Which Surface should you get?
by Volker Weber
Now that Microsoft has three Surface products, I have been getting questions about which one to buy. Here is my initial observations:
- Surface 3 is the only one with an LTE option. If you need LTE, your search is over. Major limitation: it maxes out at 128 GB storage and 4 GB RAM. Enough for me, maybe not for you.
- Surface Book is a notebook, that can undock it's screen as tablet. Microsoft calls it a clipboard, because it just isn't a full tablet. The connector between the base and the clipboard is the same one that you find on the base. That means you can connect both your docking station or your charge cable at this connector. And it's reversible, so you turn the screen around. This gives you the full power of the machine, even when you don't need the keyboard. Battery life for the whole machine is 12 hours video playback, for the clipboard alone it's only 4.
- Surface Pro 4 is a full PC in the tablet form factor. There are no compromises. You always get 9 hours of video playback. If you often want to use it as a tablet, this is the one. If you are looking for a notebook that can actually work on your lap, you want the Surface Book. Both can use the new pen. And that pen holds on to the left side with some strong magnets. It's not going to fall off, if you put it inside your bag.
Surface Book is way heavier than Surface Pro 4. Almost twice as heavy. But the screen is larger, and when you take it off as a clipboard, it's also lighter than Surface Pro 4. And it's thinner, thinner than Surface 3 even, because it does not have to house USB ports. I's very comfortable to hold.
I am really happy with Surface 3, even without the LTE option. Surface Pro 4 is very tempting, if only for the keyboard, which also fits Surface Pro 3, but not Surface 3, simply because it is too large. Surface Book is too big a challenge for my Macs. Don't want to leave that comfort zone. ;-) Surface Book is actually the only Surface that could replace my MacBook Pro, since it spends a lot of time on my lap while I kick up my legs. Neither Surface nor Surface Pro are usable in this position.
Comments
Danke, Volker! Hätte ich nicht ohnehin einen Glas-Überfluss, würde ein Surface 3 sehr, sehr gut aussehen ;)
Kein LTE für das Surface Book, das ist sehr schade. Dann warte ich ich weiter auf Preise und die Verfügbarkeit des Thinkpad Yoga 260/460.
