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Forbes Revisits the Surface Pro 3, Which May Face LG Competition

Posted by timothy on from the plusses-minuses dept.

Forbes writer Marco Chiappetta revisits Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 half a year after its U.S. debut, and finds the tablet-laptop hybrid has held up pretty well, but suffers some dings worth knowing about before jumping at holiday sale prices, pointing out a number of scenarios where a full-fledged notebook, even if it’s roughly the same size, will be the better choice. I’ve found that the Surface Pro 3 is ideal for users that will likely fire the machine up when sitting at a desk or when in a conference room-type environment that has a table. The Surface Pro 3’s performance is plenty good for everyday computing and office applications, and the screen is top notch. Using the Surface Pro 3 as a notepad with its stylus is also very useful. In fact, over the course of the device’s life, Microsoft has issued a number of firmware, driver, and OS updates that have improved the overall responsiveness and usefulness of the Surface Pro 3. For those who want a laptop, though for actual laptop use, the Surface is an awkward fit. However, a thin, tablet-convertible, touchscreen laptop may appear soon from LG, as well.

26 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. Have't looked at one at all. by AltGrendel · · Score: 2

    can this thing be hacked or are you locked in to the OS it comes with?

    --
    The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination

    - Douglas Adams

    1. Re:Have't looked at one at all. by Trepidity · · Score: 3, Informative

      You can install Linux on it. Whether you can get everything to work well is another matter, though.

      --
      10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
    2. Re:Have't looked at one at all. by CastrTroy · · Score: 3, Informative

      That's pretty much the problem with Linux on any machine. If you buy the machine specifically for running Linux, there are plenty of options that will run without problems. However if you pick a random machine at the store, odds are there will be some part of the hardware that has less than optimal drivers.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    3. Re:Have't looked at one at all. by guises · · Score: 2

      This is inevitably what goes through my head whenever I see a device with some clever hardware tchotchke - "That nice." I say, "But it'll only work as long as the device is using their software, which ties me to their OS and possibly configuration, limits my privacy options, etc." So a laptop with a second screen, like the Razer Blade Pro, or a phone like the Yota, is ultimately pretty useless.

    4. Re:Have't looked at one at all. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That's pretty much the problem with Linux on any machine. If you buy the machine specifically for running Linux, there are plenty of options that will run without problems. However if you pick a random machine at the store, odds are there will be some part of the hardware that has less than optimal drivers.

      I suppose I must have been really lucky then. Or didn't get my Linux distros in 2000. The past three years or so, I haven't had any installation problems at all. on dozens of random machines. Shortly before that, my last problem was a sound driver on a Toshiba laptop. It was new enough that I had to wait a day for a Linux driver to come out for it.

      In general, people who have problems with installing/running Linux these days are trying to impose their Windows experience on it.

      As far as how they work, my wife's Acer touch screen laptop runs Linux (Mint) much better than it ran Windows 8. Right now I'm running a Chromebook that dual boots between Linux and ChromeOS. Have not found one single thing that didn't work in either of them. My most recent converts are an eePC netbook running Lubuntu, 3 Toshiba Satellite laptops of different vintage,and an Acer Desktop, and zero installation or use issues. That' is significantly less trouble than the Windows side of those computers.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    5. Re:Have't looked at one at all. by BradleyUffner · · Score: 3, Funny

      In general, people who have problems with installing/running Linux these days are trying to impose their Windows experience on it.

      If by "Windows Experience" you mean having working sound after the installation is completed, then you are right.

    6. Re:Have't looked at one at all. by c · · Score: 2

      If you buy the machine specifically for running Linux, there are plenty of options that will run without problems. However if you pick a random machine at the store, odds are there will be some part of the hardware that has less than optimal drivers.

      Over the last decade or so I've had more compatibility problems with the specifically-built-to-run-Linux desktop systems I've assembled than the lowest-bidder off-the-shelf corporate laptops that I've been handed at work.

      I'm not sure that says more about my luck than my particularly poor skill at building Linux-compatible desktop systems...

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    7. Re:Have't looked at one at all. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2, Interesting

      In general, people who have problems with installing/running Linux these days are trying to impose their Windows experience on it.

      If by "Windows Experience" you mean having working sound after the installation is completed, then you are right.

      You figure that's what I meant Sparky?

      Sorry, but I have supported Linux, OSX, and PC's for years.

      The Microsoft OS PC is the most fragile, the most work intensive to keep running of the three.

      Linux some years back was a problem with drivers, now it supports devices that Windows doesn't any more. The biggest thing with Linux is that it still helps to know some command line. Big deal.

      OSX is generally much less maintenance than either of the others. Once again, understanding unix like command lines opens up a whole world of abilities.

