*** The Official Microsoft Surface Thread ***

A friend of mine is after a laptop. She wanted a 13" Mac Air but wanted to know if there are cheaper alternatives, after a quick search it still seems there isn't anything that comes close in the Ultrabook department (when considering price, build quality, weight and battery life).

So I thought why not a Surface 2 Pro as a wild card option. I would probably enjoy using an SP2 but can it be used easily by a normal user (non techie)? Portability (including working on the train), media consumption, battery life and ease of use are her main requirements. She is a Windows user though probably hasn't used Windows 8 (we have it on our HTPC but I configured it to look and feel like W7 :p).

Am I barking up the wrong tree or would this be a contender for the 13" Air? About £500 for the SP2 and £110 for the keyboard brings it in at almost £250 cheaper than the Air she wants.

EDIT - Only just seen the SP3 is out/on the horizon though probably outside her price range (needs to be well under the £850 that the Mac Air costs).
 
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i can't see her having any issues with the sp2, and the sp2 will be more than enough for her needs that you listed. the only thing i will mention is i've often seen people who want a mac product, and if they end up with anything but a mac product and get some tiny issue they will blindly blame the device and think a mac product would never have had any issues, so it may be worth thinking if it's worth being the one she holds responsible for making her get a windows products.
 
I've recommended the Surface in many forms to many people, non of them have been particularly tech savvy and all have gotten on fine with them, mobile worker using it to replace a laptop, window fitter who had had enough with Apple products, student who wanted a tablet and so on, they have all been fine with them.

Horses for courses though, why did she say she wanted an MBA, is there some software that she wants to run or some other reason for looking at the MBA?

If shes going to be sat at it for a while then a 13" over the 10" will make a difference, I'm fine with mine but I have an external monitor so its not so much of an issue, that said I'll most likely be getting a Pro3 so 12" is much more usable so perhaps waiting for the Pro3 might be an idea for her also, it wouldnt hurt to go into somewhere like PCW or John Lewis or whoever else local to you stocks them, see if she thinks she can get on with the OS and how things work, if the size of the screen is a stumbling block for her then tell her that a 12" version is on the way...
 
Just ordered a 128GB surface pro 2 using the XP discount, I don't think my kids are getting me anything for father's day so this will have to do .....:)
 
I'm liking the look of the surface pro 3 but the prices are pretty steep especially for the SSD and memory upgrades. The £640 starting price makes it look appealing but that comes with a puny 64Gb SSD with only 23Gb free so will be immediately filled by the time you install MS office and a couple of other apps. The minimum spec I'd consider would be the 128Gb but that's £850 so by the time you add the keyboard cover it's as good as £1000. The model I'd 'want' would be the i5/256gb/8gb which retails for £1109. Add the keyboard and that's nearly £1250 with is about double what the range starts at. Microsoft are taking the mickey with the spec upgrade costs and charging extra for the typepad cover IMO.
 
silvagti said:
I'm liking the look of the surface pro 3 but the prices are pretty steep especially for the SSD and memory upgrades. The £640 starting price makes it look appealing but that comes with a puny 64Gb SSD with only 23Gb free so will be immediately filled by the time you install MS office and a couple of other apps. The minimum spec I'd consider would be the 128Gb but that's £850 so by the time you add the keyboard cover it's as good as £1000. The model I'd 'want' would be the i5/256gb/8gb which retails for £1109. Add the keyboard and that's nearly £1250 with is about double what the range starts at. Microsoft are taking the mickey with the spec upgrade costs and charging extra for the typepad cover IMO.
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Coming into macbook air territory as well :(
 
I was umming and ahhh'ing about the Pro3, it'd have to be one with 256Gb drive and 8GB RAM and given the state of play with the dock for the other one I was a bit put off, however a deal is in the works :D
 
:(

I leave the USA today.

WP_20140614_10_16_08_Pro.jpg


I want one. Very light for size and thin. Demo unit was a bit buggy (randomly opening things)

New kickstand works great. Pen feels nicer.

Shame I'm only a few days short.

Maybe my flight ✈will be oversold ;)
 
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Whats the pen like compaired to the original one, I think they have missed a trick with it not clipping into the device itself via the charge port, at least that way you could charge the pen..
 
Pen defiantly feels more like a pen. I'm a terrible artist but I would say it is a much better experience. The resistance on the nib is greater, and the line seems to appear much closer to where you would expect.

Easy to hold in one hand also.

I never used to pen holder on the pro, new charger is much easier to fit. But one of the display models had exposed wires on the connector, I think it was a little short and being stretched all day.
 
email from MS, my surface pro 2 should be with me Monday :D

Just got to install Office & Lightroom then have a good play :D
 
Being provided one by work in a few weeks. No idea if it will be the RT, Pro or Pro2 though :(
 
Mime appears to have died, a strip about 1cm wide running down the right hand side. Nope longer responds to touch. So no charms bar.

Tried restarting and power + volume down and still the same. Anything else or back to john Lewis.
 
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