From: ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com [mailto:ozdotnet-boun...@ozdotnet.com] On Behalf Of Piers Williams Sent: Friday, 19 September 2014 10:57 PM To: ozDotNet Subject: RE: [OT] Surface
I was really surprised they went for a another clip-in arrangement. I'd always assumed that design was an afterthought for the S2, and for the S3 they'd get it right up front and put more pins in the bottom to make a drop-in dock. The keyboard attaches at the bottom, so I don’t see how they could put pins there, unless they forced you to remove the keyboard prior to docking. I wasn’t aware that there was a “right way” of creating a docking station – can you point me to this authority? Traditional laptop docks do have pins on the bottom –I’ll grant you that, however they are a different form factor to a tablet. Secondly, just about every laptop dock I’ve used has consisted of a recessed area, with one or more raised edge(s) around it, so that you’re guided to put the laptop down in the right area so that the pins at the bottom line up with the receptors on the bottom of your laptop. This sometimes presents a problem if you have things attached to your laptop when you dock, as the raised guides tend to block some (or all) or your ports. So, there’s pluses and minuses with either design IMHO. How does the clip-in feel to you? Sturdy? Does it always line up cleanly with the charging connector etc...? There’s a groove along the bottom of the dock that’s the exact width of the SP3. Provided you settle the SP3 into the groove, then the pins on the arm plug straight into the receptor on the side. Seems prior sturdy to me. Cheers Ken