After spending a month using the Surface Pro tablet as a replacement for both my MacBook Air, and my iPad, the 30 Days with Surface Pro series is coming to a close. For Day 30, I sum up the experience, and try to answer the ultimate question: should you buy one?

As a PC, the Surface Pro holds its own. The lack of a docking station notwithstanding, the Surface Pro is functionally no different than any other desktop or laptop PC running Windows 8 when I’m sitting at my desk. I connected it to an external 23-inch monitor, a physical keyboard, a mouse (later replaced by a touchpad), an external webcam, my printer, etc. Essentially, if I placed the Surface Pro under my desk or in a desk drawer there’d be no obvious way for anyone to tell I was using a tablet as my PC.

Where the Surface Pro outshines its traditional desktop and laptop PC cousins is the fact that it is a tablet, and when I need to go to a meeting, or read a book in bed, or do some social networking on the couch, I can easily take the thin, light, touchscreen device with me. But, the Surface Pro is lacking compared with a pure tablet like the iPad–it’s heavier, it’s thicker, it has less battery life, it runs hotter and louder, and it has fewer apps (specifically fewer of the apps I want and use).

Still, a Surface Pro is both a PC and a tablet at the same time, and that gives it an edge over both PC and tablet rivals in many respects. However, there is still one big caveat to consider when answering the question “Should you buy a Surface Pro?”: price.

Read Surface Pro, Day 30: Should you buy a Surface Pro? for the full story.

To follow up on my five biggest complaints about the Surface Pro, I invested Day 29 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series outlining the five things that impressed me most about the Microsoft tablet.

There’s a lot to love about the Surface Pro. I enjoyed my time with it, and I’m not looking forward to packing it up and shipping it back to Microsoft. Owning my own Surface Pro may very well be a short-term goal I’ll have to pursue.

So, what are the five things I love most about the Surface Pro?:

1. Well-engineered hardware
2. The Windows 8 Search charm
3. The digitizer pen
4. The Touch and Type keyboard covers
5. It’s a real PC running the full Windows 8 Pro operating system

As with the five biggest complaints, there are a couple things here that are unique to Windows 8 rather than the Surface Pro. Actually, only one really–the Search charm. The fifth point–the fact that the Surface Pro runs the full Windows 8 operating system and all traditional Windows software–is actually a function of the Surface Pro (or Windows 8 Pro tablets in general). That point should not be underestimated, either. There are a lot of great Windows PCs out there, and there are a lot of awesome tablets, but having one device that can fill both roles simultaneously brings a little something extra to the table and opens up new possibilities.

Check out Surface Pro, Day 29: The five things I love most about the Surface Pro for more details.

My month-long experience giving up my MacBook Air and iPad in exchange for a Surface Pro is coming to a close. For Day 28 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I take a look back and list my top five issues or complaints about the Surface Pro.

Don’t get me wrong–overall I’m a fan of the Surface Pro. I think Microsoft got a lot more right than wrong with its tablet, and a few of my top complaints are really a function of the Windows 8 operating system itself rather than the Surface Pro.

In a nutshell, though, here are the five things I think need to be a priority to make the Surface Pro better:

1. Bizarre behavior or Internet Explorer
2. The 75/25 split screen in the Windows 8 Modern UI
3. The Messaging app in Windows 8
4. The lack of 4G/LTE cellular connectivity
5. The lack of a docking station option

If Microsoft would address these issues with Windows 8 and the Surface Pro, this tablet could be a virtually perfect merger of the traditional PC with a mobile tablet experience.

For more details about my issues with the Surface Pro, or the things most lacking in the Microsoft tablet, read Surface Pro, Day 28: My five biggest Surface Pro complaints.

One of the elements that seems to be woven throughout the Surface Pro experience is Xbox. The Xbox brand has transcended its gaming console roots, and now permeates every aspect of a more comprehensive entertainment experience. For Day 27 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I am examining the different facets of Xbox in Windows 8 on the Surface Pro.

