Redefining laptops with the Surface Book

Microsoft recently came out with their own laptop, the Surface Book. It belongs to the family of surfaces that came before it. Microsoft marketed the Surface Pro 3 as the tablet that could replace your laptop, and now the Surface Pro 4 has taken over this campaign as an even better newer version of the tablet that replaces your laptop. However, with the Surface Pro 4 reveal came the Surface Book, which at a first glance does not fit the tablet family.

So what is Microsoft saying?Some might analyze this as a failure for the tablet as it cannot replace the laptop after all, since Microsoft unveiled a laptop. However, I don’t believe this is the case.

The Surface Book is like no laptop before it. As you begin to watch their promotional video, it appears a regular laptop, minus the hinge, but then the screen pops off. The laptop becomes a completely portable “clipboard” as they call it. This laptop not only has  all the regular capabilities but also has the touch screen and pen capabilities that have been found with all previous models of the surface. Microsoft is trying something no other company has tried before; and it is a very bold move on their part.

This shiny new piece of equipment allows for productivity like no other. Although many people are fine with having a laptop and then a tablet, or possibly just a tablet (such as one of the Surface Pros), I believe that having two in one is incredibly useful. For one, you don’t have to play around with the cloud/syncing data, which is especially annoying when you inevitably don’t have access to a wifi network. With the surface you have everything you need on one.

Honestly, I don’t find the detachable screen as the most appealing quality of the Surface Book. It is the concept that Microsoft is trying to create a portable device that is everything you may need. Traditional laptop? Check. Notebook with pen? Check. Light Tablet? Check. The Surface Book remains light and portable at only 3.34 pounds. Obviously, that is heavier than their other machine the Surface Pro 4 at 1.73 pounds, but that is to be expected as the laptop is a lot more powerful and durable. The Surface Book remains a surface device, for its…well surface. The pen is what especially sets it apart from other laptops, the surface really is a tool to use for everyday. Microsoft created the Surface with the purpose of making a portable, yet universal and powerful machine for any task. If other laptops follow Microsoft’s footsteps we will be seeing an entirely new generation of laptops.