Microsoft Surface Go (Intel Pentium Gold, 4GB RAM, 64GB)

There is a lot to love about this but it falls just short of perfect. Let me be upfront - I am a dyed in the wool Apple man and have been ever since Microsoft brought out widows 8 which I hated with a passion. At that point I already had an iPhone and iPad so going the whole hog with a MacBook seemed a no brainier. I still think it is the best integrated system there is but recently, the fact that iPad iOS is so limited has begun to annoy me. I still have to use a pc for work. This meant I was carrying around a notebook and pen (my iPad didn’t support the pencil) an iPad to be able to use all my productivity apps that my workplace wouldn’t allow me install or more likely didn’t exist on pc. I was about to update my iPad with a new one that used the pencil but I still needed a mobile platform for a full version of excel, not the iOS cut down version. So I looked at the Go. What’s to like? Well windows 10 is a breath of fresh air and is what Windows 8 should have been. I love the fact that on such a tiny gadget, I get full versions of office 365 which is perfect as I move from location to location and spend a hell of a lot of time on trains. To my utter amazement, when I set up my one drive, it recognised I had a work OneDrive account and gave me access without any todo which I fully expected from my super security conscious employer. I have chosen to break the mould and keep it in S mode. I find it largely fine. There are a few things I would love to put on it but I have realised I don’t actually need them. One is my cycling fitness training app the Sufferfest. (It’s on my old iPad) I would have to come out of S mode to be able to Download that because it’s not on the windows store. Also the kindle app isn’t on the Microsoft store!! What?!! That is a real shame actually and was nearly a deal breaker. I read a lot of technical books which I like to note in OneNote. I’ve got over it by having to use my kindle device which is far from ideal as still annoying. The reason for keeping it in s mode is I still don’t trust windows. Apples ecosystm just works. Windows does too but in my experience you need to know how too change the oil and spark plugs when you lift the bonnet. Not so with Apple. Windows S provides a nice safe environment which doesnt allow apps to mess with your settings and I love that. My old home PC take about 5 minutes to boot up because of all the garbage in my start up. I haven’t worked out how to get rid of it but then I use my MacBook all the time now. As a result, the fact this comes with an old and supposedly slow processor, I dont find it noticeably sluggish at all. I am sure 8gb and 120gb of solid state memory really helps but I also don’t do anything that hammers the processor like photo of film editing.I will use my Mac for that. I also don’t play games (life’s too short and there is a whole world to play in outside). I do use spreadsheets a lot. I say that but as a senior manager, I have many minions who do the heavy lifting but I do need to review their stuff. Some of the financial models we use can be fairly large and they seem to work just fine on the surface go. Similarly PowerPoint t and word seem fine and I have yet to find any presentations that are sluggish but then I haven’t had any yet with more than about 30 slides. I mainly use it for OneNote anyway, especially in meetings. With the pen it’s brilliant. I don’t need my notebook and pen anymore. The only bummer and I don’t know if it is the processor or not (I guess it probably is) I find the hand writing recognition software is slow, probably too slow for my needs. But, the accuracy of the recognition is seriously impressive. Another thing to like is the USBc port. I bought a little Lenovo adaptor that gives me a VGA type adaptor as well as HDMI and a USB port. To the usb port I have an old usb expansion port plugged in which means I can run it on a big screen as well as use external keyboard and mouse. Mind you, I don’t bother doing that much as the track pad and keyboard are fine, as is the screen (bar the gripes below). So what’s not to like. Well a few things bug me a little. Firstly, as an (ahem!) older gentleman, I like things big so I do t need my reading glasses all the time. Annoyingly, Microsoft have shrunk the icons to match the screen size. I am sure there is a setting that would enable them to be bigger and therefore probably fewer of them but I haven’t found it yet. Apple iOS icons are a decent size. When you’ve filled the desktop, they give you another page to swipe through. Don’t think this puppy does that. Shame. The second thing that is really annoying is that there doesn’t appear to be any anti glare. This is really annoying when i’m Commuting. Finally battery life sucks. The quoted 7 hours is laughable. I dont seem to get much more than 4 maybe 5 hours which is appalling. The good thing is i’m not often that far from a power plug so it’s not been a problem yet. Also, you can carve it with a USBc cable but it takes forever and doesn’t seem to work with the IPad uk usb charger unit. The charger that comes with it isn’t too bulky and the US one is nice and small. I don’t rate the Edge browser nor Bing as a search engine. I can’t seem to set another search engine such as DuckDuckGo or god forbid google as my default browser. However saving one as a favourite works but it’s an extra step to get onto the web. I have had a few problems with accessing one of my web enabled IOS productivity apps - Toodledo which I have using for years. It seems the version of java or whatever gizmo needed to get the full benefit isn’t up to date enough and working out how to do updates in S mode was a complete pain, thankfully sorted for me by the flagship Microsoft store on Oxford Street, London. As it happens, I discovered Microsoft ToDO which does what I want really well. Finally the Microsoft store is pants really! There’s not a busting amount on it given the huge quantity of software available for download from vendor sites. Ok, you can always come out of S mode but for someone with no interest in knowing how to tinker under the bonnet, I want a device which just works. Windows has never been that OS. I think windows 10 S has the potential but I am probably the only review that likes the idea and reality of S mode (to a point). Overall, I am really happy with this and it does what I need. I’d still prefer to use an iPad at the end of the day but that is probs it because I am used to them. But until they introduce a Mac OS like windows 10 that can work on their iPads and therefore do all I need with MS office, I will stick happily to my surface go. I think Microsoft are onto a winner and maybe if they clear some of my minor niggles for the Go version 2, it really will become a fantastic go to tablet that is an iPad killer. Just no cigar yet Microsoft!

