I'll say it again. Whenever I'm looking at new tech, you are by far the best reviewer on the web! so concise but always giving the right amount of detail and always answering the kind of questions the power users might ask! Keep up the great work! :)
As an artist the pro 2 makes the most sense. Considering it has Wacom technology inside. Unfortunately being a poor struggling artist I cannot afford the ticket price..thanks Lisa great reviews as always..
Great comparison. The convertible option on the Flip, while being handy, does not seem very usable considering the size and bulk. To me, the whole idea behind a tablet pc is to provide the highest level of portability but not compromising on productivity and power. The Surface Pro 2 is the perfect device.
My vote is on surface pro 2 as well because of battery, digitizer, and fan problems with Flip. I've been planning between these two and have come to the conclusion that Surface Pro 2 is the way to go.
You make the best reviews! I've been watching your reviews for almost a year now, trying to decide on the best Windows 8 device for me. I eventually decided on the Surface Pro 2 (and I'm in love with it), but I still find myself watching your reviews. They're just so interesting and informative! Keep up the great work!
Question, I currently own a Macbook Pro(2012) I barely use it probably only for Office and surfing the web. I want to purchase the Pro 2 for gaming(league of legends) and just regular laptop material and tablet uses. Is it worth it to trade in my MacBook Pro for the Pro 2? (I do own a high end gaming PC)
Compared both when I went to Best Buy yesterday. All the VAIO Flip models felt flimsy and the displays showed noticeable artifacts. Also was told they support the Surface (Wacom) pen, but that's Best Buy for you.
MobileTechReview Thank You Lisa. Actually I meant to say Surface 2 but by mistake I type Surface Pro 2. I use it mainly to watch TH-cam and probably read RSS feeds using apps like Flipboard etc. I have a MacBook Air with MS Office Suite in it. So I guess you are right. I agree Surface pro 2 will be an overkill. Don't know how much of an overkill it would be to get Surface 2.
Matthew Morris I agree. I primarily watch TH-cam but then I use it for other things too. I am also thinking of having a device that can be used to perform multiple things rather than having ipad Air, MacBook etc. But I see your point.
Actually I got surface 2 and happy with it. Even though iPad Air has better resolution the aspect ratio is a bummer. It creates huge black boxes on the top and bottom when watching videos. Whereas in surface 2 it doesn't happen that often. I can take a small hit on resolution over the aspect ratio
Lisa, can I download software like Lotus and CAC reader in the Pro 2. Military folks could really use that. Please advise...You've convinced me to purchase the pro 2.
Lisa, I am considering to buy Vaio Flip 13A, two quick questions. 1. How noisy is the fan, I've my own cabin so is that going to be irritating? 3. Do you suggest any other machine?
I have noticed from looking at these two at Best Buy that the Surface Pro 2 has a nice magnetic power connecter (like Macs) while the Flip has a loose connector that looks like it will pull out too easily when not wanted. Lisa. any comments on the Flip connector? I consider these two notebooks to be the two best methods (Flip and detachable keyboards) of 2-in-1s and also include stylus digitizing which for me is a must. Appreciate your art comments. Looks like the Surface Pro 2 is better due to Wacom digitizer. Looks to me like these two will lead the way notebook 2-in-1s will go.
First off, great review lisa. Perfect video for me as I am stuck between these two devices. Which do you prefer? I like the SP2 alot but the screen size does seem slightly too small. The Flip seems nice but i have heard some issues with it. How well is the performance of the Flip compared to the SP2. I noticed benchmarks are lower on the Flip than the SP2, although they have the same processor, graphics card, and ram. Why do you think this is? please respond, I need to make a decision.
I was soooooo close to buying the sony, I worked all through my summer holiday got £1000 (around the sale price in the UK) and as soon as I got home after checking that my wages were in I ran home and tried to ordered it from a PC world. However, when I came to pay for it my account got rejected because my bank that that it was a fraudulent transaction so I couldn't get it... I almost started crying...
thanks for this review . .youve tested the sony vaio flip 13 and the asus transformerbook tx300 . .which would you recommend for everyday use . .no heavy photoshop or video editing. . just daily web browsing, listening to music watching movies. .etc. .
Between the Flip 13 and Asus TX300, it really depends on whether you want a separable tablet (Asus), whether you need the digital pen (Flip), and the generational difference in CPUs which gets the Sony a little more battery life.
I have finally decided on the Surface Pro 2. Now just have to wait until the 8GB 256GB is available. Looks to be very popular. This popularity should be an alert to other manufacturers to make similar machines with similar stylus.
Pretty cool smack-down. I have the Flip 13a and I really like it, but I'll be honest, I would have preferred a Wacom pen instead of N-trig but it gets the job done. Hopefully you will still have the Flip on hand when the newer Acer R7 comes out and compare them together. The R7 seems to be more closer in hinge design to the Flip.
