Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro review - Hands On

Microsoft isn't prepared to talk in regards to the precise launch date for the Surface Home windows eight Professional, because the Home windows eight version of Floor is going to be referred to as, but we've had a chance to make use of the Surface Professional and to check out the brand new pen.

Microsoft also wouldn't let us take any photographs of the brand new system during our preview here at CES 2013 and it isn't giving any extra details about value, battery life or the interior components beyond what we already know: $899 for the 64GB mannequin and $999 for the 128GB mannequin, each with 4GB of RAM and neither with a keyboard included.

Unlike the already-released Surface RT, the Surface Windows 8 Professional is a full-energy PC that you simply use like a pocket book, or a pill, or both. It runs Home windows eight Pro and all of the desktop Windows purposes you need, but it surely's still a contact-friendly pill that you could rip the keyboard off of when you do not need it.

Surface Professional has the same styling as Floor RT, with the same premium really feel and the identical 22-degree angle on the sides to place it at a great viewing angle with a keyboard.

Yes, it is somewhat heavier than Floor RT, at two pounds quite than 1.5, however it's balanced which suggests it doesn't really feel considerably heavier in your hands. Lighter devices use plastic instances relatively than the magnesium alloy that makes Floor so strong; like Surface RT, Floor Professional feels solid and sturdy.

And after we say balanced, we had the Floor Professional on the side of one hand and it did not tip sideways or slide off, so it is definitely not going to tip backwards whilst you're holding it single-handedly. It's also simply as secure propped up on the kickstand. As promised, the present Sort and Contact covers from Surface RT are suitable with Floor Pro and they click on out and in in exactly the identical way.

Efficiency to go

With an Intel Core i5 processor inside, the Surface Pro has extra warmth to deal with than the Surface RT. Microsoft nonetheless is not being more precise than saying it's a "third technology" chip with Intel HD graphics 4000, so primarily they're not saying whether or not it's the updated low-energy 7W processors Intel introduced right here at CES.

In action, what Microsoft calls the peripheral venting - a ventilation strip that runs throughout the beveled fringe of the Floor Pro - works properly to dissipate warmth without hotspots building up. Even with demanding desktop applications operating we did not feel any parts of Surface Pro getting sizzling and it would not feel like a warm air blower the best way many laptop computer fans do.

Floor Home windows eight Professional may characteristic one in every of Intel's new 7W chips

We couldn't hear any fan noise either. Floor Professional definitely would not feel like a laptop computer crammed into the body of a tablet - though it gives you the facility of one.

Even with the vent, Microsoft has found room to maneuver the microSD slot 

from beneath the kickstand (the place it's arduous to seek out) to the best side of the case subsequent to the video connector where you possibly can simply swap it in and out.

With Home windows eight, it's extra doubtless that you will swap playing cards - and unlike Windows RT, you can also make a microSD card a part of a library so any media files present up in the Music and Movies apps properly. It is a VGA moderately than HDMI port, as a result of there are still so many VGA screens and projectors in businesses, and the angle of the case edges means you may still want Microsoft's personal cable to attach with to verify it plugs in correctly.

Additionally totally different from Floor RT is the USB port, which is USB 3.0. Transferring giant information, like the 30-megabyte files a DSLR digital camera produces, takes just a few seconds. USB three isn't as sexy as Apple's Thunderbolt connector, however you are getting comparable speeds - and there are plenty of quick USB 3 drives out now.

The screen is identical 10.6-inch measurement and it still seems lovely, with true deep blacks and vivid, saturated colours, but the resolution is greater; 1,920 by 1,080 makes this a true HD display. It's still a touch display screen, however it could possibly detect ten fingers at once relatively than simply 5 (so you get much more control with music apps, for example).

The new pen

However Floor Professional also has its personal lively pen so you possibly can tap as exactly as with a mouse, or draw and write smoothly on screen. Surface Pro would not come with Office but we tested the pen in OneNote 2013 in addition to in FreshPaint and you may write rapidly without the pen tip skidding over the floor of the screen.

When the pen is near the display, finger contact is blocked so your hand doesn't intrude with what you are writing or drawing. It's a pressure-delicate pen (although it's not the Wacom pen we've seen on most PC tablets), so the tougher you press the thicker the road you draw.

The pen itself is an efficient dimension; not the tiny stylus Asus is together with with its pen methods or the over-massive pen that comes with the HP 

EliteBook Revolve.

It is mild, snug and very effectively balanced in your hand. Turn it spherical to make use of the tip as an eraser; it is a large eraser button with numerous travel which makes rubbing out ink really feel very easy and natural.

There's a large button on the side with a really constructive click for if you need the suitable-mouse button. That is also a magnet that fits into the facility charging port on the side so you can clip the pen in place.

The magnet holds the pen on very securely; we couldn't quite dangle the Surface Pro by the pen the way in which you possibly can hold the Floor RT by the keyboard, but after we picked up the pen, it did not pull off without delay and it isn't going to twist off in your bag or fall off on the first knock.

Full Windows 8

Like the keyboard, the magnets maintain the pen in sideways as nicely, so it takes a firm and deliberate pull to get it off. Sure, we might prefer to have the pen dock inside the body of the tablet, however we would not want to make Surface Professional bigger or thicker to make room so this is a chic alternative.

Using the pen button as the holder implies that the same old pocket clip on the pen is offset by 90 degrees so it does not get in the way when it's linked (and it would not stick out further to be knocked off more easily). That's additionally extra comfortable in your hand, as a result of the clip isn't catching towards your hand.

That is the same form of consideration to element that makes the Floor RT stand out, but this time you are getting a full Home windows eight PC that may run all of your software.

We did not have enough time to test battery life however Home windows Store apps feels just as responsive as on Surface RT, and desktop packages feel as responsive as you'd expect from a Core i5. Microsoft' s first real PC is shaping up to be what appears to be like like a very great and really moveable PC.