EDIT, 8/18/18 - So it's been almost a week since I've had my Surface Go. I still love it, but I'm beginning to see the limitations of this device. The limitations are due to Windows 10, not the hardware itself. And I feel that these limitations are very slight--slight enough for me to keep the rating at 5 stars. I feel that these tiny issues are ones that can be adjusted or fixed with software updates, and that's fine with me. The device is still great as-is, but Windows 10 needs little tweaks to make the device better--that's all I'm saying. Personally, I think the issue here is that Windows 10 isn't built for mobile devices. It's still for devices that are meant to sit on a desk or table and aren't nearly as portable--like PCs. The Surface Go is great because it's so portable, but it can be better. For that to happen, Microsoft needs to tailor Windows 10 to make mobile devices like the Surface Go function like a mobile device should. For instance, as it stands right now, I can't listen to music or podcasts with the screen off. I can do that with my iPhone or iPad. But I have to babysit the Surface Go, just like I have to babysit my PC at home. I have to be sitting around, making sure the Surface Go remains awake. Sure, I could mess with power management settings, but why should I have to do that? The competition doesn't require me to do that. Microsoft needs to match that. Many mobile devices have widgets or other controls that can be accessed without unlocking the device. I feel that Microsoft has to match this, too, with Windows 10. It also needs widgets that can be accessed without having to unlock the device. Just very basic controls--turn wifi on or off (for real, not this garbage with Apple disconnecting from wifi for a day), and basic audio controls. Finally: Windows apps should be optimized so that a user can get away with using programs without a stylus or keyboard of some kind. Along with the Surface Go, I have an Ockel Sirius A that I got through an Indiegogo campaign earlier this year--that device has a screen that's about the same size as your average phablet, and it runs on Windows 10. A stylus, mouse or trackpad is definitely needed if you want to get work done on it, even if you plug a lager monitor into the Sirius A. I understand that--Windows 10 just isn't built for a screen that small. But I don't think there's any excuse for a device like the Surface Go that has a screen that's, what...about 10.5"? Like an iPad? And on an iPad, users are expected to be able to use apps on that tablet without needing a stylus or trackpad of some kind. But I can't say the same for the Surface Go. Some of those icons--like taskbar icons, or some of the buttons or drop-down menus I've seen in iTunes, as two examples--are still too small to select them with just a finger. You'd still need a stylus/mouse/trackpad to use the Surface Go as-is. And, sure...of course you can mess around with the display settings on the Surface Go to fix this. But again--why should I have to do that when the competition doesn't require me to do that, and the apps on the competition's devices work just fine without extra hardware of some kind? Overall: Microsoft is getting there when it comes to mobile devices, but it also still has a ways to go to keep up with the competition. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I just got my Surface Go yesterday, and I have to say—it’s a genuinely nice device to have. I like it a lot. I plan on using the Surface Go as a “workhorse” device. I do a lot of writing and I work with spreadsheets, so that’s mostly what I’ll be doing on the Surface Go. I also have iTunes on it—I’m in the middle of downloading some albums to it right now—and I’m downloading some Netflix shows to watch later. The Surface Go can handle all of this very well—and I plan on keeping it in S mode, just to see how far I can go with this device being this way. Word and Excel docs, along with iTunes and Netflix, is pretty much all that I need a device like the Surface Go to handle. I’ve seen at least one tech reviewer (iJustine?) play Fortnite on her Surface Go review unit, so it’s not impossible to do it. It’s just—playing games is not a priority of mine for a device like this one. I want this device to be the one that I’ll do some actual work on. If I want to do fun stuff, I’ll use my smartphone. Overall: I think the Surface Go is a nice device to have if you want a backup computer—something to do the bare minimum of what you expect your average computer to do. Also, just remember who this device is supposed to be for: students and enterprise. If you’re in a school or business environment, then this’ll be a great device to have.

