Surface With Windows RT: A Winner Despite Apps
Microsoft's Surface tablet with Windows RT is the first worthwhile post-PC device in our post-PC world. What it lacks in apps is compensated for by a near-desktop-class browser.
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With Windows 8 and Windows RT, Microsoft took a rare and bold step by fundamentally changing the way people use Windows. Microsoft is betting the farm by making changes so dramatic that many users will shy away from leaving the perfectly functional Windows 7 for a very long time. We won't know whether the gamble pays off until sales figures for Windows 8 and Windows RT start rolling in. In the meantime, I haven't made up my mind about Windows 8 in general--but I'm declaring the Microsoft Surface tablet with Windows RT a winner. Here's why.
The Surface RT comes with 32GB or 64GB of memory. I bought the 32GB model bundled with the "Black Touch Cover" for $599. This price is comparable to the Wi-Fi-only Apple iPad with 32 GB. Here, however, you get a cover that is also a physical keyboard, as well as a number of hardware and software features that are optional purchases, software add-ons, or not available at all for iPad and Android tablets.
Despite some issues, the implementation of Window RT on Microsoft's Surface tablet is a winning combination. What it lacks in apps is made up for by a desktop-class browser that can be used for nearly anything you might do on a desktop. Its support of what appears to be a wide variety of USB devices let me get to work right away with existing peripherals. Its zero-boot suspend-resume means no lag between thinking about doing something and getting that thing done. In fact, inspired by Gigaom's Kevin Tofel all-in approach to using a Google Chromebook for all of his work (Video: Why I'm enjoying Google's newest ChromeBook), I am trying to see how much I can do using just the Surface RT. So far, the answer is: Quite a bit. I should note, however, that I wrote this article on a conventional notebook running Windows 7. That's because I have not yet found a good text editor or image editor for Surface RT.
Name: Microsoft Surface with Windows RT
Although not everyone will agree with me because of the dearth of apps, I'm declaring Surface with Windows RT tablet a winning "post PC". It works great with USB peripherals and has a near desktop-class browser.
Price: $499 (32 GB), $599 (32 GB with Black Touch Cover), $699 (64 GB with Black Touch Cover)
Pro:
Works with useful USB peripherals such as a mouse, keyboard, flash card reader, and thumb drives. Microsoft claims extensive device support including "the top 100 selling printers."
Internet Explorer Web browser works with sites designed for desktop browsers.
Internet Explorer supports Microsoft-approved Adobe Flash-based sites.
Split panel in Windows 8-style tiled interface is great.
Con:
Expensive considering the Nexus 7 (8GB model) is $199, Kindle Fire is $199, and iPad 2 is $399.
Feels heavy.
Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition not licensed for use for commercial or non-profit work.
Does not work with sites using Microsoft Silverlight.
Cannot sync with Windows Phone 7 or 7.5 devices.
Above we show a Surface RT (left) next to an iPad 2. Due to its 16:9 aspect ratio, the Surface RT is narrower but taller than an iPad. It is slightly heavier at 1.5 pounds than either the iPad 2 (1.33 pounds) or the new fourth-generation Wi-Fi-only iPad (1.44 pounds). Also, the Surface RT's screen resolution of 1366 X 768 pixels is much lower than that of an iPad with a Retina display (2048 x 1536 pixels). But the Surface RT screen is still crisp with good contrast and is comfortable to look at.
Due to its dimensions, and the locations of the Windows Home touch sensor and front-facing camera, the Surface RT clearly is designed to be used mostly in landscape mode. So in this review we describe the features of the tablet in relation to landscape mode, with the front-facing camera at the top and the Home sensor at the bottom.
On the right end of the tablet is one of its most important hardware features: a standard USB 2.0 port (above left). This lets you connect a mouse, a keyboard, a card reader, a thumb drive, and any other USB device you might already have lying around, without configuring anything or needing an adapter. Microsoft has set up a Windows RT Compatibility site where you can see and comment on devices' compatibility. I was able to use a mouse, copy files from my digital camera's SD card, and copy files to a USB drive with no problems. That smaller port to the right of the USB port? That's a micro-HDMI port for streaming high-def video to your flat-screen TVs and other HMDI-compatible devices. Not shown is one of the tablet's two speakers.
Device support is not limited to USB peripherals. I was able to print from the Surface RT to an HP OfficeJet 6700 via Wi-Fi. Windows RT detected the printer and automatically configured it.
Farther down the right end is the proprietary magnetic power connector, which is similar in function to Apple's MagSafe on notebooks. The Surface RT tablet cannot be charged using a USB power adapter or by plugging it into a PC's USB port.
In this photograph of the left side, you can see (from left) the tablet's other speaker, the headphone jack, and the rocker-style volume control. Tip: You can take screenshots by holding down the Windows Home sensor on the front and then pressing the down-volume rocker button.
Microsoft sells two optional combination cover-keyboards for the Surface RT--the Touch Cover and the thinner Type Cover. The covers attach to the tablet via a magnetic connector on the bottom edge. Two slots on either side of the connector help align the cover.
Microsoft makes a big deal out of the Surface RT's integrated kickstand. It's a well-implemented feature, but more interesting is what's beneath. The small slot, accessible only when the kickstand is open, takes a microSDXC card of up to 64 GB. You can't install apps with microSDXC cards, but you can use them for documents and media such as music, photos, and videos. Having this extra storage is important because only 25 GB of the Surface RT's 32 GB of storage is available for programs and files. Of that, Windows RT uses about 10 GB. That means a 32 GB Surface RT tablet really comes with only about 14 GB of usable storage.
