My wife would like a Microsoft Surface. There seems to be a few different options? What would you recommend for surfing the web and using it for a side business (travel agency). I don't think it would be doing anything intense. How well does the keyboard work?

I've had a few Surface products: a Surface 3, Surface Pro 3 and a Surface Book 2. They've all been great. The keyboards on the Surface Pros are surprisingly good - though there is, inevitably, some flex in them when typing. The Surface Book 2 may be the best laptop-type keyboard I've ever used.

Love my Surface Pro (5). It's my primary workstation at work. I even do development on it.

+1 Surface Pro

The first gen had a short batt life, but gen 2 -6 have been great. I currently own a gen 1, 4 and 6.

Surface Pro 3 here, had it several years and did all my grad school work on it. Been happy with it.

I have a surface (5). It's awesome. I've done some development on it. Watch movies, surf, etc. replaced a MacBook Pro and we all like this better.

I recently purchased a Surface Pro 6 and I like it so far. What app do you use for the handwritten note taking? Also, any tricks/tips using the pen?

txam92 said:

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I recently purchased a Surface Pro 6 and I like it so far. What app do you use for the handwritten note taking? Also, any tricks/tips using the pen?

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I use One Note extensively. I work with about 20 clients at any given time and One Note is my go to for anything I am going to keep and refer back to. At this point I have years worth of notes in there.

All I really use the pen for is One Note and I haven't had any issues with it in that app. Only real issue I have is that being left handed sometimes I trigger the section/page links that are on the left side of the screen in One Note 2019 when I put my hand down to write. Other than that I haven't had any issues at all.

LOYAL AG said:

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txam92 said:

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I recently purchased a Surface Pro 6 and I like it so far. What app do you use for the handwritten note taking? Also, any tricks/tips using the pen?

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I use One Note extensively. I work with about 20 clients at any given time and One Note is my go to for anything I am going to keep and refer back to. At this point I have years worth of notes in there.

All I really use the pen for is One Note and I haven't had any issues with it in that app. Only real issue I have is that being left handed sometimes I trigger the section/page links that are on the left side of the screen in One Note 2019 when I put my hand down to write. Other than that I haven't had any issues at all.

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Thanks! I'll check it out.

I have the 2, 4 & 6. Use it everyday for work. Unless you are doing a lot of graphics, get the I5 version. If you go to the top of the line, might as well get a surface book. It's a little annoying having to purchase the keyboard and pen as accessories.

I've been using the NEBO app for my notes. The store has a sale on it from time to time.

Hit quote instead of edit.

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I recently purchased a Surface Pro 6 and I like it so far. What app do you use for the handwritten note taking? Also, any tricks/tips using the pen?

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I like OneNote, except for the fact that it gives me trouble exporting my notes as a PDF file. For that, I've been using Scrble Ink and like it.

I had a 4GB/64GB Surface 3 (not Pro) and found it to be good for basic browsing tasks.
I can only imagine that the current Surface Go would be much more powerful with somewhat better CPU and 8GB RAM.
On the other hand if you can swing a Pro I would get it.

Base model should be fine. There's a MicroSD Slot for upgrading storage. I would use that for storing media and files.

I have a Surface Pro 3 that I liked but winded up going with a more traditional laptop when I replaced it this year. The Surface is a great device but it has some drawbacks.

First you need a table or flat surface to use it in laptop mode. The magnet connecting keyboard is too light and loose for you to use it in your lap, you need something to put it on. That said it works great and the laptop feels natural when you are using it as long as you have a flat surface to put it on.

Secondly the tablet functions are so-so at best. The device its great but its a laptop fist and tablet second. It's fine if you are searching the web but it really isn't a iPad replacement. The app support is not great, they finally have a facebook, twitter, and instragram app but that is about it and companies have all but given up on updating or creating apps for windows. A few apps like the SiriusXM are broken and the company knows about it and still isn't interested in fixing them.

Price wise you are paying a premium for the Surface. For the i7, 16 gig ram, 512 internal memory you are looking at $2,000 including the 100 dollars for the type cover which you absolutely need. I believe the surface pen is separate now so its an extra 70 if you want that. That price is what ultimately drove me to a HP Spectre x360 laptop for $1500 (i7, 16 gig ram, 512 internal memory) which includes a pen (although i never used mine for the surface anyway).

Surface is still a great device and I would recommend, just things to consider. I still use my Surface 3 Pro when I travel for business and it can do anything web based and with office well (it can no longer handle photoshop).

Yeah I love my surface pro but it's nearly impossible to use laptop style in bed. Which, on one hand, is kinda inconvenient, but on the other hand, has had the effect of making me less lazy, so........


in reality, I usually work on a table or other hard surface while using it in tablet mode in bed to watch Netflix or whatever.

