Have you used the Microsoft Surface? What do you think of it?
I own two Microsoft Surface Tablets, the Surface 3, and the Surface Pro 3. I will soon be purchasing the Surface Pro 4 as well for a salesperson at our company to use to sell our Point of Sale software we resell for Mantra Software, New Zealand.
Find below the points to consider for each device. I am a paid IT consultant and do resell Microsoft Software, but not hardware.
I will confess I am a Windows fanboy, and have not had an Apple device since the IPhone 4s, or the Apple MacBook that was produced back in 2011, I think it was the first aluminium Unibody design and I was a big fan of the devices back then. But since I moved my whole eco-system including contacts, data, email accounts, email folders and whatever else from Apple to Google/Microsoft I will not be moving everything back in a hurry as it was TORTURE.
Microsoft Surface 3.
This was first reviewed in my blog here: http://madtech.com.au/2016/07/04/travelblog/
Basically what I said was that I primarily use this device as a tablet first. But entirely I use it as a laptop for 2 hours per day, writing blogs and editing my WordPress Site http://madtech.com.au . I am on the road working A LOT, but when I’m back at the madTECH Office, I simply plug in an external widescreen monitor via the minidisplay port plug. I then plug in a USB keyboard and use a Bluetooth Microsoft Arc Mouse. Everything works really well. With only 2 GB of memory you just have to limit how many browser tabs and programs you have open, but that’s just common sense.
If it’s not common sense, and things like that confuse you, the you could try subscribing to our blog (in the footnotes of the Quora answer) our just visit from time to time.
Back to the Surface, it was chosen because of its portability, and battery life. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn’t sell and entry level tablet anymore, just the i5 Surface pro being the entry level now.
The only comparable Windows tablet is the Samsung Range now which is getting average reviews.
Primarily, the answer you should be asking is do I want an Apple or Microsoft tablet device. From a business standpoint I can offer this advice.
Microsoft Business Software works better on PC’s. Especially Outlook and Excel. I support offices and networks that are primarily Apple-centric. One office which is an advertising agency and is design focused really enjoys the Apple devices, and we don’t have any dramas.
The other office is a helpdesk and it does have a mixture of older Apple devices, and there are problems with password protection of the folder structure, and the whole domain structure, but at the same time this client doesn’t have a large IT infrastructure or follow our recommendations so they do have a lot of problems and we are always applying Band-Aid solutions. If we could implement a PC infrastructure there we would be able to service their office needs better.
Note 4 tablet review:
Microsoft has listened to the feedback from the Surface 3 and applied the fixes to the things we complained about. It has released a great new tablet that is scoring an average of 4.5 across the review websites.
Feature changes to the surface 4 include:
Screen size upgraded from 12 to 12.3” without changing footprint size
Improved Bluetooth pairing with the included stylus pen.
Slimmer form factor
Battery Boost update included in the Windows 10 Anniversary update.
There will in the future be a rent to own feature of the Surface 4. This means you will be able to lease a Surface, bundled with Office 365, Typecover (1 x luxury keyboard for me, yes please!). It will also include accidental damage cover, hardware training, and future upgrade installs will also be included.
More information can be found here: http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/tablets/microsoft-details-rent-a-surface-scheme-1327204
References used:
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/tablets/microsoft-surface-pro-4-1290285/review