It's been ten days now since my elevation to Alpha male in the tech division of our house.
Having spent too long working on what had been ridiculed as beta test equipment, the junior tech worshipper in my house is for now, and for what looks like a long time, not quite up to speed.
It's not that I'm a tech dinosaur or hard to impress - some might say I'm just hard to impress enough to part with cash – but the reason I stick with older technology is that if it works and alternatives aren't a step-change better, then I'll wait until they are.
In an era of tablets and phones that double as mini-computers you can't fail to be impressed by their capabilities and power. However, I work in front of a screen all day and can access email & internet when I want. I'm as connected as I want to be most of the time, yet there are times when I wouldn't mind having the option of more. I struggled with Smart phones - fading eyesight & fat fingers the main impediment and always viewed tablets as a bit of a luxury - I wanted to be able to work on them as well as just play. The Surface Pro certainly lets me do that but also brings the playing to a new level and for me is that step change better I'm always looking for.
So what's so different ?
With the help of my IT department we mapped out what we think makes the Surface Pro such a winner :
1. Firstly, it is beautifully designed and has a crystal clear Full HD screen. I've watched videos and viewed photo's and the picture clarity is amazing, as is the sound.
2. Next is its' speed. I love how it boots up instantly, partly because it's Windows 8, partly because it's a solid state drive like an ultra-book with an i5 core processor, partly because I'm used to a snail's pace.
3. The fading eyesight & fat fingers are no longer the handicap they are on smartphones and I can comfortably navigate my way around all the main screens & icons. A great addition is the pen which pinpoints and allows greater speed of navigation. I haven't used it to freestyle draw or doodle yet but have been advised by the IT department that it is cool for that.
4. And then there's the keyboard which simply clicks
5. I then wondered if the Surface Pro could actually replace a laptop and function as a workstation. I could see myself going blind hunched over a 10.6 inch screen all day. The IT department got me to invest a whole €20 and we bought a mini to HDMI adapter and a USB hub. We plugged these in ( the Pro has a USB port !!) and hooked up a 24 inch TV, a normal keyboard and a mouse and straight away I had a workstation at home powered by the Pro. A VGA adaptor at work would do the same. And the 128GB SSD drive is plenty big to store any software most people use – big directories and old junk just need to be transferred ( via USB ) to a backup storage drive.
6. Finally, while Windows 8 is new to me I found it pretty intuitive to pick up and quite like it already. The IT department, slightly green with envy at my new status as top techie, felt that the availability of Apps wasn't quite as good as the opposition, but conceded that they could catch up. He's already a Wordament addict – new favourite App on Windows 8, and is being won over. I too like wordament, customising news feeds and apps to suit myself, and have even enjoyed an ebook. As the Pro is a full windows machine, each user can have their own profile and set ups, so no fighting over what's on the home screen.
All in all, the Surface Pro is a fabulous piece of technology and ticks my box as a true all-in-one that allows me to work, rest & play; compute as I commute; get stuff done; and relax and have fun. It looks, feels and performs like a next generation machine.
I am a very proud owner.
Thank you entertainment.ie and Microsoft.
Review by: Peter O'Hara