MS Surface Pro Impressions

Posted by VolofTN on February 11, 2013 12:05 am 2

Yesterday, I bought the Surface Pro at Staples as it was the only one available. It was the 64 GB model. I have a full time desktop and I'm not worried about the space limitations. I'll just buy a 64 GB SMDC card to upgrade it for media.

Here's some of my takes on the device:

- Battery: I am getting about 5 hours per charge with normal web usage and tasks that aren't intensive. I'm honestly not even thinking about the battery. I just make sure I charge it at night. If I need more than 5 hours on my tablet, I'll revert to my desktop. I think Apple has us spoiled with a 10 hour charge on a mobile processor.

- Display: Perfect. Incredibly sharp and colorful. I don't miss the Retina screen on my iPad.

- Responsiveness: Everything is completed with ease and without jitter. The system only had a little hiccup when running AirParrot to mirror on my Apple TV.

- Form Factor: Yeah, it's a little heavy. It's fine on my lap or resting on my chest while I'm laying down. I really don't use an iPad with one arm, either.

- Heat: the unit does get a little warm when running intensive apps. However, once you have the unit completely setup and in normal use, the heat doesn't seem to be an issue for me.

-Windows 8: This is my first full Windows 8 device. I have the Surface RT, but I wanted the full experience. I am growing more fond of Windows 8, I just think that Metro styled apps are lacking at the moment and that is holding back the experience somewhat.

- Wacom Pen: it's amazing in Fresh Paint as a drawing tool. I haven't used the pen very much as a writing input method, but it does allow you more control in the desktop environment without a mouse/touchpad connected.

Hopefully some of this is helpful to those of you. If you have any questions, I'll come back and answer them. Adios!