Customer Ratings & Reviews

I got this machine at work on a trial basis. My old machine was a dell I7, windows 7, 8gb ram, 128gb SSD. I thought I would be losing some performance going to an I5 4GB ram machine but as it turns out, this is actually much faster. I assume this is due to the newer version of the I5 and that it is windows 8 vs 7. I mainly use this in "desktop" mode which performs essentially the same as my old windows 7 OS (minus the start button of course). At work I have it plugged into the Toshiba USB 3.0 dynadock which powers 2 additional monitors along with Keyboard and mouse, Ethernet and several open usb ports. The main things I love about this machine is the portability and the quick startup. I travel and it is very convenient to be able to leave the device inside my bag when I go through security. It is also less than 1/2 the weight of my old dell. It boots up from full shut down in less than 10 seconds! The battery life is better than my old laptop but of course not as good as the ipad. I can get about 5 hours on a charge. The power connector is also a little difficult to deal with and I wish they made a true docking station with power. Right now I have to plug in the USB dock and then separately plug in the power which as I said is a little tricky to get the magnet to line up just right so that it will click in place. The screen is absolutely perfect. The resolution is great, sharp and it is very easy to see. The one drawback I have noticed on tablets vs laptops is the inability to adjust the screen angle. With a laptop, you can get in bed or sit on the couch and adjust the way the screen is tilted. With this or any other tablet for that matter, you are stuck with the angle the fixed "Kickstand" gives you. I end up just plugging it into my 22" monitor using a mini displayport HDMI adapter at home when I am working there and it mirrors just perfectly. I use the tactile attached keyboard and a Bluetooth mouse at home and it all works great. I also use the same HDMI to output to my tv to watch movies and online content like Netflix and MLB network. The picture and sound come through the displayport which is nice to be able to use just 1 cable. Don't expect this to be a low cost alternative to a laptop though. At 999 for the 128 model, that's all you are getting. Keep in mind, you will also need to buy the keyboard (over $100) and if you want Microsoft Office (Which most laptops don't include either), it is another few hundred bucks. All in all, I am very happy with this purchase. I have not missed a beat from my old machine and in fact, this is faster in many respects. If you are worried that this won't fully replace a laptop, rest assured it will.

Not a replacement for a tablet, but this device has replaced my laptop and my home desktop. Replaced my monitor at home with an HDTV that I can hook my Surface Pro up to directly and I have a huge display for what is in fact a core i5 Ultrabook. The best thing is that when you download the latest wacom drivers, the tablet becomes a high res pressure sensitive pen device that works with all the tools you can run on Windows 8 like Photoshop and Manga Studio. I've read an article from a DC Comic artist that now uses his surface pro as his only computer. At work I've discovered note taking with One note on office 2013 which this can run since it's full blown Windows 8 and it's now my primary note taking device. It's heavy and has poor battery life but the functionality that it brings just doesn't exist on any other device, and for an artist who uses a graphics tablet at their workstation, being able to have that functionality with you is incredible.

I often see the Surface Pro called a tablet, and maybe it techniklly is, but with the full version of Windows 8 Pro and the ability to install and run full computer applications in addition to Windows Store Apps, why would you ever buy a scaled down OS like Android or iOS? As a student I can switch from taking notes to programming in a flick of the fingers. It can even run an intensive game like Skyrim on low settings, impressive for an integrated graphics card. Running games will eat up the battery fast, but with normal use I can get between five to six hours out of the battery, more than enough to get though a school day. The Surface Pro does not include a keyboard and I would definitely recommend picking one up with it.

The Surface Pro is the ultimate in mobile devices for the rogue warrior who needs a APP platform combined with a PC

I can say I really didn't like it at first because of Windows 8, but after updating to Windows 8.1 and getting to know how to use it, this thing is great! I like how I can treat this tablet as a PC but at the same time have the portability and functionality of a tablet. I just really like the fact that it is both a tablet and a PC. Everyone keeps saying this thing is heavy, yes true for a tablet, but as a laptop, this is amazingly lightweight. Not only is it lightweight, but with the I5 processor and SSD, this thing is a little monster, runs smoothly without too much lag. If you have never used a computer with an SSD, this is like night and day. I would say the battery life is a little on the shorter side (about 4-6 hrs depending on how you use it) but it isn't too bad when you have your charger with you and when you consider a laptop's battery life. I actually purchased an extra charger (after market from ebay, works just fine) and I have one at work and one at home. I heard that there is going to be a battery keyboard out soon, that would greatly help. Another thing I didn't like about it is that I'm very limited in Apps. There are apps, but I noticed some of the apps actually lead you back to the desktop, which I would rather have as a app. Overview: If you are looking to replace your computer, I would say this is the machine for you, its lightweight and fast. You can treat is as a PC while holding the tablet. You can always hook it up to a monitor or TV if you feel the screen is too small but the screen is very sharp (1080p). This would be the perfect machine for mobility, if you like to travel, show presentations for your clients on the go, work at home, this is a great piece of technology for it. Pros: Lightweight PC Mobile Fast Expandable memory with MicroSDXC USB 3.0 port! Great for travel Cons: Heavy for tablet Lack of apps

