Is it too big to be used as a tablet? Has it replaced iPad or Android for you?

[1iam5mith]

Do you think the soze of this makes it too big to use as a day to day tablet? Like sitting around surfing the web? Obviously will be great to use in laptop mode (kickstand and keyboard), but is it really a viable tablet option at that size?

Has it replaced any of your iPad or Android tablets?

 

[Zachary Boddy]

I'm assuming you're talking about the Surface. Well yes. The Surface is thin and light, and although big you get great power and an amazing screen.

 

[1iam5mith]

I'm assuming you're talking about the Surface.

Yep, hence being in the SP3 subforum...

Well yes. The Surface is thin and light, and although big you get great power and an amazing screen.

Im just worried it might be too big to use as a tablet.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

Yep, hence being in the SP3 subforum...
Im just worried it might be too big to use as a tablet.

Over long periods of times holding it up is uncomfortable but it's extremely easy to use by propping it up in your lap or stomach, and using the kick stand is a breeze. It makes a great tablet.

 

[Felix Bank]

The thing you gotta remember is that the Surface Pro is a proper computer that you do real work on.

The bonus is that it's tablet shaped...

 

[1iam5mith]

Yeah I know, I loved it when I owned an atom windows 8.1 tablet, so this would be a huge leap forward.

But I could buy a Surface 2 and Xbox One for the same price... Hmm...

 

[tweedie]

I would say that the sp3 is more towards of a computer then a tablet. its really great and light to hold, and powerful, but after certain time, you end up being uncomfortable to hold especially the on the corners. Best on lap/belly/desk.

 

[ZorMi]

I would be happy with 14" screen in the same resolution, the objects are so tiny. That would probably add 200g more but still easy to carry whole day, even while hiking the mountains (I did).

 

[Guzzler3]

My SP3 has replaced just about every thing in my house, except for my Phone, and my SurfaceRT. The only reason I keep the SurfaceRT around is for surfing "questionable" websites and such, because it isn't susceptible to malware, viruses.

For me, it is the perfect size for a tablet, and the weight... It weights about the same as my SurfaceRT when you hold them in each hand. I'm using the pen a lot more instead of the trackpad on the keyboard, and for handwriting recognition (once I trained it to know my handwriting).

P.S.
I know some are going to ask, "How did you train it for your handwriting?"
Control Panel, Language, (your installed language) Options, "Personalize handwriting recognition"
Then you have a choice of "Target specific recognition errors" or "Teach the recognizer your handwriting style". Do the "Teach..." first, it's 50 sentence's you have write out, submit to MS when done, then "Target..." again submit to MS when done.

The only problem I kept running into, was the program would loose focus when I shifted my hand around. You just need to tap on the program (not in the writing area) and then start writing again. I found moving the program to the bottom of the screen helped minimize loosing focus.

 

[raqball]

The SP3 has easily replaced both my MacBook Pro retina and my Note Pro 12.2 tablet..

I do not find its size a hindrance when using it as a tablet. 90% of my use is as a tablet and its awesome!

 

[anon(66956)]

Here's the thing about the SP3 as a tablet that makes it better than any other tablet regardless of size: the fully adjustable kickstand. I never hold the SP3 when I am using it as a tablet. It is always propped up on a desk or on my lap. In this respect, it beats even the smallest and lightest tablets.

 

[LCGrzy]

I use mine almost exclusively as a tablet. Great for reading, watching movies, or browsing. However, most of the time I have it on the desk or my lap.

I will say this, it looks huge for a tablet, but three months later, I'm still amazed by how thin and light it is. It's really only mildly awkward to hold for long periods of time.

 

[Coreldan]

I don't think it's too big for tablet use, especially when the kickstand makes it very easy to prop up against something. In addition though I use mine for some public speaking scenarios where I can't really prop it up against anywhere and it feels good there too. It's really great in portrait mode.

 

[strollin]

Since I got my SP3 my Nexus 7 Android tablet pretty much just sits there collecting dust. If there's something I need/want to do that's only available on Android I use my phone.

 

[nuprotocol]

I use mine almost exclusively as a tablet. Great for reading, watching movies, or browsing. However, most of the time I have it on the desk or my lap.

I will say this, it looks huge for a tablet, but three months later, I'm still amazed by how thin and light it is. It's really only mildly awkward to hold for long periods of time.

Same. I use mine 90% of the time as a tablet as well. I actually sold my Thinkpad 8 and Lenovo U430 because this doubled as both. The kickstand is the secret to using mostly as a tablet only.

 

[zombiedave44]

im getting the. i7 version, overkill for me but it will replace my tablet with the benefit of being able to act as a pc if i need it. also the ability to play football manager not the watered down ios or android version. sad i know.

 

[TLRtheory]

Definitely not too big to use as a tablet. It's counter balanced by the fact that it is so light.

When I see all the Apple jaded review sites try to say it's too large or heavy, I recall to their frame of mind that the first gen iPad was actually an entire half a pound heavier than the Surface Pro 3 and it was mostly regarded as a tablet that was easily able to be held.

 

[SeeVuPlay]

I use it 100% as a hybrid

 

[1iam5mith]

Well I have bought the i3 version, but have not opened it yet, I am not thinking if I should open it or return it... hmm...


I went for the i3 version because it is the only variant a local store could get. Plus I have my powerful i7 mac, so anything that needs that much more power, I'll use my mac for

 

[MBytes]

Well I have bought the i3 version, but have not opened it yet, I am not thinking if I should open it or return it... hmm...


I went for the i3 version because it is the only variant a local store could get. Plus I have my powerful i7 mac, so anything that needs that much more power, I'll use my mac for

Correction: You'll use your Mac running Windows, so that you can get OneNote to sync between your devices, and OneDrive integration, and have your Windows settings shared between the 2 systems
Windows 9 preview (early beta, still in development) will be announced Sept 30th, with access to download it for free, the same day or a few days later. It is expected to be released in end of 2015. Once install Windows 9 preview if you do frequent backups, and tech enthusiasts and you know how to trouble shoot, and install non-compatible drivers (Win8 drivers in Win 9, by-passing any OS version check from the setup), and don't mind being a environment where it can potentially crash, buggy, unpolished, and potentially re-install Windows at any time. Of course those are mostly precautions, as Microsoft does a pretty good job in their beta versions, especially that Win9 is based on Win8 (which is based on Win7 and that is based on Vista), but still: beta is beta.

I mentioning Windows 9 so that you know that if you buy Windows 8 NOW, you know that next year Win9 will be released, so that you have the surprise.