Deciding between a SP3 or a Retina MacBook.

[SeeVuPlay]

Same. Do you expect to hear anything different in a WP enthusiast forum?

In this very thread, there are some recommending Apple, so.......

 

[cooldudefred14]

Because you already own a tablet and are even talking about buying a smaller one I think your best bet is the MBP.

 

[maflynn]

As far as a desktop computer, windows fits my needs because of gaming. And if I do school work at home office 365 could be good.

As far as laptop, maybe MacBook? I don't know if I even need a lato

To be honest based on your stated usage, the MacBook Pro would work very well, but the SP3 seems to be a better fit. Windows, does Office better and more games are available. All in all, I'd say bite the bullet and pre-order the bad boy

 

[RavenSword]

To be honest based on your stated usage, the MacBook Pro would work very well, but the SP3 seems to be a better fit. Windows, does Office better and more games are available. All in all, I'd say bite the bullet and pre-order the bad boy

Well, honestly this isn't something I'm doing for a while probably . I don't have the money to get it yet. I'm trying to just atleast get a picture what I want to get or a direction to head towards.

Out of curiosity what makes you think the SP 3 might be a better fit for me?

 

[Loco5150]

I never owned an Apple product, but the choises here would make me choose the MacBook hands down. I have Suface RT, which is a great tablet, but seriously it could never replace my laptop simpy because writing with the Type Cover 2 is not the same as with a real computer.

 

[jojoe42]

I have a mate who has a MBP 13" with Retina and we actually had a discussion about this the other day - it depends on which sacrifices you want to make (there are some either way) - the Mac will play very nicely along with all your other devices, and as far as I'm concerned the MBP with Retina has a slightly better integrated graphics chip and a faster processor. I have the Pro 2 however, call me bias (I don't mind), and IMO it works 90% as well as an equivalent laptop, with the main gripes being the kickstand and smaller display (both fixed in the SP3) - with Office 2013/365 and OneNote this thing rocks for note-taking as the pen input is fantastic, and after a few weeks I got up to my regular typing speed on my desktop with the Type Cover 2. It's also pretty darn powerful for a tablet that is thinner and lighter than most other ultrabooks. However you might find the 13" display in the MBP much more comfortable, it'll be more familiar too in terms of UI and it's just a little bit faster than the Surface in terms of "laptop" usage however note-taking is a bit of a cripple for it - my friend has to awkwardly draw in Physics diagrams using his trackpad and then drag it into Pages, whereas I have the pen and can just draw it into OneNote. The Mac will most probably be better for gaming, but heck I play SimCity, War Thunder and TF2 on my Pro 2 and it copes well at native resolution with respectable settings.

I think the two things people have mixed feelings about is Windows 8.1 itself and the Type Cover. Arguably the Surface range is the best device to showcase/use it on. Best bet is to try one out first if you can - however, if you don't mind learning Windows 8.1, we both agreed that it can be more productive once you get around the 'confusing' nature of the OS

 

[maflynn]

Well, honestly this isn't something I'm doing for a while probably . I don't have the money to get it yet. I'm trying to just atleast get a picture what I want to get or a direction to head towards.

If you're not ready to buy, then perhaps this discussion is a bit premature. What I mean by this is - when you are ready to buy, the landscape could have changed sufficiently to warrant this discussion moot. For instance, Apple releases a Broadwell based MBP in late 2014 - well then that might be better or you're ready to buy in 2015 and MS releases the SP4 with a ton of new features.

With technology changing so fast, you may be better off making your buying decision closer to the time you'll be buying it.

 

[nasellok]

I was going to recommend the SP3, because I have already decided to get one myself to replace my 7 year old Dell, but the more I look at your useage scenarios the more I think you already have most of what you need.

It strikes me that for work, the iPad 4 has all the capability you want, all you have to do is add a decent Bluetooth keyboard, One note and an Office 365 subscription. Voila! You have a neat little solution which will allow you to take freehand notes and type more formal documents when needed. You can then spend the money on a horizon-expanding trip somewhere exotic.

Have you ever tried to take notes with an ipad.....capacitive screen is the worst, and the Bluetooth pens are laggy, and not natural feeling. If note taking is something you plan to do, then I think you should go to the store and try out the SP3. Its going to be a beast of a tabtop.

