{"id":1349,"date":"2013-10-30T20:52:30","date_gmt":"2013-10-30T20:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/andyparkes.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1349"},"modified":"2013-11-01T10:19:31","modified_gmt":"2013-11-01T10:19:31","slug":"experiences-with-microsoft-surface-rt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/andyparkes.co.uk\/blog\/index.php\/2013\/10\/30\/experiences-with-microsoft-surface-rt\/","title":{"rendered":"Experiences With Microsoft Surface RT"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve had a Surface RT for about six months now after a client asked if we could have a chat about the touch devices that are on the market. After that conversation I thought the Surface could be something that would fit in with how my days generally pan out so I thought I\u2019d give it a whirl.<\/p>\n

\"WP_000522\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As already mentioned I\u2019ve had it for about six months now and I\u2019ve written and scrapped posts on it about five or six times but with the recent Windows 8.1 release and the Surface 2 announcements it\u2019s been at the front of my mind again<\/p>\n

On the whole I\u2019m largely happy it. .<\/p>\n

Battery<\/strong><\/p>\n

A bit obvious I know but any extended usage on my mobile has me worrying about the battery and while the portable charger I\u2019ve got<\/a> is great when I\u2019m running low it\u2019s not quite the same as having something that will last all day. It\u2019s great knowing I can take it out fully charged and not have it die on me. Something I can\u2019t say for my laptop either.<\/p>\n

Portability<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another obvious one and not specific to the Surface I know but this one of the things I wasn\u2019t convinced on as my laptop is pretty light but I\u2019ve found it lives in my bag now and I generally don\u2019t notice I\u2019ve got it with it me.<\/p>\n

Aspect Ratio<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Surface is more of a rectangle than a square. This is because it\u2019s a widescreen (16:9) device which makes it great for videos and the like. That\u2019s not quite <\/em>why I like it though. The big thing for me is for when I\u2019m reading web pages, PDFs, blog posts, etc I can turn it on it\u2019s end making the reading experience much much better (less scrolling for one thing!)<\/p>\n

This is particularly useful for documents as the reading experience is very similar to having a printed copy (granted paper is much lighter!)<\/p>\n

Multi-User<\/strong><\/p>\n

I like the fact I can setup different user profiles. If I wanted to give the Surface to Mrs P or one of the kids they can have their own apps, start screen and be signed into different services. I don\u2019t have to worry about signing out of anything so someone else can use it. i can see how this would be useful in office environments, a meeting room for example could have a device that several users could share.<\/p>\n

Encryption<\/strong><\/p>\n

A little thing but it\u2019s got a version of BitLocker running on it that means in the event of it getting lost or stolen the data is going to be safe.<\/p>\n

Connectivity<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s got a USB port on the side that let\u2019s me plug additional storage or keyboards, mice, etc into it without any need for convertors and adaptors. There is a mini-HDMI port too if you wanted to plug it into a bigger screen. It\u2019ll even let you extend onto that second screen exactly the same way as you would with a desktop\/laptop.<\/p>\n

Office<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes I know Microsoft are slowly bringing various Office applications to other platforms but having Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote baked in is useful. That familiar feel means not having to worry about working differently just because I\u2019m on a different device. Having Outlook with Windows 8.1 has made a huge difference to me. The mail app was \u201cok\u201d but as I spend a big chunk of time in Outlook having the same experience for mail, calendars, tasks, contacts is a big plus.<\/p>\n

The Built In Stand<\/strong><\/p>\n

A very small thing but I lose count of how many times a day I flip the stand down. It\u2019s nice that it\u2019s \u201cjust there\u201d and I can prop it up easily. I frequently stand it up on the kitchen table for catching up on the news while I\u2019m drinking that all important first cuppa of the day!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all roses though..What isn\u2019t so good<\/p>\n

Internet Explorer<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know..I don\u2019t mind IE as such. But the performance of it isn\u2019t quite as snappy as I\u2019d like. Sometimes you click a link and when nothing happens you jab it again and before you know it the first link has been dealt with and you\u2019ve unintentionally clicked something on the next page. I\u2019m not sure if the hardware isn\u2019t up to it but IE is mostly the only time I notice a \u201claggy\u201d experience and I\u2019ve had experiences with some sites that just don\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n