I've had a SP3 and now on a SP4. Both have been blazing fast and have kept me satisfied. However I may not go the Surface Pro route for my next device due to the inability to use it as a true lap laptop.

Pros:
It connects immediately to anything I'm projecting to
Blazing fast
Light and thin

Cons
12.3 inch display still too big to be a tablet
As stated, tablet isn't that great
The MS apps are crap - the only one I use is SomaFM for streaming music, otherwise I use the Windows executable apps or web sites
Price for SSD (but that's not just a Surface issue)

Ideally a true laptop that's a bit smaller than a SP is more what I need but I still hope my SP4 lasts for a long while.

Is there a YouTube, Netflix, Hulu App, etc like an iPad? What about Microsoft Office?

easttexasaggie04 said:

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Is there a YouTube, Netflix, Hulu App, etc like an iPad? What about Microsoft Office?

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Yep you can download via the Microsoft store but seems like a waste when you can have them installed natively in Windows or view via the web. For Netflix you can download content offline so that is handy for trips.

easttexasaggie04 said:

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Is there a YouTube, Netflix, Hulu App, etc like an iPad? What about Microsoft Office?

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A Surface Pro should just be considered a PC. Anything you can do on a desktop, you can do on a Surface Pro.

Mine has 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD HD, and i7 processor. It is my primary workstation at work, and I can take it with me everywhere, even use Jabber to answer my office phone anywhere.

easttexasaggie04 said:

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Is there a YouTube, Netflix, Hulu App, etc like an iPad? What about Microsoft Office?

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There is Netflix, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Kindle, SlingTV, Watch ESPN, and Hulu, No YouTube. But that is about it. The thing is that with the apps they don't get updated much so most of the time i just go to the website instead. They also have some "apps" like iTunes, Amazon Music, and Spotify but they are really just the desktop app and aren't really designed with a tablet in mind.

As an IT guy/consultant, I have supported the Surface Pro 2 forward and the Surface Books and they're well-made products. I don't believe the Surface Books are necessarily worth what they cost, but they're a cool piece of hardware. I like the Surface Pros and do recommend them but I can also fill you in on some of the issues I have seen.

The primary reasons my wife liked the Surface Pro 3 was the size and the tablet/drawing aspects. The size fits very well in her bag without needing its own case and the machine is much sturdier than it looks, feeling very well made. She does a lot of on-screen drawing for her clients (bakery/cake design) and the screen digitizer, made by Wacom, is top notch. That company has forgotten more about tablet digitizers and active pens than any other manufacturer knows at this point.

These products are all trying to battle the Macbook/iPad users so they are working to emulate something like the retina display. My wife found that the default resolution was much finer than she really wanted. The typical HD screen at 1920x1080 is a pretty tight resolution on a 13.3" screen but at 2160x1440 on a 12" screen with her SP3, she had to increase the system's viewing scale for everything and has not always liked that because it can throw off some views and is, at times, a little blurry.

The two guys I supported that had Surface Book 2's had 13.5" screens that were using a resolution of 3000x2000 and had some of the same issues with an added problem. When using remote desktop sessions from the laptop, they were made to emulate the same resolution, making the remote machine interface even harder to see in smaller windows. I had some issues with power adapters for the Surface Books, as well, replacing 3 in a matter of 17 months or so.

My wife originally used the keyboard made for the Surface Pro 3 but had problems with the mouse eventually...I think because of the keyboard flex. We changed her out to the one made for the Surface Pro 4 and it feels like a much better product. Note that when people talk about how difficult it is to keep the alcantara material on the deluxe keyboards clean, they are speaking from experience. Looks and feels damn nice new but gathers dirty easily over time. As others have said, I find the SPs difficult to use on my lap when on the couch or in bed but my wife doesn't mind it. I think she's figured out how it works for her and I haven't used it enough to do the same.

If you aren't planning on separating the screen to use as a standalone tablet, I highly recommend looking at the Lenovo Yogas. You can get as much machine (or more) in a much more affordable package and they are very well made. The best thing I can say is that, as an IT guy of 25 years, it's what I spent my own money on and I have used the Yogas for 3 generations. You can fold the screen all the way over and still use them as a tablet but the keyboard is a hard keyboard that is permanently attached.

I would say that the lack of easy ability to work on these versus a standard laptop or 2-in-1 (which still isn't a cake walk) is a bit worrisome. I know there have been a couple of major issues with the Surface Pro 3 and 4 that have happened to a subset of owners, mostly screen or battery related, but all laptops have some manufacturing problems that pop up. As an example, Lenovo has had a black screen problem occur for many that I've never seen in supporting dozens of the Yogas.

Anyone have a surface go? I love my sp4 but it's still is too big when traveling.