Microsoft Surface

oslocity

Hi all,

I have just ordered one from Microsoft Germany, and they ship free by UPS to Ireland.
http://www.microsoft.com/de-de/default.aspx

Produktname: Surface mit Windows RT
Einzelpreis: 579,00 €
Gekaufte Menge: 1
Betrag: 579,00 €

Shipping Address:
xxxxxxxxx
Dublin 1
DublinDN
Irland

Dexter.

oslocity wrote: »

Hi all,

I have just ordered one from Microsoft Germany, and they ship free by UPS to Ireland.
http://www.microsoft.com/de-de/default.aspx

Produktname: Surface mit Windows RT
Einzelpreis: 579,00 €
Gekaufte Menge: 1
Betrag: 579,00 €

Shipping Address:
xxxxxxxxx
Dublin 1
DublinDN
Irland

Do they definitely ship to Ireland?

oslocity

100 % they ship to Ireland, they shipped to my friend in Norway as well.
UK site should do as well, but kept telling me that area code not valid, so I booked through Germany.

Thank you for your order in Microsoft from 1 November 2012. The following email is a summary of your order. This is also your proof of purchase. If you paid by credit card, you will find the transaction under MSFT MICROSOFT * GATES on your credit card statement.

You can check your order in your account. Log in with the credentials of your Microsoft account.

Your order and billing information:
Item number: xxxxxxxxxx
Order Date: 1 November 2012

Shipping Address:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dublin 1
DublinDN
Ireland

Product Name: Surface with Windows RT
Price: € 579.00
Purchased Quantity: 1
Amount: € 579.00

Falcon.ie

I got to play around with one today for half an hour, they have Surface Experiences here in Sydney to have a look at them.
Really liked the OS. Its got some really nice touches with the charm board and the multitasking is very well done.

The touch cover/Keyboard is weird. It will take some getting used to. Having to rely more on your eyes than the key press. The keyboard is sprayed onto the back of the cover and it literally feels like your repeatedly touching the cover of a normal phone case. Very strange feeling but a cool novelty. Not sure it's worth the 130 bucks though.

It does lack Applications though. I'm not one who measures a device by number of Apps. But for me to contentiously use the Surface it would need Social Media apps, and a bigger game selection. Although the Office Suite built in was very nice.

Also they confirmed to me, the Surface is ONLY going to be sold via the Microsoft website. No 3rd parties will be selling the device.

Greenman

oslocity wrote: »

Hi all,

I have just ordered one from Microsoft Germany, and they ship free by UPS to Ireland.
http://www.microsoft.com/de-de/default.aspx

Produktname: Surface mit Windows RT
Einzelpreis: 579,00 €
Gekaufte Menge: 1
Betrag: 579,00 €

Shipping Address:
xxxxxxxxx
Dublin 1
DublinDN
Irland

Will your OS be in German?

Meesared

Greenman wrote: »

Will your OS be in German?

If it is, its easily changable, but the keyboard will be QWERTZ

billgates

Has anyone actually ordered and received a Surface from the Microsoft Germany store?

Would be very interested in one but want to be sure that if i order if from the German site that i will receive it ok.

Cheers.

Dexter.

billgates wrote: »

Has anyone actually ordered and received a Surface from the Microsoft Germany store?

Would be very interested in one but want to be sure that if i order if from the German site that i will receive it ok.

Cheers.

I ordered mine last night, got an email of confirmation and all that. Will update if I receive it.

oslocity

billgates wrote: »

Has anyone actually ordered and received a Surface from the Microsoft Germany store?

Would be very interested in one but want to be sure that if i order if from the German site that i will receive it ok.

Cheers.

Great news, I have just received the Surface from Microsoft Germany By FedEx Driver, Everything went smoothly. Total 579 Eur including Smart keyboard cover and free shipping.

The OS you can choose English, no problem..
Small issue, the Keyboard is QWERTZ instead of QWERTY, but when you choose the Setup layout as English it will work as normal QWERTY, just you will see Z physically.

Best of luck

joe_elway

We ordered one at work from the German site. It arrived this morning. Same experience: QWERTZ keyboard and select your language during the mini-setup.

Alternatively, go look at the other options (only from Misco.ie at the moment) for Asus/Samsung ARM (Windows RT) or Intel SoC/i5 (Windows 8) transformer style tablets. I went for a Samsung ATIV Smart PC because it's a better option for using it on your lap when taking notes at an event.

