Your versatile partner for the road

[rooster59]

Your versatile partner for the road

By Paisal Chuenprasaeng 
The Nation Weekend

 

 

The new Microspft Surface Go allows you to work, draw, paint and watch - all in one easy move

A POWERFUL 10-inch tablet computer that can quickly be turned into a notebook, the Surface Go is ideal for working and playing on the go.

 

It’s the smallest, lightest and most affordable model yet in Microsoft’s popular Surface computer series, just 8.3mm thin and weighing 522g without the optional keyboard cover accessory. It has a good battery life too, lasting up to nine hours on a complete charge.

 

The Surface Go has a sleek silver magnesium casing and the back cover provides a kickstand that can be extended for working on your desk or used as a notebook when connected to the Surface Go Standard Type Cover.

 

 

And with the optional Surface Pen, Surface Go can serve as a creative tool as well. With a footprint of 245 x 175 mm -- the size of a composition notebook -- writing on the screen feels natural and intuitive.

 

Surface Go uses a custom-built high-resolution PixelSense Display that supports the Surface Pen with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, low pen parallax, low latency and precision for accurate note taking, drawing and computer-aided design. 

 

Microsoft says the custom calibrated 3:2 display is designed to be easy on your eyes while you are working and has good high-contrast resolution when you want to watch videos, create art pieces or edit photos.

 

When the Surface Go is used in portrait mode, its screen renders the page to the scale of most textbooks so school kids can use it to read their e-books. Moreover, in landscape mode, Surface Go’s screen can render pages side by side, just like holding a printed book in your hand.

 

And when attached to the Surface Go Type Cover with a special connecting port, Surface Go becomes a notebook computer powerful enough for handling most business applications and tasks.

 

Surface Go is powered by the 7th Generation Intel Pentium Gold Processor 4415Y running at 1.6GHz, in a fanless design.

 

Microsoft says its engineers worked closely with Intel to optimise power, performance and battery for the most critical tasks users perform each day, resulting in battery life of up to nine hours.

 

 

Surface Go has 8 gigabytes of working memory or RAM and it is installed with 129 GB of fast SSD storage. It also provides a microSD slot for you to expand the storage.

 

Surface Go runs on Windows 10 Pro and I had no problems running the Microsoft Office suite of business applications during my test, meaning the Surface Go could become a tool for office workers on the go as well.

 

I found that the custom-made Surface Go Type Cover is intuitive to type on. Its track pad worked effectively controlling the mouse without having to lift the keyboard to touch the screen. And even with the keyboard cover attached, the Surface Go is still highly portable.

 

The precision trackpad also supports five-point multi-finger gestures. But if you feel more comfortable working with a mouse, you can buy a Surface Mobile Mouse that works through a Bluetooth connection. I tried it and found the mouse connected quickly and worked very well. 

 

The built-in kickstand with full friction hinge extends 165 degrees, which I found useful when I used Surface Go as a laptop computer instead of a tablet.

 

Its front camera supports Windows Hello log in function, allowing me to unlock the computer using face recognition.

 

During the test, I found Surface Go ran Word, Excel and other Microsoft Office smoothly. Surface Go can also support BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) enterprise’s IT policy as it supports TPM 2.0 for enterprise security, allowing you to connect to your office’s server with peace of mind.

 

Surface Go played HD video clips smoothly. Movies sounded good thanks to two-watt stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium technology.

 

 

The Surface Pen worked very well on the display of Surface Go with apps that support it. For example, I tried it with the Paint 3D app and was able to draw and paint effectively.

 

The Surface Go has fast wireless connection too. It comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 ac. I had no problem connecting it to my Linksys EA8500 router and Internet connection was fast and smooth. The Surface Go also has Bluetooth 4.1 connection.

 

The USB-C 3.1 port is not just for charging its battery but can also be connected to a dock for data and video transfer. With an accessory, you can use the port to send video display to a 4K monitor.

 

Surface Go with 128GB SSD drive and 8GB RAM retails for Bt19,999. The Surface Pen, Surface Go Standard Type Cover and Surface Mobile Mouse retail for Bt3,900, Bt3,590, and Bt1,190 respectively.

  

>> OS: Windows 10 Pro

 

>> CPU: Intel Pentium Gold Processor 4415Y 1.6 GHz

 

>> Memory: 8GB RAM

 

>> Storage: 128GB SSD drive, expandable with microSD card

 

>> Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 615

 

>> Display: 10-inch PixelSense Display with 1800 x 1200 pixels resolution; 3:2 aspect ratio, 1500:1 contrast; protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3

 

>> Cameras: 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video, 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video

 

>> Wireless: Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible; Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology

 

>> Ports: 1 x USB-C, 3.5 mm headphone jack, 1 x Surface Connect port, Surface Type Cover port, microSDXC card reader

>> Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer

 

>> Dimensions: 245 mm x 175 mm x 8.30 mm

 

>> Weight: 522 g

 

>> What’s in the box: Surface Go, Power supply, Quick start guide, Safety and warranty documents

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/lifestyle/30357291

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-10-28

[wgdanson]

55 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

During the test, I found Surface Go ran Word, Excel and other Microsoft Office smoothly

I would hope so. My home made Windows PC with an x86 processor, 5oomB RAM and a floppy disc drive and Windows 5! could do that 15 years ago.    LOL.

Edited October 28, 2018 by wgdanson

[Ks45672]

Not going to blow you away with performance but still cheaper than I thought it would be at 20k

 

522grams  is impressive with  9hr battery life and a screen that size