I have to admit something

[macguy59]

I'm a Mac snob. We are an Apple household. I hated Windows until I played with Windows 10 but a convert I wasn't. I've been looking for a secondary (I have a retina 15" MacBook Pro) Apple unit to take on the road with me for work. I was considering the new 12" Macbook, a Macbook Air and the new iPad Pro. After weighing the things I need it to do while on the road and cost, I went with the iPad Pro. As I was heading up to the register I stopped at the MS section (no idea why) and the first thing I laid eyes on was the Surface Pro 3 with the i3 and 64GB on sale for $500 something. Decided what heck and played with it a bit. It was running Windows 10 thankfully and . . . I was shocked at how much I enjoyed using it. Steve Jobs is rolling in his grave. It was pretty smooth and it has a decent 12' Display. Its wasn't quite as smooth as the i5 version (and of course the Pro 4) but I was still impressed. I felt like I was cheating on my MBP lol. I like it so much that if I decide the iPad Pro doesn't do it for me I'll exchange it for the Surface Pro 3. Yes I'm aware of that 64GB doesn't leave much free space and that the i3 isn't a world beater CPU but I don't need it to be. My needs for a secondary machine are pretty light.

 

[mjrtoo]

Welcome, and you're not the only machead I know who thinks the surface is a pretty sweet device. Because it is...

 

[macguy59]

You think version I played with would fine for mostly web browsing, email, Youtube and some Word/Excel stuff ?

 

[boltman2013]

I'm a Mac snob. We are an Apple household. I hated Windows until I played with Windows 10 but a convert I wasn't. I've been looking for a secondary (I have a retina 15" MacBook Pro) Apple unit to take on the road with me for work. I was considering the new 12" Macbook, a Macbook Air and the new iPad Pro. After weighing the things I need it to do while own the road and cost, I went with the iPad Pro. As I was heading up to the register I stopped at the MS section (no idea why) and the first thing I laid eyes on was the Surface Pro 3 with the i3 and 64GB on sale for $500 something. Decided what heck and played with it a bit. It was running Windows 10 thankfully and . . . I was shocked at how much I enjoyed using it. Steve Jobs is rolling in his grave. It was pretty smooth and it has a decent 12' Display. Its wasn't quite as smooth as the i5 version (and of course the Pro 4) but I was still impressed. I felt like I was cheating on my MBP lol. I like it so much that if I decide the iPad Pro doesn't do it for me I'll exchange it for the Surface Pro 3. Yes I'm aware of that 64GB doesn't leave much free space and that the i3 isn't a world beater CPU but I don't need it to be. My needs for a secondary machine are pretty light.

Excellent , one convert at a time.

Its OK you were a ******, many are.

Apple makes nice hardware BUT its way overpriced and they are in it for the money. They are a lot like the old Microsoft where money makes decisions... you can see it in all of their latest products..they suck and yet still are TOP DOLLAR.

Welcome back to Windows. Microsoft knows what they are doing....next step try a Lumia you will be very surprised how good it is. I paid $29 for my 640 on black Friday. You can bring your own phone to ATT and only pay the BYOD lesser data charge. My Lumia syncs settings and Cortana notifications with my Desktop and SP4..at exactly the same time I get notified on all three. She can remind you of things use her she is great.

I applaud your story and courage to switch..good luck and we are here to help.

 

[macguy59]

I'm not a switcher . . yet. I'm going to try out the iPad Pro first. Windows phones do nothing for me. Don't like them at all. In fact I bought a Lumia 1520 about 3 weeks ago and installed the latest Win 10 build for it via Insider Fast ring. Honestly I didn't see much difference from Win 8.1. Only took me an hour of playing with it for me to know I didn't like the way it worked and the app selection is horrendous.

 

[anon(7901790)]

I'm not a switcher . . yet. I'm going to try out the iPad Pro first. Windows phones do nothing for me. Don't like them at all. In fact I bought a Lumia 1520 about 3 weeks ago and installed the latest Win 10 build for it via Insider Fast ring. Honestly I didn't see much difference from Win 8.1. Only took me an hour of playing with it for me to know I didn't like the way it worked and the app selection is horrendous.

Yes, the app selection can by a bit problematic. I have the Icon and an M9, and even though the M9 needs a reboot at least once a day, it's got the apps I actually use on a daily basis. My Icon doesn't have all of them...even with Windows 10 Mobile.

I will say this, I LOVE my SP3. It's the i5 128GB and it's been my work horse. It goes wherever I go. You will not be disappointed if you get an SP3.

 

[macguy59]

Anyone know how well the i3 version runs Windows 10 ?

 

[zei20t]

my sp3 i3 runs perfectly fine. i use it every day at work and it keeps up with what i need to do.

my sp3 i7 on the other hand is fantastic. as above and better. the down side? the i3 battery can last me a day at work and a little when i get home. the i7 can only manage maybe 6 hours.

 

[Rutling]

Similar story for me. I have a MacBook Pro, iMac, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV ..... Until now:

First, it was the phone. Got sick and tired of Apple in its' rigid ways. iOS 7 and 8 were a cluster (haven't bothered with iOS 9). Every time a new OS came out it was the same story (and not just me, I get the same from others): install the new OS, then spend the next hour going through settings to *disable* all the new "features" that drag down performance and eat up battery life. Honestly, they should have stuck with iOS 6. Now, I have a new Nexus phone and I love it.

After that encouraging experience, I started to think about replacing our ancient iPad. At first I thought about an Android tablet, but then when the iPad Pro came out and I saw the TV ads for it, I thought, "That looks a lot like the Surface Tablet". Went to the store and started playing and I was impressed! Then Costco had a Surface Pro 3 package (with keyboard/pen) at a sale price I just couldn't refuse. I have to say this gets way more use than my MBP now. It's fast and very flexible. Having not used Windows since Vista, I'm very impressed with Windows 10.

