Surface Go...thoughts?

Messages
1,261
Edit My Images
No
I have a desktop for editing and a good laptop for proper work. Thinking about a Surface Go for web viewing, emails, notes in meetings and some light use of word docs.

I think the iPad does all of these but limited use for word docs etc, unless it actually does work well with office linked to a Dropbox?

Any thoughts on the Surface Go? Seems underpowered, but for the uses maybe ok?
 
Probably fine for those uses - might be worth reading some technical reviews if you haven't done so already.
 
From my use of a Samsung Galaxy Book 10.6" I would strongly recommend getting the version with 8GB RAM & 128GB SSD rather than 4GB/64GB. W10 runs surprisingly well in 4GB for light use but the 64GB SSD is crippling. The Go has a lower power CPU than the Book but should still be usable. I bought the Book as it fits in the tablet pocket of my camera case, giving me a one-case solution for travel.
 
Got one at work, the 8gb/128Gb SSD version, not bad kit but at that price point (once you factor in type-cover) you are in Surface Pro territory

Amazon had i5 Surface Pro 5's with type-cover for 799 a few weeks ago, the M3 version was even cheaper..
 
I have a desktop for editing and a good laptop for proper work. Thinking about a Surface Go for web viewing, emails, notes in meetings and some light use of word docs.

I think the iPad does all of these but limited use for word docs etc, unless it actually does work well with office linked to a Dropbox?

Any thoughts on the Surface Go? Seems underpowered, but for the uses maybe ok?

I've been trying to upgrade my PC/Mobile kit over the last few months - and picked up a Surface Go to use as a small/mobile device for note-taking and light Windows based stuff I need for work (Office 365 Admin/Sharepoint mainly) and its been great - its actually made me re-evaluate exactly how much computing power I actually need.

I've been using this as my sole device now for a couple of weeks plugged into the Surface Dock and into my Screen - works brilliantly for light tasks like Web Browsing, Emails, Office, etc and even light gaming - also works great for note-taking with the Keyboard or Writing on the device itself (I love the flippy stand which lets you have it really low on the desk).

Its even been OK for Photo Editing and Design (Affinity Photo / Affinity Design) but I wouldn't recommend using it for editing too much.

The only thing that really I can't evangelise about is the battery life which is pretty poor v something with a mobile CPU like an iPad or Android tablet - maximum of 5-6 hours when using it if your lucky although if I have it on my desk with the screen off using it for streaming music (to my bluetooth headphones) its not bad - the USB-C port does mean that you can charge it very quickly though via either a mains adapter or a USB-C External Battery Pack.

In some ways the Go is way better than my iPad Pro was - its smaller, more flexible (as I can run Windows Apps) and I also prefer it for writing on with the stand already built in.
But I do miss having "Apps" - Tablet mode in Windows 10 isn't great with a serious lack of decent tablet apps - but for your usage I don't think that would matter too much.

I'm not sure if I'll keep mine - I've ordered an Intel NUC Desktop for home (i7) and picked up a Surface Pro 6 i5/256GB on the offer that's been going for mobile use, I may decide to swap out the go for a similar sized used iPad or iPad Pro 10.5 so that I at least still have media apps with me.
 
I think that it rather depends on what you are using everywhere else. I use a MacBook Pro and an iPhone. I then, for various reasons, got a Surface Pro and I just could not settle with it - it seemed to me that I was always fighting the system. Since then I have settled on an iPad Pro and, whilst it is not perfect, it is pretty good for what I need to do 'on the go'.
 
I think that it rather depends on what you are using everywhere else. I use a MacBook Pro and an iPhone. I then, for various reasons, got a Surface Pro and I just could not settle with it - it seemed to me that I was always fighting the system. Since then I have settled on an iPad Pro and, whilst it is not perfect, it is pretty good for what I need to do 'on the go'.

Likely you are used to the way apple devices work and so the iPad Pro was more intuitive. It takes quite a lot of adjustment to go from the Microsoft World to Apple or vice-versa.

Ive got 2 Surface devices, had an iPad Pro but it frustrated me tbh
 
Likely you are used to the way apple devices work and so the iPad Pro was more intuitive. It takes quite a lot of adjustment to go from the Microsoft World to Apple or vice-versa.

Ive got 2 Surface devices, had an iPad Pro but it frustrated me tbh

You are quite right Neilc28. It does rather depend on which side of the 'fence' you sit on.
 
Back
Top