My first day with the Surface Pro 3

[cipher7]

Well, it looks like I was one of the lucky few who received the SP3 a day early. I posted some thoughts in the Shipping Early thread, but thought I'd a few more after using it for the day.

First, here's what I reported earlier today from my first impressions:

Previously, I was using a Surface Pro 2 which I recently sold. While I liked that device, the weight and screen size were two negatives for me. The SP3 completely takes away those concerns for me. The screen size is incredible and I love the weight and thinness of this device in my hands. I've heard some reviews mention that the screen is too big for tablet users, but I disagree completely. I'm 6'2" so maybe that skews my opinion, but this works so well in tablet mode that I think I can finally convince my wife to sell her iPad and laptop and move over to a SP3 device. I could even go a bit bigger and still be ok (SP4?).

A couple of things I noticed that may be of interest to others...

There are no Windows Updates yet besides a Windows 8.1 update. Any firmware or other related SP3 updates that have been rumored, I assume will either be released tomorrow or at some point soon afterwards.

I had an issue pairing my Surface Pen during the initial setup. I then tried pairing it from within Windows Settings and it only worked when I turned off my nearby laptop which also has Bluetooth enabled.

The first thing I can add is there were actually 27 Windows updates available when I checked tonight, including a new Firmware update (as reported by Paul Thurott and others). Many of these were Windows Updates from last month so I'm not sure why only the one update was found this morning. The firmware update took around ten minutes so don't worry if you think it's taking too long.

So far, this is what I love about this device:

-Thinness - you'll really notice this if you are coming from a previous Surface Pro product
-Weight - It's incredible that this product is lighter than a SP2 with an even bigger screen
-Screen - speaking of the screen, as a programmer it's so nice to be able to fire up Visual Studio and see so much more code compared with the earlier products. For those with great eyesight, you can drop the scaling down and see even more text in your applications of choice.
-Kickstand - Since the SP1, I never understand why it didn't offer an "infinite" position kickstand. This one is amazing and is very easy to use, which was something I was worried about.
-Pen - Although I'll use this mainly for OneNote entries and as a quick mouse like replacement, I've found it to be very accurate. It's weight makes it feel more like a real pen and for my needs it's very accurate and responsive. I'm looking forward to even more responsiveness and new features that were hinted at in Gabe's recent article at Penny Arcade.
-Keyboard - I didn't have much experience with the SP2 keyboard, but this one works great for me. I've tried both positions and love the flexibility it offers depending on where/how I'm using the keyboard. The track pad is great and is better than my Asus laptop.
-Battery Life - I've used it on and off all day and it's down to around fifteen percent right now. I know it's anecdotal, but I can tell this has lasted longer than my SP2 ever did.
Power Cord - It is easier to use and it's also longer than the one on the SP2 which is a nice bonus as I always found that one too short for my needs.

A few questions/issues which I should mention:

-I've noticed that I can't set power management to High Performance as only Balanced is offered. Not sure what's going on here.
-I also noticed in the Windows Desktop System applet, that my processor is being reported as 1.9Ghz and 2.5Ghz. I believe the second number represents the upper limit of the CPU (ie Turbo), but this CPU is rated up to 2.9Ghz. Maybe there is an issue with the System applet? Hopefully, someone can clear this up for me.
-I've been listening to music using the Foobar application on the Windows desktop and for some reason my SP3 goes to sleep when the 10 minute mark is reached (this is my current power setting). The application is running and my headset is plugged in so I'm not sure why the unit is going to sleep.

I'm sure I'll have more pros/cons to add as the days progress, but it's clear to me that Microsoft have a winner here. I'm very happy with this product and can't wait to read the impressions of others.

