SurfaceBook and Surface Pro 4 announced

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › SurfaceBook and Surface Pro 4 announced

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2225 posts

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#1402297 8-Oct-2015 12:09

heavenlywild:
Paul1977:
billgates: As per reports keyboard provides 9 hours and tablet on it's own undocked provides 3 hours for Surface Book

Hmmm.... 3 hours undocked is not so great.

That is why I am leaning towards the SP4 instead.

Is there a real world need to undock it though? At first i thought what a cool idea but the more I think the less appealing undocking seems, lack of ports, battery life, external GPU if fitted. The only real benefit i can see is that it's a point of difference over a MBP, but it already has a major point in that it is natively Windows :P

gzt

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#1402383 8-Oct-2015 13:27

nathan:
gzt: Surface 3 LTE released in July this year:

http://blog.surface.com/2015/07/surface-3-4g-lte-is-coming/

Now is that good news or bad news?
not released in NZ unfortunately

I'm thinking with sp3 getting LTE MS is in good position and experience and understand demand now for LTE sp4 and it will be sooner rather than later. Other possibility is demand conclusion is really low and not worth production changes but let's ignore that one.

gzt

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#1402392 8-Oct-2015 13:36

Display port is an interesting choice instead of the more consumer friendly HDMI. Same as sp2/3 dock has display port. I see ms is selling adaptors. Imho ime adaptors are multiple issues, cables with correct ends are a better solution all round. It is surprising the cables can be a little hard to find in nz but not impossible.

Paul1977

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#1402394 8-Oct-2015 13:37

Wade:
heavenlywild:
Paul1977:
billgates: As per reports keyboard provides 9 hours and tablet on it's own undocked provides 3 hours for Surface Book

Hmmm.... 3 hours undocked is not so great.

That is why I am leaning towards the SP4 instead.

Is there a real world need to undock it though? At first i thought what a cool idea but the more I think the less appealing undocking seems, lack of ports, battery life, external GPU if fitted. The only real benefit i can see is that it's a point of difference over a MBP, but it already has a major point in that it is natively Windows :P

Weight and portability are the obvious reasons, if you are using it as a tablet it is twice as heavy with the keyboard attached. I could also forsee people wanting to go out and about with it leaving the keyboard part at home or in the office. Also easier to simply detach the keyboard for tablet mode than to detach, rotate and then reattach.

I like the look of the device, and having the GPU in the keyboard wouldn't bother me as it will still function with integrated graphics when detached; but it is definitely a shame the bulk of the battery power is in the keyboard.

It depends what you are after. If you were previously considering a MacBook Pro, then to me the Surface Book seems better. But if you are looking at something to truly give you the best of both laptop and tablet then it is quite a drawback in my opinion.

gzt

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#1402416 8-Oct-2015 13:57

If you are not using the keyboard then it is just a tablet and therefore in a business sense not going to see extended use in that mode. It is a really good 1.5kg laptop with a side line in being a tablet. There is a compromise for 13.5" and that is it.

Edit: i missed obvious solution buy 12" i7 sp4. ; )

Paul1977

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#1402428 8-Oct-2015 14:07

gzt: If you are not using the keyboard then it is just a tablet and therefore in a business sense not going to see extended use in that mode. It is a really good 1.5kg laptop with a side line in being a tablet. There is a compromise for 13.5" and that is it.

Like I say, depends on what you are after. Everyone will have different ideas on how they would like to use it.

Klathman

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#1402442 8-Oct-2015 14:26

I'm thinking that I would fit into the market that they're aiming at with this device. I need a laptop first and need to have a good keyboard and trackpad for when I'm working for long periods away from my desk. For me the tablet is a nice to have; although something that is definitely wanted as long as it doesn't make the laptop more annoying to use. For me I was thinking that it would be nice to take into meetings as a tablet so the 3-4 hour battery in the Surface Book would be sufficient.

I was close to getting a surface pro 3 but just wasn't convinced that the keyboard was good enough or that the kickstand wouldn't really annoy me.

I don't think I would necessarily get this as a laptop but as the convertible.....very appealing.

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#1402476 8-Oct-2015 15:22

Klathman: I'm thinking that I would fit into the market that they're aiming at with this device. I need a laptop first and need to have a good keyboard and trackpad for when I'm working for long periods away from my desk. For me the tablet is a nice to have; although something that is definitely wanted as long as it doesn't make the laptop more annoying to use. For me I was thinking that it would be nice to take into meetings as a tablet so the 3-4 hour battery in the Surface Book would be sufficient.

I was close to getting a surface pro 3 but just wasn't convinced that the keyboard was good enough or that the kickstand wouldn't really annoy me.

I don't think I would necessarily get this as a laptop but as the convertible.....very appealing.

Just a note on the kickstand. It is great on the SP3. Infinite positions. Part of the device.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

gzt

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#1402490 8-Oct-2015 15:27

I have the pro2 currently. I was not expecting much as a traditional laptop function but it is way better than I expected in that aspect. The stand works really well on the lap, and the unexpected advantage of no heat transfer. I imagined it to be horribly unsteady but the opposite is true. It is actually steadier than a standard laptop (well I'm comparing to a Mac 13 tbh).

I am no fanboi you can see me going at microsoft about the w10 upgrade process, forcing downloads, adding telemetry and cruft to w8.1 etc and I will not be using 10 (within reason). But Surface Pro is very nice design. See if you can borrow one for a day.

Edit: better bigger keyboard on the pro4.

sidders80

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#1402672 8-Oct-2015 20:22

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/surfacepro4

Sid

nathan

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#1402681 8-Oct-2015 20:28

gzt: Display port is an interesting choice instead of the more consumer friendly HDMI. Same as sp2/3 dock has display port. I see ms is selling adaptors. Imho ime adaptors are multiple issues, cables with correct ends are a better solution all round. It is surprising the cables can be a little hard to find in nz but not impossible.

why the angst for DP? HDMI is lower res and no Daisy Chaining

gzt

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#1402745 8-Oct-2015 22:19

nathan:
gzt: Display port is an interesting choice instead of the more consumer friendly HDMI. Same as sp2/3 dock has display port. I see ms is selling adaptors. Imho ime adaptors are multiple issues, cables with correct ends are a better solution all round. It is surprising the cables can be a little hard to find in nz but not impossible.
why the angst for DP? HDMI is lower res and no Daisy Chaining

Yep overall imho it is the right decision. Philips etc owning HDMI probably slowed it down a bit but dp seems to be getting there on monitors. It is adaptor angst.

Edit +full marks for the recessed mini dp only way to do it. great design carried forward

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#1402871 9-Oct-2015 09:25

sidders80: https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/surfacepro4

I'm curious about the Surface Book but don't seem to have that listed. @Nathan do you know if Surface Book are coming to NZ?

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#1402893 9-Oct-2015 10:14

Yes it's going to NZ, no there is no date currently sorry.

NZtechfreak

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#1402914 9-Oct-2015 10:57

I'm pretty interested in getting one of these, we actually need a second laptop at home right now. Question is which to get? I'm probably leaning towards the Book right now, although the Pro 4 is certainly appealing in it's own right.

Actually, what I need to see is Anandtech or someone run the Dolphin benchmark on these, that'll settle things quickly for me :)

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