I don't think you do get what I'm saying. I understand the new paradigm. But you add music other media and OS updates (ATT still hasn't released the latest one) to a WP7 phone via Zune. There will be no Zune program or app on RT. So that means either keep a Windows 7 computer, or update to Windows 8 on an x86 machine and load Zune as a legacy program to use on the desktop. But you can't do that on Surface.
I actually do understand. I'll say it a little more clearly. Microsoft is aborting WP7 and Zune media software. There will be no more desktop application called Zune and there will be no more support for WP7. That means on regular PCs, laptops or tablets 8 or RT. So there is no reason for them to put a Zune application or way to interact with WP7 on a Windows RT tablet.Of course if you have Zune already on a PC you can continue to use it as a way to interact and backup your WP7 phone but really it is just a MS version of iTunes music/media management.
I sincerely doubt you will be getting updated to WP7.5 if you haven't already and AT&T is not interested in it. One of the reasons I ditched my WP because the carrier was getting in the way of even minor updates. Microsoft wants everybody to move on to WP8. MS does not want to support zune any more.
Microsoft wants you to use WP8, the cloud and Xbox music service. Like Android and modern iDevices you will not need to update, backup and restore your phone through PC software. This will all be done over the air and through the cloud.
Edit: I forgot to mention you can actually use SkyDrive, DropBox,
Amazon or many other services to manage the files exactly as you are suggesting. Put the media file in your cloud storage (SkyDrive) from your PC. Open the SkyDrive app on your WP7 then download and save that media file on your phone. This is the new way of managing media and you can do it now. So you can update and manage your media for travel without ever connecting to a PC, just upload from wherever the media is saved and download on the phone.
As Mr. NK said some of the things you mention, like streaming music on a phone may well come in the future (though I cringe at the bandwidth and download charges now that all the carriers are limiting downloads), but are not possibilities in the present. And you can't save or copy those sorts of files on Skydrive. I probably will get a Win 8 phone but hoped to keep my Samsung Focus for travel, which means among other things loading and changing the music and other media on it.
This isn't the future it actually is now. Have you ever heard of any software you have to install on your PC for updating and syncing Android phones? Microsoft is forcing you to go this direction from now on with WP8. Yes, you would have huge data costs over the networks but the assumption is that you will do the heavy downloading and updating over wifi. In fact the devices have an option that says only download large files over wifi, so these issues have been though about.
Now all app purchases, movie purchases, book purchases and music purchases are saved in the could. Buy it once and put it on any device that you own that also runs that OS. Have to restore your phone? Guess what as soon as you log into your account everything is in the could waiting to reinstall on your device. This gets rid of the need to plug into a PC and use a program like Zune.
Music is taking it one step further instead of just backing up a receipt that you already own a piece of music that you can download to a device again if you need to, they are keeping a copy in the cloud for you and then letting you play it anyway you want. In other words, buy a song and then you are able to stream that song and the rest of your library on any device at any time through the cloud.
It's just one more device added to the long list of those MS has abandoned.
Not so sure about this. MS has a very good history of long term support for devices. These days it is very common for many companies to drop support of devices and you can look at HP, Palm, Blackberry and Motorola all as examples of companies who are worse about abandoning devices than MS. Sometimes it happens (zune and kin) and these days most companies choose to treat mobile devices and tablets as disposable.
I understand you may be frustrated by not being able to ditch your PC in favor of your RT tablet because it doesn't support Zune. If that is your priority you have two choices. 1) you can wait and get a Surface Pro or other Windows 8 tablet that will support zune or 2) you can update to WP8. This is why I made the comment that two years (the typical lock in for a phone) goes by pretty quickly because chances are you will be updating to a WP8 phone sooner or later anyway.
JP
