Surface Pro 128Gb = $499 at BestBuy!!

[lparsons21]

Fantastic deal for those looking for a SurfacePro!
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/surface...2.p?id=1218862422867&skuId=7952262&st=surface

Note this is the 1st gen SurfacePro, but other than longer battery life and a slightly faster processor/GPU, it is an excellent performer.

 

[lparsons21]

...and at the Microsoft Store too!!

 

[mike123abc]

Fantastic deal for those looking for a SurfacePro!
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/surface...2.p?id=1218862422867&skuId=7952262&st=surface

Note this is the 1st gen SurfacePro, but other than longer battery life and a slightly faster processor/GPU, it is an excellent performer.

The newer one has higher resolution and a 10 point touchscreen (not sure how many points the old one was).

 

[lparsons21]

Uh, no to both. Same resolution same 10 point touchscreen.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424764,00.asp

One thing that the SurfacePro 2 has is more RAM as an option. The first gen was only available with 4Gb RAM, the 2nd Gen has both 4 & 8 GB RAM configs available.

 

[lparsons21]

Oh and a couple other differences are that you get 200Gb of SkyDrive for 2 years and unlimited Skype International calling for one year with the Surface Pro 2.

How much value that adds depends on how much you would actually need/use them. I have 45Gb of SkyDrive with my free and Office 365 subscription and it is more than enough. And I get 60 minutes a month of US calling with Skype with the Office 365.

None of the 'benefits' of the Surface Pro 2 make it worth $400 more imo.

 

[mike123abc]

Uh, no to both. Same resolution same 10 point touchscreen.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424764,00.asp

One thing that the SurfacePro 2 has is more RAM as an option. The first gen was only available with 4Gb RAM, the 2nd Gen has both 4 & 8 GB RAM configs available.

Oops mixed up the pro vs non pro...

 

[lparsons21]

Easy enough to do. Yeah the non-pros are 720p I believe.

 

[meStevo]

Pretty nice, I'm probably going to sell my Acer W700 (i5 W8 tablet, nearly identical specs to the Surface Pro) for a newer, faster tablet.

The processor is why you should be more interested in the newer version(s) of Windows 8 tablets. The original Surface would be plenty nice for many though.

 

[lparsons21]

In some forums dedicated to the Surface line, the concensus seems to be that unless the battery life is a big issue and you need a bit more hump, that the Surface Pro 1st gen is deal to get. For me, the 1st gen is on par with my MacBook Pro w/Retina in performance, screen quality and battery life, though I think the MBP may have a slight edge in battery life.

In those forums, many of those looking for the SP2 are looking because they want the 8Gb version with a bit bigger SSD. Most of them are using them as much as a desktop replacement with some relatively minor on the road useage.

The SP1 with 128Gb SSD has about 90Gb of free space after it gets the first 69 updates to Win8 you have to do in order to upgrade to Win8.1. And most Metro/Modern UI apps don't use much storage space at all. Desktop apps vary wildly in space needs. The default config on the SP's is to save to SkyDrive, though not everything actually pays attention to that, in general just the MS apps you get.

On mine, I even set up Hyper-V (virtualization), installed Ubuntu on it to run virtualized, and still had plenty of pep.

 

[TheForce]

Lloyd- I have the 128 Gb model and paid a high price to add a 128Gb Micro SD card. With that storage I can do my in the field 3D video reviews and editing. I also bought a great little accessory, a 5 SD card reader with 2 standard USB ports and one mini USB port. It plugs into the side. It also supplies power on the top USB port to run my LG BluRay drive or my 2Tb WD Passport drive. This leaves the second USB port for a mouse. On my last trip I used the SP1 for most of my needs but just used the ipad and it's 4G connect to Verizon as a hotspot for the hotel room. I have no complaints with the Surface Pro 1.

 

[lparsons21]

It seems to be a solid performer and in my case I have no need for additional storage. I think it compares very well to the MacBook Pro w/retina display.

MS has said there will be a power cover sometime this year to give additional battery time.