My friend has a Surface 2 and I actually love the fact that it has a desktop. It makes me feel like it's actually a laptop rather than a typical expensive toy with a bunch of apps. This feature is actually what's persuading me to purchase it instead of the mac-book pro for college.I'm still debating it but so far I am in love with my friend's Surface 2.
@Anball2 How is RT a waste og money any more than iOS or Android on a tablet? They are the same type of product and RT has productivity features that neither of the competition can match. It's a tablet, not a pc. Please regard it as such.
I have a Surface 2. It's a piece of fucking shit. They fucking broke everything and they don't even sell RT devices anymore. I'm so mad. I can't even get the fucking Xbox Video app to refresh the goddamn video library because these stupid fuckers ruining Microsoft have no fucking idea how to run a company except into the fucking ground. I brought out my Surface 2 after a year or more of not using it and I remembered why. For the second time in 3 weeks I've had to refresh the fucking system because the piece of shit is slow, hangs, doesn't let me install A FUCKING FACTORY APP (Video) from the app store because it's not found. Fuck this piece of shit.
Lisa, the difference between yours and other "professional" reviews is that you get it! You get the dual environments of Win8x. That is why I respect your quality, in-dep th reviews over most others. Thank you. Btw...the speakers are significantly improved over the original Surface tablets.
One other item of note is that when you use the on screen keyboard, yes the press and hold for numbers can be annoying. However, you can just swipe up from a key and the number will type. I think that is new with 8.1
One important change for me was the fact that you can save media on the SD card now, like music, photos, and video. I'm typing on the new keyboard with the Surface Pro. It's a premium device for sure. My wife has the RT but I am debating whether to get the Surface 2. Thanks for the review.
14:53 You don't need to touch and hold on the keyboard to get numbers, you can just swipe upward from any of the letters on the top of the (vistual) keyboard
@ArmanJakupovic when u say not optimized for touch what do you mean? I use it daily and never had a problem touching anything or navigating. Even right mouse clicks are optimized for touch because u can glide up and down the popup and high light what u want to select before confirming.
You can switch to a regular on screen keyboard in settings. It adds numbers etc that does not need to be held down. But it renders of course they keys smaller.
I fell in love with the touch keyboard when it first came out because of its uniqueness and now that it's back-illuminated, i think i'm falling in love again. :'D
The Sony Tab that you mentioned is a great competitor but I think it is important to note that the reason they added more angles for the kickstand is so that you can put it in your lap. The Sony can be placed at all angles but you can't put it in your lap.
You can use the web browser to download media files but you can only install apps from the Windows Store. VLC is a desktop app that isn't compatible with Windows RT.
I ended up buying the Surface 2, I wish I could have seen the Pro 2 Review but this review convinced me that the surface 2 is a great device for a student. Casual use + office + 10% discount (if you have or know someone in college with an ID, ask em to send you a pic of it) = happy camper.
Awesome review as always but two important things left out. #1 OneNote is part of the Office suite. Super powerful. I use it everyday. #2 I don't know why your review unit came with the old pose adapter, but the power adapter on Surface 2 now has light strip around the connector allowing one to visually see that it is charging from any angle. (See Paul Thurrott's Review) Great Job!
I'm looking for something compact and portable to do student work on (mainly research and word ). I was looking at this and the HP Chromebook, what would you recommend?
The HP Chromebook does not have word. And I have a chromebook, and I had the last Surface RT and I can say that I missed having word and powerpoint, and having a touchscreen is helpful as well. Go for the Surface 2. You won't regret it! I am a heavy chrome user as well, and I miss my surface. I am going to sell my chromebook and get the Surface 2.
That's the thing, Im already so heavily invested in google and its services. Can i get those on the surface 2? Also the switch from android to windows os seems like a tough transition. Thanks for your input!
Thank you for the review. As a follower of your reviews (very informative and very clear) i would love to see a Surface Pro 2 review from you. Is there an eta on this?
Im just wondering, can you download programs from IE into the desktop, like a normal computer? example... can I download VLC media player and play movies from my usb stick?
