Surface 3 Announced
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While I appreciate the Asus style keyboard/hinge, it kind of defeats the purpose of a table to be thin and light weight.
The keyboards available for the Surface are super thin (no extra battery in there) and light (again no extra battery), also, they can be folded to the back of the unit when you want to use it as a tablet instead of a laptop instead of having to remove it (and maybe lose it) like you do with the Asus.
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@Dashrender got it...no hinge...that is weird to me!
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@Dashrender said:
Touch pads is one place where people complain. To easy to bring up the charms bar (does anyone even use that now with 8.1 or especially since Update 1)?
I've managed to disable the charms bar in the mouse driver for the touchpad and made most people happy.
The above statement.
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Look in the driver for your touch pad. There are check boxes for different swipe functions assuming the manufacture put them in.
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@technobabble said:
@Dashrender got it...no hinge...that is weird to me!
This lack of a hinge is what kills the 'lapability' (I first heard this term from Paul Thurrott). Since you have to use the kickstand in laptop mode, you need a longer lap to support the kickstand..
If you're a desk/table/surface other than lap user.. you'll get along OK with this, actually in some respects, better. Paul pointed out in a review that because of the kickstand, the device does not vibrate the top of the screen like a laptop does if your in train or plane, but outside of this situation it really doesn't matter.
To me, the biggest advantage of the kickstand is that you don't need a cover to provide the same function, and assuming you buy the keyboard for it ($129+) you're device has a little bit of coverage from bumps, etc.
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Do people use their laptops much on their laps then? I use mine on my lap for watching videos and stuff, where I wouldn't use a Surface keyboard anyway (normally when I'm slouching on the sofa or on the bed) , but for serious typing work I always find a table to put it on. Apart from anything, my old laptops used to get too hot to be comfortable with long periods of lapwork.
Lapabilitiness is not an issue for me.
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I'd say 90% of my computer time at home is with my laptop on my lap. I did end up getting a lapdesk though because of the aforementioned heat problem.
Paul's take on the lapability is that of a journalist. I can definitely see those guys needing to be able to work from their laps often. But, the average Joe Schmoe or office worker or even IT pro, it's probably not a real issue. It's not like an IT pro is going to go to a meeting and keep the device on their lap.. they're going to put it on the table.
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Well I just schooled myself on the types of keyboards for Surface. Touch cover is a membrane covered keyboard, Type has individual keys like a normal keyboard,and Power Type adds a battery to the Type keyboard which would be my choice. This was very interesting...
to me...lol
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I've never quite figured out the Surface. It is a tablet that you don't really want to hold and it is a laptop that you really can't put in your lap. It needs a hard surface but a flat one so I imagine it being pretty useless in an airplane or in a car. Any situation where it works well, so would a laptop. Any situation where it works poorly, so would a laptop. Other than being "convertible" between two poor situations, it doesn't seem to have a good use case. It's like the worst of all worlds. A bad tablet and a pathetic laptop. Better to have one of each that is good at what it does.
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@StrongBad said:
Other than being "convertible" between two poor situations, it doesn't seem to have a good use case.
I haven't used it, but I would say the killer application is the pen. The ability to write notes and draw diagrams easily and accurately is a massive selling point. I flirted with using my Ipad for note-taking in meetings, but it was hopeless. I've gone paperless in pretty much all aspects of my life other than note-taking. I'd love to be able to finally ditch the stationary.
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@Dashrender said:
@technobabble said:
@Dashrender got it...no hinge...that is weird to me!
This lack of a hinge is what kills the 'lapability' (I first heard this term from Paul Thurrott). Since you have to use the kickstand in laptop mode, you need a longer lap to support the kickstand..
If you're a desk/table/surface other than lap user.. you'll get along OK with this, actually in some respects, better. Paul pointed out in a review that because of the kickstand, the device does not vibrate the top of the screen like a laptop does if your in train or plane, but outside of this situation it really doesn't matter.
To me, the biggest advantage of the kickstand is that you don't need a cover to provide the same function, and assuming you buy the keyboard for it ($129+) you're device has a little bit of coverage from bumps, etc.
That longer distance for the kickstand also means that it doesn't fit on airplane trays or train trays which are very short.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
Do people use their laptops much on their laps then? I use mine on my lap for watching videos and stuff, where I wouldn't use a Surface keyboard anyway (normally when I'm slouching on the sofa or on the bed) , but for serious typing work I always find a table to put it on. Apart from anything, my old laptops used to get too hot to be comfortable with long periods of lapwork.
Lapabilitiness is not an issue for me.
If I'm in a situation where a laptop is not needed I almost always switch to my desktops. I can only think of minor fringe uses cases for me where the stand option would suffice.
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@Dashrender said:
I'd say 90% of my computer time at home is with my laptop on my lap. I did end up getting a lapdesk though because of the aforementioned heat problem.
Paul's take on the lapability is that of a journalist. I can definitely see those guys needing to be able to work from their laps often. But, the average Joe Schmoe or office worker or even IT pro, it's probably not a real issue. It's not like an IT pro is going to go to a meeting and keep the device on their lap.. they're going to put it on the table.
Assuming it is a large office table and not highly space constrained.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
@StrongBad said:
Other than being "convertible" between two poor situations, it doesn't seem to have a good use case.
I haven't used it, but I would say the killer application is the pen. The ability to write notes and draw diagrams easily and accurately is a massive selling point. I flirted with using my Ipad for note-taking in meetings, but it was hopeless. I've gone paperless in pretty much all aspects of my life other than note-taking. I'd love to be able to finally ditch the stationary.
Did you try a stylus with the iPad?
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Yes. I have a Wacom Bamboo stylus. It's like writing with a child's wax crayon.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
Yes. I have a Wacom Bamboo stylus. It's like writing with a child's wax crayon.
Lol. Crayola should make styli.
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The surface works fine on an airplane tray table if you do not use the attached keyboard (which detaches super easy) and the stylus is NOTHING like using the style that is for the Ipads. This is a hard plastic fine point pen and even has an eraser on the end.
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@Minion-Queen have you tried that stylus with an iPad?
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If you remove the keyboard in order to make it work, I think that the point can rest. Lol
