Surface Pro 3 - Afterthoughts - Aftermarket

[GreyFox7]

I was just revisiting this Surface Pro 3 six months later review and had a couple thoughts to add.
http://winsupersite.com/surface/surface-pro-3-six-months-later

Re: The author complains of the unconventional 3:2 aspect ration, scaling, and resolution...

"Its non-standard resolution makes it hard to match it with external monitors in a desktop replacement scenario. And its super-high-resolution is still challenged by the ineptitude of the Windows desktop environment, and the inconsistent scaling can be maddening."​

Why not make a big Surface Monitor that does match. Maybe several sizes. Anyone looking for a new monitor is casting about trying to find a good match and is frustrated. I am looking for one myself and haven't found the ideal one yet. Partner with a Monitor OEM and hang the Microsoft name on it and let them sell their own version. It might also ignite the 3rd party Surface Aftermarket which is also as dead as the App market.

Make an alternative Keyboard. I would prefer to leave the Keyboard market to 3rd parties except, again, where are they? Not a single vendor has come forth with an alternative Keyboard Cover/case/battery solution. There are some Bluetooth generic keyboards but nothing leveraging the Kybd Connector. This may need to be addressed as well with an MS entry to fire up the competition. Although by killing the 10.6" family they put doubts in the minds of anyone thinking about it and they obviously already had doubts.

There might be a few more Surface Accessories that should exist. One I would like is an alternative Dock that uses the power connector docking interface. One that magnetically attaches so you can just sit in on the dock and it's low profile much like the Dell Venue dock. I suspect sales will have to almost double for that one to materialize though.

Where are the vendors with anything other than a case?

What do you whish someone would make?

 

[Gary.M]

I wish somebody would make an express key add on that clips to the side of the surface pro 3 to make drawing and sculpting easier. I currently use radialmenu for on screen keyboard shortcuts but the only problem is this takes up screen real estate

 

[zhenya]

There is an ideal monitor. It's the Dell P2715q, although really any adequately high resolution example should do. Might as well buy the Dell though as it's about the same price as the competitors but is IPS.

The only downside (which is admittedly non-trivial, but small compared to what I was dealing with before with scaling) is the need to install the Intel graphics driver and set a custom resolution.

Since getting the Dell, I've come to think that Microsoft is kind of just hoping that they can keep people happy enough with these various work-arounds for scaling until 4k monitors become ubiquitous. The problem is people are still buying millions of 1080p monitors today, and I would wager the average monitor has a lifespan of ~10 years.

I generally agree with you about the keyboard situation as well - although again, I've found a solution that works to my satisfaction.

 

[hughlle]

I'd like to see a docking cable. Imagine the surface ethernet adaptor, but with a few usb, a DP, and a power connector, all plugging into the magnetic power port. Some of us want to be able to expand the connectivity of the SP3 without settling for a rigid dock. Seems an easier option than designing a dock that tilts like the kickstand to allow for inking while docked to you desktop setup.

 

[zhenya]

That's the promise of usb-c....

 

[hughlle]

That's the promise of usb-c....

No reason it can't be done using the port we already have..

 

[zhenya]

No reason it can't be done using the port we already have..

Yeah, I guess that's true. The usb spec should make it easier for 3rd parties to build compatible devices though - so maybe eventually docking stations and power bricks could become fairly universal rather than being specific to one device.

 

[bluegrass]

Shouldn't be too difficult for someone like F*&^nuts McGiver to build a cable to connect the Surface to the docking station. They would probably only charge $50 to $100 for it. Just need a male & female connector and some cable. When I didn't have the dock, I used a USB3 hub for my wireless mouse-keyboard & Ethernet adapter.

 

[ScottyS]

What ever happened to blades? They came out with one for DJs, but I've heard of none since. Blades matched to specific software apps such as video editing seem a natural and I even imagined blank blades (really a 256 point touch pad) that software developers could make software and templates to print out blade covers (could use a semi-sticky plastic) to customize a blade for their app.