Microsoft Surface Pro Review

The Surface Pro is the product Microsoft should have debuted to carry the banner of Windows 8 last fall. More powerful than the Surface RT tablet that's been met with "muted" response from the market, the Surface Pro fulfills the promise of Windows 8: Your PC and your tablet — your entire digital life, really — all on one device you can take anywhere.

Well, more or less anywhere. The Surface Pro — which goes on sale Feb. 9 — is certainly portable, but it's chunkier than other tablets in its size class. Like the RT model, the Pro has the same 10.6-inch screen, but it's noticeably heavier (2 instead of 1.5 pounds) and a bit thicker (0.53 to 0.37 inch). The extra bulk is all muscle, though: Inside the Surface Pro is an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and either 64 ($899) or 128GB ($999) of storage, putting it in a class with most Ultrabooks. The Surface Pro is a laptop in tablet form.

Certainly, we've seen plenty of variations on the PC-as-tablet idea ever since the launch of Windows 8, but the Surface Pro feels more special. This, after all, is Microsoft's vision of how computing with its re-imagined Windows should be. And the vision is compelling: Your work and personal lives combined in a single device, made as minimalist as possible.

I've been using the Surface Pro as my primary tablet and PC, and I have to say, it's been a very capable substitute for my actual MacBook Pro/iPad setup. While the Pro still suffers from some of the ongoing problems with Windows 8 — notably the lack of native apps and oddness with how the new user interface sometimes works — the Surface Pro has won me over with its portability and power. Just for the reclaimed desk space alone, it's a win.

Pro Form

From a distance, the Surface Pro looks almost exactly like the Surface RT, but it's easy to tell the two apart when you look close or even just hold them both in your hand. The Pro isn't just thicker — it has a telltale seam on the back that serves as a vent for the cooling fan. The fan is also a giveaway, audible when the tablet needs to tax its processor (which happens often), although it's much quieter than my MacBook.

Both the Surface Pro and RT have a kickstand that allows them to stand upright at what Microsoft deems the ideal angle (22 degrees) for tabletop use. I found that angle to be a bit steep, but I am 6'4". Connectors are somewhat different: Although both have a single USB port, the Pro's is version 3.0 to the RT's 2.0. The Pro also has a Mini DisplayPort for connection to an external display — something you're going to be much more inclined to do with this device — whereas the RT sports the microHDMI connector that's more common on phones.

Generally, though, the two Surfaces are very similar, and it shows in their shared compatibility with Microsoft's much-hyped Touch Cover. The accessory fits both models perfectly, attaching to the magnetic connectors with the exact same click sound. I actually opted for the Type Cover since I find the lack of tactile response on the flat Touch version unnerving (Microsoft was kind enough to let us borrow one of each for this review).

I initially thought the Pro would suffer when I used it as a literal laptop, but the kickstand actually does a decent job of keeping the tablet standing up on your lap when, say, chilling on the couch with it. Also, the Type and Touch Covers are nice and solid, connecting with a strong magnetic grip, so no problems there. The only issue is that fixed kickstand angle, but I didn't find it heinous.

The Surface Pro serves as a competent tablet or laptop substitute except for one thing: battery life. The Core i5 processor is a power hog (there's a reason the majority of tablets that run Windows 8 proper pack Intel's mobile Atom processors), and I was lucky to get even 3 hours out of it when using it as a tablet — and just 2.5 when it was connected to a workstation (with the Pro's screen on).

Clear Use Case

Of course, if the Surface Pro is plugged into a workstation — which I expect the most common use case to be — it'll most likely be plugged into power, so battery life won't be a factor. The Surface Pro is at its strongest when it's the vehicle driving a full PC experience, complete with monitor, USB hub and speakers. It's more than up to the task, and in many cases provides a better experience than other Windows 8 tablets and hybrids.

Whereas hybrids like the Lenovo Yoga and Dell XPS 12 focus first on the laptop experience and contort (quite literally in the Yoga's case) to let the user occasionally do something else, the Surface Pro re-thinks the experience from the start. It imagines that for serious "computing," you're going to be using plenty of accessories anyway. In such a setup, the Pro does a great job of powering the whole experience, while getting out of the way as much as possible.

Then, when it's time to relax, the Surface Pro can go solo, becoming one of the lightest PCs you can buy. At 2 pounds, it's a tad heavier than other tablets, but it's still easier to carry than pretty much anything with a built-in keyboard. And remember: This is still your PC — with all your files, apps and games — ready to get serious again, anytime, anywhere. When that important document arrives during an evening Netflix session, all it takes is a couple of taps (and probably a Touch Cover) to deal with it.

SEE ALSO: Surface Is a Tablet Windows Users Will Love [REVIEW]

Thanks to its connectors, the Surface Pro slipped into my MacBook's workstation very easily — jacking into my USB hub (with multiple accessories) and 23-inch 1080p Acer monitor as if it always belonged there. The Pro defaulted to mirroring its display to the Acer, which made sense because it's the same resolution as the Pro's 10.6-inch screen. However, when I used solely the second screen, some details — such as the density of the Start screen's live tiles — were rendered better for the larger area, so I opted for that. Turning off the Pro's display also doesn't tax its battery as much.

While the Surface Pro certainly has superior connectivity that its RT cousin, I was irritated by the lack of an Ethernet port. This is a common issue on tablets and Ultrabooks due to the size of the connector (only HP has a good solution), and most deal with it by supplying a USB adapter, but one isn't provided with the Surface Pro. You'd best invest in one — preferably one that can take advantage of USB 3.0 speeds — to really get the most out of the device.