 

[Kyle Baker2]

I just sold my 15" retina for a surface pro 3. I am also a college student. They're both good devices. Office is much nicer on Windows, and parallels never played nice with windows for me with the retina resolutions. That was a big factor in my decision. I think Windows 8.1 might have corrected some of the high-dpi settings though (i'm sure someone on here knows, I just never tried 8.1). I also have some engineering software that just doesn't run well in parallels. So it was an easy decision for me.

 

[unstoppablekem]

Mostly all of us here will say go for the SP3, as this is a Microsoft site, but tbh, the retina MacBook is very nice as well. My brother has the new 13 inch one, and he likes it.

 

[cdf3]

You mentioned you will be taking notes, as well as doing a lot of typing. If you want the ability to take handwritten notes, as well as being able to type them, then I would suggest the SP3. If your note taking consists primarily typing, then I would suggest the MacBook. I have a MacBook Pro and Surface Pro 2. I like both devices, and use both daily. For those times when I have to do a lot of typing, I still prefer the keyboard on the MacBook. The key travel makes a huge difference for me when typing for extended periods. I would suggest going to the store and typing on both to see which one best suits your typing style.

 

[RavenSword]

If you're not ready to buy, then perhaps this discussion is a bit premature. What I mean by this is - when you are ready to buy, the landscape could have changed sufficiently to warrant this discussion moot. For instance, Apple releases a Broadwell based MBP in late 2014 - well then that might be better or you're ready to buy in 2015 and MS releases the SP4 with a ton of new features.

With technology changing so fast, you may be better off making your buying decision closer to the time you'll be buying it.

that's true. honestly, I have a tendency to put the cart before the horse sometimes.

 

[RavenSword]

Even if I go with the MacBook, I think I'd still like to use office 365, onedrive , and etc. I'll have to see how good those are in Apple hardware .

 

[maflynn]

Even if I go with the MacBook, I think I'd still like to use office 365, onedrive , and etc. I'll have to see how good those are in Apple hardware .

Office for the mac is not as feature rich as windows and I found it to be visually more unappealing to use (for some reason the spreadsheets and documents need to be zoomed in by 150% to make them readable and the performance is lack luster.

While MS is going to be releasing a new version of office for the mac later this year, they typically do not bring it up to par with the windows version, it still lacks features.

Personally, I avoid Office for the Mac like the plague, its not something I think that will motivate you to use the Mac platform. Just my $.02.

 

[RavenSword]

Office for the mac is not as feature rich as windows and I found it to be visually more unappealing to use (for some reason the spreadsheets and documents need to be zoomed in by 150% to make them readable and the performance is lack luster.

While MS is going to be releasing a new version of office for the mac later this year, they typically do not bring it up to par with the windows version, it still lacks features.

Personally, I avoid Office for the Mac like the plague, its not something I think that will motivate you to use the Mac platform. Just my $.02.

I see. That interesting about the zooming thing.

In that case I'm unsure what productivity suite I'd use in MAC. My issue with pages is that I hear word document support is kinda wonky with it.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I see. That interesting about the zooming thing.

In that case I'm unsure what productivity suite I'd use in MAC. My issue with pages is that I hear word document support is kinda wonky with it.

It's very subjective. I have Office 365 and use it on my iMac, iPad, Lenovo ultrabook-wannabe, and Asus netbook. My wife uses it on her MBP and iPad. At $67 for the year subscription, it's a decent deal. (In addition to the MS Office that comes with my Surface 2)

We have no problems using MS Office on our Macs. The greatest "complaint" that I have is that it looks and feels like a Windows app (circa 2009) than an OSX app. It far exceeds the capabilities of the latest (free) iWork suite.

Before that, when we were all-Apple, we used iWork 09. That was a great productivity suite... and we still use it for those things that we need to send out to get printed.

We tried the LibreOffice/NeoOffice approach for a while. Not bad, and certainly couldn't complain for the price, but document exchange with MS Office was still not 100%.

Having said that, I'm looking forward to the Office for Mac update.

 

[RavenSword]

It's very subjective. I have Office 365 and use it on my iMac, iPad, Lenovo ultrabook-wannabe, and Asus netbook. My wife uses it on her MBP and iPad. At $67 for the year subscription, it's a decent deal. (In addition to the MS Office that comes with my Surface 2)

We have no problems using MS Office on our Macs. The greatest "complaint" that I have is that it looks and feels like a Windows app (circa 2009) than an OSX app. It far exceeds the capabilities of the latest (free) iWork suite.

