What do you guys think of the original surface pro?

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equinox654

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So... I getting my two boys the $99 HP stream 7 for Xmas. Its got me thinking. I like the idea of full x86 windows on a tablet. If I get one it would mostly be for audio, ebooks, playing video files through the Xbox one and the general PC tinkering we all do here.

Ive been looking around and found the first gen surface pro on Craigslist for $220-240 ranging from 32-64 GB and the 128gb refurb on eBay for $350ish.
Can you guys think of a better buy in that price range?
Looks like it would just murder all the atoms in that price bracket.
 
I think the Surface Pro 2 is crap...don't have a clue about the first version.

PS: Yes it will be faster than anything atom based.
 
I can't complain about mine at all. It was time for a hardware upgrade at work just before the original released so I waited it out and I picked a 128GB Pro instead of a traditional laptop. I have the official dock as well (when it came out, had so/so luck with universal USB dock) which is great for office usage. For what you're asking of it I think it'll be a good machine.

It wasn't asked, but yes, you can kinda sorta run some games on it, if you keep your expectations within the reasonable limits of what the onboard Intel HD 4000 can do. Civ works pretty great with touchscreen mode turned on.

edit: Oh, the type cover sucks. Not so much the keypad, but the touchpad and mouse buttons. To the point that I almost wonder if I'd have been better up saving the extra money and getting the touch cover.
 
I'd be very interested in seeing what your two boys think of the HP Stream 7. I've had one for three weeks and have been thoroughly impressed by it. Windows 8 certainly doesn't have the touch app count of iOS and Android by there's a decent number of apps out there that are pretty good and when combine with the top notch touch browsing experience of IE 11, the thing is worth $100 considering that it also comes with a year of Office 365 Personal.

As for the Surface Pro 2, as big of a Windows tablet/hybrid fan that I am and generally loving the idea of the Surface Pro line, I just didn't like the first two devices. I won't go as far pcjunkie in saying that the Pro 2 is crap, but the size of the device, Type Cover and two position kickstand just didn't do it for me.

Then the Surface Pro 3 came out and it addressed all of those issues. It's absolutely a brilliant piece of engineering, I even big detractors of the device give it credit there. Of course there's still the issue of "lapability" which some thinks still isn't good, while others think it's great. Personally I don't use laptops much in my lap so it's not a big consideration for me, however in my trying the SP3 out on my laptop, honestly I think it works pretty well. The kickstand edge can dig into bare skin but the device is stable and usable in my lap. But I do think that the variable position kickstand and second magnetic attachment to the bottom of the screen makes a big difference over the first two Pros.

Then there's the Type Cover. Just didn't care for typing on the first two Pros and I really hated the track pad. The SP3 Type Cover is MUCH better. I like the keyboard and track pad now. The biggest issue for the. Some complain of the flex of the keyboard when using the second magnet to angle the keyboard, it is a bit mushy. Increasing the stiffness of the Type Cover hopefully is something that Microsoft is working on for the Surface Pro 4.
 
I've heard very good things about the Surface Pro 3 to the point of suggesting it over the CS manager getting all new ipads for the upper management directors. Of course she probably won't listen to an IT person because what do I know.
 
Bought one for my dad a while back from best buy when it was considerably cheaper than the 2, and had nothing but issues with it. The screen seemed to die (device would turn on however), and all you could see was the background VERY faintly. Thankfully, they took it back and refunded me. I googled the issue, and it seems quite a few people had issues with it. That's my experience with it anyway...
 
They are only 9 and 5 years old, but well on their way to becoming PC enthusiasts.
Especially the older one. I threw around the idea with him of whether he would want iOS/android/win 8. When I explained he could install his Minecraft mods on the win 8 tablet... He about shat him self.

I did plan on playing league and civ 5 on it. Thought it would be a nice toy to play with while laying around.
 
I bought one for my dad, liked using it so much when he had issues I bought myself a SP2 when they came out. Bought it shortly after they were available, still going strong today, few things about it are less than ideal which is why the SP3 exists without the underlying intel platform upgrade, but still a solid device.
 
I picked up a 128gb with the back lit keyboard for $300 last night. Sure its heavy as hell, but so far I love it. Though I'm not one to fawn over tiny gadgets. Been using the notes since they came out.
 
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