A physical keyboard is a must for any tablet if you write a lot of emails or create documents. I tried Microsoft's Touch Cover. The textured pressure-sensitive surface of this cover looks and feels kind of fuzzy. After a few days of practice I was able to touch type on the Touch Cover. However, I'm a lot faster and make fewer mistakes typing on, for instance, the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for the iPad.
In addition to QWERTY keys, the Touch Cover offers a small but useful touchpad with left and right mouse buttons. Like Apple's Smartcover for iPad, the Touch Cover provides a magnetic on-off function. This means that the display turns on when the cover is opened and off when it is closed over the screen. Another nice feature of the cover is that the keys are disabled when the cover is folded behind the Surface, putting it into tablet-only mode.
Windows RT's on-screen keyboard is disappointing. The numeral-symbol keyboard layout is non-standard, so if, for example, your password is moderately strong with characters, numerals, and symbols, it requires a lot of visual keyboard switching just to log in. Another problem I noticed is that text windows in Internet Explorer do not adjust for the on-screen keyboard. This can leave nearly half the display unusable when you're typing. In the screenshot above you can see that Microsoft's own Word Web App in SkyDrive on IE for RT is unusable because of this onscreen keyboard problem.
The Surface RT's support for common USB devices came in handy when I wanted to copy some photos from an SD card. The screenshot above shows the media file importer copying the photos from the SD card connected to the tablet via an ordinary USB card reader. You also can use Windows Explorer to view files on a flash card or thumb drive.
The Surface RT's biggest weakness is a dearth of apps. Although Windows RT is part of the Windows 8 family, it essentially lives in its own world. It cannot run desktop software written for Windows 7, nor can it run apps written for Windows Phone 7, 7.5, or 8. It can only install and run apps available from the Microsoft Store written for what was formerly known as Metro Style. And even some of these apps have major shortcomings. The Evernote app, for example, cannot display its own notebooks--all notes are shown in a single notebook. Also, unfortunately, the Store shows apps in every supported language. This leads to enormous visual clutter--unless, of course, you're interested in buying apps in multiple languages.
Windows RT might not allow installing or running conventional Windows 7 software--but on the upside it does come with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. There are even some unexpected Windows apps tucked in here and there, including a fully working DOS Command Prompt.
Windows RT also comes with the Microsoft desktop apps Calculator, Notepad, Paint, Remote Desktop Connection, and PowerShell.
Windows RT also comes with the Microsoft desktop apps Calculator, Notepad, Paint, Remote Desktop Connection, and PowerShell.
With Windows 8 and Windows RT, Microsoft took a rare and bold step by fundamentally changing the way people use Windows. Microsoft is betting the farm by making changes so dramatic that many users will shy away from leaving the perfectly functional Windows 7 for a very long time. We won't know whether the gamble pays off until sales figures for Windows 8 and Windows RT start rolling in. In the meantime, I haven't made up my mind about Windows 8 in general--but I'm declaring the Microsoft Surface tablet with Windows RT a winner. Here's why.
The Surface RT comes with 32GB or 64GB of memory. I bought the 32GB model bundled with the "Black Touch Cover" for $599. This price is comparable to the Wi-Fi-only Apple iPad with 32 GB. Here, however, you get a cover that is also a physical keyboard, as well as a number of hardware and software features that are optional purchases, software add-ons, or not available at all for iPad and Android tablets.
Despite some issues, the implementation of Window RT on Microsoft's Surface tablet is a winning combination. What it lacks in apps is made up for by a desktop-class browser that can be used for nearly anything you might do on a desktop. Its support of what appears to be a wide variety of USB devices let me get to work right away with existing peripherals. Its zero-boot suspend-resume means no lag between thinking about doing something and getting that thing done. In fact, inspired by Gigaom's Kevin Tofel all-in approach to using a Google Chromebook for all of his work (Video: Why I'm enjoying Google's newest ChromeBook), I am trying to see how much I can do using just the Surface RT. So far, the answer is: Quite a bit. I should note, however, that I wrote this article on a conventional notebook running Windows 7. That's because I have not yet found a good text editor or image editor for Surface RT.
Name: Microsoft Surface with Windows RT
Although not everyone will agree with me because of the dearth of apps, I'm declaring Surface with Windows RT tablet a winning "post PC". It works great with USB peripherals and has a near desktop-class browser.
Price: $499 (32 GB), $599 (32 GB with Black Touch Cover), $699 (64 GB with Black Touch Cover)
Pro:
Works with useful USB peripherals such as a mouse, keyboard, flash card reader, and thumb drives. Microsoft claims extensive device support including "the top 100 selling printers."
Internet Explorer Web browser works with sites designed for desktop browsers.
Internet Explorer supports Microsoft-approved Adobe Flash-based sites.
Split panel in Windows 8-style tiled interface is great.
Con:
Expensive considering the Nexus 7 (8GB model) is $199, Kindle Fire is $199, and iPad 2 is $399.
Feels heavy.
Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition not licensed for use for commercial or non-profit work.
Does not work with sites using Microsoft Silverlight.
Cannot sync with Windows Phone 7 or 7.5 devices.
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