Surface 3 at One Month

We are at the one-month mark with my new Microsoft Surface 3 Tablet, so how is it going?

I wish tech reviews did this, gave you reviews after the initial rush of excitement, and spent some time with the device and reported back on how it is to actually live with the thing. When you buy a piece of electronics, it becomes a member of your home and your workflow, and spending some time with it without the pressure of a review deadline really lets you know if this is going to be a happy member of the family, or something you regret and just live with. I have a number of items that I just live with, and they seemed wonderful out of the box, but they had issues or somehow didn't live up to expectations later on.

I'm probably going to wait a couple months before doing the next review, because the one week and one month touch-points are good intervals to check in with, so I will do my next "living with" review on this in 3 or 6 months after this one.

The battery life is good. This thing has a standby time that feels like weeks, I open it up after a week of non-use and it still has a workable charge. I am being good to the battery and draining it down below 10% between each recharge, because I want this tablet to have a great charge time and stay useful away from power outlets.

The SSD speed seems to have improved since I started with this tablet, as updates feel snappier. I don't know if there is a caching time involved when the machine is new, but I am noticing less long waits for these sorts of disk operations.

I still love the kickstand, and I managed to find a use for all three positions. It needs that kickstand though, since this thing is on the heavy side and not as comfortable to hold as a Kindle Fire 8.9 or an iPad. With the keyboard, it is as heavy as a laptop. I think weight and bulk is the device's big weakness, yes it is inexpensive, but the trade off is the thickness and losing the 'magical light quality' of the iPad, which really is a huge deal. This feels more like a portable TV set and productivity device than it does a 'magic window' type of device.

To some this may matter a lot, to others it may not. I can see this mattering for me, with one exception.

The full-PC functionality though makes the 'magic window' trade-off worth it, at least for me. This runs all of my productivity apps, and it runs a fair number of games very well. For productivity PC tasks, this does a very nice job. It also does a great job with the touch, even in non-touch apps. I still keep a Bluetooth mouse handy for the scroll wheel though, things like Steam and certain apps live off that wheel and it shows. What I would give for all web and app designers to properly integrate drag-scrolling. Get with the future people!

Do I pick up and use the device? This is a big one. Is the device attractive enough that you want to pick it up from time to time when it is convenient and you need to do web tasks? For me, this is a yes. I didn't feel my Kindle Fire 7 or even my Samsung Note 10.1 was as useful in this regard. The Fire 7 had an issue with keeping bookmarks and things in the order I liked, since I was constantly at the mercy of the Amazon carousel. With the Note 10.1 it was a little better, but the Samsung bloatware and the lack of the older Android's ability to cleanly organize things held me back. With Android 5.0, organization looks better, but my Note never lived long enough to get that update.

If Samsung ever shipped the new Android for my Note, I don't know since it is stull broken, and I hate the update lag many companies use with Android to force you to upgrade to a new device. At least with Microsoft and Apple (and to some extent Amazon), the devices are supported directly by the company, and they want you to have the latest and greatest.

With the Surface 3, I have tiles for all my junk (sites and apps), and they stay and go where I want them to without fuss. I need to go check a site, turn on, flip over, and press. I like the Windows tile interface better than the iPad's icon interface, or even Android's hybrid icon and widget affair. It feels clean, had live tiles to check out stuff, and lets me customize things nicely. It loses points for not having a way to turn a file into a tile, and I have some PDF books I like to read that I would like to have easier access to on my start screen.

The keyboard works well, and I like being able to rip it off with the magnets and turn this thing into a tablet. It snaps on super simple too, you don't have to line things up. The keyboard also works as a cover, so I am happy with the dual use. The trackpad works, but it is way too small to play games or do any sort of detail work. A mouse is still required if you have a lot of crossover PC apps and games.

Some games did not like the Intel graphics drivers, and I think this is an OpenGL issue or something. Many do, and this does a good job streaming video or games over Steam to play on the device. I use this function rarely, but it is fun.

For reading? I like this device as a reader for PDFs, since it is high-resolution and color, and the PDF programs work well. For ebooks this does a good job as well, but it is mainly a stand-based reader for me rather than something I would sit there and hold with one hand. My Kindle Paperwhite still is the queen of ebook reading devices for me, and I could see how some would prefer an iPad because of the weight and ability to do both and read comfortably.

For movies? This is a very nice device, it streams well, works with Netflix and Youtube, and the stand is a huge plus. The Fire still has Amazon Prime movies and TV shows as Fire tablet exclusives, and that was a sore spot for me with the Note. Since this is a full PC, it can watch Prime TV and movies no problem, even full screen or to a television via a cable. This is a huge plus, and worth considering when you are making a tablet purchase. Prime is huge if you are bought in, and because of that I feel the Surface 3 and the Fire tablets are better buys if you are into entertainment. The Fire of course has an insane resolution and light weight, so it would be my iPad/Note 10.1 replacement should I ever need one.

Would I ever need another full-sized tablet is the question? I would think the only thing is the weight thing and one-handed use, along with Prime and the Kindle Fire's very nice speakers. It is a maybe, really, but this does most of what I want it to plus more, so I am sticking with this. A new Fire tablet would feel like a vanity purchase for me, and not a needed one.

Productivity and features are top-of-the-line. I recently learned how to snap apps side-by-side, and this is very cool. I like being able to do research and write in a second pane, and this raises my productivity to a new level, especially when I am doing reviews and need to refer to the source material. Do not underestimate side-by-side snapping, and there is a reason that Apple is copying this feature for the new iOS.

I have a fear that Windows 10 will change how I like to work with this, so I hope they don't change too much or I will stick with 8.1 and my comfort zone. I'm not going back to the old start menu way of doing things! We shall see.

This is still worthy and I am using it daily, so it has stood up to my workload and schedule. I also find it useful when my computer is busy updating or I need to check something quick, and I can quickly grab it and do what I need to do. I am still happy I got this as a Note replacement, and I am not feeling buyer's remorse. Still a strong recommend.