​Microsoft announced its new Surface Laptop Go – a few of you might want to know whether it’s worth buying for business and how it compares.  As with most Surface devices, there's no direct competitor for the new entry-model. Here’s the run-down.

Microsoft's new entry-level laptop offering.  With a smaller 12.4 inch display, the Surface Laptop Go, slots in below the Surface Laptop 3.  Like the Surface Go 2 tablet, it's smaller, lighter and less expensive than its larger peers. 

The closest alternative in the Surface range is the entry-level Surface Laptop 3 with Intel Core i5.  
We’re omitting the entry level Surface Laptop Go from this comparison.  Although it’s powered by the same processor as the upgrade models, we don’t recommend the entry-level model’s 4GB of RAM or 64eMMC storage for business users. That model also misses out on the fingerprint reader that's standard on the upgrade models.

Bold indicates better.  *4GB Surface Laptop Go available in consumer range, 16GB model available in Platinum

Application performance from the Intel Core i5 1035G1 is generally excellent, and roughly equivalent to both the entry-level Surface Laptop 3 and other current 10th generation Intel Core i5 business laptops. It’s notably more powerful than the Surface Go 2 tablet.
The Surface Laptop Go uses the latest version of the Intel UHD ‘G1’ graphics, which is competitive with most other brand devices – but it can’t match the Intel Iris Plus ‘G7’ graphics that’s standard on the Surface Laptop 3.  The upgrade options available on the Surface Laptop 3 are also more powerful – if you want an i7 processor, or more 256GB storage, opt for the Surface Laptop 3.

The Surface Laptop Go has a smaller 12.4 inch touch screen – as with other Surface Devices this is the squarer 3:2 aspect ratio shape than most competitors widescreen displays.
The display resolution is noticeably lower the Surface Laptop 3’s 13.5 inch display with approximately one third lower horizontal and vertical resolution.  At 1536 x 1024, its resolution is lower than the typical 1920 x 1080 displays seen on other laptops.  This may be a good thing for business users given many in-house legacy software interfaces don’t work well with small screens at high resolutions.  The pixel density is roughly equivalent to a 15.6 inch Full HD screen. Not recommended for users who stack multiple documents or applications on their laptop screen at the same time, unless they want to use an external monitor. 

The Surface Laptop Go is the first Surface device not to support the Surface Pen for on-screen writing and drawing.  That's probably a moot point for most Surface Laptop users.  Unlike the Surface Book, Surface Go or Surface Pro, the Surface Laptop 3 does not have a detachable or reversible keyboard for dedicated pen users.

Both SSD versions of the Surface Laptop Go include an integrated fingerprint reader for Windows Hello authentication.  This is in place of the infrared facial recognition of the Surface Laptop 3.  The fingerprint reader is integrated into the power button for instant-on authentication. 

​Both the Surface Laptop 3 and new Surface Laptop Go are good choices for commuters, students and travellers – both are light, slim and offer good battery life.  Surface Laptop Go users miss out on the illuminated keyboard of the Surface Laptop 3, which is invaluable for presenters and travellers.
Power users, heavy admin-users and creatives should opt for the Surface Laptop 3 to enable stacking of documents onscreen, better graphics performance and should consider the 16GB upgrade. Further up the tree, the Surface Book 3 with dedicated graphics provides the highest performance and greater versatility for power users, professionals and content creators.

This provides sufficient storage for most business users and application performance that's competitive with any other 10th generation business laptop powered by Intel Core i5 despite the entry-level billing. 
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​If you’re considering switching your users to the Surface Laptop Go, please contact us for deal pricing and to book in a demo when these become available.  Being a new form-factor, it's worth trying before buying under our seed programme.
If you’re looking to switch to Surface, ask about our fleet and user migration services to make the move painless.

Microsoft has announced a major update to the Surface Book range. While appearing fundamentally unchanged from the Surface Book 2 on the outside, there have been some important changes for power users.

Increases are bolded.

Increases are bolded.

An NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 Max-Q option is available for users seeking workstation-class driver certification and ray-tracing support.  For professionals seeking ultimate stability in engineering, architecture, VR, game design and motion pictures, the Surface Book 3 allows access to one of the best on-screen Pen experiences in a device that supports 3D work spaces.

For pricing and availability, please Contact Us or speak to your account manager at The Laptop Company.

Benchmarks source: https://www.userbenchmark.com/

Microsoft has just announced the new Surface Go 2 tablet.  With the new Intel Core M3 CPU option, this is now a viable solution for a greater number of staff.  The lightest Surface understands your handwriting, lets you draw on almost anything in Windows 10 and secure by design with S mode.  With a larger 10.5" display, the 544 gram tablet features more battery life and a new performance option for workplace applications. The following outlines the differences between the two generations:

Increases are bolded.