 

[berty6294]

Very jealous! I'm glad you are enjoying your Surface Pro 3 and am excited to hear more about it! Keep us posted on your experience! ;D

 

[cdf3]

How is the browser speed in comparison to the Pro 2?
I have the Pro 2, and I'm a little disappointed in the speed time it takes to load web pages.
I did a test between it in several computers I have. My MacBook Pro i5 model loaded faster every time.
My Pro 2 also loaded pages slower than my ASUS X200CA 1.5 GHz Intel Celeron 1007U.
All 2 devices were running the Chrome browser.

 

[fancy0479]

What's the default scaling percentage?
I'm coming from a 15.6 laptop (1366x768). What percentage should I set?
Thanks.

 

[Racing Snake]

Great to read the early positive reviews only 2 months to wait here in the UK

I've noticed that I can't set power management to High Performance as only Balanced is offered. Not sure what's going on here.

This is a registry entry- so once you've hit that stage where you are happy to tweak, you can invoke new power schemes using the registry.... there is a script (which I either saw on here or on xda) which will load in a new power scheme.

ETA:

To change the preferred power plan, follow these steps: 1.Click Start

Start button , type regedit in the Start Search box, and then click regedit.exe in the Programs list.



User Account Control permission If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
2.Locate and then click the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\ControlPanel\NameSpace\{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D}

3.Right-click PreferredPlan, and then click Modify.
4.In the Value data box, enter one of the following: ◦Type 381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e to use the Balanced plan.
◦Type a1841308-3541-4fab-bc81-f71556f20b4a to use the Power saver plan.
◦Type 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c to use the High performance plan.
You can also type the power scheme GUID for a custom power plan that you have created. To determine the GUID for all existing power schemes, type Powercfg /List at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.
5.Click OK, and then exit Registry Editor.
Note The specified power scheme in the PreferredPlan registry value cannot be explicitly shown in any UI. Regardless of this registry setting, the "(Recommended)" suffix is always added to the Balanced plan on the Power Options page.

 

[SypherX]

Is anyone else having issue with the pen? I love it but I can't get the copy feature to work when I double click the pen. When you double click its supposed to copy the screen image into one note nut when indo that it does nothing. If I click it once it opens one note nut doesn't capture my screen image. Is there something I'm forgetting to do?

 

[cipher7]

cdf3, browser speed loads fast for me.

fancy0479, I believe the default scaling is 150%. I can't say what percentage you should set it to as this is personal preference.

racing snake, thanks for the registry info. I'll check this out when I get some time.

sypherx, when I double click onenote opens and the "Acetate layer" is ready to paste into the app. Just in case, have you tried different double click speeds?

 

[SypherX]

sypherx, when I double click onenote opens and the "Acetate layer" is ready to paste into the app. Just in case, have you tried different double click speeds?

That's not happening for me. The only settings I see in control panel affect the clicking of the pen to the screen not the pen itself. I click it once and one note opens up...double click and nothing. Where are the settings for the pen "clicker"

 

[SypherX]

I just realized that I didn't install all of the updates including the firmware update. It's installing now. Maybe that will fix it

 

[SypherX]

Yup..it was the problem. it's updated and now working how it should

 

[jhoff80]

Balanced is only available because it's a Connected Standby device. You should be able to create a new plan if you want though... it just might not have all the settings you're used to.

 

[jedge]

The first thing I can add is there were actually 27 Windows updates available when I checked tonight, including a new Firmware update (as reported by Paul Thurott and others). Many of these were Windows Updates from last month so I'm not sure why only the one update was found this morning. The firmware update took around ten minutes so don't worry if you think it's taking too long.

Same thing here. The first time in Windows Update there is only one, but if you run Windows Update a second time you get the firmware update + 27 other updates. Great info, thanks.

 

[rdubmu]

Is anyone else having issue with the pen? I love it but I can't get the copy feature to work when I double click the pen. When you double click its supposed to copy the screen image into one note nut when indo that it does nothing. If I click it once it opens one note nut doesn't capture my screen image. Is there something I'm forgetting to do?

off subject: Crazy Eyes, love your avatar!