Any chance to buy a Surface Pro 3

[mattk1]

Oh no Riggi I'm gutted for you!

And no clue as to how much longer you will have to wait, what a pain in the a##.. I think I would have taken the 128 model but that's only because I'm very impatient to wait for stuff.

I would hazard a guess that this is a mistake at Banana IT's end but stranger things have happened..

Were you annoyed with the staff at the shop?

[Riggi]

I did think about taking the 128GB, but knew I'd regret it later.

So annoyed. The staff seem nice enough, but they are pretty clueless and have no means of getting any more info, or couldn't be assed getting any more info.

It was entered into their computer system when I ordered it, and that's when they gave me the date. I'm guessing that someone in Bangkok just put the wrong unit in the box, but who knows.

[TheAceFace]

Any more updates about the price and availability of this, I am interested if it is available anywhere in Pattaya?

For those who have one......how do you rate it?

[Riggi]

I'm still waiting for Banana IT in Chiang Rai to get my i5 256GB model in.

I'm thinking about cancelling the order.

I just got an Asus vivotab note 8 yesterday and am in the process of installing and setting everything up.

I think it might meet my needs.

Lighter than my original Surface Pro and the wacom pen works well.

Just not sure if the lack of ports will be a problem. I have USB OTG expansion and I have Screenbeam miracast adaptor, but you can't use USB OTG and charge at the same time.

Will put it through its paces this weekend.

[mattk1]

Hey Riggi,

How are you finding the Asus Vivo tab so far and do you think it could be an alternative to the surface pro?

[TheAceFace]

I did think about taking the 128GB, but knew I'd regret it later.

So annoyed. The staff seem nice enough, but they are pretty clueless and have no means of getting any more info, or couldn't be assed getting any more info.

It was entered into their computer system when I ordered it, and that's when they gave me the date. I'm guessing that someone in Bangkok just put the wrong unit in the box, but who knows.

How much is the 128GB model and is it i7? That model would do me, hope there are available in Pattaya when I get back.

Does each model come with the stylus pen also?

Any idea on prices for extras, ie flat keyboard, fancy travel bag ect.......

[scotsman]

http://www.itcityonline.com/shop/index.php?id_category=934&controller=category&p=2 There is a high demand for the surface 3 so you may have to wait.

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-to-replenish-surface-pro-3-supplies-within-two-weeks-7000033663/

regards

Scotsman

[Riggi]

Hey Riggi,

How are you finding the Asus Vivo tab so far and do you think it could be an alternative to the surface pro?

So, I've been using the Vivotab Note 8 for a bit over a week now and really like it.

Also, my SP3 arrived at Banana IT yesterday, so have just about finished setting everything up on that.

For a work machine, the VTN8 can't compete with the SP3. Larger screen, faster loading of programs, pretty much everything is better except for the portability.

The VTN8 is good because I can hold it in one hand and use the pen or my finger to navigate. The size is much better than my Note 3 for ebooks, youtube, web browsing and reading email. Some things are still better on the larger screen SP3, such as watching longer youtube videos, TV shows or movies.

MS Office works well (provided you have a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard) and writing in OneNote is great on a tablet this size.

I connected a Samson Meteor USB mic and an Akai MPK Mini midi controller to the micro USB and they both worked fine in REAPER and Tracktion with a few lightweight VSTs. I tried the demo of Sonar X3, but I don't think the VTN8 has enough grunt to run that without some glitches in the sound. Pretty powerful mobile audio workstation that you can easily get ideas down quickly.

Battery life is good (about 8 hours), but it charges via the micro USB port. This is good because you can charge it just about anywhere, but bad because you can't use any USB peripherals and charge at the same time. Still, I was able to use it all day in the office with a BT mouse and keyboard and WiDi display via an Actiontec Screenbeam and charge at the same time.

Another thing that the VTN8 is good for is remote access to my desktop at home. The screen is large enough to be useful (unlike my Note 3 phone, which works, but is too small to be all that useful). I have quite a few times been watching youtube or streaming TV on the main PC at home and used the VTN8 to remote access and change videos etc.

The size and weight are great from a portability perspective and it's good having full Windows. I've tried using Android tablets and the lack of full MS Office always means you have to go back to a Windows PC at some stage to edit Word docs with complex formatting or tables.

Driver support is also a lot better than Android tablets. I can just plug into any printer, connect any USB microphone, or any other USB peripheral and it will work.

It boils down to the VTN8 is a tablet first and a laptop 2nd, the SP3 is a laptop first and a tablet 2nd. There is always that trade off between screen size and portability.

If I had to only keep one device, I would keep the SP3.

How much is the 128GB model and is it i7? That model would do me, hope there are available in Pattaya when I get back.

Does each model come with the stylus pen also?

Any idea on prices for extras, ie flat keyboard, fancy travel bag ect.......

The 128GB SSD only comes with the i5. the i7 comes with either 256 or 512GB SSD. Prices are in one of the earlier posts. All models include the N-Trig pen. The Type cover was 4500 baht (maybe a bit less). Performance wise, there isn't much difference between the i5 and i7, so I'd choose based on the storage and RAM you need/want.;b++){var>

The i5 256GB plus Type Cover cost me just under 49,000 baht.

Coming from the 128GB, 4GB RAM Surface Pro 1, I decided the extra storage and RAM would be useful. I got down to about 5GB of storage a few times and had to do some cleaning up/archiving. 4GB of RAM is OK most of the time, but sometimes you want a lot of windows open, or running some VST plugins in REAPER and the 8GB is nice to have.

[ThaiLife]

Riggi , thanks for the update and comments

Just spotted this

The Surface Pro 3's pen is arguably a defining feature, but you haven't had official control over it so far. As of now, though, you finally get some say over the stylus' behavior. Microsoft has posted a Surface Hub app that lets you customize both the pen's pressure sensitivity and its top button. Right now, the software isn't likely to please demanding artists and note-takers -- you don't have fine-grained sensitivity tuning, you can't launch any app you like and the side buttons are strictly off-limits. The crew in Redmond is willing to add features based on feedback, so don't be afraid to pipe up if you have dreams of launching Photoshop with a single thumb press.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/12/surface-hub/?ncid=rss_truncated

TL

[Riggi]

Thanks TL. I did see that and installed it yesterday. Not really much you can do with it at the moment (just choose between OneNote Metro and OneNote Desktop as the default and some slight tweaking to the pressure sensitivity.

I'll keep it installed though to see what future updates to the software might bring.

[mattk1]

Hey Riggi,

Glad to hear you are enjoying the vivo note. Last week I bit the bullet and bought the Asus TX300 transformer book. I'm pleased with it and I think I got a good deal at 24,900 baht for an i7 with 128ssd in the tablet and 500gb in the keyboard dock. My only concern is the slight play in the dock hinge which I've heard disconnect the hard drive once or twice. I'm hoping it will not become a problem in the future.. I guess only time will tell :-/

[Riggi]

Congrats on the TX300. Looks nice. If it had an active pen, I would have liked the extra ports and storage space.

[mattk1]

Thanks Riggi, yeah it certainly is a good looking machine. Will just have to see if it performs as well as it looks..

Saying that, I've just seen a news clip talking about the T300 Chi which is really thin and light and has the more recent processor technology. Still i'm governed by my limited budget and the TX300 was the only one within my budget with a backlit keyboard.. don't know how I managed all those years without one! Lol :-)

[SebastianSchuetz]

Hi guys,

has anybody seen the i3 version and/or is there any chance of a discount? Still find the prices personally a bit too steep.