Hey Lisa, very nice comparison. Would it be possible to do one between the surface pro 2 and the original surface pro? I have the latter and would like to know how much I'm missing especially in performance. Thanks!
The biggest different between Pro 2 and Pro is battery life. The 2 outlasts the original model by more than 2 hours. The Pro 2 is also a bit cooler and quieter, though I wouldn't call the original hot or noisy.
Surface Pro 2 all the way, just got one and the wacom pen is great, I've been a wacom user for years from graphire 2,4, intous and the Cintiq 12WX, the surface is freaking great. Some say 1000 is a lot to spend on it, I can say easily that's wrong solely based on Wacoms Cintiq line being 1000 alone and that requires a PC to use and they are in no way portable. Wacoms own portable tablet is comparable to the surface, slightly larger and with a better pen but costs $2,000 and doesn't come with a keyboard on top of that. Surface is probably the cheapest, best option for artists who want to paint on the screen.
Arguably the only gripe I've got with the Surface Pro 2 for drawing is that it's actually a pretty small device to draw on. Yes, it's 11.6" and it's not that small, but with the user interface stuff on the same screen, the effective drawing surface is a bit smaller in most cases. I use Painter 12 on my Surface Pro 1st gen and I'm loving it. But I'd wish it to be 13.3" instead, but I wouldn't want to pay hundreds of bucks more just for that.
PHeMoX It can be but I'm used to working on the Cintiq 12WX which is fairly small as is and it operates at a lower resolution, even still problem with that device is the colors are off, even after configuring with a specialized device. A bit small but you get used to it I'd say, if not weeeeell....that's a shame. :\
Snotnarok True and I am getting used to it more and more. :) I think I am still used more to using my Intuous 3 A4 tablet and not having my hand in front of the screen and perhaps not as much a problem with the resolution of actually surface size.
Awesome! :) This is the device I've been waiting for for years of using the older wacom tablets, graphire, intous with a laptop. D: It's a dream come true. Edit: You know I've heard that before, that the hand gets in the way but that never came into play for me, I mean surely you draw on paper at some stage and your hand would be in the way right? My brother has the same issue and prefers the intuous that I gave him when I got my cintiq 12WX, you two are straaaange :P kidding!
Snotnarok Strange, lol. For sure hahaha. It's strange indeed, as it's not like my hands are in the way as in obstructing the view on what I draw, but they are in the way as in my peripheral vision. Yes, funky, but it's distracting or something, I don't know. On the Surface Pro I tend to paint a lot like a painter would with a long brush, instead of how I'd draw with a pencil very close to the paper and such. It's funky indeed, but it works for me.
@ Pixelbat: None of the Intuos pens work with the Surface Pro/2 as far as I know. I can at least confirm that Intuos 3,4 & 5 definitely don't work. This is also true of any other tablet PC, accept the Wacom Companions of course, and then only Intuos 4 & 5 are supported.
Microsoft surface pro 1, samsung ativ , acer smart pc , etc ,or u can suggest me,which one is good,i just want to do word for my assigment,fb,google ,slideshow,power point, my budget is RM1000,Malaysia.can u suggest me please
Hi Lisa, I am waiting for your review of the new XPS 15 in order to decide whether to buy it or not. People are reporting problems but I need the advice of an expert like you before making a decision! Thanks...I am a big fan!
Steven Koepke is it possible to get vaio apps like ( vaio paper ) on anuther tablet ???? because i search for it in the windows store but i couldn't find it
HI Lisa, great comparison! I"m super new to computers... housewife, 45, I"ve watched over 20 hours of your videos in the past 4 days and feel I've learned so much! I honestly didn't know what "windows" meant before that! So I've really learned a LOT from your reviews, I have really hit a dead end in my reaearch.. I can't seem to find any articles or youtube videos where people are discussing what I want to use a computer for, I was wondering if you could possibly help???? I want to compile my life memories... sort of like scrapbooking.. I saw the samsung Snote.. where you could take a page and combine text, handwriting (digitizer pen) photos, stuff copied from internet etc.... art created etc... I want to do that and make pages, and then albums... Priority is PEN, maybe wacom, then enough power to do some photoshop, some video editing... then I watch youtube and movies..that's it.. no games at all. I'm mostly at home.. but I will be in chemotherapy a lot so being able to carry it in a big purse would be good. I just can't find any reviews of people using Onenote for anything more than note taking. My choices so far are: Sony flip 13 or 14, Surface Pro or Pro 2 ...but it's a little small... Thinkpad Yoga...for the pen! Or is Onenote even the right program??? Thank you for any suggestions you or anyone can give me, I really appreciate it, and sorry folks for the LONG letter :) Thank you so much, Jackie
Thanks Lisa, another excellent smackdown! This is especially interesting to me because I really want to use a tablet for drawing. A friend at work let me have a go with the Surface Pro 2 and it's a wonderful machine. Ultimately I went for the Sony however because I do a lot of blog writing so the Flip 13a's less tiny screen, better keyboard & typing position are bigger pros for me. Plus the pen pressure support in Clip Studio, Art Rage and Sketchbook Pro are good enough for now. If we get Photoshop support somewhere down the line then even better. I do agree that a Wacom pen and a quieter fan would have made the Flip the perfect machine for me, but oh well, for now it's still the closest for me.