The entry-level Intel Pentium Gold processor receives a modest performance bump.
The most important change is the new 8th Gen Intel Core M3 option, a dual core ultra-low power processor that increases performance by approximately 64% according to Microsoft.  Faster graphics and increased SSD transfer speeds for the M3 also provide more power for teams using enterprise applications and Windows 10 Pro. 
Surface Go 2 with Core M3 and 8GB memory should exceed the performance of the entry-level 2018 Surface Pro 6 with 7th Gen Intel Core M3 and just 4GB memory.

All models now support Wi-Fi 6™, which provides more reliable high speed connections in crowded network environments. 
The Surface Go 2 can also be optioned with 4G LTE Advanced data for remote teams.

The high-quality PixelSense™ display has been increased in size to 10.5" without the overall size of the device increasing.  An increase in resolution from 1800x1200 to 1920x1280 increases usability for office applications and makes monitor resolution matching easier for users.

Manufacturer-rated battery life is increased from 9 to 10 hours, which should be sufficient for field workers and staff who are mobile throughout the day.  USB-C charging allows staff more charging options when away from their workplace

For pricing and availability, speak to your account manager at The Laptop Company or Contact us.

Wellington, New Zealand – October 17, 2019 – Microsoft New Zealand has celebrated its outstanding local business partners at the 12th annual Microsoft Partner Awards. The Laptop Company was a winner in the Surface Partner category.

Mark Mayo, CEO of The Laptop Company praised staff and clients saying “We’re proud of the work the team’s been doing with Surface for our fantastic customer partners.  To receive this award two years in a row from Microsoft is an honour, and with the great new Surface devices announced this month, we’re looking forward to helping our customers do even more with their technology.”

The Microsoft New Zealand Partner Awards recognise innovative partners who are demonstrating inventive use of digital technology, with the awards open to all Microsoft partners big and small. The streamlined ceremony saw the awards pivot to a greater focus on customers.

Sarah Bowden, Microsoft New Zealand One Commercial Partner Director says, “We congratulate The Laptop Company for winning in the Surface Partner category. It’s been a real pleasure learning about the achievements of this year’s entrants and seeing how they’ve used Microsoft technology to empower their own customers in so many innovative ways. The Laptop Company is an example of the fantastic work being done right here in New Zealand to unlock even greater potential.”

“Most of our 1,200-plus Partners are small and medium businesses creating massive change for Kiwi organisations right across the country. They really are punching well above their weight when it comes to digital transformation and the calibre of the Partner Awards entries this year gives me great confidence that New Zealand is set for a very bright future,” says Bowden.
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The Partner Awards took place in a special ceremony at Auckland’s historic St-Matthew-in-the-City last night, with 56 finalists across a range of sectors.
 
The full list of 2019 winners are:
 
Winner & Highly commended list
 
New Zealand Partner of the Year (awarded globally)
Winner - Umbrellar
 
Azure Innovate Award
Winner - Aware Group – Port Otago
 
Azure Migrate Award
Winner - The Instillery – Carter Holt Harvey
 
Business Applications Award 
Winner - Datacom
 
Empowering Employees Award
Winner - Information Leadership Design – Todd Energy
 
Modern Workplace Award
Winner - Intergen – Te Wananga o Raukawa
Highly Com - DXC Eclipse – Fonterra
Highly Com - Information Leadership Design Services – Todd Energy
 
Engaging Customers Award
Winner - Intergen – Lumino the Dentists
 
Optimising Operations Award
Winner - Intergen – Les Mills
 
Transforming Products Award 
Winner - Enlighten Designs – Sitecore on Azure
Highly Com - Datacom – UDC Finance
 
Surface Partner Award
Winner - The Laptop Company
 
Channel Development Award
Winner - Exeed Ltd
 
Cloud for Good Award
Winner - Enlighten Designs – Sustainable Coastlines
Highly Com - Fusion 5 – Barnardos
Highly Com - Spark New Zealand – Oranga Tamariki
 
ENDS
 
About The Laptop Company
Founded in 1985, The Laptop Company is New Zealand's leading laptop and mobile device specialist. With locations in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin and headquarters in Wellington, we work with corporate, government and educational institutions throughout New Zealand.
 
For additional information:
Contact: Mark Mayo, CEO
Email: Mark.Mayo@laptop.co.nz
 
Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.