Microsoft Surface Review, Part 1: Performance And Display Quality

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I think Microsoft would have been more competitive if they had used a trinity APU instead. The device would be able to run games and other graphic intensive applications well without compromising performance too much.
 
Great review. I'm very interested in the part 2. At a glance the Surface looks like a fantastic device and I only wish success for MS so this hybrid of consuming/productive really takes off and in the future we get products that do more than what the Surface RT can do now.
 
[citation][nom]brandonvi[/nom]and 2 or 3 years ago almost everyone would of said taking away the start menu and giving wndows a interface from a tablet would be "business suicide" this is just one step in a 5-10 year planed prosess to shuting windows off apple may not be making money hand over fist on there PC sells but overall apple is worth more then microsoft by a great deal if the choice is make games for a closed windows or apple or one of the other lesser used OS's its going to be closed windows because it will more then likly be the same programing as all of the older windows just thru the windows store so windows 9 comes out closed you cant just stop progaming for windows and start linix all the people useing windows 7 and 8 are still out there that you can sell to along with many in the windows store on windows 9 the basic thing is the have the market by the balls and they are going to take advantage of it since they know they can if things they are doing like this dont crash and burn we are going to be buying everything from the windows store in a few years[/citation]

Dude would it kill you to use periods?
 
[citation][nom]CaedenV[/nom]Surface is not a gaming device, nor is it advertised as a gaming device. It is marketed as a tablet for productivity, and as that it is pretty damn good. It is not perfect, but it really makes the limitations of android and iOS devices pretty painful.3rd party manufacturers will make more compelling gaming products... this was just never designed for that. It would be like reviewing a commuter car in a rally event... it becomes a device that is all style and no guts. Replace some of that magnesium casing and magnets with a plastic housing and a better GPU and you could have a very nice game platform on your hands in the same budget... granted there are not a whole lot of games worth buying a tablet as a 'gaming device'[/citation]
true, true. What surprised me was that the eurogamer review was very critical even after ignoring the gaming part.
 
I would have loved to see a comparison to the ASUS Transformer Infinity (TF700T).

In reference to: "But because Android is limited to FAT32 support, maximum volume size topped out at 2 TB." This is factually untrue. I am running Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean) on my TF700T and my NTFS formatted 2.5" 1TB external HDD works just fine.

Had an iPad 3 (64GB WiFi) before my current tablet and I must say I prefer the TF700T much more.
 
[citation][nom]ojas[/nom]Check out Eurogamer's review. They've pretty much slammed it, and arguably for valid reasons:http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ [...] -rt-reviewThey actually ran games on it, so that's some indicator of performance (no it can't play Crysis, don't ask! ).Then there's AnandTech's review, which reads a bit like Andrew's ("few negatives but we like it")http://www.anandtech.com/show/6385 [...] ace-review[/citation]

Were you honestly expecting Crysis to run on ARM?
 
I like the design, but I am going to wait for the Pro model next year. I want the full desktop OS instead of being tied to the app store. Price is going to be a big point of contention too - if they can go under $800, I am in.
 
I don't think some people are even considering the fact that the Surface RT runs on an ARM, which as you'll probably know, CAN'T execute x86 code, therefore limiting the use of third-party applications.

Edit: @ojas: Did you honestly think the Surface RT was designed to play games? Heck, the fact that it runs on an ARM should tell you that much already.
 
Pretty much what I expected... good quality, OK screen, get the real key keyboard, great fit and finish, but not quite a productivity platform.

Bring on the Pro.
 
What's the point of this? What is Microsoft actually trying to accomplish? Nexus 7 is $199, this device is $499 (or $599) and does what the Nexus 7 can do. The iPad Mini is $399 and has a better interface and isn't as confusing to use. Windows Phone 7 was a disaster, a huge flop.

As far as I can tell, all Microsoft are trying to do is force their desktop users to a mobile interface. I guess, trying to leverage their existing customer base. The biggest flaw in this attempt is that desktop consumers will simply just stay on Windows 7, get a Nexus or iPad and save $200 and the headache of trying out a worky and confusing Windows interface.
 


I think they're actually trying to learn from Apple's playbook - they understand that there is a large group of people who have cut the cord from a traditional Desktop OS and are using an iPhone and an iPad for their normal day to day note taking, web-browsing, gaming and media streaming.

Though I have not been a fan of Mac OS and the price of their hardware, I have always enjoyed iPods so I like many thought that the iPhone was a nature progression - an iPod w/ phone capabilities. I have purchased several versions of the iPhone and have had a pretty good experience with that type of device. I even decided to try an iPad when the 2nd generation models came out and was surprised by how nice it was to have an instant-boot web capable device which supported all my iPhone applications. As the 3rd generation model was about to release, I sold my iPad2 in order to get a good value from my hardware and use that cash for the new iPad. Well, right around that same time I switched to a ultrabook laptop for work and discovered that with a SSD I was more than happy to use a laptop instead of an iPad.

For people more comfortable with a Windows OS than a Mac OS, a Windows tablet will feel more welcoming and familiar. For people who currently use a Windows Phone, a Windows Tablet will be a natural transition into the tablet market.

As with any type of device, competition is great for consumers - it means that companies have to innovate in order to separate themselves from their competition and they have to work the kinks out of their inventions before bringing them to market in order to keep their customers coming back to the watering whole.

I haven't made the leap to Win8 yet but I have just been waiting for the right combination of price and quality and the Surface Pro just might be that. Here's hoping - I loved my iPad and want something small, portable and capable that won't hurt my wallet
 
I am curious about the display testing process using the Xrite i1pro. I imagine that this is the i1 Display Pro? knowing that the bundled software is not supported on WinRT (or any other mobile platform) how were these tests performed? I happen to have an i1, and would love to check and compare some of my devices using the same exacting methods of tomshardware.
 
Are you kiddin'? Your 'tests' on Gamma and color temperature are pretty useless! What do you think? Why is stuff like X-Rite i1Pro necessary? Because, all panels differ throughout production depending on various things. No manufacturer can assure such things like 6500K, that's why we have to calibrate even most expensive pro lcd displays ... your tests are simply ridiculous
 
Are you kiddin'? Your 'tests' on Gamma and color temperature are pretty useless! What do you think? Why is stuff like X-Rite i1Pro necessary? Because, all panels differ throughout production depending on various things. No manufacturer can assure such things like 6500K, that's why we have to calibrate even most expensive pro lcd displays ... your tests are simply ridiculous
 
The statement that windows RT desktop will not run 3rd party software is incorrect. There are plenty of 3rd party applications running on winRT. The only third party applications that won't run on RT are x86 applications.

There are ModernUI and Desktop applications available for windows store.
Theoretically, all applications could run on both RT and x86 However, those applications MUST be compiled for Windows RT and ARM from their respective developers. So, if google doesn't compile a windows 8 chrome version for windowsRT or firefox, etc. then it will not be available. It is all up to developers to decide whether they want to support their users in what is to become the new computing standard or not.
 

Lol, over-reaction much? Was a joke, for heaven's sake..."Can it run Crysis?!?!"....
 
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