The worst thing about the surface is its inability to “angle down”. If I’m lying in bed with a regular laptop, I can have it sit on my chest, and tilt the screen down to where I can see it. Can’t do that on a Surface. Your head has to be at least slightly above the device at all times.
With the keyboard, it’s kind of annoying the way it sits in your lap. The kickstand on the SP4 adds an extra 4-5 inches of of space taken up from the front of the keyboard to the back of the kickstand. Sittin in a lap, that’s a lot of extra room.
Having the kickstand is super nice, and its great to pull off the keyboard to watch TV while cooking, or when just scrolling through an ebook.
I think the best solution would be something like a Surface Book, but with a kickstand built in, so it can serve both purposes.
I agree with the extra space being taken, it makes you move the whole thing towards yourself and puts more strain on the neck as you have to look a little more down.
Bigger issue for me is that because of working a lot with regular laptops and getting used to them, I occasionally try to do stuff that’s fine with a laptop, but might not be that good for my Surface, like grab it by the keyboard to lift and put aside. Flipped it over quite a few times already, close to dropping onto the floor a once or twice too. Makes me nervous.
in terms of lapability. I’m Surface 4 pro owner and I dare say - lapability is way better than I expected.
It takes some space on legs but it is not so problematic. The position is quite stable so it is ok.
However I’ve heard it depeds on how tall you are. People with shorter legs might find detachable uncomfortable.
One minor problem is you’re limited in positions you can use it (usually you need your legs be close to each other).
I’m concerned about lapability as well as trying to carry it all with one hand in a hurry. My favourite 2-in-1 is the Google Pixel C with their magnetic keyboard. Similar to the Surface book:
Shame it only runs Android and not Chrome OS
What I’m hoping for with the Eve is that I would be using it more like a tablet in most cases where I be using it on my lap. (Maybe with a split on screen keyboard?).
2-in-1 kickstand is only a minor inconvenience. Worst part is the limited lapability, but otherwise it just adds convenience. In V’s case the wireless keyboard also gives benefit to it. The way 2-in-1 takes much less table space when necessary (using wireless keyboard) and other use cases, it just rocks.
Old pro that has gone now is the touch screen. I remember when only reasonably prices touch screen devices were 2-in-1s, but now that you can get small laptops with touch screens you don’t need to buy 2-in-1 to have that option.
So, lapability is ok, and only a minor inconvenience.
After having used tablet first 2in1s since MS released the SP4, I am fairly certain I’ll never go back to traditional clamshell laptops.
I personally find that detachables offer far more flexibility than a laptop will ever be able to in that they are able to accommodate far more positions, either while seated, standing up or laying down.
For example, as I am writing this, I sit in a chair, with my feet on another chair and my knees pointing up. The kickstand rests flat on top of my knees and the keyboard is comfortably in my lap. If I were using a laptop, all the weight would be in my lap and sliding downwards, or I would have it balanced on my knees, making it hard to type.
As for plain lapability, I have never had any troubles, and find that with the smaller size (compared to say a 15.6 inch laptop) of the V or SP4 still makes it take up less space and sits more comfortably on my lap than the laptops I used to use.
Granted, I haven’t used any laptops newer than from around 2014, nor smaller than 15.6 inch for any prolonged time, so I can’t compare to the lapability of more recent laptops, but I still prefer the flexibility of a detachable.
I’ve used Toshiba portege Z20t, it’s detachable but like surface book, so no problems to use on lap, but I think making folio keyboard will be much better ( make it optional to buy)