Before that, when we were all-Apple, we used iWork 09. That was a great productivity suite... and we still use it for those things that we need to send out to get printed.

We tried the LibreOffice/NeoOffice approach for a while. Not bad, and certainly couldn't complain for the price, but document exchange with MS Office was still not 100%.

Having said that, I'm looking forward to the Office for Mac update.

Are you mostly all windows now? What made you change from all Apple?

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Are you mostly all windows now? What made you change from all Apple?

I'm still in transition. My Apple TV has been replaced by a Roku 3. My now-dead Macbook Pro has been replaced by an iMac (I see it as my final OSX-based computer) and Lenovo notebook. My iPad 4 is still my primary tablet. My iPhone 4 (on StraightTalk) continues to go strong.

As to why the change, it's a long story, but in a nutshell, I was originally drawn to Apple products because of the quality of the ownership experience. I'm a software developer and systems architect and the last thing I want to do is another shift of IT work at home. In the Jobs-era Apple, the scope of their products were well defined, and worked extremely well within that scope. High quality (not the same as leading edge) hardware, high quality software. In the post-Jobs-era Apple, that attention to detail and quality has suffered. Apple appears to be coasting on their track record and on the mass of their consumer base rather than continue to reach for that high standard. The result: quality is on the decline, but pricing is stable or in cases rising.

The final straw was Apple's denial by silence of a widespread issue with late-2011 Macbook Pros overheating causing GPU failures due to a manufacturing defect.

On the flipside, the competition has improved. Windows 8.1 (as an operating system) is better than XP, Vista, and Win 7. Hardware makers are able to improve quality without raising prices. I am quite pleasantly surprised at the performance and quality of my 11.6" Asus X200MA netbook.

That's one of the reasons why I'm not so starry-eyed about all-things-Microsoft... I have a personal agenda, I want a high quality option as I continue my exodus from Cupertino. :smile:

 

[RavenSword]

So I went to a best buy today and saw that they had a surface pro 3 demo unit up and decided to use it a bit to see how I like it.

This is honestly a quality made piece of tech. The kickstand felt great, the type cover was pretty great from what I used, the trackpad is miles better than previous versions, and the whole unit just fells very well built and solid. This might be considered blasphemy here, but it felt like something built by Apple from a build quality standpoint.

Using it, it was snappy and fast. Screen was great, and the unit was pretty light and thin.

As a laptop, it seemed like it performed pretty well as that and I could see myself using it for a laptop, however using it like a tablet was a bit of a chore. I should state that I really couldn't get a proper sense of picking it up and using it as a tablet because the unit was on a cord attached to the table, had a security alarm on it, and I couldn't detach the keyboard, but from I could gauge I still think it would be too big to use as a tablet and that it may be heavy enough to be a uncomfortable as a tablet. even though I think the unit is rather light for a laptop, as a tablet it's a fair bit too heavy.

And that's where my concern came from with the product. If i don't enjoy using it too much as a tablet and enjoy it mostly as a laptop, why wouldnt I just get a cheaper laptop and keep my iPad? The unit they had for demo was the 799 dollar i3 model, which wouldn't be the one I'd get I think. I'd go for the 256gb i5 model and that costs 1500 dollars.

So that was my take. Good laptop, meh tablet.

 

[photobriangray]

I should state that I really couldn't get a proper sense of picking it up and using it as a tablet because the unit was on a cord attached to the table, had a security alarm on it, and I couldn't detach the keyboard, but from I could gauge I still think it would be too big to use as a tablet and that it may be heavy enough to be a uncomfortable as a tablet. even though I think the unit is rather light for a laptop, as a tablet it's a fair bit too heavy.

Do you have a Microsoft store nearby? They have them just roaming the store, untethered and free like their are on tech safari. When you detach the keyboard, you are shocked by the weight or lack of it. It is so balanced that I could not detect the extra quarter of a pound when holding the Surface 2. The security tether will ruin that sensation, for sure. It feels very natural in portrait for browsing and note taking.

Best Buy really should have an untethered unit for reps to bust out and show off how light it feels and how well it handles; they would sell a lot more of them.