Thanks for the review, as always very good review. Can you compare it with the RT, Nexus 10 and Ipad Retina? I'm looking for display quality (mainly colors, brightness viewing angles, not so much ppi), how fast to open apps and easy of use.
About 17GB free of the 32GB? All the preinstalled stuff takes up about half of the storage space? To me that seems to be alot of space taken up by the preinstalls.
Hey Lisa, great review I was wondering if you had any insight into how well the surface 2 can be used with a stylus? Trying to decide between this or the pro 2, as I am a math student who needs accurate stylus recognition for my homework. Would like to save money by getting this version, and using one note that comes with it, rather than having to buy the pro 2, and MS office. TY for an excellent review!
I run my own business (we build websites), and the primary reason I don't change OS away from Windows is MS Office - specifically Word and Excel, which I need for my business documents (Google Docs and Open Office aren't sufficient). To be honest, the fact that the Surface has pretty excellent hardware and the 'full' MS Office means I'd buy this over almost any other tablet. I guess that's a bravo for Microsoft.
question-i heard that the Surface2 isnt compatible with the stylus pen from the Pro 2; is that true? if so, do you know if there are any third party pens that can work on the Surface 2 for note taking/making, etc?
oh and when you get a chance, please review the NOKIA 2520 tablet. i would like to hear your views on that. plus i would like to know if its stylus pen compatible. thanks again.
Great review. I wouldn't mind having a Surface 2. A really good review, not biased at all. There was some confusion with Surface RT, but most reviewers only made it worse by complaining rather than trying to explain it to people. More reviewers should suggest it as a good tablet device, a good alternative to iPad or Android. Too many complain you can't do what you can with pro. They should instead let people know this is for the MAJORITY of users who just want a tablet but with some extras.
The Best Buy I went to only had 10. And now they are sold out and won't get any more in. So I tried other places... They too were sold out. You cannot get a Surface 2 from any company anywhere.. it's sold out. BUT.. I went to Gamestop.com and found they had refurbished models WITH a keyboard for $249. I got mine in just 2 days.
***** I'll see your 32GB and raise you a 64GB for $199. Refurbished, it came with headphones, charger, and data transfer cable. www.gamestop.com/tablets/windows-surface-64gb-without-keyboard/110082
*Yeah it is especially if you get Microsoft Surface 2 on Amazon, Their price on Amazon is far more cheaper than Ebay* amzn.to/1DCvvSw Click to get more informations !!!
What camera are you using? I'm putting apple new headphones in the computer and watching but the video sound is like sounding me, I took off my headphones multiple times to make sure the sound is not out ;p
My daughter told me she wanted a tablet for school, maybe something with a keyboard... So I found the Widows Surface 2... Laptops are not practical anymore. She needed something to do her homework on, to write, compose, send documents. I bought her this because it isn't just a toy, it's a functional tool. It has all the things she needs to succeed. Every kid with an overpaid parent has an iPad. I want my daughter to succeed at life, not play flappy birds.
Awesome review! One minor hardware addition you forgot to mention is the LED Flash besides the rear camera. Really wish it had an intel atom processor OR Windows RT was made open to running 3rd party desktop programs. Without that, still can't recommend it to anyone over an intel Atom tablet, which offers a lot more for the same price.
Allright, I've seen that a new windows rt based tablet will come out before the end of this year from nokia called lumia 2520 and it has better specs leaner and from what I believe is a better choice and will launch for 500$. I'm kind of hesitant because the surface 2 also comes with 200gb on the cloud. Should I wait for it to come out or get the surface 2 instead?
Lisa, I'm going to buy myself a surface 2 (not the pro) if I can find one :p. What I am wondering about, should I wait till the power cover comes out? Or should I just give it a go and buy the type cover 2? Never need more than 6 hours battery life. Thanks
If I'm primarily using the Surface 2 for Microsoft Word, email, social networking, Netflix, and maybe a game or two, would the 32GB suffice or would it be safer to upgrade to the 64GB?
Thanks for another great review. You're one of the best views on TH-cam. After seeing this review I may not get an Android tablet after all. Any chance u will be reviewing the Asus T100? Thanks.
