Should I just wait for the surface pro 4

[photobriangray]

I'm out shopping with my girl and we see the surface 2 and she's impressed with it. I tell her there's a new version and it runs the full version of windows and i show it to her. She thinks it's the perfect device for her since she's going back to school within a year. We planned to look at laptop options to replace her old one. her old laptop functions fine, it's just old lol. I want her to have a surface but the issue I'm having is tiers and pricing. She would prefer to have more than 64gb for the hard drive but an i5 or i7 is super overkill for what she needs. I can throw in an SSD and windows 8 on her current laptop and wait for the surface pro 4 or should we just get the surface pro 3 anyway?

So going back on topic, is there anything she does with a computer that requires "full windows"? RT has office, email, browsing, apps for fun/social stuff, etc. Is there any software she actually needs that isn't covered by an app? My wife has been RT only since the first Surface came out. She really has no idea what that means, but she can open work docs, read pdfs, check email and surf the web and hasn't had a single virus or spyware issue while her work computer has been replaced twice due to a hardware failure followed by a nasty virus sent in by a compromised vendor's email.

You can output to a larger monitor, pair Bluetooth mice and keyboards. Basically, RT is everything a computer is for most people. So if she likes the Surface 2, get her one. Best part, you won't have significant other IT support issues.

 

[photobriangray]

Drive we've completely gotten off subject of my op. Can someone confirm for me that the WP and windows rt app store are different? I was under the impression I could run apps between windows phone and rt but I'm hearing that may not be true at all.

They are different, though MS is working on unifying dev tools.

 

[hopmedic]

I love how the people who complain about a lack of apps in the Windows Store choose to completely ignore the fact that this PC can run literally MILLIONS of applications created for Windows over the past decades.

 

[Blacklac]

I love how the people who complain about a lack of apps in the Windows Store choose to completely ignore the fact that this PC can run literally MILLIONS of applications created for Windows over the past decades.
View attachment 69276

There are some Apps you just can't use without an App. A large # of social media networks are like that, actually.

 

[hopmedic]

Do you believe that all apps are nothing more than front-ends to websites? :shocked:

In most cases, that is exactly what they are. With most ANY cross-platform service, all the app is is a user interface to the service. They could often just as easily be made into a website.

 

[hopmedic]

Drive we've completely gotten off subject of my op. Can someone confirm for me that the WP and windows rt app store are different? I was under the impression I could run apps between windows phone and rt but I'm hearing that may not be true at all.

Currently this is not true at all. Microsoft has made great strides toward unification, though, and with WP8.1 they come close. They now support a "Universal App" which will allow developers to create apps that will run on both platforms with mostly just UI differences between the two. They now also support in the store the ability to buy an app on one platform and use the other platform's equivalent app without repurchasing it. Both of these are dependent upon developers, and will take time before implementation becomes commonplace, though. I look forward to the day when you can build a WinRT app and that app will run in the phone without any changes. I believe that day is coming, and I believe it is sooner than many think. Perhaps with the next iteration of Windows Phone that comes after 8.1? Only Microsoft knows that for sure, though.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

In most cases, that is exactly what they are. With most ANY cross-platform service, all the app is is a user interface to the service. They could often just as easily be made into a website.

How are you defining "most cases"? And what about those who don't fit into that category? Are their needs "less valid"?

how would the following apps that I regularly use be "just as easily made into a website":

Boss Jock Studio - Podcast recording/editing/production
GarageBand - (soundtrack creation)
WriteRoom/Notesy - markdown editor w/tags (with optional support for DropBox)
3D Camera - camera software that takes 3D images
VLC media player - multi-format video player
MoodAgent - music player that utilizes mood tags to create custom playlists
Project Planner HD - Project management software
ScreenChomp - Interactive whiteboard/presentation recorder

I use many more, but I think you get the point.

Virtually all of the content creation tools that I use on my iPad work with data local to the device, there's no cloud involved, no network connectivity required. These apps have no Modern UI equivalent/alternative.

Using the MILLIONS of legacy Windows apps on a tablet is a stop-gap compromise. It is not preferable, and defeats the purpose/benefits of having a tablet in the first place.

Look, I know that there are some who are nothing but trolls who look for every angle to paint the Surface in a poor light. There are others, like myself, who want to see the Surface succeed in meeting more than the bare-minimum basic needs, who are wrestling with the genuine lack of apps.

This pervasive and persistent, "apps are nothing more than websites" mindset is causing me (and perhaps others) to conclude that if a person wants to use a tablet as a tablet for content creation, that they must look to the iPad rather than the Surface.

 

[hopmedic]

How are you defining "most cases"? And what about those who don't fit into that category? Are their needs "less valid"?

Boss Jock Studio - Podcast recording/editing/production
GarageBand - (soundtrack creation)
WriteRoom/Notesy - markdown editor w/tags (with optional support for DropBox)
3D Camera - camera software that takes 3D images
how would the following apps that I regularly use be "just as easily made into a website":

VLC media player - multi-format video player
MoodAgent - music player that utilizes mood tags to create custom playlists
Project Planner HD - Project management software
ScreenChomp - Interactive whiteboard/presentation recorder

I use many more, but I think you get the point.