Hello Lisa, I really enjoy your reviews and the format they are presented in. That being said, it would be greatly appreciated if stress testing was included with these match ups. Would love to see something like World of Warcraft player dungeons/Raids or up until the point where they become almost unplayable. Also perhaps loading as many internet tabs that could be open, applications running, video editing/compression/exporting. Thank you.
I have the 15" sony svf15n14cxb. It doesn't have the Nvidia video card installed (for those who want to do video gaming - which will dramatically jack up the price of the device) instead it has the AMD video card. 1080p videos still play back great. I ripped out the Windows OS and replaced it with one version hundreds of versions of Linux - in this case Sabayon Linux (a more intermediate user friendly version of Gentoo Linux). It runs great with this system. If you're using 1080p videos and have media player software that allows you to tweak the video settings (ex. Contrast, Hue, Gamma, Brightness, etc. - you'll get great looking video playback. With all these competing "Ultra-Books" one item not mentioned here is the ruggedness/construction of the case. I found this to be something to worry about with the SONY flip 15". I only started to focus on this feature after using this 2-in-1 device for a while. The bottom portion - where most of the hardware is located is pretty rigid because of an very hard aluminum plate that all the plastic parts are screwed into. It's the top part - that has the video screen - that is cause for concern. If you're at a store and you run across this Ultrabook - while it's open, just put your finger on one corner of the screen panel exterior shell. You'll notice that with a light pressure applied downward, you'll be able to tilt the top video panel "off-axis" to the bottom panel (with the keyboard). That indicates a way too weak/flimsy hinge connecting the two panels - poor chassis build quality. That makes it very easy to break off the top panel from the bottom one. This is one of the things to look out for when trying to purchase any of the "ultra-books" that seem to be in a competition to out do each other on which one is the thinnest - yet the weakest shell build. When you put pressure on just one corner of the top panel, it should remain perfectly horizontal as it lowers down onto the bottom keyboard panel - whatever the "Ultra-Book" brand/model you're considering.
64gb is insufficient for Windows 8 and yet 8 years on, Microsoft still launch Surface Go 2 with 64gb storage and reviewers seem to gloss over this aspects of their reviews.
Writing this on my Surface Pro 2! I got mine for $600 with the type cover 2 keyboard and it is the 128 gb version and it is fantastic! Good for anything from work to gaming to everything you want to do really. I can play most games that are not too new like Watch_Dogs. I can play Skyrim with medium settings and 40-60 fps, Portal 2, most valve games like tf2 and Half-Life, and even Cal of Duty (I have tried WaW and have seen others like BO2 running very well at good settings). Though I feel my type keyboard may be in need of a replacement in a couple months or more because some of the keys seem to be getting worse. Overall very good! I give it a 9/10!
Thanks for the expanded pen notes. I think the surfaces wacom digitizer is far better than the ntrig technology. I have the core duo and I have palm rejection issues in one note. Also--as you observed--the viewing angles on the surface are pretty amazing.
It's a strange comparison I don't think people interested in the Surface Pro 2 will have an interest in the Flip 13 and vice versa due to very different sizes/fom factors.
Both of these seem awesome to own. However I really don't understand the market for these macbook air esque products. Why buy something that has significantly weaker specs than a normal laptop for a negligible difference in size for twice the price? I know SSD is expensive but why not offer a normal hard drive? I've never had a HDD fail on me due to movement so what's with the stigma towards their reliability? On top of the lack of hard drive options in these kinds of devices what's with the weak processors? Smaller does equal better battery life so I guess I get that but then again why can't a company simply built a larger battery into their laptops? It's a gray area at these screen sizes since people don't see what could really be portable. For instance: 7 in. 1080p touch screen, low end i5 and maybe 4 gb of ram, 500 gb hard drive, 2 usb ports, 1 full hdmi, give it a battery 2x or 3x larger than a smartphone. It probably end up being an inch or an inch and a half thick but really that means nothing. The thin craze helps make things more efficient but it holds our technology back. Hell if they did it with a 6 in. screen it'd be like BOOM! COMPUTER IN YOUR POCKET! I need to go back to school.
zeph94 Yup. The "thin trend' can get annoying. IMO, the active digitizer and pen is what really set these apart from macbooks. With the intended usage, I assume there's gonna be plenty of flipping around, etc. w/c you won't do with a regular laptop/ultrabook so SSD could be better (less risk of wrecking a moving HDD).
