, 2013 - link
Why people are arguing over screen size & using it as a desktop replacement amazes me. Most of us will have a monitor on our desk & by using the Mini Displayport socket on the side of the Surface family of tablets, (if you require an adaptor, these are also cheap enough to buy) you can easily then use the monitor instead of the 10.6" screen. If you have a Bluetooth keyboard & Mouse (these cost peanuts nowadays), you don't even have to use the Surface at all once placed to one side on charge. I do this with my Surface RT and can do everything I need to do on a daily basis with it (other than use non-Office desktop apps, but using Photoshop, Premiere Pro & Dreamweaver may be a bit slow on a Tegra3 SoC!). With a Surface 2 Pro, I could use all those still with no problems (albeit Premier Pro encoding would be slower than my main editing "beast").mhaager2 - Saturday, November 16, 2013 - link
I went to the MS store today intending to buy the 256gb surface 2 pro and came out with the Lenovo Helix (ivy bridge i7 8 GB config) which was on sale for 1500 making it closer to the same price as the SP2 + type keyboard. My only hesitation in sticking with it is the ivy bridge processor -- everything else about it I like better. Any comments from people who've owned one?kennyboye - Friday, November 29, 2013 - link
Yep have one for 6 months in that config. Keyboard OK but not great. Touchpad is OK but 2 finger right click inconsistent. I find the KB is bulky and the rip and flip is a pain, lining up the phlanges is a pita even after 6 months!My major concern is that the tablet is starting to creak and flex which does not bode well for longevity. Battery lasts max 7 hours for just word processing and internet connection for gmail at a screen brightness I could comfortably manage.
Stylus/screen is great. Tablet weight is fine but pretty bulky with the KB. Oh and the hinge doesn't open out far enough for me.
Honestly I am about to eBay now and buy a 256 pro 2, lenovo build quality just not good enough and I like the idea of a lighter KB implementation. Had a ivy trail Asus as well but atom was way too slow and the build quality/ drivers a pain.
I have owned tablet PCs since forever (my son still uses my x61) and they are so close to delivering on their promise...the helix was the best I have had so far but I think the sp2 is another step further along the line to a mature device.
Oh and I had a core i7 MBA and kept wanting to rip the screen off to use it like a tablet...and the screen is covered in fingerprints where my kids keep trying to use it like a touchscreen. Go figure.
Hope that helps you.
ccd - Thursday, November 21, 2013 - link
I was initially very excited by this product. Now much less so. As devices get smaller and lighter, the appeal of this kind of niche product diminishes. For example, I carry an Apple Nano, an iPad, an Android phone and a windows laptop. The Surface could cut down on the number of devices I would have to carry, but what is the benefit besides consolidation??? I have the benefit of 3 ecosystems right now (IOS, Android, Windows) and the benefits of each. The weight of the devices collectively would not be much more than the Pro. I'm just not convinced that the advantages of convertibles outweigh their disadvantagesoranos - Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - link
To me, this product has very little mainstream appeal. It's too heavy and thick to compete with ipads and it's screen is too small to compete with ultrabooks. Sadly this more resembles a glorified netbook (car crash sound) to me than anything else.kennyboye - Friday, November 29, 2013 - link
See my post above. Like a lot of technology once you use it for a while you can't imagine not having it. Touchscreens and PCs with tablet functionality might not seem that important but I could never go back to a MBA/ standard ultrabook now even with my nexus 7 and android smartphone.