Manufacturer supply is very poor at the moment. The only touch mobile devices at DSG (PC World) at Sony T13 and their convertible ultrabook. Not much else has arrived in the channel in Ireland, and almost not stock on the continent.

Dexter.

How long does delivery take from the German site?

oslocity

Dexter. wrote: »

How long does delivery take from the German site?

I have ordered 1/11 midnight, almost 02/11 Friday.
Received today 07/11 around 10AM at my door (Including weekend).

Dexter.

oslocity wrote: »

I have ordered 1/11 midnight, almost 02/11 Friday.
Received today 07/11 around 10AM at my door (Including weekend).

You've been a great help, thanks man. I ordered mine on the 5th and am currently waiting.

Dexter.

Mine arrived, thanks again.

oslocity

Dexter. wrote: »

Mine arrived, thanks again.

You are welcome, have fun.
PS: You can add up to 64GB Micro SD Card in the slot back the stand, and it will turn to a 96GB Tablet instead of 32GB

Dexter.

oslocity wrote: »

You are welcome, have fun.
PS: You can add up to 64GB Micro SD Card in the slot back the stand, and it will turn to a 96GB Tablet instead of 32GB

I wish it had a good Flash Player ;_;

Meesared

Dexter. wrote: »

I wish it had a good Flash Player ;_;

Its actually pretty decent as far as tablets go.

liamog

I've ordered 2 from the MSUK website, I'll let you know if they arrive.

Pekingtech

liamog wrote: »

I've ordered 2 from the MSUK website, I'll let you know if they arrive.

How did you pay on the UK site? I bought the tablet from German site with Paypal. Was gonna get QWERTY touchcover on UK site but they will only accept UK credit cards?

liamog

I have an Ulster bank visa debit card, I entered my address but used a Northern Irish postcode, i'm typing this on my Surface now.

popecork

I bought one on Ebay and got it forwarded by Deliverme.ie.

I have to say that I really like it so far. I probably paid over the odds by getting it sent on from Northern Ireland but I'm really happy with it.

Pekingtech

liamog wrote: »

I have an Ulster bank visa debit card, I entered my address but used a Northern Irish postcode, i'm typing this on my Surface now.

Hi Liamog,
So is your credit card address in Northern Ireland?
I have an AIB card and the full address would be Republic of Ireland at the end. Despite the microsoft store asking what country I'm in, it only allows UK at end of credit card address.

liamog

No the address I used was

11 My Street,
My Town,
BT1 6ER
UK

Even though my real card address is in Dublin, this still went through its also worked with a couple of other websites.

Pekingtech

liamog wrote: »

No the address I used was

11 My Street,
My Town,
BT1 6ER
UK

Even though my real card address is in Dublin, this still went through its also worked with a couple of other websites.

Just to update anyone looking to buy, my tablet was shipped from Germany, got it today and set it up in English no bother, €479.

My QWERTY touchcover has been shipped from the UK, I put in my full address, with Ireland as the city. UK still appears by default. I made up a postcode as I was afraid of postal confusion. I followed the exact format of a UK postcode but used A's and 0's.
That should arrive Monday, fingers crossed. It has been shipped.

liamog

I was sneaky and used the main Belfast sorting office as the post code. Figured they'd know what to do with something that said Dublin.

Pekingtech

THe keyboard actually arrived on Friday about an hour after the tablet. So no problems with shipping to Ireland despite billing address having to be UK.

liamog

awesome which colour keyboard did you pick up? If anybody else needs to pick up a UK keyboard and they would like the black one, give me a shout, id be willing to swap my black one for a blue one

Pekingtech

yea, I got the blue one. Worked out at €126 after the conversion but it is nice.

liamog

Its probably going to end up being my Christmas present, would be great if MS could get these into stores, everyone I've showed it too has been very impressed.

Pekingtech

yea, its a lovely bit of kit. They keyboard has a wow factor. It'll take a while to migrate fully to microsoft eco system. And I love having the desktop. Can't understand everyone's objections to it at all. Drag an drop files from USB keys etc makes file management so easy compared to the nightmare of ANdroid files or even worse apple.

jayjay2010

I had the chance to play with a Surface in the Microsoft store in Times Square NYC last week, have to say I was especially impressed with the touch cover (both covers).

The people visiting the store also looked like they enjoyed playing with the tablets.

I ended up buying the Samsung Ativ Smart Pc for 649.99$ because of the advantages of full windows 8 over RT.

However, I ended up selling it because the system was too large. Thankfully I received a full refund just before I left NYC.

