Microsoft Surface announcement

[Desnudo]

Another cool feature, at least on the Mac stuff is that you can get text messages across your phone, tablet, and PCs. It's nice to be able to reply to a text w/o picking up the phone. Don't know if android has something similar.

[jeff061]

Does that only work between when texting between Apple products? I believe the iPhone uses it's own protocol for text messaging(not the carriers, which pisses the carrier off), so can do whatever it wants with the messages. But if you txt between apple and android/windows that functionality is loss as it has to drop to the carrier txt capability.

No experience, just what I read.

[stevew]

Google voice would work like that.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Does that only work between when texting between Apple products? I believe the iPhone uses it's own protocol for text messaging(not the carriers, which pisses the carrier off), so can do whatever it wants with the messages. But if you txt between apple and android/windows that functionality is loss as it has to drop to the carrier txt capability.

No experience, just what I read.

yes it is only with other apple products

[stevew]

I've been playing around with my Envy x2 for the last couple days. I managed to snag it from Staples for $525, and I'd say it's worth about that much(but surely not the 850 list price). As a tablet, it functions pretty solidly and I like the size for watching movies(11.6"). Battery life is pretty solid. The keyboard dock(included) has a pretty nice build quality as well. I haven't really messed around with any games on it thus far, but I'm overall pretty happy. It comes with 64GB of storage, but you can add a Micro SD to the tablet for expansion and the dock has a full sized SD card. All in all, as was reported, basically a netbook but it has the tablet functions that are versatile. Hopefully the next gen will see a processor/ram boost, but the build quality of the unit, hinge and all, is really nice.

[Fidatelo]

Placed my pre-order for a Surface Pro 2 today. I really would have liked the 8GB of RAM in the higher-end models but I just couldn't justify the extra $300, so its a 128GB model with type cover for me. Can't wait until the end of October!

[sterlingice]

I completely missed the Surface Pro 2 announcement. That was last week, wasn't it? I didn't see anything about it.

SI

[Dutch]

I bought my wife a Surface Pro I and it's really a great tablet. It's quickly become the de facto laptop/tablet of choice when chillin' in the living room or out on the back patio.

I did splurge on the "mechanical" keyboard cover instead of the touch keyboard cover and that's paid dividends...confidence while typing fast is important to me and that gives me enough "feel" to type correctly.

[sterlingice]

I really want to pull the trigger on a Surface Pro but there are 3 things in my way. One: it's kindof bulky for a tablet but that's a minor complaint. Two: I'm not getting Win 8 RT- I want a real operating system on there, even for my tooling around computer. Three: Microsoft seems like they aren't even trying on the price. I could get an ultra-thin for that price with more power and pretty much just as mobile.

SI

[Dutch]

I think you can get a pretty decent Win8 tablet from Dell that will probably save you some cash. I stuck it out with the Surface because of the magnetized attachments (keyboard cover/power/pen) which is pretty cool.

[Marc Vaughan]

I've got the original Surface Pro - hardly use it tbh, not an awful device ... but nothing about it encourages me to use it as an alternative to a laptop .... then again I feel exactly the same about the iPad, Nexus10 etc. ..... they're all useful when I'm travelling for watching TV and occassional gameplaying - but thats about it.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I really want to pull the trigger on a Surface Pro but ... Two: I'm not getting Win 8 RT- I want a real operating system on there, even for my tooling around computer.

The Surface Pro was full Windows 8 (with a full Intel Core i5 processor), it's the Surface RT / Surface 2 that have RT.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

The Surface Pro was full Windows 8 (with a full Intel Core i5 processor), it's the Surface RT / Surface 2 that have RT.

I guess I didn't articulate it all that well. Surface Pro = too expensive. Cheaper Surface as an alternative = crappy Win RT

SI

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

I've got the original Surface Pro - hardly use it tbh, not an awful device ... but nothing about it encourages me to use it as an alternative to a laptop .... then again I feel exactly the same about the iPad, Nexus10 etc. ..... they're all useful when I'm travelling for watching TV and occassional gameplaying - but thats about it.

I intend to use my Pro 2 as a full laptop replacement. I switched jobs a couple weeks ago and had to hand in all of my work hardware, including an old MacBook Pro which I basically used as a home computer. I'm not sure if my new workplace is as lax with their machines and so I figured it was time to purchase something (I haven't bought a computer in about a decade as I always had old work laptops to use).

Anyways, I see my main uses as:

- internet surfing/email.

- games - Civ 5, XCOM, text sims, indie stuff - I don't ever tend to play shooters or other games that tax systems, and I don't mind turning graphics levels down.

- movies/shows - this will be great for watching Breaking Bad in bed or whatever.

- web development 'research' - I'm a software developer and I like to mess around with web stuff in my spare time. My current challenge is to create a little web site using a stack that does not include any MS components (AngularJS site written using JetBrains WebStorm sitting in an AWS cloud getting data from one of Amazons database engines). I think the Surface Pro should handle little stuff like this just fine.

I really feel like the Pro is a sweet spot for the usage listed above. It's got the convienience of a tablet for surfing, email, movies and shows. And yet it also has the horsepower to run 'real' games like Civ 5 and development software like WebStorm. If I wanted to spend 8 hours a day on it with Visual Studio and SQL Server running I don't think it would be the right machine, but for what I want it seems like the best of both worlds. I can't wait to find out!

