That is actually a pretty big improvement. Kudos to Microsoft. The Surface Pro 2 is a really nice machine if you are looking for a tablet/laptop hybrid however I still can't get myself away from a nice physical keyboard so settled with the Vaio Pro 13 which is almost a dream machine for me. Although after seeing the new PCIe SSD benchmarks in the new Mac Book Pro's I am a little envious. My wallet is happy I went with the Sony though ;)
Have you tried Microsoft's "type" keyboard? Very similar feel to most laptop keyboards. Unlike their "touch" keyboard which has no tactile response (and I personally dislike it).
Yeah the type cover is quite decent but actually using the Surface with the type cover on my lap feels quite unstable at times which is why I couldn't get on with it. I love the idea of a detachable keyboard though and hope to see more innovation like this from Microsoft in the future. A type cover with a physical connection catch/lock would be great. Maybe next generation :)
I recommend the type cover as well. I've been able to get 80-90wpm on it where as with an apple keypad I can get 100-120wpm, so its not horrible. The response is pretty good, the trackpad is atrocious, then again, I'm coming from Apple's trackpad. The type cover trackpad reminds me a bit of a netbook's trackpad, but hey, at least its functional.
I would definitely not recommend the touch cover as there's a very noticeable typing lag.
> The Surface Pro 2 is a really nice machine if you are looking for a tablet/laptop hybrid
Is there a similar convertible that comes with a real, physical keyboard that tucks behind the screen when not in use? I remember a few being announced but am unsure if any come recommended.
ThinkPad X touch series are great, as they're ThinkPads (which still seem to be the highest quality, despite Lenovo's efforts). The X series are laptops first, convertible tablets second. There's also a ton of convertible tablets made by plenty of vendors. In 2005, Toshiba made some nice ones. A few years ago Fuji had some neat ones. Nowadays it seems everyone has some lightweight convertible available. On the low end, I've heard great things about the new ~$400 Asus Transformer.
There are. I have only used a Lenovo flip tablet/laptop which was ok. The newer model seems to fix some of the things I disliked about it such as the keys on the keyboard recess into the body when flipped over. Really nicely engineered from the videos I have seen. I worry about the hinges though. They are all very new concepts so I want to wait and see how the hinges last out over a year or two of constantly being twisted all the way round.
There are two different configurations of the Vaio Pro 13 in the wild. All have on a similar form factor SSD but on some of the "pre-configured" models this is connected via a SATA3 bridge rather PCIe. On the models with the PCIe the performance is equivalent (or close enough, within a few percentage) to that of the new machines from Apple.