Price and Accessory Slashing. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I was rather annoyed about this. The covers which double up as keyboards are really interesting and it\u2019s definitely useful to have a keyboard from time to but with the cheapest one adding around \u00a3100 to the price I decided it wasn\u2019t that important to me for how often I\u2019d actually need it. About two or three weeks after I got my Surface the prices were dropped AND they were throwing in the cover for free.<\/p>\n

Thanks a lot\u2026.<\/p>\n

Apps<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah\u2026.the elephant in the room.<\/p>\n

The lack of apps is still THE main thing getting in the way of making this useful to a wider audience.The official Facebook app was only recently available with the 8.1 release and it\u2019s the same problem Microsoft have Windows 8 and Windows Phone. It\u2019s not that there are no apps..just not the wide variety that are available on iOS and Android. It\u2019s a shame Microsoft aren\u2019t developing more of their own apps as well as trying to convince other developers it\u2019s a viable platform.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that there aren\u2019t any apps to use. I\u2019ve got Netflix, Twitter, Facebook (finally), Amazon, Skype and Ebay. Lots of things you\u2019d expect. But on the flip side there is no official app for Instagram (the Windows 8 one is imminent) or Vine. I\u2019m a big GoodReads user but the unofficial apps aren\u2019t great and the website is a pain to use with a touch screen. The list of popular apps that are available on other platforms is pretty daunting when you\u2019re comparing devices.<\/p>\n

Also..I\u2019m writing this on my laptop as opposed to my Surface. There is no Windows Live Writer or similar that I can use. My only real option is to use Word as a blogging tool\u2026Bleurgh. When you\u2019ve been using Live Writer for so long going back to Word for blogging? I\u2019ll pass thanks.<\/p>\n

So why Surface RT and not Surface Pro?<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s pretty easy<\/p>\n

Cost<\/em> \u2013 I didn\u2019t want a Pro enough to spend that sort of money, especially the launch prices. The plus points of the tablet form factor aren\u2019t worth that <\/strong>much to me. If I need the \u201cfull Windows experience\u201d my laptop is fine in those scenarios.<\/p>\n

Battery life<\/em> \u2013 My RT device lasts ages for how I use it. If I take it out on a full charge I don\u2019t have to worry about it running out of juice.<\/p>\n

Office \u2013 I know it it largely depends on how you buy Office, (Office 365 Home Premium is up to five devices) but having Office included in the cost of the Surface was a big draw for me. If you have to add the cost of Office on top of the Pro that total price is pretty steep.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m of the opinion that if they\u2019d spent all that money used developing Surface RT into making the Surface Pro cheaper and<\/span><\/strong> with a comparable battery life they\u2019d have sold so many they wouldn\u2019t be able to get them out the door quick enough.<\/p>\n

In my experience the Surface is really good at a specific thing for a specific set of people who want a seamless Windows experience using a common set of apps. Those people will get a lot out of it. Outlook and OneNote on a decent screen I can take everywhere is unbelievably useful for me.<\/p>\n

The new Surface 2 model and Windows 8.1 makes lots of incremental improvements to make what\u2019s actually good about the device even better. The two angle stand is a brilliant addition as an example. You\u2019d only really know that after having used the current one though.<\/p>\n

So to finish\u2026(since this post is a little all over the place!)<\/p>\n

Should you buy a Surface RT? It depends\u2026<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve never owned a tablet and spend a lot of time using other Microsoft products it\u2019s worth looking at.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re coming from another product, unless there is something you specific want (Office..) then you may not find anything that\u2019s a big pull.<\/p>\n

As always..comments, opinions and questions always welcome!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve had a Surface RT for about six months now after a client asked if we could have a chat about the touch devices that are on the market. After that conversation I thought the Surface could be something that would fit in with how my days generally pan out so I thought I\u2019d give<\/p>\n

<\/span>Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-surface"],"yoast_head":"\nExperiences With Microsoft Surface RT - Andy's Techie Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/andyparkes.co.uk\/blog\/index.php\/2013\/10\/30\/experiences-with-microsoft-surface-rt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Experiences With Microsoft Surface RT - Andy's Techie Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve had a Surface RT for about six months now after a client asked if we could have a chat about the touch devices that are on the market. 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