Amazing product. In love with it.

Before deciding to purchase this, I watched and read many reviews online. The Surface Go has received so much hate and I just don't understand why. This isn't meant to be used as the main computer. However, it is perfect as a browsing and media machine. The build quality on Surface products is nothing short of incredible. The body is all metal and is incredibly sturdy and exudes quality. The hinged stand which is a staple of Surface devices is nothing short of amazing. You can set it at any angle and it just works. It is incredibly secure and never slips. The only issues I have with the Go is the bezels (I wish they were a bit smaller), and only having one USB-C port. It would have been amazing to be able to charge the Go through one USB-C connection while I use the other for attaching devices. Yes, I know you can use the included charger which attaches to the expansion slot, but I find it so much easier to just charge though USB-C even if it is slightly slower. Not needing to bring a separate charger just for this computer and instead charge it with the same cable I would for my phone is so much more convenient. As a computer, this works for browsing. I have personally taken it out of S-mode so I can install any Windows application on it I want. With 8GB of RAM and the 128GB SSD, the performance isn't bad at all. It isn't the most responsive when using Chrome on large web pages, but that is to be expected. Chrome is fairly resource intensive. On the other hand, using Edge it easily handles any page you can throw at it. Windows productivity software like Excel, Word, and Power Point work exactly as you would expect them to. Communication software works perfectly as well. One of the things I really like about the surface line is the face unlock. It does use an IR light so you won't have any issues unlocking it even in the dark. Doing so is incredibly fast and it pains me having to type in a password manually on my desktop computer. One thing I am unable to review is the Surface keyboard. If I need a keyboard I will just connect to one wirelessly through Bluetooth. The stylus is great though. It does fall short of something like a Wacom tablet but is usable for drawing and perfect for a mouse substitute. For a media tablet this checks every box as well. I installed K-Lite Codec Pack on it and it has no issues playing anything I can throw at it. Even 50GB+ 4k movies with DTS audio streamed over the network from my server are no problem at all for this. Same with 4k YouTube videos. The speakers are quite surprising. They are loud, clear, provide a decent amount of bass, and are actually stereo. The screen is excellent quality with a great contrast ratio and vivid colors. The battery life when viewing media is also more than enough for a cross-country flight. Now, the heart of the matter is value. The Surface Go isn't a cheap device. Yes, it is primarily a tablet. But it is also so much more. The build quality is on par with the new iPad Pro's. But the iPad is almost twice the price, has half the storage, and is running a mobile OS. You can do everything on this you can with a tablet, while still having the flexibility of a full computer. To me, this is a win-win situation. The intended customer for this isn't someone looking for a $250 Android tablet. The customer who should be getting this will mostly be using it as a tablet, while still wanting the option to use it as a full computer when they are on the go. For that, the Surface Go is perfect.

Excelente relación calidad precio. Es el producto perfecto para quien busca movilidad y versatilidad en un solo producto. El rendimiento es aceptable para navegación por internet y actividades de ofimática. Pero evitalo si lo quieres para jugar o editar foto o vídeo. Sus capacidades no son las adecuadas. La calidad de construcción es excelente. La batería dura alrededor de 6 hrs en el modo ahorrador.

Ich arbeite oft mit Schreibpads, und wenn ich einen Vortrag gebe, brauche ich ein Tablet, was keine Probleme hat, meine handschriftlichen Notizen sofort über Beamer oder Smart-Board umzusetzen. Das Surface Go packt es sehr gut! Ich hatte vor ein paar Monaten ein günstigere Marke gekauft und leider war das Tablet von der günstigeren Marke nicht so gut.

Amazing product to be honest. It's a little smaller than anticipated, but you get used to it quickly. It works really well for my studies and don't regret buying it at all!