Dear Lisa..thanks for your usual amazing reviews. May I ask you to review the new HP Spectre 13T-3000 with the ultra wide touchpad? I'm really interested in it and your reviews r always reliable.
Great review as always. Went looking for one to try hands on at the usual stores: No Surface 2s, just the original first gen machines running Win 8.0 RT and the old preview version of Office 2013. Sigh.
I wish Lisa would have put the Surface to test by starting a bunch of apps and jumping back and forth. Say open up 10 webpages in IE and run all MS Office applications concurrently.
Comes in real handy for school to take notes on and carry less things like notebooks and heavy laptop. This is real convenient for any student. Also great to entertain the kids.
My surface 2 has gotten more space without any apparent reason, I haven't deleted anything (downloaded about 0,5gb worth of apps) and still available space has gone from 16,5gb to 18,6??
why don't thay grab the origanal surface rt and also do an upgrade to it like also make 2 pasitions on it and also make a silver one and also upgrade the battery
I think you could have a good time with the surface. With office and an awesome version of Internet Explorer that runs flash, so it will run pretty much every website that your desktop gets. With those two you can research and take notes at the same time. Its really fantastic.
![เป็นไปได้ไหม - WanMai [Performance Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Eh5hItD4Mr0/mqdefault.jpg)
My friend has a Surface 2 and I actually love the fact that it has a desktop. It makes me feel like it's actually a laptop rather than a typical expensive toy with a bunch of apps. This feature is actually what's persuading me to purchase it instead of the mac-book pro for college.I'm still debating it but so far I am in love with my friend's Surface 2.
So true. Couldn't agree more.
5 years later, (or more), it's absolute garbage. Fuck this piece of shit and fuck Microsoft for abandoning it and RT.
That depends on the USB modem. Drivers are a bit more limited compared to printer, mouse, mass storage and keyboard USB drivers.
These tablet makers overprice their SSDs so much. A $100 price increase for 32GB? SSDs have not been that pricey $ per GB for years now.
Luckily getting a baseline model you can get a MicroSD card if you so please
Yes it comes with MS Office. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Wow i just watched your origonal surface review from last year 33 mins!! But they're both great reviews. Thaanks for the vids Lisa :)
Haven't seen that Zenbook yet in US stores. They have no review units either.
This is the best video review I've seen of the surface pro 2. All the rest are like 4 seconds long... good in depth video
Very good informative review :)
Just wanted to say: that desktop wallpaper! :O so lush!
We just got the Asus T100 in for review! Yay! So far Bay Trail isn't as fast as I'd hoped. We'll do a smackdown between the Asus T100 and Surface 2.
You do the best reviews. Thanks Lisa!
We'll be reviewing the new retina MacBook Pro 13" first. Dell still doesn't have XPS 15 review units yet.
@Anball2 How is RT a waste og money any more than iOS or Android on a tablet? They are the same type of product and RT has productivity features that neither of the competition can match. It's a tablet, not a pc. Please regard it as such.
I have a Surface 2. It's a piece of fucking shit. They fucking broke everything and they don't even sell RT devices anymore. I'm so mad. I can't even get the fucking Xbox Video app to refresh the goddamn video library because these stupid fuckers ruining Microsoft have no fucking idea how to run a company except into the fucking ground. I brought out my Surface 2 after a year or more of not using it and I remembered why. For the second time in 3 weeks I've had to refresh the fucking system because the piece of shit is slow, hangs, doesn't let me install A FUCKING FACTORY APP (Video) from the app store because it's not found. Fuck this piece of shit.
Lisa, the difference between yours and other "professional" reviews is that you get it! You get the dual environments of Win8x. That is why I respect your quality, in-dep th reviews over most others. Thank you. Btw...the speakers are significantly improved over the original Surface tablets.
Every time i`m looking for a tech review for a specific model, i`m hoping that Lisa have it on the channel
Timing couldn't have been better. I'm browsing around about the surface 2 to see if I'm going to buy it before I travel tomorrow. Great review.
There are no benchmark programs for Windows RT unfortunately.
