What gripes, if any, do you have about the Surface RT?

[kristalsoldier]

In my case, my gripes are very few...I don't bemoan the lack of apps - seriously, I use very few apps and the ones currently in the store are good enough. Sure they can probably be made better, but that will happen over time and I can wait for them though I do wish the Mail app gets fixed first! I don't need too many. In terms of hardware, I have nothing to complain about. About moving between the Desktop and the Modern UI, I don't have a problem - though I do wish MS would rename this Modern UI with something better! The only problem that I seem to face is Chrome or rather, the lack of it on the RT specifically. I am very used to Chrome and my bookmarks etc. are all set up there. Plus, Chrome allows me to use AdBlock etc. It's not that IE is not good, but personally speaking, I find Chrome better. Of course, I understand the limitations of the RT platform and the other issues at stake in so far as Chrome is concerned on RT. But I still hope it does get ported. That's my only gripe at the moment. What's yours, if any?

 

[ArnoldC]

Nothing. I know what I bought, I want what I bought.

Chrome? Never cared.

 

[Rallicat]

I don't have any complaints about the hardware of Surface RT, it's been rock solid for me so far.

As for the OS, I hope that Microsoft ramp up on the updates side of things. So far we've had a few bug fixes and minor improvements, but we need things to be happening at a much quicker pace. That also should be covering the apps too - the Mail, calendar apps etc are OK .. but 'OK' isn't good enough. They need to be excellent, and they need to get there quickly.

As for Chrome? Well I can appreciate you might be 'used to it' - but Adblock? bah - plugins are so last year. Just turn on Tracking Protection in IE!

 

[kristalsoldier]

I don't have any complaints about the hardware of Surface RT, it's been rock solid for me so far.

As for the OS, I hope that Microsoft ramp up on the updates side of things. So far we've had a few bug fixes and minor improvements, but we need things to be happening at a much quicker pace. That also should be covering the apps too - the Mail, calendar apps etc are OK .. but 'OK' isn't good enough. They need to be excellent, and they need to get there quickly.

As for Chrome? Well I can appreciate you might be 'used to it' - but Adblock? bah - plugins are so last year. Just turn on Tracking Protection in IE!

Tracking protection. How to turn this on in the Modern UI version of IE? Thanks.

Edit: Excellent suggestion re: Tracking Protection. I installed the lists via the Desktop version of IE and it works in the Modern UI version too. Do you have any suggestions for good lists aside from what MS suggests (some of which I just added)? Thanks. While I do have IE10 on my Win7 machine, I don't use it that often, which is why I am very unfamiliar with it. I am also trying to get to grips with how IE10 on RT (especially in the Modern UI space) handles bookmarks. Any insight on this would also be very helpful.

 

[originalstarlite]

It has 1000's of do absolutely nothing RT apps in that poorly constructed store, BUT. . . without an app for "Encrypting the Wi-Fi connection" it is a stay at home toy. Never goes out of my protected network.

 

[NickMilner]

For the life of me I've never been able to download an attachment from an email. Luckily we use SharePoint for storing files rather than attaching them to mails so it's not really a problem; more of a nuisance.

/edit - I also agree with the post below; the Kindle app is unusable.

 

[Afy]

Not the RT per se.. but the quality of the apps such as Kindle leave me wanting. As do things like XBox Music et al. They suck...
Would have like a RT version of Visio..

 

[kristalsoldier]

As a side note, after using the RT for sometime now, I realized how few legacy apps/ programs I use - aside from Office, of course. I have found nothing really, in terms of apps, that is, that I miss. My caveat is that I use my Nexus 10 extensively for reading - work and otherwise - and watching movies. In other words, I use the Nexus as I would use a paper-based book for my reference work. So, the apps for the Nexus - of which I also don't have too many - cover whatever little "extra" apps that I may have used on the RT. And, since I don't need them, I have not looked for them either. Not being into games, per se, I don't miss them either.

In short, I am really liking my RT!

 

[compnovo]

I'm somewhat surprised others are finding the Kindle app to be "unusable". I use the RT as a reader every night with the app, reading Kindle ebooks I checked out of the library, and I haven't run into any issues.

Anyway, regarding RT issues, the only problem I had was learning to navigate IE10 in the modern UI. Since I figured that out I've been a happy camper.

 

[borka105]

My biggest compliant with the Surface RT is that everything is slightly slower than on my iPad. It's not as fluid. This may be something you don't notice if this is your only tablet, but obvious to me when switching from my Surface RT to iPad 3 or mini. From zooming in on pictures, to apps loading, to scrolling, etc.

Additionally IE is not as good of a browser as Safari or Chrome. For instance, I am replying back to this thread on my mini using the onscreen keyboard. I can't do that on the Surface. Going back on a page is slower and so is zooming in on text. This is a big issue when the Surface lacks great apps.

 

[TeknoBlast]

Hardware-wise, I'm very happy with it. I cant complain at all. Software-wise, I embraced the chance in the UI, so I'm very happy with that as well. Store Apps, there are some apps that needs improvements, such like the Mail and People app. I dont like that I cant set my font to a certain default. The People crashes for me when it needs to update, not all the time, but does have a small lock up until it catches up or crashes. I'm not complaining about the amount of apps because I'm pretty happy with what's out there now, but more would be great.

 

[kristalsoldier]

I'm somewhat surprised others are finding the Kindle app to be "unusable". I use the RT as a reader every night with the app, reading Kindle ebooks I checked out of the library, and I haven't run into any issues.

Anyway, regarding RT issues, the only problem I had was learning to navigate IE10 in the modern UI. Since I figured that out I've been a happy camper.

I'll second that bit about knowing how to navigate IE 10 in the Modern UI...learning the bare essentials - basically by trial and error - has indeed helped a lot! I guess I was (and remain) too used to Chrome (on my Win 7 desktop).