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iPad Pro Went to the Apple Store for the iPad Pro, came back home with a Surface Pro
- Thread starter blackoutz
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Why would you purchase a hybrid tablet that makes for a terrible tablet? The SP is a lot of things, but its not a good tablet.
After using the Surface Pro a bit in the store, it seemed to me I miss the point. There are better Windows Lap tops, and there are certainly better tablets. The the Surface "Pro" excels in neither. I think they should drop the "Pro", I saw nothing "Pro" about it. If it were my only machine, I wouldn't be pleased with it, it's not a good desktop replacement, the screen is too small and I would prefer a complete keyboard for a desktop. It is very portable, so maybe for a student in college it makes sense.
Maybe it's not a good tablet for you, but it's a good tablet for me.
- It has all the apps that I need. I do not care whether the app store has 500 sketch pad apps, or 5. I simply care that it has the apps that I need. with my SP3, I have: MS Office (full and touch), several solid Web browsers, NetFlix, Hulu, a great sketch app, great weather apps, and a couple other apps that I need. really, I don't need anything more than that,. though YMMV
- It's the perfect size for a tablet, IMOHO. Again, you may prefer a different size
- It has a kickstand! Though you may not like it, I now hate tablets that don't have one. No more floppy cover stands, stands that only have one angle, etc. Again, YMMV.
- Screen is great! Touch and pen capabilities are great!
- Battery life is good enough for me, especially if I crank stuff down
Oh, and it's a laptop too, one that runs real desktop apps.
Hey, I get that people have opinions. But please do not make blanket statement like "it's not a good tablet", assuming your judgement on what makes a god or bad tablet is the be all end all. "In my opinin, it's not a good tablet" is better.
For example, in my opinion the iPP is not a good tablet because it's too large, doesn't makee god use of its screen real estate, and relies upon its screen cover for a stand. I did not say that the iPP is a terrible tablet, I just implied that it' not a good tablet for me.
- It has all the apps that I need. I do not care whether the app store has 500 sketch pad apps, or 5. I simply care that it has the apps that I need. with my SP3, I have: MS Office (full and touch), several solid Web browsers, NetFlix, Hulu, a great sketch app, great weather apps, and a couple other apps that I need. really, I don't need anything more than that,. though YMMV
- It's the perfect size for a tablet, IMOHO. Again, you may prefer a different size
- It has a kickstand! Though you may not like it, I now hate tablets that don't have one. No more floppy cover stands, stands that only have one angle, etc. Again, YMMV.
- Screen is great! Touch and pen capabilities are great!
- Battery life is good enough for me, especially if I crank stuff down
Oh, and it's a laptop too, one that runs real desktop apps.
Hey, I get that people have opinions. But please do not make blanket statement like "it's not a good tablet", assuming your judgement on what makes a god or bad tablet is the be all end all. "In my opinin, it's not a good tablet" is better.
For example, in my opinion the iPP is not a good tablet because it's too large, doesn't makee god use of its screen real estate, and relies upon its screen cover for a stand. I did not say that the iPP is a terrible tablet, I just implied that it' not a good tablet for me.
I have a Surface Pro 3. Loved it at first until I realized almost all the apps designed specifically for it are unstable.
But what really made me forget it was a heavy tablet was when I found myself installing virus protection on it. And anti spam ware. And waiting for updates to download for both. And scanning the unit for new threats.....
Totally killed the tablet experience for me. The Surface Pro would be a fantastic device if running OS X or iOS (or better yet....dual boot). It's what the next MBA should be.
What kills the Surface Pro experience for me is Windows. Ironic.
But what really made me forget it was a heavy tablet was when I found myself installing virus protection on it. And anti spam ware. And waiting for updates to download for both. And scanning the unit for new threats.....
Totally killed the tablet experience for me. The Surface Pro would be a fantastic device if running OS X or iOS (or better yet....dual boot). It's what the next MBA should be.
What kills the Surface Pro experience for me is Windows. Ironic.
I think most of us who are dubious about the SP line is because of Windows, to be honest. Hardware-wise it's pretty killer; it's the OS that kills it as a "tablet" for me and many others. iOS, for all its limitations (real or imagined), was designed from the ground up for what it is and so it works very well as a touch-centric tablet OS.
Yes, of course some people are very happy with Windows 10 and will rush to its defense, but that's not really necessary; if it works for you then you're the market it was aiming for and in the end we all win.
Unless you use a stylus a whole lot, there's no reason to get a surface. That's the only thing the touchscreen or form factor is good for with windows.
The ipad, on the other hand, is designed to be used as a tablet. Stylus is optional as is the kb.
I need the digital pen for inking in PowerPoint. The iPP is out of the question at this point, and the Surface is my only option.
As much as the Surface (Pro 4) gets the job done, Windows 10 (or any version) is really not designed for this "tablet". Perhaps the problem is due to the 12.3" screen being too small for the high resolution (2736x1824). Microsoft's solution was to scale everything up (200%), but then you'll get the odd things that don't scale up properly. For example, the handwriting input icon on the on-screen keyboard is partly cut off.
I assume this is the way it is for all Surface Pro 4 (not just on mine?)
![2cnwndk.jpg]()
As much as the Surface (Pro 4) gets the job done, Windows 10 (or any version) is really not designed for this "tablet". Perhaps the problem is due to the 12.3" screen being too small for the high resolution (2736x1824). Microsoft's solution was to scale everything up (200%), but then you'll get the odd things that don't scale up properly. For example, the handwriting input icon on the on-screen keyboard is partly cut off.