I’m a fan of Microsoft in general, but I have to admit that it often seems like one business unit has no idea what the next business unit is doing, and Microsoft frequently drops the ball on branding and marketing. I’m sure Microsoft did focus groups and consumer surveys of some sort to make its decision, but in my opinion it would have made more sense to maintain the Zune brand and expand its scope to incorporate all things entertainment. I do, however, see the logic of killing the brand perceived to be flailing, and instead extending the reach of the successful gaming platform that’s already in everyone’s living room, and connected to everyone’s television to provide broader entertainment options.

Even on the Xbox console itself, games are no longer the sole–or sometimes even the primary–focus. Xbox has been transformed into an entertainment hub rather than a gaming console, and that Xbox brand has been integrated into Windows 8 and the Surface Pro. The Windows 8 Music app opens Xbox Music, the Video app opens Xbox, and the Games app opens Xbox Games. If you add the Xbox SmartGlass app you can add a second-screen that enhances SmartGlass-enabled games and movies to provide a more interactive and immersive experience.

Check out Surface Pro, Day 27: The Xbox factor for more about how Xbox enhances entertainment on the Surface Pro tablet.

The Surface Pro is certainly no match for a dedicated gaming PC, but most people aren’t hard-core gaming devotees. So, the question I seek to answer for Day 26 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series is simply how well the Surface Pro handles gaming in general.

I used to do a lot more gaming on my PC. I blame Electronic Arts for my waning interest in PC gaming. My primary driving force when it comes to gaming has always been Madden Football, and EA decided a few years ago to pull the plug on the PC version–forcing me to spend more time with my Xbox 360 and less time with my PC. I’ve also been a long-time aficionado of flight simulator games, but it seems like the options for those has become quite limited as well.

My “gaming” on my PC or mobile devices lately has been confined to things like Angry Birds and Tetris. But, my teen boys have migrated the other direction–spending less time on the Xbox, and more time with PC gaming, especially games available through Valve Software’s Steam.

I deferred to my kids for Day 26, letting them spend some time playing games on the Surface Pro and reporting back to me. They have pretty high standards when it comes to graphics quality and the frames per second that games are capable of playing at. I had my doubts that the Surface Pro could stand up to their lofty requirements at all, which is why I let them be in charge of assessing the Surface Pro as a gaming platform.

Check out Surface Pro, Day 26: Gaming on the Surface Pro to find out more.

Instant messaging is a primary method of communication these days. Many people text from their smartphones way more than they place or receive voice calls, and on PCs people use instant messaging services to chat in real-time. For Day 25 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I spent some time with the Windows 8 Messaging app, and explored other instant messaging apps for the Surface Pro.

The Messaging app in Windows 8 leaves quite a lot to be desired. I’m used to the Messages app in Mac OS X. It lets me connect with AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), Facebook chat, Google chat, and Apple’s iMessage all from a single client. It’s integrated with iMessage on my iPhone and iPad so I can even do “text messaging” from my MacBook Air. Suffice it to say that the Messaging app in Windows 8 has a lot of room for improvement before it’s even in the same ballpark as the Mac OS X Messages app.

Of course, the Windows 8 Messaging app isn’t the only option. There are other apps like Skype and Lync that also provide some sort of instant messaging capabilities, and there are third-party apps that provide a more comprehensive platform for instant messaging–connecting to multiple services like the Mac OS X Messages app.

The question is, are any of the options good enough? For more, read Surface Pro, Day 25: Instant messaging on the Surface Pro.

As hard as some companies may still be trying, the “bring your own device” (BYOD) trend can’t be ignored. We’ve reached a point of critical mass where BYOD is mainstream, and it’s simply become the standard for many employers. For Day 24 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series, I examine how the Surface Pro tablet fits into the BYOD equation.

