I migrated to a Surface when the version 2 shipped. I replaced my desktop, tablet and to a large extent my phone with the one Surface device. Since then I have upgraded to a 3 and now 4 and each has gotten better. Today I truly use one device for 95% of everything I do with the other 5% being phone calls and mobile GPS navigation. The ability to run true applications and "app" versions is outstanding even if app support is not on par (yet) with iOS and Android. The tradeoff of having fewer "apps" is having access to essentially any Windows application and the ability to run complete VMs for essentially 100% application compatibility. I haven't found one piece of software that won't run on my Surface. My kids (college and high school) use Surface 3 for school work and my father-on-law uses the Surface book to run full blown AutoCAD as he is an architect. At my desk I use the dock to make my Surface a desktop replacement (it has that power) and it is one connection away from becoming a tablet form factor with the power of a true PC in your hand.
The best parts of the Surface are the pen/stylus and new camera in the 4. I now can login using my face rather than a password or PIN. This is huge when using the Surface as a tablet in meetings as it is exceptionally fast to logon and keeps your device secure. The "ink" technology with the pen is amazing. I use OneNote religiously and have increase communication and collaboration with others by the ability to digitally markup documents, pictures and diagrams. It is all very natural. Is it perfect? No, but it is getting very close and updates are coming very quickly. Microsoft has done a great job of listening to the customer and quickly implementing upgrades/fixes through Office 365 support and Windows Update. Microsoft has also launched customer feedback sites that let you see what is important to the community and how the feature requests are being prioritized.
I also will put in a plug for Cortana. She is an overlooked feature that can change your PC experience. Cortana is Siri done well, plus she is smarter. She can not only do the standard Siri tasks of calling, setting appointments and so forth but you can launch applications, set contextual reminders and much more.
Durability is great. I travel a lot and my Surface goes with me. The case is very study magnesium and the screen is gorilla glass. My company (construction) uses these in the field and have never physically destroyed one. We, on the other hand, have killed many iPads.
As a long time Surface customer I can highly recommend these devices. I would offer the following purchase advice:
1. Buy as much processor (at least i5, i7 if possible) and RAM (at least 8GB) as possible as the devices are not upgradeable in that way. I would go for less storage and more CPU/RAM (see item 2)
2. Storage is secondary in my opinion. There is a microSD slot that will take at least 256GB cards. I use OneDrive that is cached locally on my SD card and have never run out of storage (and I have a lot of files).
Given the price difference this is not a “apples to apples” comparison to an iPad. But then again neither is performance or functionality. An iPad cannot replace a Macbook. A Surface really truly can replace your PC.
As a last note, I do not work for Microsoft. I am an IT professional with 25 years’ experience. I do admit to having a tendency to like Microsoft products, especially now that the Windows ecosystem is cross platform from my Surface to Xbox and everything in between. I do use an iPhone as I have yet to find a Windows Phone that I like on a carrier I prefer (more a carrier issue). I think that the new Windows 10 phones with the Continuum technology/dock will change that. I will whole heartedly stand behind my endorsement of the Surface platform. I have had outstanding feedback from my customers on their experiences as well.
| Standing screen display size | 12.3 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 2736x1824 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 2736x1824 pixels |
| Processor | 3.4 GHz core_i7 |
| RAM | 16 GB |
| Hard Drive | 512 GB 512GB Solid State Drive |
| Wireless Type | 802.11abg |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 1 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 9 Hours |