 

[zei20t]

on behalf of every human in the world. im sorry you had to use windows vista. that an ME are two OSs that should never have been released.

 

[anon(7901790)]

Similar story for me. I have a MacBook Pro, iMac, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV ..... Until now:

First, it was the phone. Got sick and tired of Apple in its' rigid ways. iOS 7 and 8 were a cluster (haven't bothered with iOS 9). Every time a new OS came out it was the same story (and not just me, I get the same from others): install the new OS, then spend the next hour going through settings to *disable* all the new "features" that drag down performance and eat up battery life. Honestly, they should have stuck with iOS 6. Now, I have a new Nexus phone and I love it.

After that encouraging experience, I started to think about replacing our ancient iPad. At first I thought about an Android tablet, but then when the iPad Pro came out and I saw the TV ads for it, I thought, "That looks a lot like the Surface Tablet". Went to the store and started playing and I was impressed! Then Costco had a Surface Pro 3 package (with keyboard/pen) at a sale price I just couldn't refuse. I have to say this gets way more use than my MBP now. It's fast and very flexible. Having not used Windows since Vista, I'm very impressed with Windows 10.

I JUST switched to iPhone (6s Plus). I got tired of my M9 needing a constant reboot and extremely slow performance. After only a few months back on Android, I realized how much I had come to dislike it. Microsoft let me down by not enabling CDMA in the 950/950XL and Android is a hot mess...STILL.

The kicker is that my 6s Plus plays better with my SP3 than my M9 did. It just goes to show how much Apple and Microsoft do to make their respective products work together. So now I have a reliable phone AND a reliable tablet.

on behalf of every human in the world. im sorry you had to use windows vista. that an ME are two OSs that should never have been released.

Agreed! Both ME and Vista were boondoggles. You would have thought Microsoft would have learned after ME...but it didn't.

 

[Because Racecar]

I'm going to threadjack a little here, because this is a burning question I have right now. I'm considering an i3 128 for school, to take notes and such. I have a nice laptop, which will run all my engineering software, but I can't take notes on it easily (no pen) so I was considering the Surface 3, but right now the SP3 i3 128 can be had for the same price. Is it enough? Or do I need the i5 to avoid frustration for notes, and lighter versions of engineering software (e.g. running a little octave in class rather than full on MATLAB for homework)

 

[zei20t]

i have an SP3 i3 for general work - i dont need/use engineering software - but with windows 10 it keeps up with pretty much whatever work-related thing i throw at it.

 

[TexasLabRat]

I'm going to threadjack a little here, because this is a burning question I have right now. I'm considering an i3 128 for school, to take notes and such. I have a nice laptop, which will run all my engineering software, but I can't take notes on it easily (no pen) so I was considering the Surface 3, but right now the SP3 i3 128 can be had for the same price. Is it enough? Or do I need the i5 to avoid frustration for notes, and lighter versions of engineering software (e.g. running a little octave in class rather than full on MATLAB for homework)

I was basically in the same boat. Nice laptop, no pen, considering Surface 3. I picked up the i3 128 SP3 and have been using it for a week. Also got the SP4 touch cover (no fingerprint reader model) and the SP4 pen (no pen included with that SP3 SKU). Have to say I've been really impressed. It's not going to replace my desktop for running VM's, nor my laptop for on-the-go gaming...but other than that the SP3 is all the machine I need probably 90% of the time. Pen and OneNote work *great* for taking notes in meetings.

Biggest caveat of the SP3 versus the Surface 3 is that in tablet mode it is dimensionally bigger and significantly heavier to hold for long periods of time. Reading with it in portrait mode with the Kindle app is great as long as you are sitting in such a way that you can prop the device or your supporting arm on something. But small price to pay for the additional horsepower, better screen, and better keyboard IMHO. For the price, it's hard to go wrong.

 

[Because Racecar]

i have an SP3 i3 for general work - i dont need/use engineering software - but with windows 10 it keeps up with pretty much whatever work-related thing i throw at it.

Thanks!

 

[Because Racecar]

I was basically in the same boat. Nice laptop, no pen, considering Surface 3. I picked up the i3 128 SP3 and have been using it for a week. Also got the SP4 touch cover (no fingerprint reader model) and the SP4 pen (no pen included with that SP3 SKU). Have to say I've been really impressed. It's not going to replace my desktop for running VM's, nor my laptop for on-the-go gaming...but other than that the SP3 is all the machine I need probably 90% of the time. Pen and OneNote work *great* for taking notes in meetings.

Biggest caveat of the SP3 versus the Surface 3 is that in tablet mode it is dimensionally bigger and significantly heavier to hold for long periods of time. Reading with it in portrait mode with the Kindle app is great as long as you are sitting in such a way that you can prop the device or your supporting arm on something. But small price to pay for the additional horsepower, better screen, and better keyboard IMHO. For the price, it's hard to go wrong.

Yeah, I have a Nexus 9 for my tablet needs, so it's mostly a table (desk?) top thing for me.

Right now I can get the SP3 i3 128 for $499 at best buy. Almost too good a deal. that.

 

[ROBBIE HALL]

Sorry a little hijack. There is a surface 3 and a surface pro 3? Didn't know that? Any major differences? (Except weight).

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Because Racecar]

Sorry a little hijack. There is a surface 3 and a surface pro 3? Didn't know that? Any major differences? (Except weight).

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

Yeah, the Pro is a 12" version, and has a Core i processor. The Surface 3 is a smaller, 10.8" screen, lighter, comes with an Atom processor, and eMMC drive instead of an SSD. It's the smaller, slower, more portable version that's generally good for most everything that isn't heavy computation.