October 29, 2012
Feedback submitted!Unable to submit feedback! This review references the 64 Gig model, with both Touch Cover and Type Covers.The Surface is an interesting compromise between content consumption and content creation. I got both the type cover and the touch cover, and both turn this device into something that is very, very close to a laptop replacement. The underlying application and media ecosystem is a little lacking (the App population, while significant, lacks the big names right now). On a short trip, I could see myself just throwing the Surface into my bag and making use of it for basic Office tasks as well as communications - which is interesting because the 'Surface RT' is focused on consumer rather than business use. For a small business person, the RT will probably work just fine.A little about the keyboard covers. The touch cover does take a little getting used to, but not much. Microsoft reportedly says it takes the average user up to five days to become productive ont he touch cover; I'd say more like an hour or so, other than some of the function keys at the top. I find myself going to the touch UI for most of those functions still. That may change in time. The Type Cover is even easier, as it has actual keys and travel and basically feels like a full sized laptop keyboard. One or the other is - in my opinion - a must for this device. Personally I think Microsoft should have just included a touch cover with every single Surface, as it's really a necessity for some functions, and given the inclusion of office, it would be a game changer.The UI takes some getting used to - I expected it to feel more WP7-like, and it does to a great extent, but there are challenges when it drops into Desktop mode. As others have said, it feels a bit 'jarring' and the touch experience there is significantly worse than in the Metro UI. Having said that, the Metro UI has lost some of the touch experience inherent in WP7, and I don't really understand that. Touching-and-holding to generate a 'right-click' effect is missing in many places, which is a shame. Mango really got the touch interface right in so many ways, but on the Surface it seems many of those evolutionary improvements got lost. Same thing for touch cursor controls - while passable, why lose the Mango features? They worked great, whereas in RT you have to guess a bit on initial placement, as if Microsoft forgot you would be using this big, ugly finger for placement instead of a precise mouse.Also a note about the UI - some of the animations that help make Metro a joy to use disappeared as well - for example, deleting an email shows...nothing. Just a (silly) delay and then it's gone. What happened to the nice delete animation in Mango? Microsoft did a great job on the glitz in some places, but missed the boat in others.I wish the display had a higher pixel density. The contrast is great, but text in various apps - IE and Mail spring to mind - is sometimes difficult to read. Zooming helps - sometimes - unless you hit a weird zoom level where the text is fuzzy. One thing I wanted to mention is the form factor. Let me start by saying the surface is very good in landscape mode as a pure tablet, but I find portrait mode to be unusable. I can't see anyone really using the tablet functions in portrait mode so if you plan to read eBooks (for example) plan to do so using a wide view. But more interesting to me is the size/weight combination. The Surface feels bulkier than an iPad, even though they are essentially the identical weight and thickness. For whatever reason, adding an extra inch and a half makes it feel bulkier, even though it's not. Don't get me wrong, the Surface doesn't feel heavy or unwieldy (well, it does in portrait mode, but I'll let that go for now) and it is an easy to carry alternative to a laptop, but I can't see myself carrying it around with me when I go to lunch (for example) so I can get in a little bit of work, or read an eBook while I eat. I do that all the time with my iPad.Will the Surface replace my iPad? Maybe. It's more likely to replace one's laptop if they had a desktop system. It's an excellent compliment to a workstation and likely to become even better as the ecosystem continues to evolve. An expanded accessory market is also a must. For example, a desktop dock that automatically links charger, keyboard, and mouse (and display!) would be ideal.So, in conclusion - a very good device that needs a bit of maturing to be a great device. It's a fine first tablet, but if you're already invested in Apple's ecosystem, it might be a tough move. Still, worth the price if you have the use case for it, and probably worth buying instead of an ultrabook.