That right clicky powershell menu on the bottom left corner was there on win8 as well.
One other item of note is that when you use the on screen keyboard, yes the press and hold for numbers can be annoying. However, you can just swipe up from a key and the number will type. I think that is new with 8.1
One important change for me was the fact that you can save media on the SD card now, like music, photos, and video. I'm typing on the new keyboard with the Surface Pro. It's a premium device for sure. My wife has the RT but I am debating whether to get the Surface 2. Thanks for the review.
I have to say , you are very good in what you do. Thanks for all the reviews!!
Thank you Lisa, I really look forward to your Surface Pro 2 review
14:53 You don't need to touch and hold on the keyboard to get numbers, you can just swipe upward from any of the letters on the top of the (vistual) keyboard
Bay trail does also have USB 3.0.
And the Dell Venue 11 Pro will also come up with a Full HD Display...
Thanks Lisa! I hope that you soon get a review unit of the Lumia 2520 so that we can see a smack down! I am a big fan of all your reviews!
Can you use the 3D bench mark tool and see how well it performs compared to the baytrail tablets? I would love to see if baytrail can keep up now.
Lisa, did you manage to get your hands on an ASUS UX301 unit? It looks like they are starting to appear in stores now...
@ArmanJakupovic when u say not optimized for touch what do you mean? I use it daily and never had a problem touching anything or navigating. Even right mouse clicks are optimized for touch because u can glide up and down the popup and high light what u want to select before confirming.
As always, a wonderful, professional review :) #1 place to go for a review :)
You can switch to a regular on screen keyboard in settings. It adds numbers etc that does not need to be held down. But it renders of course they keys smaller.
Since you mentioned the Vaio Tap 11, are you going to review it?
I really love your reviews. Keep it up!
I fell in love with the touch keyboard when it first came out because of its uniqueness and now that it's back-illuminated, i think i'm falling in love again. :'D
Lisa, thank you for an amazing thorough and fair review. Keep up the good work, subscribing now.
The Sony Tab that you mentioned is a great competitor but I think it is important to note that the reason they added more angles for the kickstand is so that you can put it in your lap. The Sony can be placed at all angles but you can't put it in your lap.
The first and second gen keyboard covers are interchangeable (compatible with 1st and 2nd gen Surface).
You can use the web browser to download media files but you can only install apps from the Windows Store. VLC is a desktop app that isn't compatible with Windows RT.
I ended up buying the Surface 2, I wish I could have seen the Pro 2 Review but this review convinced me that the surface 2 is a great device for a student. Casual use + office + 10% discount (if you have or know someone in college with an ID, ask em to send you a pic of it) = happy camper.
Like always, great review. What do you think about Windows RT apps, like one year later from it's appearance... has it got any better?
Lisa, please do a comparison review of the Surface 2 and the iPad air.
Also will you being reviewing the Dell Venue 11 with the Baytrail. That is the Batrail device I am interested in.
That is a beautiful background at 1:22. Does it come with the surface?
Awesome review as always but two important things left out.
#1 OneNote is part of the Office suite. Super powerful. I use it everyday.
#2 I don't know why your review unit came with the old pose adapter, but the power adapter on Surface 2 now has light strip around the connector allowing one to visually see that it is charging from any angle. (See Paul Thurrott's Review)
Great Job!
I'm looking for something compact and portable to do student work on (mainly research and word ). I was looking at this and the HP Chromebook, what would you recommend?
The HP Chromebook does not have word. And I have a chromebook, and I had the last Surface RT and I can say that I missed having word and powerpoint, and having a touchscreen is helpful as well. Go for the Surface 2. You won't regret it! I am a heavy chrome user as well, and I miss my surface. I am going to sell my chromebook and get the Surface 2.
That's the thing, Im already so heavily invested in google and its services. Can i get those on the surface 2? Also the switch from android to windows os seems like a tough transition. Thanks for your input!
This is much better. I actually have both (one provided from school haha) and the chromebook doesn't even come close.
