Microsoft Surface RT review
Genuine positivity surrounded the announcement of Microsoft’s first foray into modern day mobile hardware. In Surface, we had a product that seemed to possess the build quality and production refinement we’d typically associate with an Apple offering, combined with a desktop-level operating system and reasonably powerful specs. Surface – particularly the Intel-powered variant running Windows 8 Pro – looked like a genuine contender. However, the iPad-challenging RT variant didn’t look quite so convincing, and now that the final product is in our hands, we’d go further by saying that it is a largely disappointing offering that under-performs in almost every way that matters. Not only that, but it is at least a generation away from competing against Apple’s current products – let alone its future hardware.There is some good news, however. In terms of build quality, at least, Microsoft has done pretty well. The slate itself feels good in the hand (though the fanfare surrounding “VaporMg” seems a touch overblown) and the magnetic docking connectors for the keyboard and power supply are interesting ideas that work nicely. Screen quality is impressive, too, with the 16:9 aspect ratio a more comfortable fit for gaming compared to the 4:3 iPad display. It’s better for media viewing as well, although not quite such a good fit for eBook reading and web-browsing – especially in the overly tall portrait configuration. The only real gripe we have with the screen is resolution: 1366×768 works well enough, but falls well short against the competition in what is swiftly becoming the Retina era.We also applaud the decision to make 32GB the baseline storage configuration – the Windows OS sucks up over 6GB of space so a poverty spec 16GB SKU could never have been a viable proposition. Best of all is the fact that Surface RT comes with a standard USB 2.0 port – connect a printer and it works, hook up a flash drive and you can copy files to and from it, and wireless keyboards and mice function as they should with no fuss whatsoever. This is the major advantage a Windows-based architecture brings to the table – access to an enormous library of ready-made drivers.Read more…