Well for me, having a massively thick laptop just makes it difficult to lug around, I used to use my mums laptop for engineering school and I had to carry round a separate bag just for the laptop but now I'm lucky enough to have a surface pro 2 and it's so much easier to just chuck in a bag and carry round. I think phone thinness is an issue though as the number 1 thing customers want is better battery life yet phone companies keep making phones thinner and batteries smaller.
There are a few laptops that I am interested. Mostly I look for battery life. Dell XPS 15 13 and 11 of which I am very interested in 11 and 13. Dell claims 13 has 11 hours if it is the case I might go for it but the 11 has a nice screen it claims to support the pen HP specter apart for the clever touch pad I am not interested in it much ASUS Zenbook Infinity 301 is what I am most interested in. From the videos I have seen this one looked gorgeous. If Lisa could review these it would be awesome. She is really thorough in here videos
i hate the gap on the sony when u turn it into tablet mode. it seems poorly designed and badly finished off... should have been designed to fold flat somehow.
God, n-trig is such a pos, I remember buying a hp notebook with a n-trig stylus thinking I was going to use for all sorts of applications, imagine my surprise finding that it didn't work in the most important ones (photoshop, painter, sai) because of the lack of wintab support.
surface pro 3 is out. I dont think you will like to buy pro 2 now. I want a durable convertible that would last me atleast 4years. pro 3 is unrepairable. you cant even change at battery. dont know much sony vaio, but sony too isnt know for its quality
It' s kinna complicated if you wanna buy windows 8 i,ve i pick surface pro 2 it' s easy to carry but sony vaio is big if i were carry it it:s very heavy so it's kinna complicated
it's only 2.8 pounds the Surface pro 2 with a keyboard is 2.45 pounds. You also do get the extra 3 inches of screen so that's really nice! But both are awesome products :)
![KRK - ชนิสรา Ft.WanMai , N/A [Official MV] Prod. By Sakarin](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/C-WMwwYobcU/mqdefault.jpg)
I'll say it again. Whenever I'm looking at new tech, you are by far the best reviewer on the web! so concise but always giving the right amount of detail and always answering the kind of questions the power users might ask! Keep up the great work! :)
Ma'am after scouring TH-cam for months, you have to be the best, most comprehensive review channel i have come across
As an artist the pro 2 makes the most sense. Considering it has Wacom technology inside. Unfortunately being a poor struggling artist I cannot afford the ticket price..thanks Lisa great reviews as always..
Great comparison. The convertible option on the Flip, while being handy, does not seem very usable considering the size and bulk. To me, the whole idea behind a tablet pc is to provide the highest level of portability but not compromising on productivity and power. The Surface Pro 2 is the perfect device.
you deserve more views!!! your reviews are always so much better than the other mainstream tech channels!!!
My vote is on surface pro 2 as well because of battery, digitizer, and fan problems with Flip. I've been planning between these two and have come to the conclusion that Surface Pro 2 is the way to go.
Hi Lisa can I upgrade the RAM or Hard Disk in the future on the Sony just as an upgrade in the future? Thx.
You make the best reviews! I've been watching your reviews for almost a year now, trying to decide on the best Windows 8 device for me. I eventually decided on the Surface Pro 2 (and I'm in love with it), but I still find myself watching your reviews. They're just so interesting and informative! Keep up the great work!
Lisa - your reviews are the best. So balanced and fair. Keep up the good work!
Please please please do a comparison between the Vaio Flip 13 vs the Yoga 2 Pro :)
interesting tab
***** Its slow compared to surface and sony tap 11, SSDs are a huge diff from normal HD. Check it out somewhere. :)
Question, I currently own a Macbook Pro(2012) I barely use it probably only for Office and surfing the web. I want to purchase the Pro 2 for gaming(league of legends) and just regular laptop material and tablet uses. Is it worth it to trade in my MacBook Pro for the Pro 2? (I do own a high end gaming PC)
Compared both when I went to Best Buy yesterday. All the VAIO Flip models felt flimsy and the displays showed noticeable artifacts. Also was told they support the Surface (Wacom) pen, but that's Best Buy for you.
I'll go with VAIO Flip 13 i7
FYI Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud does support N-Trig with the latest updates.
I got ipad air. Should i exchange it for surface pro 2. I use my ipad mainly to watch youtube videos
why would you spend more money than you already have to do just that?
If you mostly want to watch TH-cam videos, then the Surface Pro 2 is overkill.
MobileTechReview Thank You Lisa. Actually I meant to say Surface 2 but by mistake I type Surface Pro 2. I use it mainly to watch TH-cam and probably read RSS feeds using apps like Flipboard etc. I have a MacBook Air with MS Office Suite in it. So I guess you are right. I agree Surface pro 2 will be an overkill. Don't know how much of an overkill it would be to get Surface 2.
Matthew Morris I agree. I primarily watch TH-cam but then I use it for other things too. I am also thinking of having a device that can be used to perform multiple things rather than having ipad Air, MacBook etc. But I see your point.