Thank you for the review. As a follower of your reviews (very informative and very clear) i would love to see a Surface Pro 2 review from you. Is there an eta on this?
the on screen keyboard you don't have to touch and wait to slide, if you now the direction of the shortcut you can swype to get there.
Hey there, you said that there is other tablets running full windows for around the same price? Care to elaborate?
Im just wondering, can you download programs from IE into the desktop, like a normal computer? example... can I download VLC media player and play movies from my usb stick?
Can't wait for the surface pro 2 review!
Thanks for the review, as always very good review.
Can you compare it with the RT, Nexus 10 and Ipad Retina? I'm looking for display quality (mainly colors, brightness viewing angles, not so much ppi), how fast to open apps and easy of use.
I'am currently looking to get a two in one soon. These video reviews have become extremely helpful in my research process.
Any idea when you'll get some Dell tablet review units?
Nobody cares about Instagram on a tablet. Stuff like TH-cam and Spotify are way more important.
About 17GB free of the 32GB? All the preinstalled stuff takes up about half of the storage space? To me that seems to be alot of space taken up by the preinstalls.
Hey Lisa, great review I was wondering if you had any insight into how well the surface 2 can be used with a stylus? Trying to decide between this or the pro 2, as I am a math student who needs accurate stylus recognition for my homework. Would like to save money by getting this version, and using one note that comes with it, rather than having to buy the pro 2, and MS office. TY for an excellent review!
I run my own business (we build websites), and the primary reason I don't change OS away from Windows is MS Office - specifically Word and Excel, which I need for my business documents (Google Docs and Open Office aren't sufficient). To be honest, the fact that the Surface has pretty excellent hardware and the 'full' MS Office means I'd buy this over almost any other tablet. I guess that's a bravo for Microsoft.
question-i heard that the Surface2 isnt compatible with the stylus pen from the Pro 2; is that true? if so, do you know if there are any third party pens that can work on the Surface 2 for note taking/making, etc?
A comparison between Surface and Surface 2 would be great. Do you think you will do that in the future?
Thanks!
oh and when you get a chance, please review the NOKIA 2520 tablet. i would like to hear your views on that. plus i would like to know if its stylus pen compatible. thanks again.
Great review. I wouldn't mind having a Surface 2. A really good review, not biased at all. There was some confusion with Surface RT, but most reviewers only made it worse by complaining rather than trying to explain it to people. More reviewers should suggest it as a good tablet device, a good alternative to iPad or Android. Too many complain you can't do what you can with pro. They should instead let people know this is for the MAJORITY of users who just want a tablet but with some extras.
PSA: Best Buy will have this for $299 on Black Friday 2014.
Microsoft through eBay and Amazon has it for $199 now!
The Best Buy I went to only had 10. And now they are sold out and won't get any more in. So I tried other places... They too were sold out. You cannot get a Surface 2 from any company anywhere.. it's sold out. BUT.. I went to Gamestop.com and found they had refurbished models WITH a keyboard for $249. I got mine in just 2 days.
***** I'll see your 32GB and raise you a 64GB for $199. Refurbished, it came with headphones, charger, and data transfer cable. www.gamestop.com/tablets/windows-surface-64gb-without-keyboard/110082
*Yeah it is especially if you get Microsoft Surface 2 on Amazon, Their price on Amazon is far more cheaper than Ebay* amzn.to/1DCvvSw Click to get more informations !!!
+Beckham Dennis
*Microsoft Surface 64GB Tablet is best chose, it now sale off 30% on* plus.google.com/u/1/114819018594351646462/posts/jLcBt2BsvBi
What camera are you using? I'm putting apple new headphones in the computer and watching but the video sound is like sounding me, I took off my headphones multiple times to make sure the sound is not out ;p
Can you do an iPad Air vs. Surface 2 comparison, please?
Hey Ms. Gade, will you be reviewing the Nokia Lumia 2520?
My daughter told me she wanted a tablet for school, maybe something with a keyboard... So I found the Widows Surface 2... Laptops are not practical anymore. She needed something to do her homework on, to write, compose, send documents. I bought her this because it isn't just a toy, it's a functional tool. It has all the things she needs to succeed. Every kid with an overpaid parent has an iPad. I want my daughter to succeed at life, not play flappy birds.
really? how?
