{"id":35,"date":"2014-05-22T04:10:57","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T08:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rumohr.com\/blog\/?p=35"},"modified":"2021-03-18T07:07:51","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T11:07:51","slug":"is-it-really-the-tablet-that-can-replace-your-laptop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rumohr.com\/blog\/is-it-really-the-tablet-that-can-replace-your-laptop\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it really “The tablet that can replace your laptop”?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m fascinated\u00a0by the slogan Microsoft is using to launch\u00a0the new Surface Pro 3<\/a>, “The tablet that can replace your laptop”.<\/p>\n

It’s a really clever bit of market-positioning-speak. \u00a0As a consumer, I\u00a0convert all statements into questions. \u00a0And this question is turned around 180\u00ba (or 30\u00ba more than the new kickstand travels).<\/p>\n

“Can it replace your laptop?” \u00a0Microsoft’s got that down pat. \u00a0It is running Windows after all, and an\u00a0Ultrabook powerful-thin-light platform to boot.<\/p>\n

I use my Surface Pro 2 as my primary work machine. \u00a0So it spends the bulk of its waking hours\u00a0on my desk, with a keyboard<\/a>, trackball<\/a>, and an external monitor connected. \u00a0(I’m looking for a good Bluetooth replacement for the trackball, BTW.) \u00a0And when it’s not on my desk, it’s typically on a conference table\u00a0with the kickstand out, Type Cover attached, and Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse Surface Edition<\/a> paired and connected. \u00a0Or precariously\u00a0perched on my lap, as it was last week on a commuter train. \u00a0I’d say I currently use it as a true tablet about 5% of the time.<\/p>\n

My question is, “Sure, it can replace my laptop. \u00a0But can it replace my tablet?” \u00a0Which is an iPad. \u00a0That’s Microsoft’s real goal, isn’t it?<\/p>\n

It certainly is appealing and convenient. \u00a0I take my Surface Pro 2\u00a0virtually everywhere I need to work, including places where I used to “rough it” and carry just an\u00a0iPad. \u00a0I’ve got a tablet-sized device that runs all the Windows applications I need. \u00a0It’s not quite tablet-weight, but it’s a fair trade-off for the extra capability. \u00a0Between the form factor and the touch screen, I enjoy using it more than a laptop.<\/p>\n

Battery life on the Surface is going to be shorter than on the iPad. \u00a0(Naturally, both are way shorter than either manufacturer says it will be.) \u00a0I’m OK with that too. \u00a0The power of full Windows requires, well, power.<\/p>\n

Screen usability on the Surface Pro 2 is my second-biggest concern. \u00a0In these days of retina displays on phones, 1920 x 1080\u00a0on a 10″ screen shouldn’t be a problem. \u00a0But right now you’ll still be spending most of your time in the Windows Desktop, and it still hasn’t learned how to scale properly. \u00a0This results in eye-strainingly small (and to my eye, too thin) text, and buttons to touch that are much smaller than my fingers. \u00a0I’m hoping they’ve done something smart with this, beyond just making the screen bigger. \u00a0I welcome the 3:2 ratio display, too. \u00a0At\u00a016:9,\u00a0portrait mode feels like I’m working on an extremely heavy tri-fold brochure.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0main reason I keep an iPad around for tablet-style use is applications, applications, applications. \u00a0I find that many of the apps\u00a0I use on my iPad are either not available, or have inferior official or unofficial versions on the Windows Store. \u00a0And if a Desktop version exists, it’s hard to use tablet-style,\u00a0what with\u00a0the scaling issue, plus other pesky things like the on-screen keyboard popping up and obscuring\u00a0where you need to be typing. \u00a0Modern UI apps need to exist and have feature\u00a0parity with Desktop equivalents\u2013and yes, the bar is higher when the user knows they’re holding a Core processor in their hands.<\/p>\n

All this having been said, I still want to get my hands on a Surface Pro 3. \u00a0It’s an impressive piece of tech, and the next step in the industry’s quest to make the perfect mobile device. \u00a0And I’m absolutely certain it can replace my laptop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m fascinated\u00a0by the slogan Microsoft is using to launch\u00a0the new Surface Pro 3, “The tablet that can replace your laptop”. It’s a really clever bit of market-positioning-speak. \u00a0As a consumer, I\u00a0convert all statements into questions. \u00a0And this question is turned around 180\u00ba (or 30\u00ba more than the new kickstand travels). “Can it replace your laptop?” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7,8],"class_list":["post-35","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-microsoft","tag-tablets-2","tag-windows-2","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nIs it really "The tablet that can replace your laptop"? - Rumohr.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rumohr.com\/blog\/is-it-really-the-tablet-that-can-replace-your-laptop\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is it really "The tablet that can replace your laptop"? - Rumohr.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I’m fascinated\u00a0by the slogan Microsoft is using to launch\u00a0the new Surface Pro 3, “The tablet that can replace your laptop”. 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