Actually I got surface 2 and happy with it. Even though iPad Air has better resolution the aspect ratio is a bummer. It creates huge black boxes on the top and bottom when watching videos. Whereas in surface 2 it doesn't happen that often. I can take a small hit on resolution over the aspect ratio
Lisa, can I download software like Lotus and CAC reader in the Pro 2. Military folks could really use that. Please advise...You've convinced me to purchase the pro 2.
What about the Sony ViAO "Tap"? I'm kind of interested in a smackdown between that machine and the Surface 2 and Pro. Should be a tough one...
Lisa,
I am considering to buy Vaio Flip 13A, two quick questions.
1. How noisy is the fan, I've my own cabin so is that going to be irritating?
3. Do you suggest any other machine?
does someone know if there is goingt o be a surface pro 3 this year?
*Laptop & Accessories Sale Off up to 70%* amzn.to/OMi3sm
Low Price On Amazon ++++++ *BUYNOW*
A friend who works in IT says that a new surface tablet is coming out soon
like the new lte versión of the surface 2?
The might be a pro 3 in a week
*Sale MacBook Air very cheap & FreeShipping* amzn.to/1tWKSRa
Get it now!!! so very good _On Amazon_
Can you make a comparison between vaio flip 15 and te new retina macbook pro 15? :)
Lisa, is there any similar Samsung tablet PC like the Pro 2....please do one
Sony tap 11 vs Dell venue 11,vs surface pro 2 please :-) Your reviews are great thanks
Has Sony fixed the fan always on issue yet? thanks.
I have noticed from looking at these two at Best Buy that the Surface Pro 2 has a nice magnetic power connecter (like Macs) while the Flip has a loose connector that looks like it will pull out too easily when not wanted. Lisa. any comments on the Flip connector? I consider these two notebooks to be the two best methods (Flip and detachable keyboards) of 2-in-1s and also include stylus digitizing which for me is a must. Appreciate your art comments. Looks like the Surface Pro 2 is better due to Wacom digitizer. Looks to me like these two will lead the way notebook 2-in-1s will go.
I bought this instead of retina macbook pro 13, not sure if it was a good choice haha
Could you please do a comparison between the Note 3 & S4
I'm looking or a replacement for my laptop that will run things like Adobe reader, java, PDF files, etc. will both (or either) of these do so?
Very good comparison.
Fan noise, and wacom pen would make me get the Sony if I can test that.
Lisa which convertible is your favourite.?
Can you please review and compare these to the venue pro line of tablets? Thanks!!
How do you do your color gamut tests
Sony Tap 11 vs. Surface Pro 2 please!
Probably buying mine in September 8 gb of ram and 256 gb and cyan typing thing Any mouses I should buy?
Can you do a review of the Sony Tap 11? Please?
Can you do a Surface 2 vs. iPad Air comparison?
First off, great review lisa. Perfect video for me as I am stuck between these two devices. Which do you prefer? I like the SP2 alot but the screen size does seem slightly too small. The Flip seems nice but i have heard some issues with it. How well is the performance of the Flip compared to the SP2. I noticed benchmarks are lower on the Flip than the SP2, although they have the same processor, graphics card, and ram. Why do you think this is? please respond, I need to make a decision.
I was soooooo close to buying the sony, I worked all through my summer holiday got £1000 (around the sale price in the UK) and as soon as I got home after checking that my wages were in I ran home and tried to ordered it from a PC world. However, when I came to pay for it my account got rejected because my bank that that it was a fraudulent transaction so I couldn't get it... I almost started crying...
thanks for this review . .youve tested the sony vaio flip 13 and the asus transformerbook tx300 . .which would you recommend for everyday use . .no heavy photoshop or video editing. . just daily web browsing, listening to music watching movies. .etc. .
Between the Flip 13 and Asus TX300, it really depends on whether you want a separable tablet (Asus), whether you need the digital pen (Flip), and the generational difference in CPUs which gets the Sony a little more battery life.
I have finally decided on the Surface Pro 2. Now just have to wait until the 8GB 256GB is available. Looks to be very popular. This popularity should be an alert to other manufacturers to make similar machines with similar stylus.
any word on when you going to review sony vaio tab 11?
Can't decide between the Flip,the Surface, or the Helix. Help someone!
I know the Helix takes a sim card which is a bonus.
Pretty cool smack-down. I have the Flip 13a and I really like it, but I'll be honest, I would have preferred a Wacom pen instead of N-trig but it gets the job done. Hopefully you will still have the Flip on hand when the newer Acer R7 comes out and compare them together. The R7 seems to be more closer in hinge design to the Flip.
Does VAIO flip have sheet battery?
Could you show us some of your digital art please
Lisa can you please review the new Lenovo u430p?
Where do u plug it into the tablet to charge it?