I've had the Surface Pro for over a month now and I am using this as a secondary device to my main work PC. The Surface Pro is fast and runs my office applications very well. The only downside is that I need to zoom in to read the information on the screen. It's better when I connect it to an external monitor, but that's a dongle hanging out the side. The kickstand is a nice feature, but it only has one viewing angle. I find myself moving around to get a viewing angle in different lighting. The single USB port is okay, but I find myself swapping the mouse and USB stick often. I did buy a port expander, but that's another external device hanging out of the Surface Pro. I've only tried using this as an entertainment tablet a couple of times, and find it awkward compared to my iPad Air. It's a bit heavier and it got warm fairly quickly. Overall, it's a nice device, and fits my needs as a secondary device.

I absolutely love my Surface Pro and would have loved to get the Surface Pro2 for the battery life but the price tag is outrageous. It is like a mix of my netbook with my tablet and that is what I love about it. The screen clarity is fantastic for me. The hard drive at 128 gb was terrible since the OS sucks so much of the space and should be advertised at the truly available space so that you know the micro sdxc card will be a must have item. It is a lot heavier than I was expecting but I truly love it enough not to care. Battery life is short but there are enough portable power options to make that not worth worrying over. Price is actually the biggest pill to swallow. Hard to look at this and then a laptop and justify the price...even at $599. I think a more realistic price would be $399 since the 128gb they use as a sell point is more like 89gb and that can be eaten up quickly if using it for work.

I got the pro mainly because I got to play around with a friends and was blown away by how well the stylus worked as a pen and let me write directly on the device. My laptop had recently died and though I have my main computer - I just need something for trips. I also have an Android tablet and love it but I didn't want to carry a phone, tablet, laptop and all that. Windows 8 finally made sense when I started using it on the tablet but the pen and snagging a copy of Microsoft OneNote is incredible. I take notes during the meetings, I can notate PDFs, and a friend who loves to draw got one and I thought he was scanning in drawings to work on them but he's wasn't! He was drawing right on the tablet like he had a full set of pens to draw with. Battery life is awful!!!! A two hour meeting with the tablet on and taking notes, I'll have maybe 30 minutes left before I must charge again. It is heavy and even gets a bit hot if your holding it. And, the Microsoft app market is just awful, the apps are great to use on the tablet but there just so limited. From the PC side, I rarely use the apps but on the tablet you really want them. It's pricey but for me the writing is so good it was worth it.

I love my surface pro. I've had it about a month. It's well made and blazing fast. I take it everywhere. The battery needs to last a little longer but I think with some software updates they might be able to extend it. Right now I get a days use out of one charge. The onscreen keyboard is probably the best keyboard I've ever used. I don't use the snap on keyboard. I bought a moko case. I also have to use reading glasses with my old iPhone and iPad but I don't with my surface. The font is crisp and clear and well rendered on the screen. The windows 8 operating system is solid and fun to use. The only drawback is that Microsoft did a bad job of explaining it to the customer. After a video tutorial on YouTube I was up and running in minutes, customizing my screens and setting up email, Facebook and installing apps. When I first started shopping for a tablet it came down to the latest iPad or the surface pro. While the surface pro cost twice as much, it will last you longer that the iPad, which makes the surface pro less expensive in the long run. Unlike the iPad, you get Bluetooth, SD, USB slots and ports with the surface -plus you can run desktop applications on the surface pro. In the end, the Surface Pro not only replaced my old tablet and laptop, it also replaced my PC. It does everything I need and this is why I would recommend it...

