Surface Pro 11 Review: The Ultimate 2-in-1 Tablet with Intel Lunar Lake

The Surface Pro 11 is here, and it’s redefining what a 2-in-1 device can do. Featuring Intel’s new Lunar Lake architecture, this powerhouse delivers laptop-level performance in a lightweight, ultra-portable design. Whether you're a professional, student, or creative, the Surface Pro 11 offers the flexibility and power to handle it all.

Design & Build Quality

Microsoft continues its tradition of premium craftsmanship with the Surface Pro 11. The device maintains the sleek magnesium-alloy chassis that has become a signature of the Surface lineup. It’s ultra-thin, lightweight, and incredibly well-built, making it an excellent companion for on-the-go professionals. The iconic kickstand allows for multiple viewing angles, making it comfortable for work, play, and content consumption.

Display: PixelSense Perfection

The 13-inch PixelSense™ Flow display is one of the standout features of the Surface Pro 11. With a 2880 x 1920 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, the visuals are sharp, smooth, and vibrant. The screen is color-calibrated and now features anti-reflective coating for improved visibility in bright environments. Whether you’re editing photos, streaming videos, or working on spreadsheets, the display won’t disappoint.

Performance: Powered by Intel Lunar Lake

Equipped with the latest Intel Core Ultra processors, the Surface Pro 11 delivers blazing-fast performance while maintaining excellent efficiency. The upgraded AI capabilities in the chip help optimize performance for productivity apps, creative software, and multitasking. Paired with up to 32GB of RAM, it can handle demanding workloads, from video editing to gaming.

Storage & Upgradeability: Now with 2TB SSD Support

One of the most exciting features is the user-upgradeable SSD. Unlike many ultraportable devices, Microsoft allows users to swap out the SSD, and in our testing, we successfully upgraded to a 2TB SSD, significantly increasing storage capacity. This makes the Surface Pro 11 a long-term investment, giving users the freedom to expand storage as needed.

Battery Life: All-Day Productivity

With an advertised 14-hour battery life, the Surface Pro 11 holds up well for an entire workday. Real-world usage varies depending on workload, but even with heavy multitasking, you can expect impressive endurance.

Connectivity & Accessories

The Surface Pro 11 comes with multiple USB-C ports with Thunderbolt support, allowing for fast data transfers, external GPU connections, and multiple monitor setups. It also retains the Surface Connect port, which offers an alternative charging method and compatibility with existing Surface accessories.

Pairing it with the Surface Pro Signature Keyboard and Slim Pen 2 elevates the experience, transforming it into a full-fledged laptop replacement. When connected to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, the Surface Pro 11 seamlessly shifts into a powerful desktop workstation.

Final Thoughts: Is It Worth It?

The Surface Pro 11 is arguably the best 2-in-1 device on the market today. Its powerful new Intel Lunar Lake processor, stunning display, upgradeable storage, and long battery life make it an excellent investment for professionals and creatives alike. If you’re looking for a versatile, premium Windows device that can function as both a tablet and a laptop, the Surface Pro 11 is a no-brainer.

Pros:
✔️ Premium design and build quality
✔️ Stunning 120Hz PixelSense display
✔️ Intel Lunar Lake for excellent performance
✔️ Upgradeable SSD (supports 2TB)
✔️ Great battery life
✔️ Thunderbolt support for external devices

Cons:
❌ Accessories (keyboard and pen) sold separately
❌ No USB-A port for legacy devices

If you’re considering upgrading, now is the time to experience the next level of portable computing with the Surface Pro 11.

Surface Duo Otterbox Case Review

           

I picked up the Otterbox Theorem Series case for the Surface Duo to protect it while traveling. The Ottherbox Theorem case looks great but has some downfalls after using it... The case doesn't really work very well with a stylus, even though it has a stylus holder built right on the flap. It actually keeps the flap from closing if you put a stylus. The Otterbox Theorem looks very elegant and gives your Microsoft Surface Duo that extra high class look, but inside it is made of plastic that doesn't look or feel high quality. The Otterbox Theorem Series is on the expensive side, you might want to shop around if you pick up the case for your Microsoft Surface Duo. It does have a sticky surface inside that holds your Surface Duo which keeps it from sliding out. But if you happen to have a skin protector on the outside of the Surface Duo, it might peel it off with the adhesive of the case to keep the Surface Duo from sliding out of the case. Inside there are two slots for credit cards or you could put your driver's license in the slot as well. Overall the case looks great but it only holds from one side and the rest is loose so I will be passing on this case. Otterbox Theorem Series Case: https://www.otterbox.com/en-us/microsoft-surface-duo/theorem-series-case/77-80500.html#q=surface%2Bduo&lang=default&start=1

Microsoft Surface Duo: Ember Color Bumper Great Protection!

