Microsoft surface pro 2 review

Microsoft surface pro 2 review

SUMMARY about   Microsoft surface pro 2

 Intel 4th Generation Core i511 Inch High-definition widescreen 10-point multitouch screen with ClearType technology (1920 x 1080) 
128GB Storage Capacity, 4GB Memory
1 x USB 3.0, Mini Display Port Output, Touchscreen, Headphone Jack, MicroSDXC card reader, Windows 8.1 Pro

The tablet portion itself works great in pretty much every regard, has decent battery life, and is well designed (Outside of the pen dock being the power connection as well).

The accessories are less spectacular though. The keys get stuck on the type keyboard, and the mouse is uncomfortable to use for long periods (Just plan to get a bluetooth mouse). The docking station is hard to find. Customer service from the Microsoft store is less than stellar at times as well.

PROS  of Microsoft surface pro 2

  It runs very smoothly even when doing more complicated things like excel spreadsheets with heavy duty calculations.

Microsoft surface pro 2 screen looks great and doesn't have any crazy discoloration issues like the Yoga 2 and Samsung ultrabooks. The 1080p screen is just fine for the size as well.

  Windows 8.1 is significantly better than 8.0. Changing device settings is noticeably easier, the included mail/calendar type apps are much better now, and the general flow of its usage feels good to me. Although, I'm sure this is a matter of taste.

 The pen works really well for the most part. My wife owns a galaxy note 8" as well, and the Surface's pen feels better in your hands and has a built in eraser. There are some issues, but I'll talk about them in the cons. Touch input is smooth as well.

Microsoft surface pro 2   really well made. I've used a ton of laptops and none of them have felt this sturdy. Sure, some of the talk about how everything sounds like a luxury car is fairly ridiculous, but not a single thing feels flimsy or easily breakable like the 8" note or something.

 I know that others have commented on the weight, but this is really a matter of interpretation. I still use my ipad if I need to travel really light and need a longer battery life, but if I need something for any sort of productivity work then the Surface has definitely become my go to system. In this sense I expect it to be a bit heftier because it does so much more. I found that flipping out the stand while you hold it makes it much easier to hold as well.

 You aren't going to get 12 hours of battery life out of this, but you will get 6-7 if you use it like I do. I'm very happy with that.

CONS of Microsoft surface pro 2

 The keyboard is terrible. After only a week the keys have started sticking on me, and more than a few times I have found myself hitting multiple keys to figure out which it is. Even stranger is that sometimes it will just stop responding at all until you find the stuck key.

Also, the touch mouse is just a pain to use. It will randomly stop doing two finger scrolling, but if you barely touch the thing it will start randomly clicking things. This gets annoying when you are using the pen or something and suddenly it jumps to another program. If I use it a lot it rubs my finger raw as well since it isn't smooth. I ended up buying an arc mouse.
The worst is that there is no keyboard support at all when trying to get into safe mode. A work program I installed crashed Windows, and when I got to the screen where you choose what type of safe mode you wanted to enter I couldn't choose a number. That was with a usb keyboard and the surface one.

  The pen should have it's own dock. End of story. It is ridiculous that it uses the same spot as the power cord connector. So, anytime your computer is plugged in you need to find a place to store the pen if you aren't using it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that this results in losing/misplacing the pen eventually.

Also, Microsoft surface pro 2 doesn't always do a good job of turning off touch input when you use the pen. This get's pretty annoying at times when you are writing something and suddenly the pen stops working. Then when you lift your hand your palm drew something.

 I want the docking station for work, but it is impossible to find unless you want to spend $300+ on ebay. I would be okay with waiting, but Microsoft's policy on the dock is ridiculous. I called my local store to ask if they had any, and they will not tell you if they have them in stock or not. You have to drive to the store to find out if they have them at all. I was told that they do this because they cannot guarantee that it will be there because it sells out so quickly, but if your system says you have zero docks then there is absolutely no reason to make me waste my time driving there. I drove to the store and found out that they hadn't had them for over a week. Terrible customer service.

HOW I USE  Microsoft surface pro 2

 Web design (Coding using Sublime Text mostly. I haven't tried photoshop or anything on it.)
 General computer use (Web, e-mail, twitter, etc.)
 Taking notes for my night class (Onenote is amazing on windows with pen input and a rear camera. The surface does not disappoint).

 Microsoft surface pro 2 photo