Surface Pro 3 vs. Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro

[ripple]

I am planning to purchase an ultrabook soon. Right now I've narrowed my selection to the SP3 or Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro.

 

The most important thing is that it needs to be light (as I will be traveling around with it), and has decent battery life (I may not have time to recharged during the day). I am leaning towards SP3 at the moment but my problem is that the detachable keyboard isn't included in the base price (yeah, I will need a keyboard to accompany the book).

 

I am soliciting user feedback from people who have experiences with either or both of these ultrabooks.

[FMod]

They're very different to the point there's hardly a choice.

 

Surface Pro 3 is not an ultrabook, it's a tablet. The unique point of this device is that you get full laptop connectivity - particularly USB hosts (i.e. you can plug devices into it, not plug it in as a device) - in tablet format.

 

It also gets a kinda keyboard cover, but it's only a small improvement over on-screen keyboard. The biggest point of the keyboard cover is that it doesn't take up screen space the way an on-screen one does, so you can actually use websites and type, not pick one. And can play actual PC games, not just birds.

 

These features are totally decisive for travel. I can go somewhere for weeks with Surface Pro for a computer. Trying to do so with an ipad is a disaster, it holds its own for about a day before you need a laptop. An ordinary windows tablet, lacking connectivity, holds a little longer, but it's considerably more bothersome to use.

 

The main limitation Surface has is typing, but it's a full-on tablet and almost a laptop. Vaio Pro is a lot better as a laptop, but it's not convertible, so there are times it's inconvenient. Carrying both would be a waste of weight. In most regards, the Vaio is better - I don't have a Yoga, but it should be similar - but you do want a tablet or a Z Ultra to go with it. If Surface was waterproof, and preferably a bit smaller I'd completely forgo laptop+tablet combo in its favor; an IP rating is the only tablet-specific feature it lacks.

 

 

Yoga 2 Pro is a conventional ultrabook with a touchscreen and a hinge that goes 360 degrees instead of 150. A laptop with the keyboard turned around is not a tablet. It will save you in many places where there's no room for a laptop, e.g. on economy flights, but it isn't a tablet and you can't hold it like one.

It's a far less mobile device than the Surface, you won't be pulling it out on the go to look something up, the way you can and will a Surface, you'll find a place to sit down, at least lean against something.

 

It's not so much the weight as ergonomics, Yoga's not something to grip easily. Surface Pro is very rigid, although heavy and slippery due to the glass screen. So it's not nearly as convenient as cheaper tablets with a plastic frame, they should really wrap something around the screen for grip, and plastic tablets are lighter too.

But Surface is light enough and its ergonomics are passable enough to use as a tablet, and it saves enough weight, bulk and hassle over a laptop+tablet combo to be worth it. Unless you expect to do a lot of typing - what I did when staying long enough was buy a cheap keyboard locally and leave it when done.

[ripple]

Thanks for this. How would you say the VAIO 13.3" compares to the Yoga 2 Pro? What are some of the highlights and 'pros' and 'cons' between the two?

[FMod]

Vaio's a whole brand, so there's more than one, naming a specific model might be better.

There are two new ones just released, but only in Japan so far.

 

Former Sony Vaio Z ultraportables were amazing machines, nothing could touch them, not even macbooks and such. I have to say the latest Vaio Pro wasn't nearly as impressive, it's not feature rich, and with all the ultrabooks now on the market the differences are in percentages, not "twice the power at half the weight" as early ones.

 

Where Vaio Pro still stands out is how compact and light it is. The screen frame is narrower than other laptops, it's about 25% lighter than other ultrabooks, but the battery lasts as much or more. And there's an optional sheet battery you can fix to the bottom, with it Vaio is ~the weight of other ultrabooks, but with twice+ the battery life. These can be swapped, they take an acceptable amount of space, it helps when going away for a few days without mains in sight, and it's a lot more hours per pound weight than you get with external battery packs that use the charging port.

 

But the body in Vaio Pro is very flexible, much more so than in even older Vaio Z. It's not fragile in any way, gets away without any scratches or dings from impacts that can disfigure other laptops, the CFRP and alloys used are all structural, but the panels are very thin and so it can be bent a scary amount.

This flexing is a deal-breaker for a lot of people, others don't care, you have to try it out to decide.

There are some other problems reported like a weak wi-fi antenna that I haven't noticed much.

 

Overall, it's not an easy choice, you have to decide for yourself, and have to see and feel them in person. At least definitely check the Vaio in person if you're considering it. It's a lot more of a niche device at this point, not like Vaio Z where these cool features came as a free bonus, while Yoga is basically just a regular good ultrabook with a 360 hinge.

 

So I can't tell you what to do, but Vaio Pro is a love-or-hate product, you'll know which when you try it out. For me it was much less "love" than Vaio Z and I see a lot more potential for "hate" in it, but low weight and external batteries were important.

Oh, and regarding Surface, other than for typing, I wouldn't scratch it off the list yet.