Virtually all of the content creation tools that I use on my iPad work with data local to the device, there's no cloud involved, no network connectivity required. These apps have no Modern UI equivalent/alternative.

Using the MILLIONS of legacy Windows apps on a tablet is a stop-gap compromise. It is not preferable, and defeats the purpose/benefits of having a tablet in the first place.

Look, I know that there are some who are nothing but trolls who look for every angle to paint the Surface in a poor light. There are others, like myself, who want to see the Surface succeed in meeting more than the bare-minimum basic needs, who are wrestling with the genuine lack of apps.

This pervasive and persistent, "apps are nothing more than websites" mindset is causing me (and perhaps others) to conclude that if a person wants to use a tablet as a tablet for content creation, that they must look to the iPad rather than the Surface.

I see where you're coming from, and you're probably right. I was looking at the social networks aspect, which seems to be where most of the whining comes from. You make a valid points, though I would disagree that the desktop applications are stop-gap or a compromise. This PC - it is a PC - is far more powerful than just being a tablet, and limiting it to Metro apps would be a huge waste of money. Myself, I use the desktop more than the metro apps on my SP2.

 

[badMojo69]

Tablet optimized apps and traditional desk top aps are not equal.
So if you're using this as mostly a tablet then it's an issue, but as a laptop replacement its a non issue.

 

[Jas00555]

Tablet optimized apps and traditional desk top aps are not equal.
So if you're using this as mostly a tablet then it's an issue, but as a laptop replacement its a non issue.

Well, then I guess its a good thing that Microsoft has never defined this thing as "the tablet that can replace your laptop". I mean, that would make too much sense and it would give a purpose to desktop apps too. Wonder they they didn't think of that?

/s

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

So going back on topic, is there anything she does with a computer that requires "full windows"? RT has office, email, browsing, apps for fun/social stuff, etc. Is there any software she actually needs that isn't covered by an app? My wife has been RT only since the first Surface came out. She really has no idea what that means, but she can open work docs, read pdfs, check email and surf the web and hasn't had a single virus or spyware issue while her work computer has been replaced twice due to a hardware failure followed by a nasty virus sent in by a compromised vendor's email.

You can output to a larger monitor, pair Bluetooth mice and keyboards. Basically, RT is everything a computer is for most people. So if she likes the Surface 2, get her one. Best part, you won't have significant other IT support issues.

The issue comes with her being an iPhone user. She needs something that runs iTunes. #applesWayOfchaining

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

So does rt have more apps than windows phone?

 

[badMojo69]

So does rt have more apps than windows phone?

No

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

No

Well that makes even less desirable as an alternative.

 

[vlad0]

Very soon everything that is on WP will run on Windows x86/RT

Also, don't forger that on Windows you have a fully functional web browser that renders a lot of those apps pointless..

There are some Apps you just can't use without an App. A large # of social media networks are like that, actually.

I just realized that the only way to access instagram on a traditional desktop is with Windows 8 .. there are a few apps that work. Either that or you can run an android emulator and just have it all I guess..

Windows is a very powerful platform overall, I wouldn't switch to anything else

 

[mozman68]

Very soon everything that is on WP will run on Windows x86/RT

Also, don't forger that on Windows you have a fully functional web browser that renders a lot of those apps pointless..



I just realized that the only way to access instagram on a traditional desktop is with Windows 8 .. there are a few apps that work. Either that or you can run an android emulator and just have it all I guess..

Windows is a very powerful platform overall, I wouldn't switch to anything else

But as WillysJeepMan has pointed out multiple times, there are apps that truely are optimized as apps and much better than their web counterpart (if there even is one). My local bank is the perfect example. Yes, the website will let me do 100 more things with my accounts, but 99% of the time, I just go into the app on my iPad to transfer money, pay billers, make photo deposits, etc. Much faster and easier.

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

Thanks everyone. We've decided against the surface. It's just not for her. Maybe a future version will work. The price isn't the worst but it just doesn't add up for us to pay for processor she'd never take advantage of just to get more disk drive space. I'll just update her laptop and maybe we will get an rt device. The Lumia 2520 seems like a winner.

 

[Vitaly Tomilov]

If you wait for the SP4, you may as well wait for the SP5... Point is, there will always be a new device with better specs.

Get the best device for your girlfriend; that sounds like her current laptop with an SSD.

To put it otherwise, get SP3 for your current girlfriend and save SP4 for your next one

 

[coip]

Now that this thread is months older, where do you stand on the 'wait or buy' debate for Surface Pro 3? I bought a Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro in November 2013 and greatly regret it (the design is superb but the hardware is atrocious and Lenovo Support is rude and unhelpful--so I'll never buy another Lenovo product ever again). I kind of just want to cut my losses and move on: sell it for a loss on ebay or whatever and get a Surface Pro. The problem is that the Surface Pro 3 is now more than 1/4 a year old, so I'm wondering when you all think the Surface Pro 4 will be released and if it will be worth it to hang on to my Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro a bit longer (it's under warranty for a few more weeks).

 

[Adam_ation]

Get the SP3 for sure, you'll need to hang onto the Yoga for many many more months until the SP4 is released. Besides when (if) the SP4 is released why not just wait for the SP5? - Adam