[Marc Vaughan]

Main thing which prevented me using my Pro (or Android/iOS tablet) as a 'replacement' are:

(1) Speed - none of them are quite as fast as my MacBook Pro.
(2) Input - I need precision input for typing and controlling applications, a touch screen doesn't give me that and the original Pro's crappy mouse pad replacement is well ... crappy, if it'd been half decent then I think it'd have been the best of the bunch.

[Subby]

Microsoft slashing prices on the Pro:

Surface Pro Price Cut: Microsoft slashes Surface Pro price again | BGR

11:50 AM
Microsoft’s Surface Pro is easily one of the most exciting and unique Windows computers that has ever been created, but unfortunately the device’s sleek design and novel keyboard accessories haven’t translated into big sales. Microsoft took a charge of nearly $1 billion last fiscal year related to unsold Surface RT and Surface Pro inventory, and it dropped each device’s price as well. Now, Microsoft has slashed the Surface Pro’s price again by another $100 as it looks to attract buyers and clear inventory following the Surface Pro 2′s recent debut. Microsoft’s Pro tablet now starts at $699 with 64GB of storage and the 128GB model is available for $799. Interestingly, those prices now align perfectly with Apple’s 64GB and 128GB iPad tablets. The two Surface Pro models were originally priced at $899 and $999 respectively when they first debuted.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

- games - Civ 5, XCOM, text sims, indie stuff - I don't ever tend to play shooters or other games that tax systems, and I don't mind turning graphics levels down.

Out of interest - does it play nice with Steam now? ... as most games I have are owned through that and touch input wasn't working at all on it when I last used my Surface Pro (which admittedly is months ago now).

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Out of interest - does it play nice with Steam now? ... as most games I have are owned through that and touch input wasn't working at all on it when I last used my Surface Pro (which admittedly is months ago now).

I'll let you know tonight or tomorrow, as I'm patiently waiting at home for my SP2 to be delivered this afternoon

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Out of interest - does it play nice with Steam now? ... as most games I have are owned through that and touch input wasn't working at all on it when I last used my Surface Pro (which admittedly is months ago now).

It arrived! So I installed Steam and played around with it. Doesn't seem very touch friendly (can't just swipe, rather you need to use your finger on the scroll bar), but I don't find it that difficult to use. I haven't installed any games yet (Civ 5 is still downloading). Were there specific pain points you were having that I could try to replicate?

[Marc Vaughan]

I found that simply 'clicking' in the games was problematic - I'd have to click 3-4 times to get it to detect once etc.

(even with a processor 'light' game like Hero Academy it seemed to be the case - was blooming annoying, enough so that it basically mothballed the surface for me)

[Fidatelo]

Well so far I've only played 2 Steam games: Civ 5, and XCOM. Civ 5 plays great, with one annoyance: the on screen keyboard won't overlay, so if you ever need to type in text you need to break out the type cover. Normally this would be a non-issue except that I love to play multiplayer games over Giant Multiplayer Robot, and that system requires me to enter my password before each turn.

XCOM seems to be fairly unplayable using touch. The pen kinda-sorta works, but not very well. I've always preferred this game with a controller connected as opposed to even with mouse and keyboard, though, so I'll probably just play it that way anyways. Still kinda sucks though, since I know they have an iOS version that must support touch.

I've also played some Hearthstone, which is not a Steam game but is not a Windows Store game either. It plays fantastic with touch controls, which is awesome.

So far I'm pretty happy with the device. The battery life is not good when playing games, but is otherwise solid. I've yet to hear the fans or feel any heat of any kind. I love the pen and can't wait to make use of it for diagramming or note taking at work. I really enjoy the metro version of IE for browsing, more than I thought I would (I'm a Chrome diehard but aside from not having my synced bookmarks I'm not missing it). The start up times are crazy fast, and the sound is amazing. The type cover 2 is also really good (although totally overpriced).

Now for some cons: biggest one is that I'm not totally sure the software is not a bit borked. I've noticed that instead of resuming from sleep it sometimes just flat-out restarts. Because the restart is so fast (< 5 seconds) its a bit hard to tell when it has happened, but I have noticed it a couple times for sure. I also had something really strange happen to Civ 5 today where it started looking at the wrong directory for my save games and not remembering any of my settings. I'm currently re-installing to see if it gets fixed, but it makes me sort of worry about what went on there. From a hardware perspective, the finish seems a bit delicate, such that in the first day of very light use a couple of small scratches have already appeared on the back. I've quickly learned to set it down on the type cover rather than on the back of the device, but I may also look into some kind of decal or skin for the back if that doesn't prove effective enough. And while I really think the pen is a great accessory, they should have found a way to build a silo or other proper holder for it when it's not in use. The magnetic attachment is just not strong enough to trust while handling the device, and is also useless when you need to charge the surface, meaning you're putting the pen on a desk or something and risking losing it. Maybe that's a good way to sell $30 pens, but it sucks from an end-user perspective.

[MacroGuru]

Yeah, M$ needs to hire this guy just for marketing the Surface 2...

[DaddyTorgo]

Can you's play FM on it?

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Can you's play FM on it?

Can't say yes or no. I will be getting a Surface 2 Pro, but it will be a few months out.

[Young Drachma]

I can play FM on my Surface 1, so no reason you can't on the new one. Runs Steam and all of my games. Text sims like FBCB and OOTP run less well on it because of resolution issues, however. But I have no problem running SimCity, FM or anything in Steam on it.

[FLC28]

I just got a Surface 2 Pro (The 256gb version) and it runs FM wonderfully!