This is what Windows 8 was made for. It gives you great portability, but with a full operating system. The Surface, itself, has a very sturdy magnesium body (as I have dropped it on concrete and it only has a small nick on it). The actual performance of the Surface is outstanding. It is quick and reliable. Though it has some very minor shortcomings, like not having an option for built-in carriers, a lot makes up for it. The Surface has a USB 3.0 port, a mini-display output, and a microSD slot. The provided stylus is great for needing to take notes or wanting to draw. The Xbox interface is great for allowing you to accumulate achievements. It is just awesome, overall. Check it out, in the store.

I have literally owned just about everything that's cutting edge. I currently own a 11.6" Mac Air (2012) model. iPod 5th gen 64GB, Apple TV, iPad 4th gen 128GB. iPhone 5 and a high end Windows desktop computer. I would gladly cash everything in (except my phone of course) for this 128GB Surface Pro. I will say all the complaining about short battery life, thickness, and heaviness is people who are just ignorant. Someone said oh my "it gets warm to the touch" Really? Really? Knock, knock, is anyone home. My Mac Air gets 4.5 hours battery life with mixed use and gets toasty warm when running video, fans on and all... My Surface Pro is getting 6.5 hours with the same use while in battery saver mode. (which doesn't slow it down one bit) The screen is amazingly bright at 50%. The weight is fine, my wife has never mentioned anything about it and she uses it the majority of time. Now here's the really good stuff, this thing is so fast it loads programs in the blink of an eye. I recently bought the Lenovo tablet with dual core 1.8GHZ Atom processor and could not believe how slow it ran, I would click a button and eventually it would open the page. I didn't dare load any programs on it and it got the same battery life as the Surface Pro. Bottom line is if you want something that goes as fast as you do and want a durable, esthetically appealing tablet, buy the surface. Everything else is already obsolete. It's tough when you own something you know is lousy but you can't admit it. I cant find anything wrong with this unit other than the sound output being lower than I would expect. (there's plenty of options for that though). As for battery life... With the power this thing has 6 plus hours is Amazing. Buy it... If you don't like it return it... My bet is you won't.

I purchased the Surface Pro to replace my Ipad I have had for a few years. I had become increasingly frustrated with the inability to work with files with IOS. I take a lot of photos and try to keep them organized. Apple operating system does not allow me to rename my photos. I rename all with either a date first and then subject or in my garden photos, a plant name and then date so they will sort as I want. So, decision was a windows based tablet. My son is a IT guy. I asked him what tablet he would purchase if money was not the primary factor. He recommended the surface pro. He thought I would not be happy with the RT due to its limitations. I listen to him but also do my own research. I had to agree with his recommendation. Windows 8. My son had installed windows 8 on my laptop. There is a learning curve. I did take some time to try to learn how to use the new system but was frustrated. I absolutely love Windows 8 on the touch screen. That is what it was designed for and it works great. Still learning tips etc . It does not take much time or effort as there is plenty of help and information available online. The kickstand at the back of the Surface is ok. I would like it much more if it was adjustable or leaned back more. Works fine when it is on the table but on my lap, useless. The tablet does get quite warm and if a better designed kickstand it might not lay flat on my lap and be so warm that I have to get creative with ways to keep it from lying flat on me while using it. When I first transferred a few photos onto the Surface, I was amazed at the quality of the photos. They look great. Battery has not yet been an issue as I have not traveled with it. I have not really paid a lot of attention to it so I guess not a problem. Longer life is always good! I have read a few comments about the weight. I weighed my IPad with the cover on and the Surface Pro with key pad attached. The IPad was heavier. Storage is a problem with all my photos but I have a small 500 GB portable hard drive I easily connect via USB port. If you take a lot of photos, storage is always an issue! Always has been! I am now struggling with what to do with my laptop. This does everything my laptop does but much more portable. It has a 17 inch screen. I can connect this to a monitor if needed. I will probably give it to my grandson! Love my Surface Pro!