On the one hand, the Surface Pro seems like an ideal BYOD device. It’s a full Windows 8 PC that can be connected to a Windows network domain, and managed via Active Directory and Group Policy, and it’s a tablet that functions quite nicely as a mobile device at the same time. Users can easily drift between business and personal use–running business applications and performing productive tasks when necessary, or reading a Kindle book or watching Netflix on their living room couch.

There is one fatal flaw that may eliminate the Surface Pro from consideration as a BYOD tool for many users, though. Check out Surface Pro, Day 24: BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) for more thoughts on the Surface Pro as a BYOD device.

When the details of Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet first emerged, the one thing that stuck out the most–with the possible exception of the sticker shock from the price–is the seemingly poor battery life. For Day 23 of 30 Days with Surface Pro, I check out the endurance of the Surface Pro battery and find out how well it holds up in real life.

Tablets have excellent battery life. The Surface Pro is technically a tablet, so people expected it to have exceptional battery life. However, most tablets use ARM processors, while the Surface Pro has the same Intel guts as traditional desktop and laptop PCs, so it’s a bit unfair to hold it to the same standard.

When it comes to battery life, the Surface Pro is really more of an ultrabook than a tablet. The ultimate question, though, is whether the Surface Pro delivers adequate bang for the buck. If it has the same insides, and runs the same operating system and software, and gets essentially the same battery life as ultrabooks that cost less, is it worth it? How much are you willing to pay extra just for the flexibility to also use it as a tablet?

Overall, my experience wasn’t as negative as most of the initial reviews and media headlines make it sound. It’s no iPad, but the Surface Pro has respectable battery endurance for the computing power it delivers. Read Surface Pro, Day 23: Battery life for more details about the Surface Pro battery.

I devoted Day 21 of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series to connecting the Surface Pro tablet to the Internet–particularly when out and about using it as a mobile device.

I’ve already demonstrated over the first few weeks that the Surface Pro is perfectly capable of acting as–and replacing–a traditional desktop PC. Sitting at my desk, connected to a monitor, keyboard, mouse (or touchpad), and other peripherals, there is functionally no difference whatsoever between the Surface Pro and using my Dell XPS M1330 laptop in the exact same way.

When I take the Surface Pro on the road, though, and head out to explore the world with it, the experience changes obviously. One thing that doesn’t really change, however, is connecting the Surface Pro to the Internet. The Surface Pro does not have an Ethernet port, so I have it connected to a wireless network whether I am sitting in my office, or sitting at a Starbucks, or using my iPhone 5 as a personal hotspot to connect the Surface Pro over 4G.

Day 21 dives a little deeper into the network settings, and how to go about connecting to different networks–and also takes a peek at enabling and disabling airplane mode. Read Surface Pro, Day 21: Getting connected for more about how to connect a Surface Pro to the Internet.

I’ve spent the vast majority of the 30 Days with Surface Pro series up to this point checking out how the Surface Pro works as a “desktop PC” when connected to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse (or touchpad). Day 19 is the beginning of my exploration into using the Surface Pro as a mobile computer on the go.

On the one hand, the Surface Pro has a number of weaknesses as a tablet. It’s thicker and heavier than it’s counterparts–including the Surface RT. It runs hotter and louder (at times). The battery life is sorely lacking (I’ll spend more time on that another day).

If the Surface Pro were just another tablet, it would be easy to dismiss it out of hand as an also-ran doomed to failure. But, it’s not “just another tablet”. The Surface Pro is a tablet that packs an Intel Core i5 processor, and 4GB of RAM, running the full Windows 8 operating system. It has a digitizer pen. It has Touch and Type keyboard covers that essentially turn it into an ultrabook.

Basically, the Surface Pro can “out-PC” any leading tablet out there, and it can “out-tablet” any traditional notebook or ultrabook mobile PCs. It’s not the best tablet available, and it’s not the best mobile PC out there, but it is the best at being both at the same time.

Read Surface Pro, Day 19: Let’s take this show on the road for more details.