             


Microsoft Surface Duo has released color bumpers to add different colors to the bumper line up, besides the Glacier White bumper that comes inside the box. I picked up the Ember color bumper which is a much nicer color than the picture from the online Microsoft website and at first didn't install the Glacier White bumper because it just seemed to plain of a color. Overall the bumper does give you a better grip to hold the Microsoft Surface Duo in your hand and also if it happens to slide from your hand it can give it some protection when dropping and hitting the floor, table, or any hard surface. Also, the Ember color bumper added a nice detail to the Surface Duo! It is a bit pricey, but I think it's worth the price of the bumper.

Lenovo Miix 2 8-inch is available at Best Buy…

Lenovo joins the 8-inch tablet crowd by officially releasing the Lenovo Miix 2 8, and Best Buy is showing you can get it by the 24th. As expected, the specs are pretty much the same as the Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet and the Toshiba Encore WT8 tablet. Performance will be on par with other Windows 8.1 8-inch tablets running the latest Bay trail quad-core Intel Atom Z3740 processor. So lets take a look at what to expect…

Surface Pro 2: Incipio Feather Ultra Thin Snap On Case Review

YouTube Video

If you are like most that like to keep your tablet in a nice case to help prevent scratches or dents. Incipio is selling the Feather Ultra Thin Snap-On Case for the Surface Pro 2 and also works for the first Surface Pro.

In the video I cover some details on the build quality and also how well the openings to the ports are. If you plan on attaching the stylus to the side, you won't like this case. The USB port opening worked great, as I tested a flash drive with the case.

If you plan on purchasing a screen protector or already have one, you can skip purchasing the Incipio Feather Ultra Thin Snap-On case, as this will left your screen protector, see in video.

Over all, the Incipio Feather Ultra Thin Snap-On case seem to be of lower build quality. The case is priced at $39.99 so you would expect a bit more solid case.

Microsoft Surface Pro 256GB Tablet available now…

Back in February Microsoft released the Surface Pro which has a storage capacity of either 64GB or 128GB. I have been quite happy with my 128GB Surface Pro despite some of the bad reviews claiming that battery life was in the 3 to 4 hours range. I personally can get through an eight hour day with my Surface Pro using it on “Power Saver” settings, of course this is using it on and off during the day when I am out on meetings.

Fast forward seven months later, Microsoft makes the 256GB Surface Pro available. I would have liked if Microsoft had made the 256GB Surface Pro available at launch. I would have paid the extra to get the 256GB version if it was available at the time.

Microsoft will be holding an announcement September 23, which should bring to light, the new Haswell Surface Pro along with several new accessories and we should also hear more on the 256GB Surface Pro.

Microsoft announced pricing for Windows 8.1 starting at $119

Now that Microsoft has announced the pricing for Windows 8.1, you can expect starting price at $120 for Windows 8.1 if you are upgrading from any other previous version of Windows or $199 for Windows 8.1 Pro version. Same applies to Windows 8.1 Pro, this price is for upgrading from any previous Windows or if you plan to run Windows 8.1 on a VM machine.

If you are already running Windows 8 on your current system, Windows 8.1 will be a free upgrade to your current version of Windows 8 you have.

For those that happen to downloaded Windows 8.1 RTM from MSDN or TechNet, and already have your product key from Windows 8. You can still continue to use your existing Windows 8 key, but you will have to use the product key from your subscription to get Window 8.1 RTM to load. Once it has installed. Go to your activation and chose to put your key, at this point you will use the Windows 8 key. After all, Microsoft is providing Windows 8.1 as a free upgrade so why not use your key.

Microsoft has done some great improvements with Windows 8.1, as I have been using it on the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 with 4G LTE. I wiped everything and did a fresh install to test out if everything would work. Once I installed some drivers from Lenovo everything has been very smooth on the ThinkPad Tablet 2. I will do some quick videos showing some of the new features you can find with Windows 8.1.

Asus Bay Trail $349 Transformer Book T100 priced just right!

Once again Asus introduces a low cost Windows tablet. This past week at IDF (Intel Developer Forum), Asus announced the Asus Transformer Book T100, which will start at $349 for the 32GB and $399 for the 64GB version. Set to be released on October 18, running Windows 8.1.

With its new Atom Z3740 quad-core processor you will see a great increase over the current Atom Z2760 processor. The Transformer Book T100 will have a 10.1-inch IPS HD display with 178 degree viewing angles. The T100 will have 1366 x 768 resolution, would have been nice to see a little better resolution as we should see with some others.

Lets not forget that the T100 will also be packing 2GB of RAM, microSD card slot, 1.2MP front facing camera, with no rear camera, a micro USB port and headphone jack. We should expect battery life around 11 hours of web browsing, which should be enough power for most task on the road.

The Transformer Book T100 will come with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 included, this should satisfy most user that Asus is targeting the T100 at, with full version of Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint.

Currently Asus has been selling the Asus VivoTab Smart ME400C for $399, with 64GB and Windows 8. Not bad for the current line up that is available now, but looks like the T100 with the included keyboard dock will once again make Asus Transformer Book T100 best value for the price.

