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Microsoft Surface Review: a Tale of Two Tablets

Posted by Soulskill on from the it-was-the-age-of-wisdom-it-was-the-age-of-foolishness dept.

zacharye points out an early review of the Microsoft Surface tablet. Here are some relevant snippets: "When you get over the shocking realization that, yes, Windows is now different, you begin to realize that the new home screen makes a lot of sense. ... Despite the Surface’s quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 chipset and 2GB of RAM, Windows RT is not always as smooth as I would like. Apps sometimes take a few extra beats to open, and in some cases opening an application on the Surface is much more like launching an app on an old Windows PC than on a modern tablet. ... The good news, though, is that Windows RT was built for multitasking. Commonly used apps can and should be left open, and switching between apps is as easy as swiping in from the left side with a finger or touching a mouse cursor to the top- or bottom-left corner of the display. Open apps come back to life instantly, and the animations that transition the user from one app to another are quick and smooth. ... While Windows 8 is the version of Microsoft’s new OS that has split personality disorder, the Windows RT-powered Surface truly is a tale of two tablets. On one hand, it is an engineering feat with a design that is novel and functional. It really is the perfect combination of a tablet and a notebook thanks to the Touch Cover and the Type Cover, and I felt right at home with the Surface the moment I turned it on. On the other hand, the software experience does not feel like home. It’s new, and for many it will be scary." Additional reviews are available elsewhere, take your pick: AnandTech, Wired, Gizmodo, Ars Technica, The Verge.

8 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. Gotta admit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    While I can't stand the look of Metro, the Hardware itself is simply beautiful.

    1. Re:Gotta admit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Agreed. But MS needs to reduce the price or throw in MS Office if they want to get any market share......

      Windows RT comes with MS office. It is already included.

    2. Re:Gotta admit by tuppe666 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Windows RT comes with MS office. It is already included.

      No it comes with a crippled Office experience. http://blogs.office.com/b/office-news/archive/2012/10/23/office-for-windows-rt.aspx "Student 2013 RT provides a complete Office experience and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote."

    3. Re:Gotta admit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Also you cannot use it in a business !!!!!!

      http://www.zdnet.com/businesses-cant-use-office-on-windows-rt-tablets-7000005882/

    4. Re:Gotta admit by Kingkaid · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes it does. the MS Office included on windows RT makes documents that work with all other versions of office. If you're complaining that the RT version of windows only runs certain apps... well ya. It is a different chipset. You expect differently? I do not expect my android device to run the same applications as my PC and as my gaming console.

  2. I don't understand 'scary' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Never mind discussing the underlying technology. Will someone please explain to me why the reviewer says that this interface will be "scary" for some?

    Hey, the new phone system we have at work is a really new and confusing, but I've never heard anyone exclaim "Holy baby Jesus! This is scary!"

    If you find someone with a Surface in their hand and they turn to you and say "Help me. I'm really scared." just place your hand gently on their shoulder and slowly take the Surface from their hands and then violently smash that shit on the sidewalk. Then look them straight in the eye and say "I love you. Now go read a goddam book."

  3. Re:Not impressed by obarthelemy · · Score: 5, Informative

    What you want is the Surface Pro then, or any of the x86 Win8 tablets coming from Asus, Acer, HP, Dell... These are compatible with legacy Windows apps and most peripherals.

    Only the ARM-based Win8RT tablets are, for obvious reasons, incompatible with legacy x86 apps.

    --
    The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
  4. If only it were about the product, not marketing by ItsIllak · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What is such a pity about this is that it really doesn't matter how good this is, how bad the iPad is, how boring the Android is, or any combination of those 3 features and platforms. Apple will either continue to convince the world that the Emperor is fully dressed, Android will convince the world that cheap is good or MS will convince the world that, well, they shouldn't change horses mid-stream.

    The three platforms all work just fine. I happen to think and hope that the Surface Pro will show the world that both bulky laptops and tablets in general are technology of the past, but for the majority of consumers the difference is moot. The real challenge here is ridding the world of java applets and flash videos and getting moved on to decent, compliant, reliable web standards... Then who cares what the medium is...?