I just got my Surface/pro 2 and I ... (fill in the blank)

[Charles Barnhart]

I got my Surface Pro 2 and ...
I am really impressed by the backlit Type cover 2 but was bummed to learn there is no Office. How did I miss that point? So, I picked up a Samsung SE-208 portable USB 3.0 optical drive and installed Office from DVD. Yay! Now I am happy again.

 

[SwimSwim]

Anyone able to compare how the battery life is on the pro 2 versus the Surface pro?

Too early to offer much personal experience, and I don't have an original Surface to compare it to. However, one tech site rated battery drain as 6 hours and 53 minutes while playing an HD movie on loop.

For me, using it moderately scores approximately 6-10 hours. Sure, not as much as competitors, but very nice when you consider how much power this thing holds. I've not been doing much though . I'm still working on getting everything set-up just right and importing all my data from my old laptop, then not to mention I've not had way too much opportunity to use it away from its charger. As time progresses, more users will be able to offer more comprehensive analysis, but it's looking good thus far.

Pro-Tip: Since the brightness setting is always a quick swipe and two taps away, thanks to Windows 8.1, keeping your brightness low as possible while on battery can significantly improve battery life. Just raise and lower as necessary, only takes a quick second and could potentially lead to knocking out and extra hour or so from that battery.

 

[VineRider]

Thanks for the response. I have a pro and about 4-5 hours of moderate to heavy use is about all I can squeeze out of it. Looking forward to the power cover in early 2014. Should help a lot.

 

[Cleavitt76]

Question.... Does it have WiFi or miracast support??

It has Miracast support, but not WiDi as far as I know. WiDi is a proprietary Intel hardware dependent protocol so in my opinion Miracast is more desirable. See my earlier posts in this thread for more info on the Miracast support.

 

[Goku1982jason]

Question.... Does it have WiFi or miracast support??

 

[Cleavitt76]

Anyone able to compare how the battery life is on the pro 2 versus the Surface pro?

My impressions after the first day are very good. On my Surface Pro I would usually make it through a typical work day with less than 20% battery remaining. In some cases I would actually run out of juice right around the end of the work day. Today I used the SP2 for the first time and when I left work I had 70% battery remaining. I used it for another 2 to 3 hours at home and it was at 50% still.

I should mention that it was in "power saver" power mode most of that time and while at work I usually have it connected to an external monitor with the built in screen turned off. However, that is the same way I used my original SP and the difference in remaining battery is huge. I realize this isn't really a typical usage scenario, but it's clear that the SP2 has some significant improvements in power consumption. With the screen off (using external monitor) it was giving remaining time estimates of 13 to 16 hours. I never saw numbers above 8 to 9 hours with the SP in that same scenario.

 

[Cleavitt76]

Question.... Does it have WiFi or miracast support??

It has Miracast support, but not WiDi as far as I know. WiDi is a proprietary Intel hardware dependent protocol so in my opinion Miracast is more desirable. See my earlier posts in this thread for more info on the Miracast support.

 

[Great deal]

Saw this post too late, got the HDMI/Displayport connector and wireless keyboard and mouse - connected to TV now XBOX One will also go there - I wonder if I can connect SP2 via HDMI to XBOX One and control it using gestures! The mind boggles at the options available. Havnt used Smartglass, is it worth it?

 

[WG Rowland]

Saw this post too late, got the HDMI/Displayport connector and wireless keyboard and mouse - connected to TV now XBOX One will also go there - I wonder if I can connect SP2 via HDMI to XBOX One and control it using gestures! The mind boggles at the options available. Havnt used Smartglass, is it worth it?

Well, it's free, and will let you do all the stuff you're dreaming about with your xbox one wirelessly. Also Miracast will allow you to use your Xbox one to turn your tv into a second display for your SP2. Boggle away...

 

[VineRider]

My impressions after the first day are very good. On my Surface Pro I would usually make it through a typical work day with less than 20% battery remaining. In some cases I would actually run out of juice right around the end of the work day. Today I used the SP2 for the first time and when I left work I had 70% battery remaining. I used it for another 2 to 3 hours at home and it was at 50% still.

