Some thoughts on SP3 reviews

[onlysublime]

the problem is these "reviewers" are in such a rush to get out the reviews that they didn't really spend time with it. it's still a business about page hits and they want their reviews out ASAP. Thurrott mentioned how you have to use the machine in the real world before you write a review. He was shocked how fast reviews came out. Like he was going to take some sort of business trip via train and would test out the SP3 in that situation (business machine on the go).

If you read most of these articles, they're more like previews than reviews. and they often project into the future how they think the devices will behave because of course, they didn't use these machines for more than a couple of days, judging by the release dates of the reviews.

now, some will say that you don't need much to determine whether you like something or not. that's true. but if you're just dabbling on the machine and then writing something, that's more a "first impressions" or preview. I expect reviews to be thorough where the reviewer explores the vast majority of features.

that being said, you buy the machine based on your needs and wants and desires. If you have zero need for a touchscreen, zero need for a pen, zero need for a tablet-like body, then go for a traditional laptop. But if you want laptop features and all of the aforementioned features, then the SP3 is really enticing.

 

[astondg]

I realise this will be different user to user and industry to industry but how often do people here use their laptop on their lap? I'm a software developer, I had 2 MacBooks before my Surface Pro and the overall amount of time I spent with them on my lap was maybe 30%. Of that 30%, 1/2 was spent doing things like software development and word processing where I really needed a 'laptop' and the other 1/2 was checking emails and browsing the web where a tablet would have made a much better proposition. So basically 15% of the time I was doing 'serious' work on my laptop on my lap.

 

[Peter England]

Not a review as such but an interesting interview with the designer of the SP3, Ralf Groene:
The Why Of Design: Building The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 | Gizmodo Australia

 

[mozman68]

Not a review as such but an interesting interview with the designer of the SP3, Ralf Groene:
The Why Of Design: Building The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 | Gizmodo Australia

Love this....anyone who doesn't understand Surface needs to hear directly from the designer. Why don't they copy Apple in this sense a create a video of Ralf explaining all the design details?

 

[Peter England]

Here is another good review ...
Surface Pro 3 Review - SlashGear

I specifically like this statement:

"If you’ve got the camera app open, meanwhile, and click the Surface Pen’s button, it’ll not only snap an image but save that to a new note for you to annotate. Everything gets backed up in OneDrive."

 

[onlysublime]

So.... it is absolutely fair to compare how well the SP3 does as a tablet AND a notebook since it is Microsoft claiming that the SP3 is capable of replacing both.

Here's the comparison that Microsoft is making: most people have BOTH a tablet and a notebook. And are constantly switching between the two. You see this all the time on the airplane. You put away your notebook and whip out your tablet for some light reading. Then you put away your tablet and whip out the laptop to do work. I travel a lot and see this all the time (the constant switching back and forth). If that's the comparison, the SP3 is much better than have 2 devices. It's also lighter and less bulky than the 2 devices. Is the SP3 lighter than the MacBook Air + iPad Air? Yes. Is it less cumbersome than switching between those 2 devices? Yes. Is it easier to just use the SP3 than to pull a bag from the overhead compartment or to pull a bag from under the seat to switch back and forth? Yes.

 

[mozman68]

A new one from Re/Code.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Doesn?t Stand Up to MacBook Air | Re/code

While there are certainly truths in every one of these reviews...good and bad...even the bad ones are easy to discount if you know that the things they are complaining about have no effect on your use. What really bothers me is bloggers/journalists who are so shielded by the outside world and can't even seem to comprehend or at least acknowledge that a HUGE majority of the world is on Windows and the implications of a device like this in the corporate world.

For me, a Mac may work fine, but just fine...the SP3 will be a life saver. Work to home to all of the travel I do...one device to handle it all. I don't blame Microsoft for pushing it as a "consumer" device...it's beautiful and actually does so many things so well, but they should have been more prepared for the "not quite as good as a laptop/not quite as good as a tablet" comments as they are technically correct in the hands of most independant, non-corporate, mostly Mac using journalists.