Could you please review the sony tap 11
*4:12* Lol, pressure sensitivity in Outlook? I think you meant OneNote.
Awesome review, as always. Looking forward to a Yoga review.
Very compelling! :D I love these reviews, so complete and informative!
Hey Lisa, very nice comparison. Would it be possible to do one between the surface pro 2 and the original surface pro? I have the latter and would like to know how much I'm missing especially in performance. Thanks!
The biggest different between Pro 2 and Pro is battery life. The 2 outlasts the original model by more than 2 hours. The Pro 2 is also a bit cooler and quieter, though I wouldn't call the original hot or noisy.
Surface Pro 2 all the way, just got one and the wacom pen is great, I've been a wacom user for years from graphire 2,4, intous and the Cintiq 12WX, the surface is freaking great.
Some say 1000 is a lot to spend on it, I can say easily that's wrong solely based on Wacoms Cintiq line being 1000 alone and that requires a PC to use and they are in no way portable. Wacoms own portable tablet is comparable to the surface, slightly larger and with a better pen but costs $2,000 and doesn't come with a keyboard on top of that.
Surface is probably the cheapest, best option for artists who want to paint on the screen.
Arguably the only gripe I've got with the Surface Pro 2 for drawing is that it's actually a pretty small device to draw on. Yes, it's 11.6" and it's not that small, but with the user interface stuff on the same screen, the effective drawing surface is a bit smaller in most cases. I use Painter 12 on my Surface Pro 1st gen and I'm loving it. But I'd wish it to be 13.3" instead, but I wouldn't want to pay hundreds of bucks more just for that.
PHeMoX It can be but I'm used to working on the Cintiq 12WX which is fairly small as is and it operates at a lower resolution, even still problem with that device is the colors are off, even after configuring with a specialized device.
A bit small but you get used to it I'd say, if not weeeeell....that's a shame. :\
Snotnarok True and I am getting used to it more and more. :)
I think I am still used more to using my Intuous 3 A4 tablet and not having my hand in front of the screen and perhaps not as much a problem with the resolution of actually surface size.
Awesome! :) This is the device I've been waiting for for years of using the older wacom tablets, graphire, intous with a laptop. D: It's a dream come true.
Edit: You know I've heard that before, that the hand gets in the way but that never came into play for me, I mean surely you draw on paper at some stage and your hand would be in the way right?
My brother has the same issue and prefers the intuous that I gave him when I got my cintiq 12WX, you two are straaaange :P kidding!
Snotnarok Strange, lol. For sure hahaha. It's strange indeed, as it's not like my hands are in the way as in obstructing the view on what I draw, but they are in the way as in my peripheral vision. Yes, funky, but it's distracting or something, I don't know. On the Surface Pro I tend to paint a lot like a painter would with a long brush, instead of how I'd draw with a pencil very close to the paper and such. It's funky indeed, but it works for me.
@ Pixelbat: None of the Intuos pens work with the Surface Pro/2 as far as I know. I can at least confirm that Intuos 3,4 & 5 definitely don't work. This is also true of any other tablet PC, accept the Wacom Companions of course, and then only Intuos 4 & 5 are supported.
Surface Pro 2 vs. Vaio Duo 13?
dell xps 12 or sony vaio flip? any ideas which is better? thank you. :)
Microsoft surface pro 1, samsung ativ , acer smart pc , etc ,or u can suggest me,which one is good,i just want to do word for my assigment,fb,google ,slideshow,power point, my budget is RM1000,Malaysia.can u suggest me please
Where is the Venue 8 pro review?
Hi Lisa, I am waiting for your review of the new XPS 15 in order to decide whether to buy it or not. People are reporting problems but I need the advice of an expert like you before making a decision! Thanks...I am a big fan!
need to do a vaio tap 11 review :D
How could I get the Vaio paper on the surface ????
Please it is important to me
what are you asking for?
Steven Koepke is it possible to get vaio apps like ( vaio paper ) on anuther tablet ???? because i search for it in the windows store but i couldn't find it
hi Lisa can u review Dell 11 2 in1..?thx in advance..
awesome awesome awesome review...I wish to have the sony vaio flip..but I was saddened to learn that sony has discontinued pcs...
Your reviews are so comprehensive I take notes.
Looks liike I'll have to wait for the Thinkpad Yoga.
I wonder why Sony didn't choose Wacom?
hp spectre 13 review?
How much is the sony now?
HI Lisa, great comparison! I"m super new to computers... housewife, 45, I"ve watched over 20 hours of your videos in the past 4 days and feel I've learned so much! I honestly didn't know what "windows" meant before that! So I've really learned a LOT from your reviews, I have really hit a dead end in my reaearch.. I can't seem to find any articles or youtube videos where people are discussing what I want to use a computer for, I was wondering if you could possibly help????
