Surface Pro :: It's my preferred computer

by Volker Weber

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Ten months in, the Surface Pro 4 is my preferred computer. I have quite a few of them and rotate them to keep them updated. But I am always going back to the Surface Pro as fast as possible.

I would not be using Windows 10 without this hardware. I have yet to come across any other machine as pretty and as usable. It has it all: a beautiful screen, lightweight, touch, ink, great keyboard and trackpad.

I had a good laugh when Nadella proclaimed he wanted people to love using Windows. Yeah, fat chance. Hahaha. And here I am, it's not getting in the way. Dare I say I love it? Nope. But I do love this machine.

Comments

I would have kept and loved the Surface Pro 4 if only OneNote and Mail were any better. I can't use a device that doesn't let me search for mails and notes like Spotlight in macOS and iOS. Why Cortana still can't do this is beyond my understanding.

Ralph Inselsbacher, 2017-10-10

@Ralph - global search is done on o365 with delve vs. on the machine directly. I wish they would make the global search on win 10 include the office graphic index in its search process. From what I hear, it's on the list and was talked about at Ignite. But nothing is better than OneNote - on any device - for me. OneNote and Teams are 90% of everything I do on any device.

@Volker for me, the Lenovo X1CT is everything you mentioned and I prefer the traditional laptop format for working on my lap as I am on the move vs. the tablet with the surface keyboard. And I get all stuff you mentioned - including an OLED screen that is like nothing I have ever seen.

John Head, 2017-10-10

Volker, beside your personal experience: What do you observe regarding corporate usage of Surface Pro? I see some test devices occuring in larger companies, but then they decide against a systematic deployment.

Personally I found the Logitech MX Master 2S mouse very handy to switch seamlessly even between platforms: So it is easier to use MacBook and Surface side-by-side on the desk.

Peter Meuser, 2017-10-10

I haven’t used a mouse in ten years. And my sample is way too small for judging corporate use.

Volker Weber, 2017-10-10

I've been far happier with my Surface Book than I anticipated. I thought I'd be so so with it, but actually, I like it a lot. I can even stand Windows 10 on it, so that's a win, as I had to have a Windows 10 machine.

Ben Langhinrichs, 2017-10-10

Ich weiß, das ist Jammern auf hohem Niveau. Aber ich vermisse eine Veränderung der LED am Ladestecker, sobald das Gerät vollständig geladen ist.

Karl Heindel, 2017-10-11

I share your sentiments. 10 years ago, I was a big proponent of Tablet PCs 10, OneNote and MindMapping. Unfortunately, the form factor and short battery life left much to be desired. Now with lighter units, long battery, SSDs and Cloud, the visions I had for the workset I wanted are closer to reality. I'm on a 3 week trip to D.C. to help a client migrate from Notes to O365. I took only my Surface Pro 4 -- I wanted the full experience. So far, it has been a great experience. Working on getting back into using the pan, which will happen as I work with MindManager. This machine and Win 10 have turned around the MS experience as far as I am concerned.

Eric Mack, 2017-10-11

I am the only one for whom the network disappears every now and then? When I leave the SP idle for some hours it always(!) loses WiFi and wants me to connect by hand again.

Mariano Kamp, 2017-10-11

@Mariano, I think this is a Win10 thing with various bits of hardware. My Lenovo does this very very occasionally, and my son’s desktop used to do it all the time until I removed everything and started again.

Ben Poole, 2017-10-12

I sometimes have that too. Then I hit "Troubleshoot", it restarts the Wi-Fi controller, and I am back online.

One way to work around this is to go into Device Manager, select your Wi-Fi card from the Network Adapters tree, and then switch to the Power Management tab. Uncheck the "Allow this computer to turn off this device to save power" box.

Volker Weber, 2017-10-12

Ich bin im Sommer auf das Surface Pro umgestiegen. Seit gut 10 Jahren hatte ich immer die X220 Tabletts von Lenovo im Einsatz. Das heißt, ich war mobiles Arbeiten und Stift schon gewöhnt.

Aber das Surface ist nochmal ein Sprung nach vorne gewesen. Ich habe Stift und Papier noch weiter reduziert, nutze intensiver und vielfältiger OneNote und gehe nun öfters an andere Orte zum Arbeite, z.B. mit Hund in den Wald an dortige Rastplätze oder jetzt vermehrt in Cafés. Ich genieße das.

Zuhause habe ich mein Setting umgebaut: Das alte Notebook ist jetzt stationär mit großem Monitor. Dank O365 kann ich jetzt zeitgleich über 3 Rechner an einem Dokument arbeiten. 2 Rechner sind in der PPT unterwegs - in einem orientiere ich mich und schaue nach, wie ich etwas bereits formuliert habe, in dem anderen am großen Bildschirm füge ich die Änderungen ein, der dritte Rechner ist für die Recherche. Hört sich komisch an. Ist aber für meinen Arbeitsstil genau richtig.

Kein Umblättern, kein Scrollen, immer alle notwendigen Infos vor Augen.

Für mich ist auch die Kombination aus Stift (und die Integration in das Betriebssystem), schmales und sehr stabiles Gehäuse, die tolle Tastatur und Win10 sowie O365 das, was das Surface Pro für mich zum optimalen Arbeitsgerät macht.

Nur vom Stift habe ich mir mehr erwartet. Da fehlen mir noch so 10-20% um für mich perfekt zu sein.

Joachim Haydecker, 2017-10-12

I recently upgraded from a Pro 3 to a Pro (5) for my every day use. With the exception of the keyboard disconnecting while using the device in my lap a few times on the 3, I was pretty happy with that machine. The new Pro is better, but I still have to be careful with it. The signature keyboards, both the mobile keyboard and the full wireless desk keyboard feel great and are much improved. Most mobile users within our companies now ask for and use Surface Pro's.

As for adoption, I recently attended back to back conferences in New York and Chicago. A quick scan of the rooms lead me to believe many other people (Business Execs, Finance Execs, and IT Execs) must agree. People using Surface Pro's were predominant, followed by a few Lenovo's and the occasional Dell.

Reid Partlow, 2017-10-12

@Volker, @Ben. Disabling the power management of the WiFi card seem to have helped. Thanks.

Mariano Kamp, 2017-10-15

The other funny thing is that pushing the button on the Surface Pen works, but after a while it doesn't anymore. A reboot "heals"that issue though.

Mariano Kamp, 2017-10-15

I was quite happy with my Surface Pro 3 until I got a GoPro.
CPU, GPU and storage are coming to an end.

Reactivated the MacBook Pro late 2011 just to drop it on the floor three days later. Now I'm stuck and wonder if it's better to upgrade the laptop or the bike.

It's getting tough if your use-cases begin to differ from the best reviewer.

Kai Nehm, 2017-10-17

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