Tablets What would you like to see in the next wave of Surfaces

[Michael Goff]

Pro and .... RT.

Yes, I know they stopped calling it the RT. Yes, we know the Pro is likely to get Broadwell. The RT is likely to get the newest Tegra. What are some of the things you'd like to see come out for both of them, though, hardware or software wise?

 

[MRU]

A more scratch resistant screen on the Pro model. My Pro 2 already got a hairline scratch from the wacom digitiser pen. bloody thing it's only over a month old.....

Oh and as lovely as metal casing is... it too is a bloody nightmare for scratches.


Seriously it's like the most 'delicate' €1000 tablet ever ...........

 

[Michael Goff]

A more scratch resistant screen on the Pro model. My Pro 2 already got a hairline scratch from the wacom digitiser pen. bloody thing it's only over a month old.....

Oh and as lovely as metal casing is... it too is a bloody nightmare for scratches.


Seriously it's like the most 'delicate' €1000 tablet ever ...........

I didn't know that about the scratches, it hasn't happened on my RT (of which I am glad). I do have to agree about the metal casing on my RT. My problem comes more from the paint easily being scratched off than normal metal scratches, though.

 

[MRU]

I didn't know that about the scratches, it hasn't happened on my RT (of which I am glad). I do have to agree about the metal casing on my RT. My problem comes more from the paint easily being scratched off than normal metal scratches, though.

Yeah the pro edition really should have had better scratch resistance especially if one of its main selling points over the RT is the surface pen.

As soon as I noticed I went and got some matte screen protectors - so they will protect the screen and stop a lot of the reflectiveness on them - it also gives the screen a more texture like feel for when drawing and illustrating making it feel like your doodling on canvas.

I do like my Surface 2 though, it's great on the desk next to my mac pro setup as I can work away on the mac pro and have the surface there for quick email checking and listening to music and being touch screen it means I don't have to move my cursor off my main screen on the main mac pro - whereas when I used two screens - moving to next screen even on my cintiq was an exercise in pain.

So yeah, I now use my Mac Pro with a 27" Ultrasharp Dell monitor and an Intuous 5 Wide tablet , and my Surface Pro 2 for when I want to draw on my lap - replacing my previous Cintiq 13HD - and the cost of the Intuous 5 & Surface Pro 2 was still a lot of €€€ cheaper than a Cintiq 13HD Companion that I considered...

 

[Michael Goff]

Oh, forgot to list some of the things that I want:

-Better speakers
-Better screen (not resolution. I mean brightness and color saturation)
-x64 Windows RT
-4GB of RAM in the RT
-64GB minimim on RT, 128GB on Pro. No price increase.
-Nearly same size and weight: I'm tired of thinner and having "nearly the same battery life". I want everything to get more efficient, and I want more battery life.

 

[ChazUK]

Is an Atom based option an OK thing for the wish list?

 

[MRU]

Oh, forgot to list some of the things that I want:

-Better speakers

What are the speakers like on the RT?

I'm blown away by the ones on my Pro 2. Seriously they are much louder and crisper / clearer & defined than my MacBookAir 2012.



The other thing I want....

Pro model needs better HI-DPI support. Try running corel painter X3 or sketchbook Pro or even Photoshop CC at 150% or 200% GUI scaling and you can not do it because the menus items (on screen brushes etc) can not scale properly.

In order to get all brushes and onscreen stuff looking sharp you need to drop it down to 100-125% scaling and then at that scale the menu toolbars are just WAY WAY WAY too small to press accurately with touch input.

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Is an Atom based option an OK thing for the wish list?

No....

 

[apolloa]

hmm tricky one, because the design is spot on I think, maybe a thinner bezel? Think they will struggle to reduce the thickness due to the hardware they pack.
But I definitely think they need to make them a LOT more repairable, ifixit gave them 1 or zero.
Maybe a colour option for the Pro, same colour as the RT? I would also say X86 support for the RT, even though it's impossible as it runs a Tegra chip, perhaps they could switch to the Atom chip for the RT, but then it would run slower possibly and have worst graphics performance. The new RT with the Tegra 4 seems to fly along.

 

[Dontazemebro]

Hey, how would you guys compare the Pro 2 to the Vaio Tap 11? I desperately want the full Windows slate but I don't want to break the bank on the Pro 2 pricing. With that said, if it's not even close and the Pro 2 is worth it, I have no problem shelling out good money for it.

 

[Michael Goff]

What are the speakers like on the RT?

I'm blown away by the ones on my Pro 2. Seriously they are much louder and crisper / clearer & defined than my MacBookAir 2012.



The other thing I want....

Pro model needs better HI-DPI support. Try running corel painter X3 or sketchbook Pro or even Photoshop CC at 150% or 200% GUI scaling and you can not do it because the menus items (on screen brushes etc) can not scale properly.

In order to get all brushes and onscreen stuff looking sharp you need to drop it down to 100-125% scaling and then at that scale the menu toolbars are just WAY WAY WAY too small to press accurately with touch input.

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No....

Not loud enough for my tastes. They've fixed the random crackles, at least. Also, whenever they work to make it louder they always end with extra 'noise'.

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Is an Atom based option an OK thing for the wish list?

I guess?

