Surface RT with Black Touch Cover, 32GB

Comments about Surface RT with Black Touch Cover, 32GB:

Here it is what I like
1. Sturdy, great build quality and no compromises. Very cool 'VaporMg' finish looks and feels as good as Apple's products, but in a different way. The integrated kickstand makes it v on a table when watchinery versatile when watching movies or using Skype.

2. The Touch/Type Cover really makes the Surface stand out when compared to other tablets from Apple or others. The touch keyboard can be as effective as a a regular keyboard. This is probably the most useful accessory since it can transform the whole package into a real Notebook. The stiff and very convenient magnetic design that snaps the cover into the tablet is the signature feature of this package.

3. Lots of connectivity options: One full USB port for peripherals allows you expand the device almost like a regular laptop. Unlike other tablet operating systems, Windows RT has good driver support for existing devices like printers. You also get HD video out through an optional adapter , the latest Bluetooth interface, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and an unlike Apple's products, you get a micro SDHC/SDXC expansion slot behind the kickstand. The latter can save you a lot of money by buying the memory flash memory card yourself.

4. Good screen. Not as high resolution as Apple's retina display but it performs better in sunny conditions.
Viewing angles and color reproduction are very good, and unlike other tablets this one has the ideal 16:9 ratio for watching movies.
Microsoft's ClearType technology renders the text as well as other higher resolutions displays.

5. Operating system / processor: I'm very pleased with it. The new responsive UI is the same as in Windows 8: a familiar interface on all devices using multitouch gestures. One of the features that set Windows RT apart from other operating mobile systems is the ability to share 2 windows on the screen at the same time. Unlike other platforms, you can easily install and uninstall any application you want directly from the screen, thanks to the Windows RT features.
Unlike other tablets allows differnet accounts for multiple users and even allows for child monitored accounts. On the same note, the picture password is hillarious, yet effective.
Thanks to the low power ARM processor inside, you'll get a very good battery life estimated to 9 hours.

6.Applications: Good quality, preinstalled applications provide functionality you would expect on any tablet. Unlike other tablets, they are free of bloatware / trialware or advertisements and won't crash or reboot.
You also have tens of thousands of applications in the MarketPlace store, many of them free, with many are added every day.
But what makes it shine for professionals, is the presence of the free full version of Office. Not only you save big by having it included for free, but it is optimized for touch and pen input, and it stands head and shoulders above any similar applications on other non Windows tablets.
For the techies, you can also go in desktop mode and use the now familiar Windows 7 desktop, command prompt or the file Explorer. My favorite was the Remote Desktop that allowed me to control another laptop running Windows 7 Pro.

Here is where improvements are needed
1. The 2 cameras on this tablet are unimpressive. The front-facing one is adequate for a video call where the quality is actually limited by the bandwidth. But if you are planning to take pictures with the rear one, you will be disappointed by it's low resolution.

2. The Speakers: Stereo Sound power and quality is OK to use in most situations like car or indoor, but like most tablets it won't blow you away.

3. The magnetic power plug: It does not 'snap' easily into its socket.

4. Unlike other Windows RT tablets like ASUS VivoTab, it does not have NFC and GPS chips included. Not a big deal for many, but nice to have them in the Surface . despite its cool design
the touch/type cover is a little too pricey.

Overall, this a tablet is a very solid, stable and well built and it's convertible/extensible design offers the best productivity features to date, and at the same time a very good entertainment experience for the whole family.

Comments about Surface RT with Black Touch Cover, 32GB:

The touch keyboard is fantastic! Once you get the hang of it you can type almost as well as on a laptop. It makes a great screen cover. Opening the cover wakes the computer and closing it puts it to sleep. I you do not need the keyboard, just fold it all the way back behind the tablet and it deactivates, but it is instantly avalible if you need it. The cover adds very little bulk and weight to the device. The cover also has a track pad which supports two finger Mac style scrolling. This can come in hany when you using are pointing and clicking on small tings on full web pages not designed for tablets or phones. The on screen key board is at as good as any thing on IOS or Android.

The bottom line is that Surface with the cover is about the same size as an ipad or many Android tablets, but comes very close the the functionalty of an ultra book. The kick stand and key board are avalible to use in an instant. The new Win 8 interface is very elegant and efficinet. It took me about 5 minutes to fgure it out is very intutive and consistint. When I am using android and apple tablets, I keep trying to bring up the charms. All the imoprant apps will come to the Metro UI, in the mean time you can use the browser to do almost any thing you do on a laptop in a package about the same size as a tablet.

The price includes Microsoft Office which works very well on this machine. The device will work with almost any USB device you may have. You can also access your home network. SD card slot lets you add memory as you need it at low cost.

This is the ideal machine for students and professionals who might want do some serious work in addition to playing with a tablet.

Comments about Surface RT with Black Touch Cover, 32GB:

When I get the windows RT I was not thinning I was going to like it, but after using it I fell in love with it. It just works and gets the job done. My wife has an ipad and I have never really been happy with it does not seem to really do much. It's ok for surfing the web and game but I have never felt that I could get any real work done with it. Having printer support built in and being able to plug into a tv is great for work.

Comments about Surface RT with Black Touch Cover, 32GB:

The Surface is a great additon to our home. It is used daily now to check emails and interact with friends and family. The quality of the display is excellent and picture quality is exceptional. We have not viewed a movie on the Surface yet and hope to very soon.

We have not used the Surface off the power supply to effectively evaluate the battery life. In the short times we have used the tablet off the power supply we did notice some lose of battery power. We will know more after taking on a road trip or flight.

We are using the Surface mostly connected to the touch keyboard and it works well. It takes some time to get use to the touch instead of the keys.

The only difficulty with the Surface was in the initial set-up of the tablet. It was not an easy process of connecting to Microsoft and took several trys. The help staff at Microsoft was excellent at helping to walk through the process and we were able to get the account set up properly and get access.

I would still give the Surface an overall high rating for portable tablets.

Comments about Surface RT with Black Touch Cover, 32GB:

Needs more Apps...otherwise it is best of the best.

Comments about Surface RT with Black Touch Cover, 32GB:

Finally a terrific tablet for media consumption, email and recreation, that can also handle real tasks. I was originally thinking of waiting for a Windows 8 Pro tablet, when I realized...why? I really use this for the things one would typically do on a tablet - media consumption, email, apps for news, sports, travel, games, etc. and would prefer the extended battery life with the RT machine. I have found it does all of those "tablet" things exceptionally well, plus it also comes with MS Office Suite, as well as remote desktop so I can remote to my office desktop and access our server if necessary. Setting up was very easy - email accounts (one work and 3 personal), remote access, even printing (I really did nothing to setup printing - as soon as it connected to our wireless network, it automatically detected my wireless printer, installed the drivers, and set it up as the default printer). While I do wish there had been a tutorial video, after doing a minor amount of research I was completely comfortable with way the OS works - the swiping/touching motions used to do things seems very natural - especially swiping to switch between apps or between browser tabs. Also - the bar that comes up when you swipe from the right is context sensitive, i.e. from the start screen, the search, settings, etc, are for the device, but within an app, simply swipe from the right and the same icons work within each app for settings, searching, etc. I have had it for about 3 weeks now, using it nightly, and the more I use it, the more I find it indispensible - much more than my prior Android tablet or IPad.

As to value - for the same price as a 32 GB Ipad, you get external storage (micro SD), full size USB port, touch cover that doubles as a keyboard and MS Office suite. All of this with a modern, slick interface that, to me, is much easier to use than either IOS or Android. I highly recommend.