Did you return your Surface Pro 2? Why?

[snakebitten]

Lumia 1520 + SP2 + 22"Touchscreen + Toshiba port replicator + Keyboard & mouse =

My entire hardware arsenal for 24\7 "on the grid" (IT director) can fit in a lunch bag. It's incredibly liberating.

I could list some minor sniggles, I suppose. But I'm so enjoying how light my technology life has gotten. This stuff would be science fiction just a few years ago. (lugging around 17" HP laptops and trying to tether with Edge)

 

[chfhyh]

dude, did you f**king read the title (of the forum)... I was just going to reply to everyone in one post. sorry, couldn't help

I'm not sure I get the purpose of this thread. We all bash apple for making all devices the same just in different sizes (ipad is just a bigger iPhone, iPad mini is just a smaller iPad etc) but then we ask the same from Microsoft. The beauty of windows is that you get to chose the manufacturer so if you want/need a bigger tablet you have plenty of great choices. If you want a watch with windows 8 I'm sure you'll be able to get that too pretty soon. I doubt the surface line was/is meant to cover all the different types of devices each of us expects. The only way to end up with a wrong device for your needs is if you made a bad choice to start with.

 

[chfhyh]

thanks for participating! i guess everyone needs different things. glad you are enjoying your SP2. the goal of this thread is not bashing MS. As a Nokia fan and .NET developer, I really want MS to live...


one thing i'd like to point out again is that the SP2 is meant to be a 2 in 1 device, for which it failed miserably. It is almost useless without a docking station to do real work.


for people who likes to brag about how much power they have in their tablets, I think SP2 is a great buy. For me, I'd rather spend 1k and get something that works without spending that extra 1k to make it "perfect".


for people who claim it runs cool, I will automatically assume you are either lying or baby it too much and not really using it. what worries me about the heat is that the case conducts heat so well, the entire case gets hot at times, including the portion that holds the battery.

cheers

 

[1jaxstate1]

You asked a question, you got answers from people who actually use SP2s, then called them liars? Sheesh.

It's a great 2 in one solution, for me anyway. No one system works for everyone. I've yet to dock my SP2, and don't plan on it. I may by a USB hub, thanks it. Spend your money on what you want.

My SP2 runs cool, unless I'm playing real games. It heats up, but not to the point where you couldn't hold it. But I'm gaming, so holding it isn't in the plans.

thanks for participating! i guess everyone needs different things. glad you are enjoying your SP2. the goal of this thread is not bashing MS. As a Nokia fan and .NET developer, I really want MS to live...


one thing i'd like to point out again is that the SP2 is meant to be a 2 in 1 device, for which it failed miserably. It is almost useless without a docking station to do real work.


for people who likes to brag about how much power they have in their tablets, I think SP2 is a great buy. For me, I'd rather spend 1k and get something that works without spending that extra 1k to make it "perfect".


for people who claim it runs cool, I will automatically assume you are either lying or baby it too much and not really using it. what worries me about the heat is that the case conducts heat so well, the entire case gets hot at times, including the portion that holds the battery.

cheers

 

[snakebitten]

Did you really ask what I think and then tell me what I said is hogwash?

I'm ok with that. Really. I'm 55 and have internet skin. But I regret taking the time to tell you my honest experience. Especially since you really didn't want to know it.

Fool me once.

 

[chfhyh]

you got me wrong. i think you are honest and for what you use it for, it makes a lot sense. i am getting my 1520 too.

and i did not call you out...

Did you really ask what I think and then tell me what I said is hogwash?

I'm ok with that. Really. I'm 55 and have internet skin. But I regret taking the time to tell you my honest experience. Especially since you really didn't want to know it.

Fool me once.

 

[chfhyh]

no, i did not call people liars... i said "either"

and yes, i agree with you, it gets hot. no, not that hot, not what i meant...

You asked a question, you got answers from people who actually use SP2s, then called them liars? Sheesh.