Doing It With Styli

Something you do get in the box, however, is the Pro's digitizing Pen, which is made to work specifically with this device (it won't work with other tablets or the Surface RT). The Pen is a pressure-sensitive stylus with a button to "click" input. It can attach to the magnetic ports on the pro when you're not using it, but it's not a powered device.

Microsoft says the pen has 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, painting thicker lines when you press harder, for example. However, that only works in apps that are designed to take advantage of the ability: Pressing hard worked extremely well in Microsoft's FreshPaint, for example, but not in Autodesk Sketchbook Express.

The "eraser" end of the Pen has a cool function: It actually works as an eraser. The end is made of soft plastic to ensure it glides nicely along the screen (a rubberized tip would likely drag). Again, drawing apps need to be able to recognize the eraser, but the two I mentioned had no problems. The diameter of the eraser, however, is about the same as the pen, and isn't easily changed. It provides a natural experience but isn't super useful for erasing anything big.

The Pen has advantages outside of drawing apps as well. Similar to Samsung's Galaxy Note line, the Pro can detect when the Pen is hovering above the screen, showing a mouse cursor. With the Pen, you'll be able to actually see "mouseover" effects, such as drop-down menus on many sites. You can use it to copy and paste with precision — with a little practice, that is.

Although the fact that the Pen only works with the Surface Pro bestows these advantages, it's also a weakness. It would be great to pair the Surface Pro with a touch-enabled external monitor that you could use as an easel, but that wouldn't work — unless of course you bought another stylus specific for that monitor. For that reason, the Pen can occasionally be a helpful and fun accessory, but it's not a game changer.

Windows 8 Ups and Downs

Since it runs Windows 8 Pro, the Surface Pro is a real option as a workhorse PC — as opposed to the Surface RT, which is primarily a "consumption" oriented device. The RT is a tablet that can do some work-related tasks; the Pro is a PC that moonlights as a tablet.

My workflow requires me to have several different browsers open at any one time, and by being able to run Firefox and Chrome, I could actually work on the Pro. Since I use a Mac most of the time, I always have a keyboard customizer installed on any Windows device so I can switch the Control and Alt keys — making it more like a Mac. But the one I use (AutoHotKey) is a Windows 7 app and can't run on Windows RT. Of course, it works perfectly on the Pro.

If the Surface Pro is stymied by anything, it's Windows 8 itself. I encountered the same bugginess with the Pro that I've been seeing on Windows 8 devices for the last few months. A couple of times when I detached the Pro from its workstation, the accelerometer for some reason flipped the display and became unresponsive for an extended period.

Wi-Fi was finicky, giving me a "Limited" connection every now and then on networks it was working fine on just minutes before. I've been having Wi-Fi issues with Windows 8 since the Consumer Preview; they happen far less often now (only twice in a week) but they're still there.

Finally, the onscreen keyboard (again, rarely) sometimes doesn't appear. These are relatively minor quirks, and they're always fixed with either closing problem apps or rebooting the device, but bottom line: Windows 8 is still buggy.

One problem that isn't a bug, however, and affects the overall experience far more is the lack of support for Windows 8 apps, and the unexpectedly poor ways the few apps that exist sometimes behave.

Case in point: I use IM+ as an instant-messaging aggregator, and was pleased to see it has a Windows 8 app. While the app's core functionality is good, it overlooks some convenience details. Searching your contacts isn't as easy as simply typing (something I expect when I'm in the new UI environment now) and there's no easy path to "Home" by simply right-clicking, as is the case with most of Microsoft's homegrown apps.

This isn't hard stuff, but it does indicate that developers still aren't used to the new UI paradigms of Windows 8. As I've said before, they're powerful, but it's up to developers to unlock that power, and so far they're kinda, sorta doing it, but not really.

SEE ALSO: The Problem With Windows 8

Another frustrating example is the new-UI version of Google Chrome. Like many, I prefer to use Chrome as my primary browser, but its odd behavior in the Windows 8 environment had me switching back to Internet Explorer, and using Chrome in desktop mode. The desktop version of Chrome, however, isn't optimized for display on a second screen, and always looked fuzzy.

On top of that, Chrome for Windows 8 defaults to a full-screen mode at startup. But Windows 8 is already full-screen, so the full-screen mode for Chrome amounts to robbing you of the ability to see (or even create) tabs other than the one you're working on. Why does this "full screen" mode even exist in Chrome when I'm running it in the new UI? It doesn't make sense.

I could go on, but I'm already venturing too far into general problems with Windows 8, and not the Surface Pro. However, the Pro is intended to fulfill the promise of Windows 8 — a digital world that's driven by touch interfaces, austere design and constant connectivity. All that's well and good, but the execution is in the details, and some of those still need work.

Pro Tipping Point

Despite the challenges of Windows 8, the Surface Pro is still a device I'd recommend because it really solves a problem. If you're like me, your digital life — both personal and professional — is vast, and it involves more than just access to apps and documents. It's also about having a device with the power to really unlock their potential. It's not good enough to just have access to photos; you want to run Photoshop, too.

The Surface Pro is a great all-in-one gateway to your digital life, work and play. It's better than a laptop because it's more portable. It's better than a phone because you can get more done on a big screen. It's better than other Windows 8 tablets because it's more powerful. And it's better than an iPad because it's made for productivity from the start.

All of this has a big asterisk beside it, though — that being mobility can't be a top priority. With its anemic battery life and relative bulk, the Surface Pro should not be your go-to device if you really want a tablet experience. But there's a difference between mobility and mobile computing. For the latter, the Microsoft Surface Pro offers one of the best experiences you can get.

Images by Nina Frazier, Mashable

Screen captures courtesy of Microsoft