11-01-2021, 10:51 PM
I bought the new Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio the day they started shipping 3 weeks ago, and I wanted to report that MobileSheets runs great on it. It comes with Windows 11 pre-installed, and it works great with that, too.
One of the nice things about the Surface series of laptops and tablets is that they all have a 3:2 screen ratio. This is closer to the aspect ratio of paper, which is 8.5" X 11" here in America. The new laptop has a 14.4" screen which is 8" X 12". If you display an 8.5" X 11" piece of paper on it, the image is 10.3" tall, which uses most of the screen. If you trim off the left and right margins, it comes even closer to using the whole screen. This also holds true for A4 paper, though the dimensions are slightly different. A4 paper is slightly taller and not as wide as American paper. It will come even closer to using the whole screen.
But here's the point. Almost all laptops nowadays are 16:9 ratio. In fact, I haven't found any laptops other than the Surface with a 3:2 ratio screen. The screen on the Laptop Studio, as I said, is 14.4", which is 8" X 12". Let's compare that to a 16:9 ratio screen. A 16:9 screen that's about 8" on the short dimension is a 16" screen. It will be about 8" X 14". This means that if you display a piece of paper on that, the image won't be any larger than it is on the 14.4" 3:2 screen. It will just have a larger area of the screen that's not used.
It you trim off the left and right margins, a piece of paper fits even better on a 3:2 screen, but still not bigger on a 16:9 screen.
It is possible to stretch the music in the long dimension so that it fits a 16:9 screen, but IMHO, that doesn't really make it more readable. It just makes it look odd. YMMV
So... the surface computers are more compact than normal laptops that display the same size image. However, they are a bit on the pricey side. The cheapest laptop studio is around $1500, and the most expensive one is about $3100. The Surface Pro 8 starts at $1100 and goes up to around $2300. The screen is 10.3", which has a smaller image, but the ratio is 3:2, so the same logic applies. A 16:9 ratio screen would have to be 14" to have the same size image of a piece of paper.
Sorry for all the math. I'm a retired engineer.
One of the nice things about the Surface series of laptops and tablets is that they all have a 3:2 screen ratio. This is closer to the aspect ratio of paper, which is 8.5" X 11" here in America. The new laptop has a 14.4" screen which is 8" X 12". If you display an 8.5" X 11" piece of paper on it, the image is 10.3" tall, which uses most of the screen. If you trim off the left and right margins, it comes even closer to using the whole screen. This also holds true for A4 paper, though the dimensions are slightly different. A4 paper is slightly taller and not as wide as American paper. It will come even closer to using the whole screen.
But here's the point. Almost all laptops nowadays are 16:9 ratio. In fact, I haven't found any laptops other than the Surface with a 3:2 ratio screen. The screen on the Laptop Studio, as I said, is 14.4", which is 8" X 12". Let's compare that to a 16:9 ratio screen. A 16:9 screen that's about 8" on the short dimension is a 16" screen. It will be about 8" X 14". This means that if you display a piece of paper on that, the image won't be any larger than it is on the 14.4" 3:2 screen. It will just have a larger area of the screen that's not used.
It you trim off the left and right margins, a piece of paper fits even better on a 3:2 screen, but still not bigger on a 16:9 screen.
It is possible to stretch the music in the long dimension so that it fits a 16:9 screen, but IMHO, that doesn't really make it more readable. It just makes it look odd. YMMV
So... the surface computers are more compact than normal laptops that display the same size image. However, they are a bit on the pricey side. The cheapest laptop studio is around $1500, and the most expensive one is about $3100. The Surface Pro 8 starts at $1100 and goes up to around $2300. The screen is 10.3", which has a smaller image, but the ratio is 3:2, so the same logic applies. A 16:9 ratio screen would have to be 14" to have the same size image of a piece of paper.
Sorry for all the math. I'm a retired engineer.