Yes ok karen
Another lovely review!
Awesome review! One minor hardware addition you forgot to mention is the LED Flash besides the rear camera.
Really wish it had an intel atom processor OR Windows RT was made open to running 3rd party desktop programs. Without that, still can't recommend it to anyone over an intel Atom tablet, which offers a lot more for the same price.
Allright, I've seen that a new windows rt based tablet will come out before the end of this year from nokia called lumia 2520 and it has better specs leaner and from what I believe is a better choice and will launch for 500$. I'm kind of hesitant because the surface 2 also comes with 200gb on the cloud.
Should I wait for it to come out or get the surface 2 instead?
Hands down, best tablet out there. Looking forward on getting it too, the 64 GB one of course.
I got a pink one!!!!
You're my favorite reviewer!! you have such a refreshing voice :>
HP chromebook 11 please?
Any idea when ya are going to review the Asus Transformer 100?
Yes you can add more icons
Lisa, I'm going to buy myself a surface 2 (not the pro) if I can find one :p. What I am wondering about, should I wait till the power cover comes out? Or should I just give it a go and buy the type cover 2? Never need more than 6 hours battery life. Thanks
Really helpful review, thank you! I think this tablet is exactly what I've been looking for!
If I'm primarily using the Surface 2 for Microsoft Word, email, social networking, Netflix, and maybe a game or two, would the 32GB suffice or would it be safer to upgrade to the 64GB?
What's the limitation? It has an SD card slot, usb port, Office and internet browser. What else do you need?
Thanks for another great review. You're one of the best views on TH-cam. After seeing this review I may not get an Android tablet after all. Any chance u will be reviewing the Asus T100? Thanks.
how would you describe drawing on the surface 2 compared to the surface pro 2?
Lisa Gade is awesome! Definitely she knows how to make reviews!
Dear Lisa..thanks for your usual amazing reviews. May I ask you to review the new HP Spectre 13T-3000 with the ultra wide touchpad? I'm really interested in it and your reviews r always reliable.
Great review as always. Went looking for one to try hands on at the usual stores: No Surface 2s, just the original first gen machines running Win 8.0 RT and the old preview version of Office 2013. Sigh.
yes. there are available torrent clients in the windows store.
Yes, the new covers can be used on first generation Surface, also, the old covers can be used on the new surface
I wish Lisa would have put the Surface to test by starting a bunch of apps and jumping back and forth. Say open up 10 webpages in IE and run all MS Office applications concurrently.
Comes in real handy for school to take notes on and carry less things like notebooks and heavy laptop. This is real convenient for any student. Also great to entertain the kids.
are you going to make review about sony vaio tap 11?
My surface 2 has gotten more space without any apparent reason, I haven't deleted anything (downloaded about 0,5gb worth of apps) and still available space has gone from 16,5gb to 18,6??
As always, Great review.
I love when videos show ads first gives me time to scroll down and read comment's
You could use IE, although because this is a 1080p tablet, trying to navigate youtube in browser is extremely difficult
Our Surface Pro 2 is coming very, very, very soon.
why don't thay grab the origanal surface rt and also do an upgrade to it like also make 2 pasitions on it and also make a silver one and also upgrade the battery
If the keyboard is removed and the keyboard does not touch it what is its procedure
on the keyboard can you lay your fingers on the keyboard with out it responding to your touch
I think you could have a good time with the surface. With office and an awesome version of Internet Explorer that runs flash, so it will run pretty much every website that your desktop gets. With those two you can research and take notes at the same time. Its really fantastic.
so the keyboard doesn't come with the surface 2?
Are the new covers backwards compatible?
Can you visit websites that use flash like TH-cam or other sites that require flash?
I'm getting Surface 2, no instawatsit app, use the browser. Only issue is, not sure whether to go with Touch or Type cover 2
I wouls like to know if it can be used as second screen and if it support adobe photoshop and illustrator. Thanks
No, only capacitive styli like those used with the iPad will work, not digital pens like the Surface Pro and Pro 2 have.