Microsoft surface 4 , to buy or not.

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JaseNZ

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#205948 4-Dec-2016 06:17

My laptop of many years needs to be retired and I very seriously thinking of buying the Surface 4 , Specifically this model below.

Use is just for home on the couch pretty much , Video's and browsing etc.

I am probably being way over the top with the specs but I do have a budget of $2500 for finding a replacement.

Your ideas would be most appreciated.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/TABMST45301/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-4-Consumer-Model---i7-256GB

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#1681956 4-Dec-2016 06:35

Very good device however with the keyboard attached it is not as lap friendly as a traditional notebook.

geekiegeek

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#1681957 4-Dec-2016 06:45

unless you plan on sitting at a table or desk I would not buy a Surface Pro for home use. To be honest I'm not a fan at all after having one for a year at work I chucked it in a drawer and now use my Macbook Pro.

For me, I never used touch and the keyboard setup is terrible compared to a standard laptop. The screen is also smaller than most ultraportables. I would personally opt for a standard laptop - Dell XPS 13, MacBook Pro 13 or maybe an HP Envy or Spectre.

benokobi

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#1681984 4-Dec-2016 11:24

$2500 gives you a lot of options. The XPS 13 and the Spectre would be good choices. The latest XPS has really good battery life also. The $2200 XPS would probably perform great for your usage. The i7 spectre is on sale at $2300 often.

dafman

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#1681987 4-Dec-2016 11:37

MikeB4: Very good device however with the keyboard attached it is not as lap friendly as a traditional notebook.

I agree. I'm typing this on the couch using a SP4 on my lap and it is nowhere as comfortable as a traditional laptop.

Other thoughts:

The screen is beautiful and I like the size.

We have had a lot of reliability issues with the SP4 for work, although they seem a lot better recently (maybe MS has finally sorted out through firmware).

Portability is great, but no more I guess than some of the other ultra portable laptops.

Keyboard is ok, but I would prefer a proper laptop keyboard with great trackpad. Yes, you can detach the keyboard, but who ever does this? Not I.

If I was purchasing a Windows laptop for home use at present, I would probably go for the Dell XPS 13 over a SP4.

sidefx

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#1681996 4-Dec-2016 12:09

MikeB4: Very good device however with the keyboard attached it is not as lap friendly as a traditional notebook.

This. I still use my surface pro 1 frequently for content consumption, but I found if I want to use it for real productivity type work, in my case software dev, a bluetooth keyboard\mouse (actually I just have a cheap logitech set with usb receiver) works a lot better than the flip keyboard cover, and then I use it at a table\desk, sometimes with an external screen. If you want something to do productivity type work literally on your lap, a surface is not great; but for pretty much everything else I found it really good.

For the OPs usage "Use is just for home on the couch pretty much , Video's and browsing etc" I'd say the surface is pretty much perfect though... EDIT: Though indeed the model you've linked does seem like overkill for this usage! :)

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dafman

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#1681997 4-Dec-2016 12:14

Would the Samsung Chromebook Pro meet your needs? Yet to be released, but when it is this will be my the device I buy to replace my home laptop.

http://www.androidauthority.com/leaked-samsung-chromebook-pro-product-page-724639/

The more I look into Chromebooks, the more I am convinced I can move away from Windows for home use.

Perfect for email, browsing, consuming video and music media.

The upcoming Samsung Chromebook Pro will run and be able to multi-task android apps out of the box, plus provide a PC browser experience.

Chromebooks are faster to boot and don't slow down over time. Better battery life, always updated, less concerns with virus risks.

The only Windows-specific programs that I use that I can't carry over are e-book related: Calibre and Adobe Digital Editions - but I intend to factory reset my old laptop and install these on it for occasional use.

JaseNZ

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#1685132 9-Dec-2016 10:24

So after much thought and looking around and trying things I settled on the Surface pro 4. So far I love it, fits in perfectly for what I need. Quite like the Hello feature on boot up which I must say is lighting fast. Pen works better than I thought I would.

In a nutshell happy with my purchase even if the missus isn't lol.