I assume this is the way it is for all Surface Pro 4 (not just on mine?)
I've found it's effectiveness as a tablet is contingent on two things: the app of interest and if you prefer using a stylus for navigation.
I have a longer elcheapo stylus I use for the iPad just because I don't have to move my hand around as much to navigate around. The iPad Pro makes the situation more evident. Fingering a VM in RDP or VNC really sucks without one.
I need the digital pen for inking in PowerPoint. The iPP is out of the question at this point, and the Surface is my only option.
I assume this is the way it is for all Surface Pro 4 (not just on mine?)
![2cnwndk.jpg]()
I just checked my SP1 with Windows10 and the icon is not clipped. I returned a surfacebook yesterday that I dont recall seeing that either. Could have something to do with the Display Driver crashes the integrated graphics drivers are causing
Perhaps some of the confusion has to do with a person's experience. For those who believe that the Surface (or any Windows tablet) is a "good" tablet, how many have used an Android or iPad tablet? Most that I've spoken with haven't. And based on how they use their Surface as a tablet, those needs would be satisfied with a $50 Polaroid Android Tablet from Big Lots.
So in a sense, the Surface is a "good" tablet in the way that a cheap Android tablet is a "good" tablet.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. There are many other things about the Surface that make up for it being an mediocre/adequate tablet.
I'm thrilled with my Surface 2 (the last generation of Windows RT-equipped Surfaces). It's a mediocre tablet, but having a virtually full version of MS Office, and the connectivity/expandability options of a notebook make it a terrific productivity device. This much maligned Surface 2 is more "pro" than the iPad Pro. But I am under no illusions that it is as good of a tablet as my iPad.
Interesting; with the inability to install software from anywhere but the MS store and with the iPP having access to "virtually full version of MS Office" along with an arguably better selection of third-party productivity applications via the App Store, why do you consider the Surface 2 more pro than the iPad Pro? Genuinely curious.
A minor point, the iPP does NOT have access to a virtually full version of MS Office. MS Office RT is "virtually full" because it doesn't support VBA macros. Functionality-wise, MS Office for iPad has far less capabilities... somewhere between iWork for iOS and MS Office RT.
In addition to access to cloud storage, the Surface 2 supports removable media (microSD cards), as well as USB thumbdrives and harddrives. Full support for keyboards and mice (both wireless and USB), support for USB devices like presentation remote. Wireless screencasting as a 2nd display as well as microHDMI for true multi-display support.
Those are just a few of the thing that immediately come to my mind.
In a professional business setting, I'd much rather have my Surface 2 than my iPad Air 2 (or iPad Pro).
None, it was already like this even after I reset Windows of my SP4 to factory.
SP1 has much lower resolution than the SP4. Not the same.
I need the digital pen for inking in PowerPoint. The iPP is out of the question at this point, and the Surface is my only option.
As much as the Surface (Pro 4) gets the job done, Windows 10 (or any version) is really not designed for this "tablet". Perhaps the problem is due to the 12.3" screen being too small for the high resolution (2736x1824). Microsoft's solution was to scale everything up (200%), but then you'll get the odd things that don't scale up properly. For example, the handwriting input icon on the on-screen keyboard is partly cut off.
I assume this is the way it is for all Surface Pro 4 (not just on mine?)
![2cnwndk.jpg]()
The icon that's supposedly cut off is actually smaller width than the one above so is it really cut off or that's just the way it is?
Update: Doesn't look like it's from scaling. Use your touchpad instead of pen to click on keyboard icon then again to show the input options where it shows the full icon. It's not until you select the pen transcription option that it shows the different icon.
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If you don't need a tablet, another option might be a two in one laptop with an active pen of some sort. Those can be hard to find, but Lenovo had one in Best Buy. It's resolution isn't as high, but that's fine with me, as I need to run some older software that isn't updated for the retina screens.
Perhaps it has to do with the unusual aspect ratio of the surface devices? On my laptop, that icon is not cut off.
It doesn't matter what is causing it. It is happening in all Surface Pro 4 out of the box, and in the store display units. Little things like this just shows you how poorly Windows 10 is working (at least visually) on Microsoft's greatest and latest tablet/laptop.
Yes, function-wise the SP4 works, just very unpolished in the UI.
On the other hand, iPad (and iOS) is very polished on what it does. Apple pays attention to details. The problem is iOS does a lot less function-wise. May be this is why Tim Cook was referring Microsoft as "trying too hard" with their Surface. Fine, but you know what, Tim...?
APPLE IS NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH.
If Steve were going to put out a new, big, iPad with digital pen support, he would at least get their iWork app development team to upgrade their Pages and Keynote apps to take advantage of the big screen and the Pencil.
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And if Steve Jobs insisted on waiting until the iWork apps were updated before releasing an iPad Pro, Apple might have missed shipping the Pro in 2015 and we could be sitting here griping that Apple isn't innovating because they still don't have a large tablet.
Taking into account how Steve Jobs pressured his employees, both iWorks update and iPad Pro would have been ready by September 2015 (not November), with plenty of Pencils and Smart keyboards at launch too.
Do you not remember the Me.com launch? Let's not imbue the memory of Steve Jobs with infallibility; there were plenty of missteps at Apple under his watch as well.