Is the Surface RT Tablet a Good Buy?

[Dutchpiet]

Hello to all surface owners, I am looking to buy a tablet, is the surface RT worth considering?,
it will be for personal use only, I have a Windows 7 laptop for productive use at home,
so I will be web browsing,E-mails,catch up TV and Tune in Radio,
a keyboard is not needed, i will use it on daily train journey, and can use phone/ wi-fi hotspot device and have
good 3G+ signal, the reviews I have read all are negative, buy other makes seems to be the advice,
and the lack of apps, and bad screen, and that it is slow to load, yet build quality and battery life is said to be good, USB port and SD card slot to expand storage is a good thing, the fold out stand is brilliant,
so if any owners can advise me, many thanks in advance.

 

[Trovahead]

Ive had one since they came out and I am very happy with it. I use it at home and at work. I love it and my wife is going to get one for work too. We are both teachers. There are some apps that I am waiting for, and although I am having some issues connecting to my remote desk top and getting my homegroup set up, the tablet itself is awesome.

 

[Surface2Air]

Hi! This is just my opinion, based on my experience with the Surface RT so far:

All the reviews seem to be correct; both the good and the bad. The Surface is a contradiction. For everything that has annoyed me so far, there is an equally pleasing user experience. In fact, if this wasn't such a compelling device, I would have returned it to the store.

I suppose that's my point; it has all the shortcomings of a first generation release, but the build quality and design - for me at least - outweigh the negatives. The Surface is a pleasing device to use, and the U/I seems fresh and downright elegant. I can't wait to see the Surface RT evolve as the updates roll in.

From what you've said about your uses for a tablet, it sounds like an iPad mini would suit your needs perfectly, and save you a little money. However, you may want to take a chance on the Suface, as you can always return it. It really is greater than the sum of its parts. In spite of the mixed reviews I'm glad I took a chance on the Surface, and I have to admit I was a little dismissive about Microsoft's intentions with Windows RT, but I've done a 180 degree turn. RT has a lot of potential.

Hope this helps.

 

[Dutchpiet]

Hi! This is just my opinion, based on my experience with the Surface RT so far:

All the reviews seem to be correct; both the good and the bad. The Surface is a contradiction. For everything that has annoyed me so far, there is an equally pleasing user experience. In fact, if this wasn't such a compelling device, I would have returned it to the store.

I suppose that's my point; it has all the shortcomings of a first generation release, but the build quality and design - for me at least - outweigh the negatives. The Surface is a pleasing device to use, and the U/I seems fresh and downright elegant. I can't wait to see the Surface RT evolve as the updates roll in.

From what you've said about your uses for a tablet, it sounds like an iPad mini would suit your needs perfectly, and save you a little money. However, you may want to take a chance on the Suface, as you can always return it. It really is greater than the sum of its parts. In spite of the mixed reviews I'm glad I took a chance on the Surface, and I have to admit I was a little dismissive about Microsoft's intentions with Windows RT, but I've done a 180 degree turn. RT has a lot of potential.

Hope this helps.

Hi Surface2air, thank you for your reply, as I have been a Microsoft user, XP,Vista,Windows 7,8, and windows phone 7/8,
all have served me very well, I thought it would be best to stay with Microsoft, and they do update their systems,
the windows phones are not bad on my second one, I am going to order one now and give a try,
thanks again for your reply,

 

[machistmo]

I own a surface and was given one to evaluate by my boss. I love this device. Of course the limitations of RT apply, but there are some very nice things about this device. I had an Ipad 3 which required some serious configuration to enable it to do the simplest of tasks, like printing to my Printer. I brought the surface into the house and connected it to my network and discovered quite by accident that I could just PRINT to my wireless printer. I did NOTHING to install the device at all. It was just there and it works. The USB port works. I am typing this response on a $15 Wireless Inland brand Keyboard and Mouse setup that I picked up at the local Tiger Direct. Its as off-brand and cheap as they come, yet it just works. No fuss, no install, but true Plug and Play.