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MikeB4

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#1685411 9-Dec-2016 16:32

Mspec:

So after much thought and looking around and trying things I settled on the Surface pro 4. So far I love it, fits in perfectly for what I need. Quite like the Hello feature on boot up which I must say is lighting fast. Pen works better than I thought I would.

In a nutshell happy with my purchase even if the missus isn't lol.

What model did you get?

JaseNZ

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#1685475 9-Dec-2016 19:53

ended up getting the i5 model with 8gb and 250gb, paired it with keyboard with finger print scanner.

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MikeB4

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#1685488 9-Dec-2016 20:02

Mspec:

ended up getting the i5 model with 8gb and 250gb, paired it with keyboard with finger print scanner.

Nice, it will be s sweet piece of kit.

JayADee

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#1686289 12-Dec-2016 06:18

Mspec:
ended up getting the i5 model with 8gb and 250gb, paired it with keyboard with finger print scanner.

I've got the same one. I really like it as a laptop replacement but use my now pretty old iPad as a tablet. My pen has never worked as well as I would like, it stops communicating with the Surface randomly. (Won't write but does self resume if you can wait long enough) You have any issues? It's brilliant when it does work.

JaseNZ

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#1686291 12-Dec-2016 06:33

JayADee:
Mspec:

ended up getting the i5 model with 8gb and 250gb, paired it with keyboard with finger print scanner.

I've got the same one. I really like it as a laptop replacement but use my now pretty old iPad as a tablet. My pen has never worked as well as I would like, it stops communicating with the Surface randomly. (Won't write but does self resume if you can wait long enough) You have any issues? It's brilliant when it does work.

No issues so far, pen works well for me , I have actually replaced my desktop at work with it now it travels to and from work with me.

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Dingbatt

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#1743124 18-Mar-2017 00:13

I asked for this thread to be unlocked rather than start a new one because the question is the same but the parameters are slightly different.
I am looking for devices to replace my two son's 15.5 inch laptops, which are too big and don't have the battery life for a day at University.
The devices will be purely for University, to use in lectures and tutorials and do nothing more taxing than Word/Excel/Powerpoint , maybe a bit of Matlab thrown in.
I have been impressed by some of the YouTube reviews I have seen on the the Surface Pro 4. With what I want the machines to be capable of, I am wondering if the Core M3 128Gb Surface Pro 4 might fit the bill. To me it would allow the taking of notes longhand using the stylus if required. It ticks the box for being light and having reasonable battery life (working on 5 hours, not the 9 claimed by MS). They are not for gaming or any sort of intensive graphics processing. I also thought the M3 might have better battery life over the i5 because it is passively cooled rather than having to run fans.
The SP4 seems to be on run-out at the moment, I can only assume that the announcement of the Surface Pro 5 in imminent. I am confident the Skylake processors in the SP4 would be good enough but would like comments from anyone using one, particularly for University.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

networkn

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#1743130 18-Mar-2017 01:35

The reliability issues so many have been plagued by would be a deal breaker for me with a Surface.

HP, Toshiba, Lenovo all have quality 2-1's if that is what you are after.

JayADee

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#1743141 18-Mar-2017 05:50

I'm not using it for uni but I think it would be perfect for that. I lug mine around while on foot and it's very compact and light even with its robust case (urban armour gear- not recommended if you need to access the card slot but otherwise good) and set on a desk or table doesn't take up much space. I use onenote all the time and it's great. I really like the sharp screen. I'm not sure how long the battery lasts though; your student might need to charge it up at some point throughout the day. I'm usually near a power point and plug it in. I use mine with a Bluetooth mouse but the trackpad is excellent. Keyboard is ok by me and some weeks I type a lot.

I love it except for the pen. (Insert frustrated growl here and some tearing of hair). Which I WOULD love. If it worked all the time.

Yes, I whine about the pen every post I make about the Surface and will keep doing so! The pen on my i5 keeps cutting out. I'm doing a lot of art with it so it's annoying as h--! I tried 3 Surfaces and multiple pens and reproduced it in front of a witness so it isn't me.

So yeah, for uni it would be great. Wish I'd had one then. Lucky kids.

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