I should mention that it was in "power saver" power mode most of that time and while at work I usually have it connected to an external monitor with the built in screen turned off. However, that is the same way I used my original SP and the difference in remaining battery is huge. I realize this isn't really a typical usage scenario, but it's clear that the SP2 has some significant improvements in power consumption. With the screen off (using external monitor) it was giving remaining time estimates of 13 to 16 hours. I never saw numbers above 8 to 9 hours with the SP in that same scenario.

Good info...thanks for the detail!

 

[badMojo69]

Its kinda heavy, thick, and fast.
I'm just use to my RT.

 

[russmov]

I dont find it that heavy personally. In very impressed with it.

 

[SwimSwim]

Same here, especially compared to my laptop. So much nicer to carry this thing around. Besides, when you consider how much bulkier most devices with this much raw power are, you really learn to appreciate it.

Just like many other things, people need to stop complaining about how thick or heavy this is. If you want lightweight and slim, go look for something else. If you want the most powerful mobile device available on the market, that reinvents mobile productivity, the "bulky" Surface Pro 2 is for you.

 

[badMojo69]

Used it a about 6 hours today (general use) and after 6 hours I still have 20% battery remaining. My guess is that I can get about 7 hours out of it, so if I was at work that would be a full day since I would never have the screen on this long.

I still think it's uncomfortable to hold for any length of time.

 

[accasey]

Coming from a 1st gen Surface RT, I find it much bulkier and heavier. But I still reckon its great, I bought it to replace my aging laptop and so far no real problems..

I am really impressed with how quick it is, especially compared to my rather old HP laptop and Surface RT.

 

[rocketboy]

...am amazed at the amount of capabilities packed into a device of this size. I still wish I could have got 8GB of RAM on the 128GB SSD model. I'll need to sell an i7/8GB RAM ultrabook to keep the Surface Pro 2, but I guess I have 30 days still to make a final decision. Regardless, as someone whose been using tabletpcs since 2003 the SP2 is nothing short of a miracle compared to my first Acer convertible tablet running Windows XP TabletPC edition.

Glad I bought it at a physical MS store though. My first experience with the MS online store last year was still the worst RMA experience in my 15 years of online shopping history. My only complaint was that the sales rep was really trying to push the insurance package even though I had repeatedly declined.

 

[SwimSwim]

...am amazed at the amount of capabilities packed into a device of this size. I still wish I could have got 8GB of RAM on the 128GB SSD model. I'll need to sell an i7/8GB RAM ultrabook to keep the Surface Pro 2, but I guess I have 30 days still to make a final decision. Regardless, as someone whose been using tabletpcs since 2003 the SP2 is nothing short of a miracle compared to my first Acer convertible tablet running Windows XP TabletPC edition.

Glad I bought it at a physical MS store though. My first experience with the MS online store last year was still the worst RMA experience in my 15 years of online shopping history. My only complaint was that the sales rep was really trying to push the insurance package even though I had repeatedly declined.

Yeah, my Surface Pro 2 128GB is great, but that 4GB of RAM can be a real pain sometimes. Would've loved the extra breathing room with 8GB, but the 256GB model was just out of my budget. A real shame, really, but my current model is still a solid device. And I love my local MS Store. It's a bit of an annoying 30minute drive (mostly due to having so many traffic lights), but the people there are friendly and know what they're talking about. I've yet to have a bad experience there, I've actually formed something along of the lines of a friendship with a couple of the employees there.

 

[Ascor]

.. am wondering if I should install the "Surface Pro 2 firmware and driver pack" or if Windows update already installed this? Should I install the Wacom-drivers aswell?

 

[SwimSwim]

.. am wondering if I should install the "Surface Pro 2 firmware and driver pack" or if Windows update already installed this? Should I install the Wacom-drivers aswell?

Well, I can't give professional advice on any level, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I'd personally just leave it to only installing firmware Windows Update says you need. If you feel like you're using an earlier version, manually checking for updates should do the trick. Again, I'm no expert in this category, but as a general rule of thumb, if the update isn't being directly pushed to you, proceed at your own peril.

 

[chezm]

What are people using their Pro 2 for that consumes 4GB of RAM? Other than heavy intensive gaming or AutoCAD-esque applications, i cant see how 4GB isn't sufficient. Just my 2 cents.