Microsoft has been dabbling in laptop hardware for a very short time but they have quickly risen to the top to become the trend setter for devices running Windows. It convinced an initially sceptic public and greatly gained a reputation after the release of a stellar Surface Pro 3. Now they are back with the Surface Book. Similar to the Surface tabs in the previous year, this edition also comes as a unique two in one hybrid.
Design wise, the Surface Book has an extremely futuristic design. The snake like hinges and the silver aluminium design gives this laptop a minimalistic and yet eye catching design.
The interior of the laptop completely consists of metal except for the glassy touchpad. The same story applies to the exterior with a complete metallic design, save for the mirror Windows badge and the camera. The unique hinge adds to the futuristic appeal and holds up the laptop quite well.
The keyboard is a joy to type on thanks to the 1.6 mm key travel not to mention the tactile noise you hear when you press a button. As mentioned above, the touchpad has a glass finish and is quite precise and easy to use.
Turning your laptop into a tablet is also quite easy. Although many companies already offer this feature, Microsoft’s implementation is the most seamless by far. All one has to do is press the eject button on the keyboard or the button on task bar. The screen will turn off for a sec and you will then get a notification saying it is safe to remove the screen.
Another feature that sets the Surface Book apart is its inclusion of a graphics processor into a 2 in 1 system. The NVidia GeForce GPU makes it easier for the laptop handle media as well as gaming. This sort of implementation has been seen in previous machines but again, none have perfected it as Microsoft has done. In the previous cases, the laptops had to be restarted if you planned to detach the laptop. In the case of Microsoft’s Surface Book, it only needs about a second or two to accomplish the same feat. What makes this feature more exciting is that it offers plenty of room for future upgrades to expand the usage.
The Surface Book does weight quite a bit with a weight of 1.51 kilograms. This is without the optional graphics card that increases the weight to 1.58 kg. The laptop has an aspect ratio of 3:2 and comes with a 13.5 inch screen that delivers great images.
