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Surface Pro Hate

megaorange

New Member
Does anyone understand why there is so much hate for the Pro? I just can't understand why. The Surface Pro is an amazing tablet and I personally cannot wait to get one.
 

socos

New Member
I think it's mostly people that keep trying to compare it to iPads and Android tablets.

Does anyone understand why there is so much hate for the Pro? I just can't understand why. The Surface Pro is an amazing tablet and I personally cannot wait to get one.
 
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megaorange

New Member
It's like people can't understand the full impact the Pro has. Its a Full Desktop OS on a tablet. Its actually on par (in some ways better Laptop has 1st Gen i5 vs 3rd Gen i5 Surface) with the laptop I'm using right now except my laptop has a dedicated graphics card (although somewhat aged).
 

BennyDBowser

New Member
Does anyone understand why there is so much hate for the Pro? I just can't understand why. The Surface Pro is an amazing tablet and I personally cannot wait to get one.

This is so much different than what we've all been use to for the last 3 to 4 years.

Devs have been creating apps on Android and Apple devices to get them to feel more like a PC for years.

Now we have a full PC in the Pro...no real need for gimmick apps like remote desktop or file manager...

Its ok. The ones that aren't on board yet will be soon...
 

Tom T

New Member
Honestly, its the not ready for prime time view some people have, and they are probably right. It is a little overweight, and the battery life makes it a laptop in sheep's clothing. Not saying it isn't on mu list of devices I will most likely own, but I will curse the shortcomings on a daily basis.
 

Hans

New Member
Honestly, its the not ready for prime time view some people have, and they are probably right. It is a little overweight, and the battery life makes it a laptop in sheep's clothing. Not saying it isn't on mu list of devices I will most likely own, but I will curse the shortcomings on a daily basis.

Obviously it isn't perfect, but still the best you can get right now. The only reason I got the RT is battery life. Besides, I already have a relatively new laptop.
 

dlacaba

Member
After playing around with it at the MS Store, I can see why this won't become a popular product. It's not user friendly and will have a fair bit of a learning curve. In comparison, iPad is something just about anyone can learn how to use in a matter of minutes. I remember when my son was 1 year old, he could unlock my phone, swipe to find peekaboo, then press it to play the game. It's so simple. Now that I think about it, it's somewhat a positive for me that my son may not find the Surface Pro as easy to use so he doesn't try to take it away from me lol.

With this, you can't really use it like a tablet and get all the functionality out of it. There are situations where you need the keyboard/mouse. I know the Windows 8 OS is more catered to touch, but it just isn't there yet. I remember going to desktop mode and trying to type into a textbox in touch mode and a keyboard never appeared on screen. Same with using a pen to write to a textbox, you don't always get a pen prompt. I'm sure I was doing something wrong and when I get mine, I'll just have to play around with it to figure it out.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm dying to get a Surface Pro. But the reason why iPad gathered the masses was because it was so easy to use, and quite literally a 1 year old could use it.

The Surface Pro won't be easy to use, but once you figure everything out, you'll be able to do a lot more than you could on an iPad.
 

magicrobots

New Member
Honestly, I think the issue is that windows 8 is poised to take over the future, and the future just isn't here yet. A combination of touch screen and keyboard/mouse input is obviously where everything is going - there is no reason to have two separate operating systems for each form factor. Yet, since this is conceptually new, there is so little software to take advantage of it that it's a tough sell. I want the option for Modern interface EVERYTHING. Selling any of these hybrid windows 8 devices is selling the promise of an idea.

I for one, look forward happily to the realization of that idea. As soon as the developers are on board, it will be digital utopia, and OSX and iOS will be left behind. Unless they are working on something clever, which is very possible.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
@ dlacaba

I understand your point but will have to disagree with you about some of the details. First off though, some help with the keyboard. The default action is to not popup the on screen keyboard when in desktop mode. Simply tap the keyboard icon in the lower right and start typing. It shouldn't take that long to adjust since your hands are moving to the bottom for the keyboard anyway and you are about to type so what is one more touch in a series of multiple touches?

As far as the iOS devices being simply usable right off the bat that is as much hype as anything these days. The concept of touching to launch apps is simple since that is all the home screens do but actually using the devices is another thing, particularly since you always have to back out of what you are doing, return home and then dig into something else to get what you need before going back to where you originally were. I have had as many experiences explaining how to do things in iOS as any other OS.

On that note your son should have no issue with the Surface either and in fact you can even set up a user profile just for him. Instead of swiping to unlock a specific part of the screen he can simply swipe up anywhere on the screen. The live tiles work just like iOS apps, touch the one you want and it opens. There is an added benefit that the tiles are not hidden on separate pages or in folders (I actually would prefer a folder option though) since the tiles are laid out continuously and you can swipe across them without jumping. I'm not sure how that is any more difficult to use than the iPad and why your son would have an issue with that.

Perhaps you mean that your son has trouble with the desktop? In that case does is he able to use a regular computer? If not I don't understand why you would expect him to be able to use it on the Surface. I think the biggest learning curve for Windows 8 is for basic PC users who are accustomed to traditional Windows and have a hard time adapting to new ideas. If they simply treat it as any other PC and have never seen or used a smart phone or tablet that could be as confusing as being handed an iPad for the first time and told it is a computer.

The iPad can't give you the desktop you need for certain tasks while still being easy and simple to launch games from for a 1 year old but the Surface can. It sounds like you are aware of all of this but I don't see how the Modern UI is an less usable than iOS for launching apps and playing games. They are the same thing in that sense with only a difference in appearance of the icons (live tiles/apps).

Of course it will come down to opinion regarding ease of use but I believe iOS and Modern UI are the exact same thing when it comes to simply launching apps and returning home.
 
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SopranoSV

New Member
I think the mistake is comparing the Surface PRO with an iPad...iPad is just a fun screen with a lot of games. I mean, have you really tried (after purchasing the apps) to work on excel or on a presentation on your iPad? I have an iPad Mini (used to have iPad 1st Gen), Acer Iconia A500 (android), Blackberry Playbook and my Surface RT...the first time I was able to avoid taking the laptop out during a flight to work on an excel and get some real work done was two days after purchasing my Surface RT in Atlanta. Yes, iPad is simpler, because it is intended for some gaming, twitter, facebook, netflix. Surface Pro is intended for business people.
 

rambler358

New Member
I think the mistake is comparing the Surface PRO with an iPad...iPad is just a fun screen with a lot of games. I mean, have you really tried (after purchasing the apps) to work on excel or on a presentation on your iPad?
With my iPad 3 I use CloudOn for Excel, Word and Powerpoint work. This app provides cloud-based (Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Skydrive) access to your files, and provides a touch-based interface to the Office apps. Yes, you can play games and everything else you mention - but it's also an excellent productivity device when used with a wireless external keyboard. I'm not dissing the Surface Pro, but the iPad most certainly isn't "just a fun screen with a lot of games." Aside from running full blown Windows apps, the iPad can pretty much do anything you want with cloud storage. ;) And Microsoft is still quite lacking with modern UI apps, but hopefully this will change soon.

All of this said, I'm still considering the Surface Pro because I like the direction Microsoft is heading. Having basically a desktop PC in tablet form is something of an achievement. Yes this design will improve, especially with Haswell coming later this year, but I believe the Surface Pro is currently the best tablet-based Ultrabook type device available.
 
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