If you can't wait and looking for great low cost Windows 8 tablet, head over to the Microsoft Store.

Windows 8.1 RTM: Upgrading from Windows 8.1 Preview? Don't forget to run diskcleaner

 

For those that have been lucky enough to get your hands on Windows 8.1 RTM, and went the upgrade path from Windows 8.1 Preview, don't forget to run the disk cleanup and clear "Previous Windows installation". This can free up some extra GB, and with just having128GB SSD on the Surface Pro, the extra 6.69GB is well welcomed on my Surface Pro.

Just head over to your desktop and open up file explorer, navigate over to your C:\ drive and right click it. Chose properties and click on "Disk Cleanup". Let it do its thing, you should then get the Disk Cleanup box. Check off what you want cleaned up and enjoy your extra space.

 

 

In my case, after running disk cleanup I now have 93GB free space. For now, I will take as much as I can, would like to see 256GB SSD become a standard for the Surface Pro.

 

Also I have picked up a 64GB microSD card to store pictures, music, documents and sync my Skydrive. 

Case Review: Classic stand case cover for Microsoft Surface Pro tablet

 

I decided to give the classic stand case cover with the stylus holder for my Microsoft Surface Pro a try. If I use any type of cases I usually like to keep them as slim as possible to add the least amount of bulk, yet keep my devices looking clean and protected. This is the case with the classic stand case from MiniSuit.

Another advantage of the classic stand case cover is that you can still have either the type or touch keyboards attached to your Surface Pro or you can chose to remove them and still use the classic stand case. This alone is a great deal for me, as sometimes I travel knowing that I will be using the keyboard.

Lets take a look the classic stand case cover and see how well it fits around the Surface Pro.

Update for Microsoft’s Mail, People and Calendar app now available

 

If your like many of us that had heard that Microsoft would be pushing an update for the Mail, People and Calendar app for Windows 8. Head over to the Store and chose “Your Apps” that should enable for the related apps to request for update. You might need to close the Store app and then come back.

Before the update you can see that the Mail app is not so touch friendly.

One thing you will notice is that the Mail app has become more touch friendly and is much quicker in opening up. You no longer will see the turning circle when you open the Mail app. Searching for emails also has greatly improved prior to updating. I get over 40 emails a day and the need for quicker searching is a great welcomed feature with the new update. Another nice feature and very useful one is the ability to create folders as well. This comes in very handy as I also like to create folders for dropping certain emails when I am on the road to review for later. Yes I do use Outlook 2013 but when your on the road it is much easier to open up the Mail app and also is easier on the battery life rather than using the full Outlook 2013. Still wished that we could sync with Google contacts and calendar, but that’s on another issue.

I don’t use the Calendar app any longer since I can’t sync with my Google Calendar, but there is also some nice added features. Again, once you click on the Calendar app it opens up rather quickly or just might be because I really don’t have any Calendar appointments. I will give this a try on my Samsung Smart PC Pro ATIV 700T which I do sync my Google Calendar with the Windows 8 Calendar app. Lucky I was able to set up the Calendar app before Google pulled the plug. Now Microsoft needs to change the method to sync with Google so that we can continue to sync just like we do with iOS and Google.

The Calendar app now comes with a workweek-only view that shows just Monday through Friday, this is similar to Google Calendar.

You also see dateline showing where you are in the day, great to glance and see the time slot when it comes to making your  appointments. 

Last but not least, the People app received the fewest improvements. You now can post to your Facebook contacts right from the app, this can save you some time and makes it very fluid. You can also sort out to show “What’s New” page from your social network. 

You should see the new update show up in your Store apps. Once you update your Mail, People and Calendar apps, give them a try and see what new feature works best for you. 

Surface Edition Wedge Touch Mouse review

 

Microsoft has also released a special edition mouse which is basically like the original Wedge Touch Mouse that was released last year. The notable difference is that Microsoft matched the Surface casing with the Surface Edition Wedge. Which gives it a nice touch!

Another benefit of the Wedge Touch Mouse is, it is bluetooth making it very easy to pair to your laptop or Surface tablet.

The Surface Edition Wedge Touch Mouse comes with same four-way touch scrolling, which lets you scroll vertically and horizontally. You can also flick the pages up, down and side to side with ease. This has come in handy working with webpages, documents, excel sheets and some Windows 8 features.

It also has the excellent BlueTrack technology  that allows you to use the Wedge Touch Mouse almost on any surface.

You also won’t have to worry when you travel with the Wedge Touch Mouse, you can power down the mouse or if you forget the Wedge Touch Mouse will automatically shut itself off. This is great when tossing the mouse into your bag or when your Surface tablet goes into hibernation.

If you are looking for something very portable with good tracking, take a look at the Wedge Touch Mouse.

Surface Editon Wedge Touch Mouse