It's a great 2 in one solution, for me anyway. No one system works for everyone. I've yet to dock my SP2, and don't plan on it. I may by a USB hub, thanks it. Spend your money on what you want.

My SP2 runs cool, unless I'm playing real games. It heats up, but not to the point where you couldn't hold it. But I'm gaming, so holding it isn't in the plans.

 

[MBytes]

I have my Surface Pro 2, and I pushed a lot.
The device gets warm, not hot. Hot means you can't hold it, you can almost can cool an egg on it. Warm, means you feel the heat, but you can still operate the device.
Having the device warm is normal for a 2013 device. Our CPU still consumes a lot of power. A mobile processor, consumes only a few watts (~4-5w on average), this consumes a mighty 15W. That is the trade off. Seeing how the Surface Pro 1 is warmer device, and has no battery issue due to heat, I think the Surface Pro 2 is fine.
Maybe its at the edge of being OK with the heat. Maybe they use a battery more resilient of accelerating aging due to heat.

 

[Existence_Inc]

Having owned my SP2 for over a month now (most of it on the road), I can say that I am quite pleased with my purchase. BUT I can see why some people may not be. The Modern/Metro part of the device is perfectly suited to the touch/pen user interface. The "Desktop" is much better suited to the M/K interface. The device is absolutely a compromise. It is the very nature of the device. Win8 is attempting the first step into an all touch desktop OS (Modern/Metro) while retaining the legacy support (Desktop) that current users demand. That is why they sell keyboard attachments and mice as options. (I have a Type Cover 2 and Arc Surface Ed. Mouse.) I am a power user and gamer and I understood the limitations of the device. The device is not for everyone, nor is it marketed as such. It is great for College students and mobile professionals who need a compact, lightweight device and artists who like the high resolution display, legacy/x86 desktop applications and digitizer input. It makes for a pretty good mobile gaming PC as well if you can live with the hardware limitations (not much worse than the X360 or PS3).

My only gripe is the inconsistency of the UI scaling. Some programs are crisp while others are blurry and don't scale as well. It is hard to place blame for this issue. Part of it is MS for not enforcing some sort of UI scaling compatibility for desktop programs, part of it is on developers not realizing that resolutions are increasing rapidly and not supporting scaling on their own, and part of it is the support for legacy programs that were coded before these things were even an issue. Heck, 10 years ago, nobody in the mainstream would have imagined that touch interface computers would be mainstream devices (See iPad, Surface, Nexus 7/10, etc), so I doubt they were designing interfaces with that usage in mind. Adobe has very little excuse, but that is a different rant.

Expectations should always be tempered with a healthy dose of reality, or any device would be a disappointment. A bit of product research and a basic understanding of the hardware used would help to eliminate many of the gripes with the device. I'm not downplaying any issues that you may be facing. I have already had my share of driver issues (looking at you, Intel) with my SP2. I like mine and I'll be keeping it, but I wouldn't recommend it to many of my friends who only want a tablet or laptop experience. At least on the Windows side of things, we have a LOT of size, spec, feature options, so there should be a "right" product out there for everyone. I hope those who did return their SP2s find a better device for their needs.

~Ex

 

[MBytes]

Well I am returning my Surface Pro 2 256GB... I got a faulty one... waiting for the pre paid shipping label (for some reason it can apparently take up to 72h.. which is strange as with Dell it's instant). Once they have received it, they'll process a return payment. From there, I can order another one.... so I guess I'll get my Surface Pro 2 by mid or end Jan.

If I pass it through the warranty repair, I might get a refurbished one.. I didn't spend this much money to get a refurb, especially that it is only a day old.

Everyone on the phone told me to go to a Microsoft store... but it's a at best, 6h drive in one direction. I need to change province. Why there isn't a Microsoft store in the big city I am in, I don't know, probably has to do this with uber complicated laws and ludicrously high taxes (and we are still in crazy debt) of the province I am in (business tend to leave). But Apple has a strong foot here. Anyway... sucks...