      Windows on the other hand, can be an absolute nightmare on Wednesday morning after Patch Tuesday. If all you support is Office, it's usually pretty simple. But If you support multiple progams and AV on the PC, it's another story. One of my favorites was when Patch Tuesday knocked out some Codecs that stopped WMP from showing anyone's video. Nothing like 10 conference rooms calling you at the same time because your "working sound" Windows PC's now refuse to show any of their videos.

      You know what the burn rate is in 10 conference rooms with 25 to 50 suits? So I have to real time install new media players on each one, in real time. Functional Windows machines my bright red rosy. And it was a new treat every month. And don't get me started about the forced updates.

      So spare me the unctious Windows ubber ales. It's not quite as good as your fanboi fairy tale, Sparky.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    8. Re: Have't looked at one at all. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

      If Linux advocates spent as much time fixing the issues with Linux distros as they do denying they exist then Windows might have had some real competition from someone other than Apple.

      These days, one has to have the issue to fix it. I generally don't have anything other than having to use WINE more than I woud like.

      But I don't have ot use W8. That was like daily torture for the time I had a W8 system.. Regardless, I want ease of use more than bragging rights about installed user base.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    9. Re:Have't looked at one at all. by tepples · · Score: 2

      Not that different from attempting to install another Android than the one the device comes with, sadly.

      Except that a lot more machines ship with at least some Android variant than ship with X11/Linux, so you at least have the option of using stock.

    10. Re:Have't looked at one at all. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

      If you have ten conference rooms, you should have a WSUS server and a group for them. Tip: Don't install all updates blindly on mission critical resources without testing them first.

      If only I could. the official IT guys were Office centric. I had zero input on the updates. So I took what they allowed to be installed. And since they did not have to support who I did (most IT people piss their pants when dealing with the suits, they could remaiin secure and happy in theie knowledge that Windows was teh superior operating system.Pretty sweet gig if you can get it.

      Regardless, it was a fairly complex situation. The suits were familiar with me, and trusted me, but the IT guys and gals wanted no part of it, so avoided me as much as they avoided the suits.

      I test all Windows updates on a low importance VMs, (like,s ay the WSUS server itself if need be) before applying to physical machines, much less "VIP" resources.

      Windows has issues, but the biggest one it the low skill dead end admins who got into it (only) for the money.

      But you see, the very fact that you have to test out these updates is proof positive that Windows updates break the living shit out of Windows machines. Hardly an endorsement of superiority.

      My Macs, which I did have control of, just updated with no issues ever that I recall. Only "issue" was when updating from system 9 to OSX, they dropped one video codec. So I kept a system 9 computer around for a couple years. But even then, there was ample warning, no update drop off.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    11. Re:Have't looked at one at all. by exomondo · · Score: 2

      Getting multimonitors and displayport to work on my zbook under Linux has been a pain in the ass, even then I can't use the Optimus setup unless I take the performance hit of going to the nouveau drivers and even with the nouveau drivers there are often problems when switching graphics that windows just show black and need to be resized to be redrawn (which is fine for windowed programs but not so good for fullscreen ones).

      For basic stuff you can use just about any machine, I've even run it fine on a surface pro. But advanced features supported on OS X and Windows are usually flakey on Linux for a long time.

  2. let's be honest here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Toilet. He means the kickstand is no good when using it on the toilet.

  3. My main complaint about the Pro 2 by swb · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Is that Windows display scaling is unsatisfactory. Either I can read the screen and the display is too small or the display is so high resolution and has enough real estate but I can't read anything.

    I'm not sure the larger screen of the 3 makes this any better. Maybe a little, but from the one I've seen it seems to suffer from a similar problem.

    And the worst part is that display scaling seems broken in some way that causes it to scale external displays, making a laptop/desktop two display setup obnoxious.

    1. Re:My main complaint about the Pro 2 by Billly+Gates · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You can thank developers who do not use manifests nor appropriate frameworks and hard code their own resolutions or use MFC 4.2 out of familiarity ... Anyway

      This is why I refuse to leave 1080p and go to 4K. I don't want a cell phone on my computer so I use Win 7 which has 0 support after 100 dpi. Last I heard even Chrome had issues.

      People yack about 4k being the second coming of Christ but you need a $1000 video card to play games with half the settings off and compatibility problems. Lets hope Windows 10 and Wayland address this. For me it will be a few years before I change.

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
  4. Low quality posts as usual. by CountBrass · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The quality of posts on Slashdot has really crashed in recent years but those on this story really are the very bottom of the barrel.

    Not so much news for nerds any more, more like the ramblings of the under-educated and over-opinionated.