I purchased the 128 GB Microsoft Surface Pro as a replacement for my netbook and it was a major upgrade. The performance is outstanding, allowing me to use office tools as well as play games like Civilization 5 at full resolution. The multi-touch screen is phenomenal in recognizing touches versus accidental bumps with the side of my hand. The screen looks great, though not as good as a retina display (to my eye). The peripherals are easy to use and the power supply is easy to attach and disconnect; a problem they solved from early users of the Surface RT, or so I'm told. The entire device charges in approximately an hour and a half to two hours, though I've only run the battery all of the way down once in the past month since I bought it. The battery life is typically 4 hours or so, but since I'm using it mostly at home, I tend to leave it connected to the power supply more often than not. I did have one bug where, after installing the mandatory Windows 8 updates, the on-screen keyboard would no longer come up on the log-in screen or on the web browser, but after two hard-reboots, and an overnight wait (this occurred at 10PM and I was going to call for service the next morning), the problem had resolved itself. The log-in screen can still get confused if/when I remove the type cover while on the log-in screen. I work around this by not removing the type cover until after logging into the computer. One other downside is the weight. This is best considered as an ultraportable laptop and not a tablet. You would NOT want to carry this thing around for an extended period of time. Again, since I use this mostly at home, this is not an issue for me. I love this computer and it does everything I want it to do and more. It is great for productivity and play despite some minor issues. If you are looking for long battery life or lightweight, this isn't for you, but if you want the power of an ultrabook in a 10.6" tablet casing for 2 lbs, you will want to give this a second look.

Coming from a PC at work and an iPad for fun, I thought my relationship with the Surface Pro was going to be short lived, however, I found myself shifting all my use to the Surface after about a couple of weeks. Its a great all in one tablet that I basically take everywhere. At my office I hook it up to a monitor and use it as my primary computer. If I need to go to client, no worries, everything comes with me in the Surface, At home, it replaced my iPad as my primary information consumption devise. I especially like the type keyboard cover. Doesn't add much weight and bulk but its extremely useful. My greatest complaint is the weight, but even that isn't so bad. I gladly carry around the extra .5lbs for the ability to use one devise for my primary work and information consumption. The battery is equivalent to a laptop, so it definitely pales in comparison to the iPad, so if you need to have your tablet last 10+ hours, then forget the Surface. If you just need 5 hours, then you will be fine. I personally don't mind the sacrifice in weight and battery since I don't travel regularly. It works perfectly for anybody looking to use one device for work and home. I have to hand it to Microsoft, never in a million years did I think I would use the surface as my primary everything, but they designed a high quality product that I refuse to give up even when I think it's overpriced by around $200.

Let me preface by saying I have an I Pad3 and consider myself proficient with tech. I work on a laptop (architectural designer by trade), play on a desktop and am familiar with Windows 7 and 8. That being said, I absolutely love this machine. albeit the battery life is everything it has been said to be...lacking. But I have suffered this issue with other tech, phones etc, and it can be overcome, and the Surface Pro is worth it. To quote an article I read from Wired Magazine and COMPLETELY agree with. " it is the best of a both worlds: A compact consuming device — what we've come to expect from tablets — and a fully functional PC. I see a lot of people wanting to compare it to the iPad, which I disagree with. They are two entirely different animals. So, how well did Precious — the nickname I gave my Surface Pro — handle itself, as I threw everything I could possibly imagine at its CPU?..... Like a champ!" Yes, it is pricey, I believe Microsoft wouldn't go belly up if they packaged the keyboard in the purchase price. And having to get an external disk drive to load content is annoying. Knowing what I know, I would buy it again. The pro, one year protection plan, keyboard, 64gb san disk, (effectively gives you 150gb of storage), and the external disk drive, I am into it for $1500.00. I would still buy it again.

The Surface Pro is a great choice for those individuals who need portability without sacrificing a powerful machine. I need several of my Windows applications while I'm on the road/away from the office. So an IPAD/Android device wouldn't work for me. I also needed something that had superfast boot time because I never know when I might get a phone call that requires me to launch some of my Windows programs. Also I wanted something more convenient then a laptop. The Surface Pro fit all of the above. The touch screen works extremely well, though I find myself using the optional keyboard a lot. Though speaking of the optional keyboard, I found it rather disappointing that once you spend almost $1,000 on your Surface Pro, if you want the attachable keyboard you then have to spend another one hundred plus dollars. For some this may not be worth it. Also, if you aren't familiar with Windows 8 this could be a learning curve for you. Personally I love furthering self development and therefore invite change if it's for the better. The battery life could be better on the Pro version. If I use it non-stop I can get 4-5 hours out of it. Though I must say I usually don't use it continually like I would a laptop/ultra book. On average I only plug it in 2-3 times per week. So for me that's not unreasonable considering the size-to-power ratio of this little machine. If your on then off it for a few things here and there, the battery will probably last almost all week. The stylus that the Pro comes with works better then any stylus I've ever used on a machine. I can't say I use it a whole lot, but when I do it works flawlessly. Weight is one thing I saw other people complain about the Surface Pro. My initial view on this is "Tough'in up!". IMHO the weight is not an issue. No it's not as light as your Ipad, but come on now. The Ipad really can't touch the Surface Pro. And with that being said, I even like the Ipad. It's just not in the same category IMO. The Surface Pro is much lighter then a laptop/ultra book, and that works for me. I have no issue holding it with one hand. Overall it's perfect for what I need it for, though a little higher priced than I would like. At the same time nothing else out there really compares to it considering it's power capabilities, size, and ability to run full Windows programs (like Quick Books, Office, even Adobe CS, etc.) I definitely would recommend this to others.

