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Win 8.1 and RT 8.1 Impressions

8.1 has seriously upgraded the performance of my RT. This will certainly put off my purchase of a new device for a while.
 
My impressions after 1 day...

I love the built-in app updates - more are supporting the extra large tile that shows a lot of useful information.
Mail has a new, cleaner look. I like being able to hide rarely used folders and favorite the ones I care about.
The Newsletter filter in Outlook.com/Hotmail is pretty slick too.
Finance App lets me put in a watchlist that shows on the new larger tile.
Music is finally a good app. It was much improved in the 8.1 preview. Performance is even better now.
Reading list is excellent!
Wifi still doesn't immediately see the hotspot from my Lumia 1020, but it will now show up eventually if you wait a bit.
I still don't get what is special about the hotspot that comes from my phone vs the other hotspots that it sees instantly, but at least it works now. Previously in the preview, I would have to reboot the Surface to get it to see the hotspot from my phone. That is absolutely unacceptable and I'm glad its "fixed".
 
pallentx said:
My impressions after 1 day...

I love the built-in app updates - more are supporting the extra large tile that shows a lot of useful information.
Mail has a new, cleaner look. I like being able to hide rarely used folders and favorite the ones I care about.
The Newsletter filter in Outlook.com/Hotmail is pretty slick too.
Finance App lets me put in a watchlist that shows on the new larger tile.
Music is finally a good app. It was much improved in the 8.1 preview. Performance is even better now.
Reading list is excellent!
Wifi still doesn't immediately see the hotspot from my Lumia 1020, but it will now show up eventually if you wait a bit.
I still don't get what is special about the hotspot that comes from my phone vs the other hotspots that it sees instantly, but at least it works now. Previously in the preview, I would have to reboot the Surface to get it to see the hotspot from my phone. That is absolutely unacceptable and I'm glad its "fixed".
Click to expand...

Good points - I forgot to mention the Reader app (I have yet to use it, but I see its immense potential). Not really into Music on the Surface - so, I just haven't opened that app, but thanks for pointing out the improvements. I have never really checked out the Finance app... but I wonder if it would work with stocks spread out over a number of country-specific markets.
 
On the battery life...

Well, it does not seem to be positive. I have now been on the RT for about 2 hr 30 min. I started from 100% and right now I have 76%. WiFi and BT is on. I am working on a Word document, Skydrive app is open, browser with 5 tabs is open, Mail app (which is syncing 3 accounts for the past 45 mins - yes I have a lot of mails) is open, brightness is at around 40-45%.

Hmmm!!!!!
 
I for a good test, I would run it all the way down, then do a full charge, then test. This will calibrate the metering so it knows how much 20% of your capacity really is. I played with mine most of the evening last night and didn't charge it over night and it was still about half full this morning. I'll try to pay more attention. Mine is a RT.
 
I've been working since 5:30 AM (now 9:41 AM) it have taken 2 conference calls using Lync Mobile with a Bluetooth headset, used OneNote for Notes, 3 email accounts as well, have Twitter and Facebook Apps running and I'm at 45% battery life...so I'm not too concerned.
 
jnjroach said:
I've been working since 5:30 AM (now 9:41 AM) it have taken 2 conference calls using Lync Mobile with a Bluetooth headset, used OneNote for Notes, 3 email accounts as well, have Twitter and Facebook Apps running and I'm at 45% battery life...so I'm not too concerned.
Click to expand...

Did you calibrate the battery on your machine?
 
I ran it down yesterday to about 6% working and then charged it overnight, so I did my typical work day :) nothing special...
 
So the classic battery life test is a video loop. Is there a 9-hour Youtube playlist out there? :p
 
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