Surface for noobies
 

Thinking of buying a Surface for my dad as a xmas gift. I know very little about these products and haven't yet had the time to research it. My dad's computing needs are pretty basic. If anyone has any info/advice on what to keep in mind, and where there might be a good deal, I'd appreciate any input.

Just picked up a Surface 3.

You can use ebates and get an extra 10% off (still think its available). Combined with the microsoft deal still available its pretty reasonable.

I chose the non-pro because I dont need to do anything crazy on it. But having it for about 2 weeks now I do wish the screen was the pro size screen because it just feels more like a laptop with that size and the keyboard will also be bigger.

Awesome for portability and I love picking it up and feeling that cold magnesium body.

No clue how old your father is, but I'm gonna base my opinion on my situation.

My dad is around 60 years old and has very basic computer skills. He essentially just uses a web browser, the odd poker program here and there, photo transfer programs, facebook, etc.

I would get him an iPad before getting him a Surface tablet. In my opinion the Surface is nicer and something I would rather have, but, you cannot beat the simplicity and ease of entry for iOS. Very easy to identify icons and with little customization there isn't much a person like my father can screw up in iOS.
I'm sure an Android tablet would be pretty well the same, but with my parents finding the iPad easier to use I recommend it.

My dad is around your dad's age and by no means a computer expert, but he does use MS Office for his business. Currently he has an older laptop that weighs a ton and he has to lug it around whenever he travels. So it will be nice for him to finally have something that's lightweight and portable.

That's good to know. Based on the reviews I read, I think i'm leaning toward the 3 vs the 4 for both the upgraded keyboard design and larger screen.

As far as sitting with it on your lap (like a traditional laptop) is it really as awkward as people say it is?

The surface is designed to be like a tablet with a kick stand on the back so yeah. You are not able to have it on your lap like a traditional laptop.

Your options are Surface 3, Surface 3 Pro, Surface 4 Pro.

I'm ignoring the Surface Book even though it's awesome because of it's high price. Avoid older Surfaces (if you can find them). Some of them run RT which is an obsolete operating system.

Surface 3 is 10 inch and is enough for most people doing simple Office/web surfing.

Surface 3 Pro and 4 Pro are 12 inch and have better specs. Get this if you want more performance or a bigger screen.

Keep in mind the keyboard is a popular accessory and adds $ to the price.

Keep an eye out for Microsoft sales: http://www.microsoftstore.com/

Do yourself a favour and get a regular laptop. I have both pro 3 and 4 and they work great for me but i'm a sys admin. Sometimes the Surface's can be a bit temperamental for someone that's not techie. If you want something ultra portable get the Dell XPS13 which I also own. It's the best and smallest 13"laptop out there at the moment with it's edge display.

When I was in school I purchased a Surface 2 (most current at the time) because I wanted something with MS Office and lightweight compared to my 15" laptop.

I used my Surface mostly for MS Office and web browsing. It was great but the only downside is you can only use IE. Unless your dad will be installing actual programs then the regular Surface will be fine, he doesn't need the Pro.

Going to link to my thread from a few weeks back:
http://www.revscene.net/forums/70620...e-pro-4-a.html

I bought the Surface Pro 4 i5, 4gb with pro 4 type cover for $1400 tax in on Black Friday weekend from Staples.

Pro
- replaced my traditional lapop
- i'm getting about 3.5hrs with 80% battery (as I type this), wifi and everything running.
- windows 10 runs smooth as babys bottom


Con
- sometimes you hear the fan working when running 25 tabs on chrome with a couple of other apps open. The fan noise is very noticeable when it runs.
- definitely not comparable to an ipad - it doesn't have that 'tab-y' feeling. maybe cuz of the stand, keyboard, and full on windows os.
- type cover feels awkward if you want to fold it back and use the surface as a 'pad'

overall, pretty happy so far - does everything i want it to do.

if you are connecting to external monitor, adding extra usb ports (has only 1 usb 3.0), expect to spend another $20 at NCIX to get the peripherals. I considered the dock, but for another $150 - no thanks!

as for deals, pro4 likley wont go on sale as it just came out, but if you are able to chat up a sales girl/guy, you might just save a couple hundred.

Best deal I've seen so far is costco. $1459 for the i5 4GB bundle.

If you don't need the latest and greatest you could also get the surface pro 3 with the new keyboard.

Speaking from experience both my parents(70 and 68) love their new Ipad. Is easy to use, fast, does what they want (fb, playing simple games, youtube, wechat and taking pics ><, watching movies and tv shows) both of them hated their computer coz it always have pop ups time to time and ask them to input their user/pw which they always forget.

With ipad all they have to do is find the app and it opens. My mom is even able to search youtube that's something she wasn't able to do on a computer. My mom takes the ipad with her when she meet with friends and share pics with them etc etc. I think if your parents are retire and just want something basic an ipad is great.