This is a great computer for traveling and puttering around the house. The small compact size makes it easy to pack and travel with. The high resolution 1080p screen is beautiful, and I can do heavy duty work on it if needed in a pinch. Working on this for 8 hours a day at the highest resolution may tax some people's eyes, but it works great for me to VPN in and work while I am on the road. I like having both the desktop and the start screen. I do miss the start menu, but you get used to it, there are several ways to launch programs. I have hooked this up to my TV using a display port to HDMI adapter. Just note that you won't get any sound if you use an HDMI cable longer than 6 feet (video works great with a 25 foot HDMI cable but no audio from TV - audio still comes from the Surface). I love the Type keyboard and how it snaps on and off. I've used it as a tablet and with the keyboard. Surfing facebook and other web sites is awesome in portrait mode on this thing. I bought an external USB blu ray player for this. Blu Ray movies look just stunning on the screen. The performance was fine, no stutters, the Surface was able to keep up. The battery life is not great, I got about 3 hours on it when watching a blu ray movie and a little bit of poking around. I usually can get about 3 1/2 hours to 4 hours with non processor intensive activities. It's a little heavy for a tablet, but it's not uncomfortably heavy. It's pretty light for what is packed into this and the power it has. Overall, this is a great device for around the house and traveling. This is great for business travel too.

I have owned Dell Laptops for the past 15 plus years prior to purchasing the Microsoft Surface Pro w/128G SSHD. It is by far the best mobile computer I've owned. It is fast, easy to use, boots up in seconds, has a USB Port and Blue Tooth Technology, runs all Microsoft Programs flawlessly, has great battery life, excellent video resolution. I have had zero issues with it since I purchased it a month ago. I would highly recommend this computer to anyone that is looking to upgrade. I can't tell you how great it is to no longer be carrying around a 5-7 pound laptop. I also purchased a Targus Universal Docking Station, a LG DVD/Blu-Ray Disc Player, along with QuickBooks and Quicken and everything works great!1

If you are looking for a work laptop that is really portable and doubles as a tablet this is the device! I take after hours call for a large HMO and have to always haul a laptop around with me. I tried using an Ipad for work but it just didn't cut it. The surface pro is an amazingly portable PC. I was able to take call, work on our hospital systems in places where a laptop just wasn't practical. Much of the business software I use is available on Windows only, there are no APPS in Android or the Apple store for them so a Windows machine really is required. Battery life is not that bad. I have yet to have it run out on my completely, although I do keep it plugged in much of the time. It's certainly no worse than my current work laptop. Bootup time is extremely fast. From sleep it's instantaneous, and from full shutdown it's about 4 seconds. 128 Gb hard drive is small nowadays but with the OS and all my work software installed I still have 70 Mb of free space. There is a micro SD card slot so I keep any media on there, at home I stream movies and my ITunes Library from a NAS and have a USB 3.0 external drive when on the road. (I even have my Steam account games loaded on the external USB 3.0 hard drive and the surface plays many of the games very well including L4D2). Cloud storage works well for documents so in all reality a 128 Gb SSD isn't all that bad. I have tried both Atom Based tablets and other platforms (Apple, Android) and none worked for me as a truly portable work PC/tablet. I LOVE the surface for it's versatility. If you're looking for a Windows based machine that doubles as a tablet for entertainment this really is the best device on the market. It's the most powerful tablet on the market. The addition of the touch cover and the Wedge Mouse has also made it even better as a work device.

This is the perfect size laptop in tablet format. Very fast and versatile. I use mine in my legal practice because of the many apps it will run that I need. Be sure to get the 128 G. I like the ability to type or use the touch screen. The touch screen is responsive but I recommend getting the mechanical keypad if you like a keyboard. This also helps protect the touchscreen and makes it easy to carry. The Surface Pro is light and thin. It is very fast and smooth. I also like the stylus which writes like a real pen. Bluetooth compatibility and the USB port are pluses. The battery life has been very good. This is a high end product at a reasonable price for the bang.