Here's the official place to put all your first impressions of the SP3.
I'm sitting here installing Office 365 Home Premium, Visual Studio 2013 Professional, and RSAT on my SP3 as I type this. Yes, it's doing all three, and therefore the keyboard response is a bit sluggish now and then, but then I do know I'm pushing it. My first impressions:
This thing is LIGHT!
This thing is THIN!
This thing is BEAUTIFUL!
I wish the keyboard was a bit shorter, more the size of the originals, to fit better on my little lap table, but I understand that it can't because it wouldn't cover the screen. I'll live with that. I'm not convinced that it needed to have the magnetic attachment to the front of the screen, as I like my keyboard flat. I've had severe tendonitis in both hands in the past, and therefore I never use the little kickstands on the back edges of keyboards, I buy keyboards based on how light a touch it takes to press the keys, and try to be as ergonomic as I can within my budget. Tilting the keyboard up is the opposite of good ergonomics, but most people believe otherwise. Anyway, it does help to shorten the keyboard a touch, thus helping my SP3 to fit on my lap table.
I haven't used the pen yet, so can't comment on that. The screen size is BEAUTIFUL. Sitting in my easy-chair with my SP2, I was always hunched over, as I need to get my eyes checked, but doing so would be an admission that I'm getting old. I had LASIK about six years ago, but the eyes have faded in vision quality. With the SP3, on default magnification (whatever that is - I haven't looked yet), I can see even the small print on this page. Nice. I like the size, but due to the increased resolution, the touch targets for my quick-launch bar with small icons is a bit smaller than on the SP2, I think.
The speakers are on the front - little slits at the upper left and right edges of the screen. Good move, Microsoft. I didn't care for the placement on the prior Surface models.
The power cord definitely plugs in easier. I didn't care for the SP2 power attachment.
Microsoft needs to come up with a better way to hold the pen than a stick-on loop stuck to the fuzzy side of the keyboard. They need to engineer a pen receptacle into the chassis itself.
Touchpad - haven't used it much, but even that little bit tells me that it is orders of magnitude better than the TypeCover 2 touchpad. THANK YOU, MICROSOFT!
Kickstand - Nice. All that needs to be said.
Lapability - No, I don't think so. My femurs are too short for that to work well. If my legs are up on the footstool, the kickstand goes right below my knees, if I put it in the most comfortable position. I could make it fit on my thighs, but would not be able to type comfortably.
Overall, I'm VERY satisfied with the SP3 improvements over the SP2, and I look forward to using it at least until the SP4 launches, at which time I am certain that my wife will sooner shoot me than let me go to a computer store.
I'm sitting here installing Office 365 Home Premium, Visual Studio 2013 Professional, and RSAT on my SP3 as I type this. Yes, it's doing all three, and therefore the keyboard response is a bit sluggish now and then, but then I do know I'm pushing it. My first impressions:
This thing is LIGHT!
This thing is THIN!
This thing is BEAUTIFUL!
I wish the keyboard was a bit shorter, more the size of the originals, to fit better on my little lap table, but I understand that it can't because it wouldn't cover the screen. I'll live with that. I'm not convinced that it needed to have the magnetic attachment to the front of the screen, as I like my keyboard flat. I've had severe tendonitis in both hands in the past, and therefore I never use the little kickstands on the back edges of keyboards, I buy keyboards based on how light a touch it takes to press the keys, and try to be as ergonomic as I can within my budget. Tilting the keyboard up is the opposite of good ergonomics, but most people believe otherwise. Anyway, it does help to shorten the keyboard a touch, thus helping my SP3 to fit on my lap table.
I haven't used the pen yet, so can't comment on that. The screen size is BEAUTIFUL. Sitting in my easy-chair with my SP2, I was always hunched over, as I need to get my eyes checked, but doing so would be an admission that I'm getting old. I had LASIK about six years ago, but the eyes have faded in vision quality. With the SP3, on default magnification (whatever that is - I haven't looked yet), I can see even the small print on this page. Nice. I like the size, but due to the increased resolution, the touch targets for my quick-launch bar with small icons is a bit smaller than on the SP2, I think.
The speakers are on the front - little slits at the upper left and right edges of the screen. Good move, Microsoft. I didn't care for the placement on the prior Surface models.
The power cord definitely plugs in easier. I didn't care for the SP2 power attachment.
Microsoft needs to come up with a better way to hold the pen than a stick-on loop stuck to the fuzzy side of the keyboard. They need to engineer a pen receptacle into the chassis itself.
Touchpad - haven't used it much, but even that little bit tells me that it is orders of magnitude better than the TypeCover 2 touchpad. THANK YOU, MICROSOFT!
Kickstand - Nice. All that needs to be said.
Lapability - No, I don't think so. My femurs are too short for that to work well. If my legs are up on the footstool, the kickstand goes right below my knees, if I put it in the most comfortable position. I could make it fit on my thighs, but would not be able to type comfortably.
Overall, I'm VERY satisfied with the SP3 improvements over the SP2, and I look forward to using it at least until the SP4 launches, at which time I am certain that my wife will sooner shoot me than let me go to a computer store.