    I could feel the loss of IQ points from just reading their drivel

    --
    Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
  5. Try reading the article.... by CountBrass · · Score: 3, Informative

    This is about the SP3 not the SP2 and the article addresses the question of display scaling.

    --
    Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
  6. I have a Lenovo Miix 2 by DrXym · · Score: 2

    It's like a Surface Pro 3 but cheaper and the price includes a keyboard / mouse / port replicator / speaker / stand to sit the tablet in. I find it very useful for holidays / travel etc. because it's a PC when I want it to be and a tablet when I need something simpler.

  7. sigh... by CountBrass · · Score: 5, Informative

    The SP3 doesn't use a Wacom digitiser... it uses one from N-Trig.

    --
    Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
    1. Re:sigh... by ericloewe · · Score: 2

      Which is a real pity. I never had trouble with Wacom on my Surface Pro-esque Samsung tablet, but N-Trig's been a nightmare on the Surface Pro 3.

      When it works, it's great, better than Wacom. But it stops responding way too often and the AAAA battery lasts, at most, two months.

  8. Re: Not a Tablet by gcnaddict · · Score: 4, Informative
    October 25, 2014, via ComputerWorld:

    After two years and nearly $2 billion in losses, Microsoft's Surface turned a profit in the September quarter, the company said Thursday.

    October 31, 2014, via the Motley Fool:

    The Surface Pro 3, released earlier this year, is selling far better than its predecessors, and for the first time Microsoft has recorded a positive gross profit for the Surface business.

    It would do you well to source timely things, sir.

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  9. Re:Sensible skepticism? by CrankyFool · · Score: 4, Funny

    This. I won't buy, nor install software from, software developers who won't get their software right the first time, every time. If you need to release updates, clearly you've released your product before it was ready.

    That's why I don't use any operating system, made by anyone, ever.

  10. Re:who cares? by sbjornda · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm having trouble understanding what the point of this product is. What useful niche does it fill?

    In a fully managed enterprise environment, using OneNote to take handwritten notes in meetings - including creating quick To-Dos to send to Outlook, using handwriting to mark up Excel, Word, or PowerPoint files stored on a collaboration server so everyone's changes are synchronized, then go back to your desk and dock it so you have a full keyboard, mouse, external monitors (I have two), auto-switch from corporate WiFi to corporate LAN without losing mapped drives. In the enterprise space its competition is likely a Lenovo Helix model, not a Miix. For home users, it's probably overkill, unless maybe you do a lot of docking-and-undocking at home, but that's likely a niche market.

    But if your company, like mine, allows a certain degree of personal use of the corporate device and allows you to take it home evenings and weekends, it's a lot lighter to carry and more fun to use than a traditional laptop. It's my laptop at work and my tablet at home (and yes, I know how to encrypt and back up my personal data in case my job suddenly disappears, and I still have a home PC as a second unit). It's the most satisfying and seamless personal computing experience I've ever had, and I've been in the business since the 1980's. This feels like the computer I've been waiting for all my life.

    --
    .nosig

  11. Thoughts from a Surface Pro 3 user by walllaby · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I used a Surface Pro 3 for about a week before deciding to return it. I took it back because it didn't quite fit my needs, and I found it to be just an awkward device.

    I had mostly hoped to replace an aging Macbook Pro and have a mobile sketchpad. The device works well as a laptop, although I found it tiresome to have to extend the kickstand every time as opposed to just opening a laptop lid. I did not find it a good device for sketching; the interface in Photoshop CS5 (my usual painting program) was absolutely tiny and a pain to navigate around in with the stylus. You often have to switch between the brush, zoom, pan, and layers menus while working in Photoshop, and it quickly became clear that this setup wasn't going to work. This isn't a failure on Microsoft's part, just evidence that mobile sketching either needs to be on a dedicated app - such as the included OneNote (not quite up to snuff) - or on some old tried-and-true pen and paper.

    That said, it is incredible what sort of power they've managed to pack into such a thin device. I just think the whole "jack of all trades, master of none" schtick is the wrong route to take.

  12. love my surface by Dishwasha · · Score: 2

    I've had the i7 512 Surface Pro 3 for several months now and I absolutely love it. I was worried about the hinge but it's lapability has no issues IMHO. The only problem I have is it simply doesn't work if I'm lying down in bed.

    It's doubtful the LG will contend. I think the biggest threat is the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro but at close to a pound heavier and inability to detach the keyboard increasing the thickness in tablet mode, I'll stick with my Surface Pro 3 thank you very much.

  13. External Wacom digitizer by tepples · · Score: 2

    Really? You can draw on your laptop with a digitizer? What kind of laptop is it?

    Dell Inspiron mini 1012 running Xubuntu, with a Wacom Bamboo Pen digitizer plugged into a USB port.