Unboxing the Microsoft Surface Pro - In Pictures

My Surface Pro arrived yesterday. It came in two boxes each about 16x8x2 inches. One box contained the Surface Pro itself and the other contained the Type Cover. What follows is a pictorial introduction to the new Microsoft Surface Pro. In other words, I'm going to show you a bunch of pictures.

As you may know, the 128GB model was sold out within about three hours of the launch. I decided to purchase the 64GB version after considering the options for expanding available storage. I'll have to share more about that in another article.

And now, without further delay, the Surface Pro in pictures.

I'm surprisingly pleased with the type cover. I tried out both the touch and type cover in the Microsoft store before ordering. The touch cover didn't work too well for me, but I have to say, the type cover felt like typing on a good laptop keyboard. I immediately felt right at home. There is plenty of tactile feedback.

The packaging of the Surface Pro was surprisingly simple and neat.

Again, the packaging is nice and I have to say that I'm impressed with the new power connector. However, the AC adapter is large--more like that for a laptop. I'm not looking forward to carrying it around with me. One benefit of the adapter brick though is that it has a 5 watt USB power port which can be used to charge your cell phone or wireless hotspot.

The stylus is designed to connect magnetically to the power connector port on the right side of the unit for storage. Honestly, it would never stay there long. You'd be way better off getting a case for your Surface Pro that has a nice slot for the stylus, preferably inside a zipped up compartment so you won't lose it.

The Surface Pro has an impressive array of ports for a tablet. I find them to be conveniently positioned and easy to use.

I decided to test the Netflix app last night while laying down on my bed. I couldn't come up with a great way to position the Surface until I realized the kickstand does a pretty decent job of stabilizing the Surface when it's tipped up on its side. With the kickstand out, I put Surface on my night stand and was able to watch a full episode of the Dead Zone with my head comfortably on the pillow.

All in all, I'm impressed with the Surface Pro. I won't have to lug around a laptop just to share my photographs with friends and family and yet I can still use it to access external drives if I need to email or download something.

If you think of the Surface Pro as a tablet which doubles as a laptop, then it's a rock star.

If you are someone who thinks of it as a tiny laptop which doubles as a tablet, you'll enjoy the tablet style interface at times and the unit's compactness, but things like battery life, a small (though good) keyboard and limited disk space may really annoy you.

Windows 8 took some getting used to for me, but in the end after I figured out all the swipe tricks and the great search features, I feel very comfortable making my way around the Surface Pro.

One thing that took a while, for example, was how to close apps. If you swipe in from the left side you can see all of your open apps, but the list was getting longer and longer. I finally discovered that all you have to do is swipe down from the top all the way to the bottom of the screen and your app will close. Simple, simple.

I can honestly say that after playing with it for a day, I'm not disappointed by my Microsoft Surface Pro. I'm even kind of excited about using it and showing it off.