I want to compile my life memories... sort of like scrapbooking.. I saw the samsung Snote.. where you could take a page and combine text, handwriting (digitizer pen) photos, stuff copied from internet etc.... art created etc... I want to do that and make pages, and then albums... Priority is PEN, maybe wacom, then enough power to do some photoshop, some video editing... then I watch youtube and movies..that's it.. no games at all. I'm mostly at home.. but I will be in chemotherapy a lot so being able to carry it in a big purse would be good.
I just can't find any reviews of people using Onenote for anything more than note taking. My choices so far are: Sony flip 13 or 14, Surface Pro or Pro 2 ...but it's a little small... Thinkpad Yoga...for the pen! Or is Onenote even the right program??? Thank you for any suggestions you or anyone can give me, I really appreciate it, and sorry folks for the LONG letter :) Thank you so much, Jackie
Thanks Lisa, another excellent smackdown! This is especially interesting to me because I really want to use a tablet for drawing. A friend at work let me have a go with the Surface Pro 2 and it's a wonderful machine. Ultimately I went for the Sony however because I do a lot of blog writing so the Flip 13a's less tiny screen, better keyboard & typing position are bigger pros for me. Plus the pen pressure support in Clip Studio, Art Rage and Sketchbook Pro are good enough for now. If we get Photoshop support somewhere down the line then even better. I do agree that a Wacom pen and a quieter fan would have made the Flip the perfect machine for me, but oh well, for now it's still the closest for me.
Finally! N-trig implemented( limited to 256 levels of pressure and 32bit apps ) Wintab support! surfaceproartist.com/blog/2014/1/5/sony-n-trig-devices-now-pen-pressure-sensitive-in-32-bit-photoshop
So you mean WINTAB?!! Like I can use Illustrator and Manga Studio?!!!
I don't understand Sony didn't make a 11inch version of the VAIO flip, that will make it so much more portable
So, Lisa, as we getting a review of the Microsoft Surface Flip 14, I mean the Vaio Laptop Studio, I mean - oh, you know what I mean.
Hello Lisa, I really enjoy your reviews and the format they are presented in. That being said, it would be greatly appreciated if stress testing was included with these match ups. Would love to see something like World of Warcraft player dungeons/Raids or up until the point where they become almost unplayable. Also perhaps loading as many internet tabs that could be open, applications running, video editing/compression/exporting. Thank you.
I have the 15" sony svf15n14cxb. It doesn't have the Nvidia video card installed (for those who want to do video gaming - which will dramatically jack up the price of the device) instead it has the AMD video card. 1080p videos still play back great. I ripped out the Windows OS and replaced it with one version hundreds of versions of Linux - in this case Sabayon Linux (a more intermediate user friendly version of Gentoo Linux). It runs great with this system.
If you're using 1080p videos and have media player software that allows you to tweak the video settings (ex. Contrast, Hue, Gamma, Brightness, etc. - you'll get great looking video playback.
With all these competing "Ultra-Books" one item not mentioned here is the ruggedness/construction of the case. I found this to be something to worry about with the SONY flip 15". I only started to focus on this feature after using this 2-in-1 device for a while. The bottom portion - where most of the hardware is located is pretty rigid because of an very hard aluminum plate that all the plastic parts are screwed into. It's the top part - that has the video screen - that is cause for concern. If you're at a store and you run across this Ultrabook - while it's open, just put your finger on one corner of the screen panel exterior shell. You'll notice that with a light pressure applied downward, you'll be able to tilt the top video panel "off-axis" to the bottom panel (with the keyboard). That indicates a way too weak/flimsy hinge connecting the two panels - poor chassis build quality. That makes it very easy to break off the top panel from the bottom one. This is one of the things to look out for when trying to purchase any of the "ultra-books" that seem to be in a competition to out do each other on which one is the thinnest - yet the weakest shell build. When you put pressure on just one corner of the top panel, it should remain perfectly horizontal as it lowers down onto the bottom keyboard panel - whatever the "Ultra-Book" brand/model you're considering.
64gb is insufficient for Windows 8 and yet 8 years on, Microsoft still launch Surface Go 2 with 64gb storage and reviewers seem to gloss over this aspects of their reviews.
Writing this on my Surface Pro 2! I got mine for $600 with the type cover 2 keyboard and it is the 128 gb version and it is fantastic! Good for anything from work to gaming to everything you want to do really. I can play most games that are not too new like Watch_Dogs. I can play Skyrim with medium settings and 40-60 fps, Portal 2, most valve games like tf2 and Half-Life, and even Cal of Duty (I have tried WaW and have seen others like BO2 running very well at good settings). Though I feel my type keyboard may be in need of a replacement in a couple months or more because some of the keys seem to be getting worse. Overall very good! I give it a 9/10!
Just got the surface pro 2 yesterday at Bestbuy! I wanted a chromebook and the samsung galaxy tablet was appealing =) so I just got 2 in 1!