It works equally well with the myriad of USB sticks I use at work all the time. The files are there - another thing you just DONT get with an IPAD. All in all this Surface is awesome.

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that I used a utility from back in the day to scan and grab a ton of music that I converted into MP3's years ago. I copied these tunes to a USB flash drive and they are there in folders named F01 etc. The songs were converted into EFGR.MP3 and so forth. The XBOX music utility not only tells me the song name and Artist, but pulls almost 80% of the album art automatically. The whole thing makes sense.

The Home and Office Version of Office is the deal maker for me. I can actually WORK on this device instead of converting and importing sending and syncing. I can just save my work to my flash drive and have it.

Now.. The Surface does have a learning curve but its minimal and I highly suggest you get the free app called Windows 8 Cheats from the app store when you buy it.

If I had to sum up my experience with the IPAD and the Surface it would go something like this:

IPAD - Little Learning Curve - No depth - Became more irritated by its inability to do basic things like print or connect to devices not AIRPRINT enabled Etc, the longer I owned it.

Surface - Takes a little effort to get into it, the more you use it, the more you discover it CAN do and the more you like it. Its more useful than an Ipad in every sense. And while people talk about the lack of apps in the store, how many apps did apple have when the first Ipad released? I think it was like half of those available for the Surface already.

-Typed and Posted Via Surface RT

 

[BillJ]

I too, am very happy with my Surface RT. I use the type cover, and by so doing have a very reasonable "laptop/netbook" alternative that is easy to transport, almost instantly-on after wake-up, and sufficiently fast for my word-smithing needs. The abilities to use a full-fledged word processing program, print to standard printers, and to use USB and micro SD are all features of the Surface that no other tablets offer.
However, if I were to be using a device ONLY for e-books, music, e-mail checks and some games, I would understand how any of the Apple tablets or better yet, Nexus 7 or 10 could be better alternatives. The Surface can do all these things, and do them very well. However, the other machines listed give an end-user more options regarding application software, at least at this time.
I also agree with other posters in regards to the issue of "lack of apps"; I have all the software I need on the Surface right now. Even if there were a million RT-optimized apps in the store right now, and even if they were free, I am not sure how many more I would be interested in trying (although improvements in file management/organization, tethering programs and the like could be of interest in the future)

Also typed and Posted via Surface RT

 

[J515OP]

Since it sounds like your ecosystem is Microsoft and you like the Windows Phones it totally makes sense. As the apps come and the development continues your apps will become available across your desktop, Surface and Windows Phone. The Surface will be very much like your Windows Phone. Everything syncs, settings, passwords, document all of it through your Windows Live account. If you are into the Windows ecosystem this will just be another piece and work very well with the rest of what you have. If you update your Windows 7 machine to Windows 8 for only $40 you will be immersed in a unified them of Windows devices. In fact upgrading to Windows 8 on will give you an excellent preview of what using the Surface will be like if you only want to spend $40 first.

JP

 

[jnjroach]

If you have a Desktop or Laptop running Windows 7/8 Pro or Enterprise (Windows 8 will give a better experience due to the ability to sync settings and files) the Surface RT becomes a very viable business solution through RDP connections. I use my Surface RT as my mobile device as it easily does 90% of what I need, and the last 10% I RDP into my Desktop or Docked Slate to do. One area that surprised me was how capable the Surface is with VOIP/Enterprise Voice, it handles Lync 2013 VOIP calls much better than my Sandybridge Core i5 Samsung Series 7 Tablet.

 

[ctitanic]

My taking is that if you are an user that knows Windows well enough you will enjoy the beauty and power of this device. If you are used or looking for a device where everything works (with a lot of restrictions) then the iPad is your device.

And it's not that things do not work well in the Surface, what I mean is that being a Windows Device you have a lot of potential and possibilities if you know how to use Windows well enough. As an IT Professional I love my Surface and I do a lot more things than all I did with my iPad in more than a year. Even know when Surface still doesn't have that many applications like the iPad has available.
Sent from my Windows 8 device using Board Express

 

[smalltowngirl13]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Good luck on your decision!

 

[cali]

Welcome to the site.