The gold standard for today’s modern PC is Microsoft’s Surface Pro. Several manufacturers tried to copy it and even improve on it, but none were reported as sold out as the new Eve V made by Helsinki-based startup Eve. Even Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants one. Eve, unlike Apple has also shown that listening to customers can really pay off. More usable ports, you got it. Who needs thin when you got more power? Has anyone asked for extremely thin gadgets? Even modern fashion modeling now looks down on skeletals.
“[Microsoft] really wanted to see the device,”
 — Konstantinos Karatsevidis, CEO, Eve
You’d think Microsoft would throw shade at Eve and their device. Satya’s interest is actually more of an endorsement or approval. Microsoft’s goal with the Surface design is to inspire other manufacturers to follow suit. Though Eve strayed away from the Surface’s single port design. Microsoft might also be interested in making their own thicker form factor and cramming in more speakers.
The Eve V reportedly sold out the moment it was released. 500 units may be a small number to look at, but it’s excusable for a small startup. But anyone aware of this Surface Pro alternative would have wanted one. It was cheaper, beautifully designed, built with the most modern Intel Processor, has more ports and has more battery life with the minor tradeoff of a millimeter in thickness. Plus size is in nowadays anyway.
The Eve V comes in three models.
- Intel 7th-gen Core m3 with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD priced at $699
- Intel 7th-gen Core i5 with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, priced at $959
- Intel 7th-gen Core i7 with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD priced at $1,399
All models come with two full-size USB 3.1 ports, one USB 3.1 type C, one USB type C Thunderbolt port, an audio jack and a Micro SD card reader. This is a hybrid that will make Apple fans think twice. The Eve V also comes with four high-quality stereo speakers and comes with 3-device Bluetooth 4.2 support. It has a 12.3 inch LCD screen with 2736 by 1824 resolution and an anti-reflection coating; The Eve-V has an estimated 10-12 hours battery life. Another good thing about the Eve V is that it has no bloatware, pure unadulterated Windows 10.
When it comes to pricing, the Eve V Core i7 variant is much less the price of the Surface Pro 4 priced at $2,350 and still less than the comparable ASUS Transformer 3 Pro priced at $1,850.
There’s this seemingly unreasonable race in the industry to make thinner and thinner devices. Now devices can only get to be so thin before it starts making compromises and forcing users to make compromises as well. The best example (Sorry Apple fans) is Apple. The iPhone 7 to become thinner had to let go of its headphone jack with Apple making this compromise synonymous with the word courage. The same happened with the new Macbook Pros. To become thinner, Apple changed all the ports to USB Type-C Thunderbolt ports to which Apple reasoned that it’s forcing the industry to adopt the USB-C standard. The keyboard suffered as well as many fans weren’t pleased with how thin the keys were. The Eve V almost fell for the thin-is-in game.
“…The community kicked in and prevented us from doing so… As a result, we have a lot of battery life,”
— Konstantinos Karatsevidis, CEO, Eve
Not to mention more ports that include two full-sized Type A USB ports that put the Eve V’s usability up a notch compared to the Surface Pro’s single USB port and the Macbook Pro’s Thunderbolt Type-Cs. It really pays for a company to listen to its consumers and not the other way around. What’s important is for the device to be functional but still light enough to carry. If you have to buy a bunch of dongles and use a large power brick, that defeats the purpose of making a device lighter and thinner in the first place.
If you want an affordable but powerful Surface Pro alternative, the Eve V is still available for pre-order at Eve’s IndieGoGo page and the next batch will be released on April to May next year which isn’t too far from the February ship of the first batch.