Oh boy....

Pro 2 user here, and to better understand it for work reasons, I made it primary machine for over 8 Hurst / day since last April. Until I guessed I had reached the point no software updates were likely.

I am genuinely disappointed.

Despite the initial impression of execution was positive enough for me to have a eight week or so honeymoon. I think the idea has legs longer term.

For me, of many many issues I encountered, it is IE tablet / touch version which has been become what in hindsight ought to be a showstopper.

There is no alternative for touch use without contortions.

Yet IE left to far too much grief.

I guess here nobody will freak if I had 50 or more tabs open. Not a usual search decision list to keep handy.

But without respite, IE would seize and redraw, reload no matter how cache sized (which pretty much needs a trip to the registry) and commonly crash.

I was heavily reliant on a 3G mifi connection during most of this time.

It is beyond my comprehension how a browser in theory close to OS that knows I am using a metered connection in particular with long latency, can be shipped with a addiction to cache miss reloads.

I would close down tabs carefully and exit IE (touch).

Reboot and ....

The entire past session and even sometimes earlier sessions would reload.

I found that bookmarks did not store or persist.

It just goes on and on from there.

This is merely the highlight commentary.

But within nearly 80 single spaced pages of description, not solely concerning IE behavior, I realized I had been building a "not fit for purpose" complaint.

I did not exclusively encounter the IE problems with only a few tab open, either.

I actually do think that the shipping state of the Pro 2 would, if I had understood beforehand, guaranteed I did not purchase it.

I don't maintain a web presence or have access to a appropriate place to publish my extensive review. But I am thinking what to do about that, right now.

Although I speak very casually about what ought to touch upon different memory models for touch aps from Metro thinking, the process sumps I ran, API monitoring, attempts at querying NTFS to find "lost" writes and a determined effort to seek out any possible corruption of the SSD writes.... all of which were reasons in terms of finding free time which delayed my formal complaint so far beyond when I first became incredibly frustrated, I hope I may be permitted here a modicum of credibility that I did at least have a fair go at figuring out anything that might be otherwise wrong.

I very much like this format.

This new 3 might be just the ticket for lightweight moments needing a x86 device I can carry substitute another tablet.

Yet, the sad ending to this, is that in my private but professionally minded quest to bring a 5th decade brain out of atrophy and into the current device world, this is the punching:

I bought a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact.

For everything I commonly did with my Surface Pro 2, exception anything requiring long concentration, I suddenly found myself using the Z3c for entire days and continue to in cactuses it primarily.

Even when I have a environment up to write and edit, how exactly can it not plain suck to be fighting with a browser when piling through API refs or SO to check out whichever. That was simply a concentration breaker.

I probably will check out the new one as above.

But I have rarely found anything so frustrating in primary use as intended or advertised....\

And I get done faster with my Z3c, for too many tasks.

I almost feel bad at the tome I am about to dump on Microsoft, but I felt strongly enough about the potential utility to me of this device format, I am not writing any consumer report complaint. I very much want my observations, which had me regularly disrupted from my flow even of corridor meetings, to be appreciated. I am to concerned by my experience to plump for a new model without most definitely being certain I can get refund after sufficient time to go the necessary test distance. And absolutely no way will I let myself think a future update will solve anything.

That last point, the confidence that updates will resolve glaring problems, is the kind of issue that would have me shut the entire teams to standstill (per Toyota System) until this was understood.

At present, the market for any Surface is small and tolerant and sophisticated. But this is if unsolved, a PR problem that could shut down regular consumer retail dead.

I may exaggerate, and as well two years ago I thought neither Lumina WP nor Android phones (I tested a variety from mid to flagship) were persuasive, but the change in experience since then has blown my mind. Still yet so much I would do on WP or 'Droid. But the complete experience is entirely impressive. Not only that, but my very elderly family members who are most immune to me thrusting new toys into their hands in ever desperate attempts to connect our diaspora family, are finally impressed. Because above all the response of apps is good enough to prevent a kind of "Senior Valley" in which UX and app latency makes them just pause enough to think they "did it wrong".

The story will continue nevertheless.... it feels like the second or wherever we are counting, Act, is not the dramatic finale but having introduced the Dramatis Personae, we are getting some action sufficient to appreciate full blown characters.