I really hope they don't make an atom version, though.

 

[InuNacho]

A budget Surface "Pro" running Windows 8 with Bay Trail or whatever the latest Atom is.

 

[Michael Goff]

A budget Surface "Pro" running Windows 8 with Bay Trail or whatever the latest Atom is.

So you don't want a pro product?

 

[Altis]

I'd just like to have an intel based chip and full windows on the Surface 3 (non pro). Thinner and lighter would also be nice.

I'm stuck between the 2 and the Pro 2. It'd be hard for me to choose between them. The Surface 2 can do a lot more than I thought it could.

 

[Michael Goff]

I'd just like to have an intel based chip and full windows on the Surface 3 (non pro). Thinner and lighter would also be nice.

I'm stuck between the 2 and the Pro 2. It'd be hard for me to choose between them. The Surface 2 can do a lot more than I thought it could.

The funny thing is that ARM is strong enough at this point to where it can outmuscle some atom chips. The problem is you'd have to reconfigure it to work on ARM.

 

[Surface2Owner]

For the Surface 2, my only two improvements would be:

(1) Wacom support; and
(2) better battery life.

The battery life is sufficient, but I always want more.

Wacom support may be a reach, but that would make the Surface by far the best work tablet for me. I bring my current Surface 2 to meetings to type notes in OneNote or Word, but I just sometimes want to use a pen including when I mark up my documents.

I could buy a Pro for the Wacom, but frankly, I don't really need one. I barely reach for my Thinkpad at home now as it is.

 

[Michael Goff]

For the Surface 2, my only two improvements would be:

(1) Wacom support; and
(2) better battery life.

The battery life is sufficient, but I always want more.

Wacom support may be a reach, but that would make the Surface by far the best work tablet for me. I bring my current Surface 2 to meetings to type notes in OneNote or Word, but I just sometimes want to use a pen including when I mark up my documents.

I could buy a Pro for the Wacom, but frankly, I don't really need one. I barely reach for my Thinkpad at home now as it is.

I hadn't thought of Wacom, that might be nice.

 

[Surface2Owner]

Oh, forgot to list some of the things that I want:

-Better speakers
-Better screen (not resolution. I mean brightness and color saturation)
-x64 Windows RT
-4GB of RAM in the RT
-64GB minimim on RT, 128GB on Pro. No price increase.
-Nearly same size and weight: I'm tired of thinner and having "nearly the same battery life". I want everything to get more efficient, and I want more battery life.

I concur on the storage size and the size and weight. I have a 32GB model, and I would be complaining about the storage but for the fact that I have a 64GB micro SD to store media.

The size and weight are fine. I would also rather have more battery life. However, I think MS can probably achieve a slightly lighter and longer lasting Surface regardless (just given improvements in technology). I certainly wouldn't complain. At the same time, it is getting absurd that people complain about the weight of 2-2.5lb. ultrabooks. Hit the gym people.

 

[MRU]

They won't add Wacom support - they need that extra to justify the double price and the pro moniker.

 

[Michael Goff]

They won't add Wacom support - they need that extra to justify the double price and the pro moniker.

The i5, 128gb SSD, and Windows Pro is enough to distinguish and cost more. Or do you think the i5, bigger storage options, fans, are all cheap enough to make it cost as low as the RT model?

 

[MRU]

The i5, 128gb SSD, and Windows Pro is enough to distinguish and cost more. Or do you think the i5, bigger storage options, fans, are all cheap enough to make it cost as low as the RT model?

It's a mixture of all of those. Just look at price of a note pro tablet that's near $800 with Wacom support but snapdragon/exynos arm chipset.

 

[Michael Goff]

It's a mixture of all of those. Just look at price of a note pro tablet that's near $800 with Wacom support but snapdragon/exynos arm chipset.

And I se that selling next to none.

That is overpriced.

 

[InuNacho]

So you don't want a pro product?

What is Pro outside of advertising jargon? I own a Mac Pro but I am by no means a professional, no I'd want a low end "Pro" running full blown Windows 8, not some gimped version with none of the applications I'd want to run.
Either it's the real thing or nothing at all.

 

[Michael Goff]

What is Pro outside of advertising jargon? I own a Mac Pro but I am by no means a professional, no I'd want a low end "Pro" running full blown Windows 8, not some gimped version with none of the applications I'd want to run.
Either it's the real thing or nothing at all.

In my opinion, the thing that makes a Surface Pro a Pro products is ... that is has the ability to run professional applications and run them well. It has horsepower, so to speak. If we have benchmarks showing that certain ARM chips can beat out atom, that's hardly a pro thing to me.

 

[spinedoc77]

Is an Atom based option an OK thing for the wish list?

That's my number one on the wish list and MS biggest mistake IMO. The Baytrail tablets are freakin awesome, I just wish they had the surface hardware to go along with them.

Number 2 on wishlist, get rid of the awful mess that is RT.

 

[Michael Goff]

That's my number one on the wish list and MS biggest mistake IMO. The Baytrail tablets are freakin awesome, I just wish they had the surface hardware to go along with them.

Number 2 on wishlist, get rid of the awful mess that is RT.

They're going to merge RT and WP in 2015, so one of your wishes kind of comes true.