Hey devRanter? I want your opinion on the Surface as a programming laptop-ish. I need a new computer for travel and I have an hesitation between the Surface with a i5 and SSD 256GB vs a more classic laptop.

If I may ask for your favorite feature as well?

Big screen

@aronmik Is the keyboard good for working?

@crackroach I don't really like laptop keyboards, I feel like they are bad for my posture. So whenever I can I bring a keyboard and mouse.

It's a brilliant piece of hardware in it's own right and has a better battery life than a conventional laptop, but is not in the slightest upgradeable and you'll want a type cover(not included) or keyboard to program. It's very much oriented towards entertainment/creative endeavours than actual work, but that might be enough if you can accept the hardware limits. Windows Hello is pretty cool though.

Go for something with 15 inch screen and light, a good keyboard is also a must have since it's very hard to carry extra keyboard with you all the time

@CurtisMJ It won't be my main computer. Only when i'm on travel or in convention.

From the specs it look neat, but i need an opinion of someone who used it to code.

If you have one, do you think it can handle Visual Studio, Eclipse or Android Studio(Need it for emulation as well)?

Program VS2017/WSL on a Surface 2 at home. Just got a Surface 4 for work. No problems for me but I don't do mobile programming or run SQL Server local on either.

@crackroach My work laptop is sponsored, so I had to download them to check lol. It can run them adequately. You just need to watch the hard drive usage and the 12" screen can get a little cramped. It's just a lot of money to drop on something that isn't exactly future proof.