I hate the keyboard on the surface. Its too small I have tried to get use to it but I can't.
which one has better battery life
Surface pro 2 have 8 hours and VAIO flip have 7 hours
What a great review. I just ordered my Surface Pro 2 512gb. I'm hoping it will work good editing GoPro video.
And I'm just here, with my Galaxy Note.
LOL
Wacom digitizer is a must. Pretty much anything else is a waste of time as far as far as stylus' go.
Thanks for the expanded pen notes. I think the surfaces wacom digitizer is far better than the ntrig technology. I have the core duo and I have palm rejection issues in one note. Also--as you observed--the viewing angles on the surface are pretty amazing.
Blackberry Z30 review? Very late it seems.
Thanks Lisa. Agree with every bit of your review. Great.
It's a strange comparison I don't think people interested in the Surface Pro 2 will have an interest in the Flip 13 and vice versa due to very different sizes/fom factors.
i do
Both of these seem awesome to own. However I really don't understand the market for these macbook air esque products. Why buy something that has significantly weaker specs than a normal laptop for a negligible difference in size for twice the price? I know SSD is expensive but why not offer a normal hard drive? I've never had a HDD fail on me due to movement so what's with the stigma towards their reliability? On top of the lack of hard drive options in these kinds of devices what's with the weak processors? Smaller does equal better battery life so I guess I get that but then again why can't a company simply built a larger battery into their laptops? It's a gray area at these screen sizes since people don't see what could really be portable. For instance: 7 in. 1080p touch screen, low end i5 and maybe 4 gb of ram, 500 gb hard drive, 2 usb ports, 1 full hdmi, give it a battery 2x or 3x larger than a smartphone. It probably end up being an inch or an inch and a half thick but really that means nothing. The thin craze helps make things more efficient but it holds our technology back. Hell if they did it with a 6 in. screen it'd be like BOOM! COMPUTER IN YOUR POCKET! I need to go back to school.
zeph94 Yup. The "thin trend' can get annoying.
IMO, the active digitizer and pen is what really set these apart from macbooks.
With the intended usage, I assume there's gonna be plenty of flipping around, etc. w/c you won't do with a regular laptop/ultrabook so SSD could be better (less risk of wrecking a moving HDD).
Well for me, having a massively thick laptop just makes it difficult to lug around, I used to use my mums laptop for engineering school and I had to carry round a separate bag just for the laptop but now I'm lucky enough to have a surface pro 2 and it's so much easier to just chuck in a bag and carry round. I think phone thinness is an issue though as the number 1 thing customers want is better battery life yet phone companies keep making phones thinner and batteries smaller.
Welshy2705 Gratz on the SP2.
Great review lisa
If only the Flip used Wacom it would be perfect...
There are a few laptops that I am interested. Mostly I look for battery life.
Dell XPS 15 13 and 11 of which I am very interested in 11 and 13. Dell claims 13 has 11 hours if it is the case I might go for it but the 11 has a nice screen it claims to support the pen
HP specter apart for the clever touch pad I am not interested in it much
ASUS Zenbook Infinity 301 is what I am most interested in. From the videos I have seen this one looked gorgeous.
If Lisa could review these it would be awesome. She is really thorough in here videos
Great review. Thanks Lisa
i hate the gap on the sony when u turn it into tablet mode. it seems poorly designed and badly finished off... should have been designed to fold flat somehow.
The angle when in tablet mode makes it easier to type on the screen and gives a more direct viewing angle.
*****
yeah but still it feels badly made and badly finished off....
Sam D'Cruz you're opinion, but I don't agree. It's designed perfect in my opinion.
Very good and comparisong and mostly there is really a point to comparing those two. Too bad for sony vaio department that closed up though
I bought used surface pro 2 $100. Cant use stylus with it except non powered
God, n-trig is such a pos, I remember buying a hp notebook with a n-trig stylus thinking I was going to use for all sorts of applications, imagine my surprise finding that it didn't work in the most important ones (photoshop, painter, sai) because of the lack of wintab support.
Vaio tap 11 please ;)
我应该是第一个中文吧 喜欢索尼的产品
Thanks for helping me
How much do they cost?
surface pro 3 is out. I dont think you will like to buy pro 2 now.
I want a durable convertible that would last me atleast 4years.
pro 3 is unrepairable. you cant even change at battery.
dont know much sony vaio, but sony too isnt know for its quality
It' s kinna complicated if you wanna buy windows 8 i,ve i pick surface pro 2 it' s easy to carry but sony vaio is big if i were carry it it:s very heavy so it's kinna complicated
it's only 2.8 pounds the Surface pro 2 with a keyboard is 2.45 pounds. You also do get the extra 3 inches of screen so that's really nice! But both are awesome products :)
Do a ps4 review
what agreat technology
SURFACE PRO 2 IS THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!
If its sony why does it have an Xbox logo?
It runs Microsoft windows, and they just popped xbox games in :)