What are the advantages compared to a laptop?

[RavenSword]

So, I'm pretty interested in the surface. Lei was already rather intrigued by the surface pro 2, as I was looking for a laptop to take to school and get access to word, one note, and also windows programs. And I could maybe find use for it as a tablet as we'll.

However, I'm wondering if I would perhaps be better served by a similarly or even cheaper priced laptop. Wether that be a Acer S7, MacBook Pro, or whatever.

What advantages would the surface pro 3 have over those or other options?

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Given the continued lack of touch-optimized apps for Windows 8, the only benefit to the Surface Pro 3 over a comparable netbook is weight. If you don't mind more weight, or don't need the pen support, then a $250 Asus X200MA from Best Buy would probably serve just as well for many.

Having said that, it certainly seems that the Surface Pro 3 is a unique device and worthy of consideration if your budget is in the $1000-$1500 price range.

 

[ytrewq]

First, similar specs on the laptops you mention will not be cheaper. The Acer S7 you mention comes in a model that has an i5, 8GB RAM, and 128GB hard drive, and it's $1299. For the same money, you can get the SP3 with the same processor, same RAM, and double the hard drive space. You will have to pay extra for the keyboard, so maybe that cancels out the fact that the SP3 has twice the hard drive capacity. But for similar specs, you're getting a similar price.

The difference is in the pen and the form factor. Whether the pen matters to you is a personal choice, but having one is certainly better than not having one. The form factor is a clear choice -- with the Acer, you get a clamshell keyboard which is going to be more comfortable on your lap. With the SP3, you get a significantly lighter device (even including the keyboard) and an extra couple hours of battery life if Microsoft's 9-hour claim is credible.

Most people do not actually use the laptop in their lap much, at least not in a formal seated position. If you are one of the few who spend much time using it that way, then the clamshell will be more comfortable than a kickstand. For most of us, the laptop's primary use is as a portable device that we carry in a bag or backpack to a desk/table in a classroom, meeting, or hotel room. For that use, clamshell has no advantage over kickstand. However, having a device that is lighter and thinner (i.e., takes up less space in your bag) can be a major advantage.

I'm one of the many that use the laptop on the lap only rarely (and when I do, it's in my La-Z-Boy with my legs stretched out, so the kickstand works just as well in that position) and that does have to lug it around to meetings and travelling. The SP3 is a no-brainer for my use. I pre-ordered one last night. YMMV.

 

[RavenSword]

First, similar specs on the laptops you mention will not be cheaper. The Acer S7 you mention comes in a model that has an i5, 8GB RAM, and 128GB hard drive, and it's $1299. For the same money, you can get the SP3 with the same processor, same RAM, and double the hard drive space. You will have to pay extra for the keyboard, so maybe that cancels out the fact that the SP3 has twice the hard drive capacity. But for similar specs, you're getting a similar price.

The difference is in the pen and the form factor. Whether the pen matters to you is a personal choice, but having one is certainly better than not having one. The form factor is a clear choice -- with the Acer, you get a clamshell keyboard which is going to be more comfortable on your lap. With the SP3, you get a significantly lighter device (even including the keyboard) and an extra couple hours of battery life if Microsoft's 9-hour claim is credible.

Most people do not actually use the laptop in their lap much, at least not in a formal seated position. If you are one of the few who spend much time using it that way, then the clamshell will be more comfortable than a kickstand. For most of us, the laptop's primary use is as a portable device that we carry in a bag or backpack to a desk/table in a classroom, meeting, or hotel room. For that use, clamshell has no advantage over kickstand. However, having a device that is lighter and thinner (i.e., takes up less space in your bag) can be a major advantage.

I'm one of the many that use the laptop on the lap only rarely (and when I do, it's in my La-Z-Boy with my legs stretched out, so the kickstand works just as well in that position) and that does have to lug it around to meetings and travelling. The SP3 is a no-brainer for my use. I pre-ordered one last night. YMMV.

Well, I've never owned a laptop, so I'm not too sure what my use pattern would be. What I imagine is is be using it in class in a desk, coffee shops on a table, around the house (again, on a coffee table or something) and things like that. So I don't see the surfaces keyboard being a deter ant because of "lap -ability"

I'm mainly wondering if the value proposition is worth it. Because the configuration I want would be the i5 8gb ram 256 storage model. And that's 1300 bucks.

I see myself using this more as a laptop mainly because I think itll be too bulky to use as a tablet.

 

[onlysublime]

my coworker has the Acer S7. really sexy machine.

but it's definitely slower than the SP2, let alone the SP3 which is slightly faster than the SP2. Remember, the i5 in the Acer is the 4200U whereas it's the 4300U in the SP2 and SP3. The main advantage of the Acer S7 over the SP2 is that the weight is more evenly spread over a wider area so it almost feels lighter than the SP2 even though it is heavier than the SP2. Now, the SP3 is even lighter.

The S7 has a 13.3" screen. It has a surprisingly stiff hinge so you don't get as much wobble as many laptop screens when you're touching the screen (use a cheap touchscreen laptop and it'll drive you crazy how much the screen wobbles when you tap it).

Now, price doesn't really favor the S7 at all. Besides the sexy form factor of the S7 and the broader distribution of weight, the last thing I liked about the S7 was the huge number of ports.

I see people quoting some cheap pricing for the S7 like from Amazon. But if you look more closely, those are for older generation S7 machines. Heck, people were talking $900 for an S7 but that's for the old Ivy Bridge. If you look at current gen S7 machines, the prices are comparable.

If we?re talking i7, the last generation Acer Aspire S7 was $1400 and this came with a 1920x1080 13.3? screen. the current generation Acer Aspire s7 is $1650 but comes with a 2560 x 1440 13.3? screen.

If we?re talking i5, the current generation Acer Aspire S7 had a 2560x1440 13.3? screen and was $1250 (128 GB SSD) to $1399 (256 GB SSD).

So for the Surface Pro 3 (screen resolution is 2160x1440 and size is 12?), the pricing for the i5 is $1130 (128 GB SSD) to $1430 (256 GB SSD). These are prices with the keyboard.
The pricing for i7 is $1670 for 256 GB SSD and even more expensive for the 512 GB SSD.

I can't fault the S7 really. But neither can I fault the SP2/SP3. Both are just different but equally great. Battery life doesn't really favor the S7 like I thought it would.

But the S7 is a laptop. There are times a laptop is inconvenient. Try using a laptop standing up. It sucks. Try using a laptop in confined spaces. It sucks. Sometimes I wish I could flip the keyboard to the back like with other convertibles like the Yoga or better yet, just whip it off in a second like the Surface (or flipping it back like the Surface).

And the S7 doesn't have a pen.

 

[maflynn]

Here's my take

Form factor - the Tablet form factor is an advantage in so far as you can use it like a traditional laptop, i.e., keyboard, mouse (or touchpad) or you can use like a tablet. Lack of touch based apps may limit this somewhat.

Weight - lighter is better, just look at apple and its zest to for thinner and lighter devices.

If you need something with a dGPU or more ports or upgradeable components then a laptop would be a better choice.

For me, I'm rocking with a retina MBP and its difficult for me to justify the SP3 even though its a really great machine - SOOOOO Tempted.

 

[RavenSword]

I've been using apple products do long part if me feels weird thinking if getting a MS product that isn't a Desktop . :/