After forcing myself to use Microsoft's Surface tablet running Windows RT, I came away genuinely impressed. In such a crowded market, though, the Surface still faces an uphill battle.
This past week saw a tidal wave of fresh Windows 8/RT and Surface-related news, as both Microsoft’s new operating systems and tablet PC officially launched. I spent the better part of the week attending events at which I was able to get some quality, hands-on time with dozens of new devices and systems, and also acquired a Surface with Windows RT tablet, along with all of its related accessories.
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If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, you may know that my opinion of Windows 8/RT has evolved over the operating system’s development cycle. I had been rather disappointed with a number of Microsoft’s decisions in the lead-up to Windows 8 being RTM’ed, especially those that I thought would marginalize desktop systems.
But after forcing myself to switch to Windows 8 on my personal workstation, I’ve grown fond of the OS. Windows 8 is easily the best performing, most streamlined edition of Windows to date, even if some of its main features—a new Start screen and UI optimized for touch-enabled devices—aren’t very attractive in my opinion. The underlying improvements to the OS and the speed at which the Start screen allows users to access applications, though, far outweigh any questionable interface issues.
Surface with Windows RT is a strong first effort from Microsoft is the tablet space, easily leapfrogging many of the company’s long-time OEM partners in terms of build quality.
As for Microsoft’s entry into the tablet space with its own hardware, questions remained. The move no doubt angered many of Microsoft’s OEM partners, but Microsoft expanded its hardware design efforts anyway and came up with a seemingly beautiful device in the Surface. Now that I’ve had one for a few days, I can say with confidence that it’s one of the best engineered pieces of equipment I’ve ever used. A few of the device’s specifications leave something to be desired, but overall Surface is excellent. The device feels solid, if a tad bit heavy, and the quality of materials used throughout is clearly very high. The screen offers excellent contrast and vibrancy, and it is very responsive to touch. The chassis and enclosure are rigid, well balanced, and feel great in the hand. And the kickstand seems strong and works just as intended. The hardware is top notch.
I also want to write a bit about the quality of the Surface Touch Cover. I’m a huge keyboard snob and was expecting the Touch Cover to be flimsy and inaccurate and require users to re-learn how to type. I was wrong on all counts. The Touch Cover “just works,” and it works well. The magnetic clamping mechanism functions exactly as it appears in all of the videos leading up to the launch; simply hold it roughly in the proper location and the built-in magnets align it properly and lock the keyboard into place. Resting your fingers on the home row does not register unwanted key presses, and only a light-touch is necessary to activate a key. After a few minutes playing with the Touch Cover I was already able to type on it with decent speed, much faster than I can type on a touchscreen. It won’t be replacing my Filco with Cherry Blues anytime soon, but the Touch Cover will make it possible to be productive on a tablet, without adding much bulk at all.
I still feel that Windows RT is a tough sell in light of upcoming Intel Clovertrail-based Windows 8 tablets, but in terms of build quality and hardware design, Microsoft hit a home run with the Surface. Here’s hoping the Windows RT ecosystem ramps up quickly and consumer opinions are in-line with mine. It would be a shame if Surface ended up alongside the Kin, Zune, and Microsoft Bob in an exhibit of failed Microsoft products someday.
