How would you compare the two so far?
I'm still conflicted. I am a developer so obviously the larger screen and roomier keyboard on the Yoga have advantages - but the vast bulk of my development is done on my desktop anyway, I require portability above all for on the go programming - and honestly, my MacBook Air is a bit too large for, say, developing in an airplane seat. Not to mention the "couch surfing" type of use, where the Surface tablet format is superior.
My brain is saying "get the Yoga, its more practical and better designed for your use case", but....I just kinda want the Surface more.
For me the color on the screen is a dealbeaker for the Yoga, so I'm leaning heavily towards Surface Pro since the colors are fairly accurate, and seems to be calibrated out of factory.
Here is a pros and cons list, since this is only from my experience, other people may differ on it.
Surface Pro 2:
Pros:
-Form Factor -- I can imagine myself carrying this everywhere, which is actually what I want a tablet/hybrid to be like
-Stylus -- For note taking and drawing
-Screen/color accuracy -- using my hardware calibration device (Spyder 3), I found that out of the box, the accuracy is fairly spot on.
-Weight - 2lbs, which really isn't all that heavy compared to iPad
-Build quality - This thing definitely screams quality -- even though it does feel hefty in the hand it's one of the "quality" heft -- On par with Apple devices in terms of build.
Cons:
-Price - 1299 (256GB) + 129 (Type Cover 2) and if I decide to keep it, another 149 if I want Microsoft Complete warranty --- If you want the Dock, it's another $200
-Screen resolution - only 1080p @ 207ppi (this is relative Yoga, 207 ppi is actually quite good)
-Type keyboard - while it's fairly decent, the travel is quite short, so it will take some getting used to, compared to Yoga 2, it's not as great -- Though the individual keys are larger than the individual keys on the Yoga 2 Pro.
-Small touchpad area, though all the usual gestures work fine, pinch to zoom/two finger scroll/two finger tap right click
Yoga 2 Pro:
Pros:
-Full Sized Keyboard - The keyboard, while still shallow (I'm comparing to a mechanical kb on desktop), is pretty good for an Ultrabook.
-Large Clickpad - All the gestures previously mentioned work as well on top of a few others other Synaptic implementions
-Screen Resolution: 3200x1800, enough said -- Though for me I had to increase it up to 150%, so the actual usable resolution may not be as high as that. At 100% it is TINY
-Different modes, Stand, Tent, Tablet, Laptop mode -- I find myself using Stand and Tent mode quite often
-Price - 1199 for i7-4500U, 8GB RAM, 256GB and 3200x1800 resolution -- really really great pricing.
-High PPI screen -- 276PPI
Cons:
-Form Factor - while it is small, I can't imagine myself replacing a tablet with it, while it can make due as a tablet for emergencies, it's awkward to use as a tablet.
-Weight - 3 pounds, gets to be heavy as tablet, you'll probably want a table around when you use this thing or use it in your lap.
-Build quality - Don't get me wrong, while plastic, this has a great build quality, no flex and no creaking on the plastic at all -- but when compared to Surface Pro 2, SP2 wins, but not by a huge margin. I would say you would be happy with the build quality on either
-Screen-Color accuracy - as I have previously mentioned, this screen is actually quite horrible in terms of color reproduction. Lenovo has promised a fix, but no ETA.
-Screen-Pentile arrangement - Compared to the SP2, I actually find that when I hold the screen up close (which I often do as a tablet, the text, because of the Pentile arrangement of RGBW, is slightly fuzzy)
I'm testing out the battery life so far, as it seems I think Surface Pro 2 might be pulling slightly ahead in terms of actual battery life. Might be something to do with the insane resolution that Yoga 2 Pro has to power that detracts from the battery life.
I am usually getting around 6-7 hours with Yoga 2 Pro
Right now I am getting around 2 hours used, with 75% remaining - estimation of another 7 hours or so -- on Power Saver power setting.
I will do some more battery test in the next few days to see.
Also, if people are concerned, using Surface Pro 2 on your lap is actually fairly decent. -- Not as great as a regular laptop, but it's usable.
(e.g., the ones that made it to the surface2 but not the surfacepro2)
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