I am kinda gutted that I didn't buy the Surface instead as there were some great deals on over there :-/

G-Money

I had real reservations about the Surface RT due to it's lack of compatibility but I'm starting to change my mind and I can feel my wallet opening

Has anyone tried listening to music on it? Specially music bought through the iTunes store?

Meesared

G-Money wrote: »

I had real reservations about the Surface RT due to it's lack of compatibility but I'm starting to change my mind and I can feel my wallet opening

Has anyone tried listening to music on it? Specially music bought through the iTunes store?

Providing its not Protected MP4 files (MP4P) files, they will play fine, iTunes itself wont install though

liamog

I've also had good luck with my backed up dvd collection, we already had it in MP4 Video for the xbox and these have all played nicely on the surface

vumpireofkid

Bought the Surface in New York the other day. It was $499 for the tablet and $119 for the blue touchcover. On my credit card bill it came out at €538.
Only problem is I have a US charger now which I don't want to use long term but I may order one from the German MS site now based on the good experiences you guys have reported!

Edit: I just realised they don't have 3 pin plugs in Germany so maybe I won't after all!! :rolleyes:

liamog

So order from the UK then

vumpireofkid

liamog wrote: »

So order from the UK then

It's still only a 2-pin plug.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msuk/en_GB/pdp/productID.258664900

Meesared

Its a wrong picture id imagine.

liamog

Yep that's correct when it arrives it is definitely a uk style plug

Stev_o

What websites did you try to order off that are located in the UK?

liamog

The Microsoft UK store, there's a post earlier in this thread where I detail how it works

tomred1

Couple of questions.
Does the Surface come with the keyboard or is that extra?
Is it suitable for internet browsing, Skype and using Microsoft office for writing assignments etc.?

liamog

tomred1 wrote: »

Couple of questions.
Does the Surface come with the keyboard or is that extra?
Is it suitable for internet browsing, Skype and using Microsoft office for writing assignments etc.?

The Surface RT which is currently on sale is available in 3 versions

32GB without cover,
32GB with cover,
64GB with cover.

Internet browsing is very good as it's the full version of IE10, all normal websites work flawlessly, it has flash support on a whitelist of websites so most sites it just works.

There is a skype client which works really well, MS own Skype now so it should get plenty of updates to work best on Windows.

I use it in college for editing documents etc... Office works really well on it, though I would suggest plug a real keyboard into if you need to do any extended typing.
There is a USB port so any normal usb keyboard will just work . The touch cover is grand for forum posts but I find it difficult to write a 2000 word essay on it.

rc28

Hi, what would the opinion be of buying from an Amazon reseller?:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Surface-Black-Touch-Cover/dp/B00A7W6ZKA/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1356367023&sr=1-2

I'm set on buying one of these but buying from the Microsoft UK/Germany store seems too complicated. When are these supposed be out in Ireland anyway?

liamog

Buying from the UK store isn't complicated, you just set your billing address with a made up postcode (I used BT1 6ER the main Belfast sorting office). The shipping address is normal.

I've heard rumors of a Ireland launch for the new year, this was an MS rep in PC World Blanch, not sure how authoritative a source he was but he had no reason to lie.

rc28

liamog wrote: »

Buying from the UK store isn't complicated, you just set your billing address with a made up postcode (I used BT1 6ER the main Belfast sorting office). The shipping address is normal.

I've heard rumors of a Ireland launch for the new year, this was an MS rep in PC World Blanch, not sure how authoritative a source he was but he had no reason to lie.

Cheers for that!

It just seems that the UK ms store is quite pricey e.g. £559 for 64gb with touch cover whereas that's £463 on Amazon.

Does anyone here have any experience with going through one of the private sellers on Amazon (i've only ever bought from them direct).

G-Money

How do you find the battery life on it? I hear its not great

Meesared

G-Money wrote: »

How do you find the battery life on it? I hear its not great

Ive been playing with them, they do 8 hours without much issue

liamog

I get great battery life on mine, I use it for video and internet usage with remote desktop onto my PC, lasts about 8 hours before I need to charge it again

G-Money

Cool, that's good to know.

When you want to order from the UK site do you need a UK credit/debit card? I've got both but they are Irish however I'm from the north and the billing addresses for both are my northern address. However I'd want it delivered in Dublin as coming up home to get it is extra hassle

liamog

From the UK site the billing and shipping addresses were separate, they allow Irish shipping so you'll be grand there, good luck with your order.