Should I Buy a Surface 2?

[wpbrian]

Hi All,

I've been considering buying an S2, mainly as a laptop replacement for business travel, with secondary use as a consumption device. It seems perfect: I need to use Word, Excel, and Outlook when travelling and also plan to use VPN and/or Remote Desktop. I like the way it looks and feels, battery life, etc.; HOWEVER, all the talk of bugs, glitches, crashes, etc. are giving me pause.

I'm trying to get a sense of whether most users are experiencing problems or if this is a case of the ones who are having problems speaking up, while the ones who are not happily remaining silent. I'd love to hear about the experiences users are having with the S2--particularly in a business context.

Thanks!

 

[unstoppablekem]

Many bugs have been fixed with updates, and I do suggest getting a Surface 2, or a Lumia 2520. You'll be very satisfied.

 

[explosive0]

Careful on the VPN side. You can't install traditional VPN clients and will have to make do with what is built into RT. Depending on your firewall setup, you may not be able to configure VPN using RT.

 

[podsnap]

I'm in the same boat as you wpbrian, really want one but concerned by the number of issues.

The graphics problem seems to be getting sorted now with an update due early December.

The loose volume rocker, backlight bleed and mostly the dodgy speakers (with no clear indication as to whether it's a hardware or software issue) are the things are causing me to struggle.

I wonder if MS will be releasing a hardware revision in the not too distant future.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Hi All,

I've been considering buying an S2, mainly as a laptop replacement for business travel, with secondary use as a consumption device. It seems perfect: I need to use Word, Excel, and Outlook when travelling and also plan to use VPN and/or Remote Desktop. I like the way it looks and feels, battery life, etc.; HOWEVER, all the talk of bugs, glitches, crashes, etc. are giving me pause.

I'm trying to get a sense of whether most users are experiencing problems or if this is a case of the ones who are having problems speaking up, while the ones who are not happily remaining silent. I'd love to hear about the experiences users are having with the S2--particularly in a business context.

Thanks!

The description of your use-scenario closely matches mine - though I don't use my Surface 2 often for media consumption (except for YouTube). In fact, I have replaced my laptop with the Surface 2 and, to my surprise, I found that my reliance on legacy apps was minimal. What little legacy apps I use is catered for by my desktop machine. For the most part I use the Surface 2 and it works perfectly.

Now, about the stories of the glitches etc. that you were referring to. Obviously, these things are happening. But based solely on my use, I can say that I have not faced - thus far - any of the issues that have been reported on this forum and others. Not a issue. While it is true that I have often fretted over battery life, but my experience has been that with quite heavy usage I have used the Surface for 8-9 hours a day and still have about 30% of battery life left over. Typically, I use the browser (very heavily), some news apps, Reddit, Skype (albeit occasionally - say once a week), Office suite (excluding Outlook - I still use the Mail app - I use this the most), with WiFi on (but BT off), screen brightness just below 50% and with auto-dim enabled. I have not yet configured the VPN feature though I should and probably will (I did set it up on the 1st gen device which I previously owned).

This has been my experience. But, of course, the decision as to whether or not you will opt for the Surface 2 is entirely yours.

Good luck with your choice!

Edit: I should add that I just got back from a 2-week overseas trip where my primary device was the Surface 2 and it performed like a champion despite frequent traveling and spotty wireless internet coverage. I did, however, extensively pair the Surface 2 with my Nokia 720 with a local 3G enabled SIM in it and it worked very well.

 

[Daylife]

Hi All,

I've been considering buying an S2, mainly as a laptop replacement for business travel, with secondary use as a consumption device. It seems perfect: I need to use Word, Excel, and Outlook when travelling and also plan to use VPN and/or Remote Desktop. I like the way it looks and feels, battery life, etc.; HOWEVER, all the talk of bugs, glitches, crashes, etc. are giving me pause.

I'm trying to get a sense of whether most users are experiencing problems or if this is a case of the ones who are having problems speaking up, while the ones who are not happily remaining silent. I'd love to hear about the experiences users are having with the S2--particularly in a business context.

Thanks!

You should watch my videos and youll end up wanting one

Microsoft Surface 2 Review Best Tablet Ever! - YouTube