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New member, not sure which surface (or competitor) yet

mystvearn

New Member
Hi,

I have been thinking about the surface for some time now. However, I am not sure which model to get. I am a heavy Onenote user. I am a lecturer and most of the time I need to read journal articles, highlight, annotate etc and compile them later in Onenote. Hopefully owners here can help guide me to which Surface or competitor to get.

I have a powerful PC and laptop for gaming, so the surface is not for gaming. I have a note 3 and I use the S pen quite a lot too. The most intensive thing I will do is open firefox with lots of tabs and photoshop with few layers. One thing I am very keen on is the usage of the pen with photoshop to replace the wacom tablet. A quick fix when on the go. My ideal would be a core i3 with 512 GB space since space is more valuable to me. So this will be my third device, not my only device.

My questions are:
Is it possible to check word documents using the surface pen? I usually correct people's work using the track changes in Word. It is more natural to use the pen and scribble on the word document text rather than type it out. It is like correcting paper drafts. Is this possible with the Surface pen-word? However, I am worried, if I scribble with pen, it does not translate into proper track changes as you do with a keyboard.

Also, is the pro model suitable for long usage, or is the non-pro better? Journal articles are usually two columns and the text is small to maximise space. Small screen = lighter, easier to hold one handed while doing work. Bigger screen = easier to read text. Does anyone have any experience in this?

Are there any problems with the surfaces? BSOD? Are there some problems with the skylake surfaces? Should I hold back for now or wait for a Surface 4 (non-pro model) if it ever arrives? I am also quite keen on the HP elite x2 1012 model as it comes with screws and I can fiddle with the internals of the device.

I kind of like the Samsung Tab ProS, addicted to the AMOLED screen, however I am not sure about the screen longevity. Windows programs have a lot of static colours. The taskbar, the white background in word and web browsers, and when correcting, things will be displayed for some time. I have read reviews where the screen turns-off quickly in order to save battery and presumably the screen itself.

Thank you all for the feedback.
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
Welcome to the forum. Hopefully someone will weigh in on your thoughtful questions.

After using Surfaces since the initial RT in 2012 and other tablets a bit longer my hand is starting to feel the effects. Therefore I do not recommend one handed usage. I regularly work out and compete in triathlons so I'm not a weak couch potato.

You mention a core i3 with 512GB so you could probably find a core m 3/5/7 with that much storage in a competing device (HP or Lenovo) but Surfaces currently only give that option on the i7 or i5 with customize option.
 

ipaq_101

Active Member
I have only used the pen on powerpoint and it just layers what I write on top of the slide. I don't think that using the pen to cross things out and write things will act as track changes, but in just layers in on top, not sure if that make sense. If you are editing long documents, I'd stick with traditional track changes.
 
OP
M

mystvearn

New Member
Welcome to the forum. Hopefully someone will weigh in on your thoughtful questions.

After using Surfaces since the initial RT in 2012 and other tablets a bit longer my hand is starting to feel the effects. Therefore I do not recommend one handed usage. I regularly work out and compete in triathlons so I'm not a weak couch potato.

You mention a core i3 with 512GB so you could probably find a core m 3/5/7 with that much storage in a competing device (HP or Lenovo) but Surfaces currently only give that option on the i7 or i5 with customize option.

I see. In my mind I was thinking a surface could replace paper and pen literally. I will only need the surface for portability.

I have only used the pen on powerpoint and it just layers what I write on top of the slide. I don't think that using the pen to cross things out and write things will act as track changes, but in just layers in on top, not sure if that make sense. If you are editing long documents, I'd stick with traditional track changes.

Thanks. It makes sense. Hopefully Microsoft will update word so that it uses the pen more. If it is just layering on top of it, I might as well use pen and paper. Easier. I am unable to help people out if it does not register track changes.

I think based on the answers, I will pass the surface or any tablets for now until:
1. Better word integration with pen input - track changes
2. Intel makes a smaller TDP CPU. Arm still wins on portability. The Samsung Tab ProS is heading in the right direction.

BTW, is an android tablet alone enough for pdf highlights? Or am I better off with a surface? I still need to read a lot of journal papers
 
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jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
The new updates to Office (currently in the Insider Builds) are ink native and do exactly what you want:

track1.JPG



track2.JPG


Black ink is from the Snipping Tool
 
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