When these are his biggest gripes, my hype sure didn't get wasted. More excited than ever to get one!
"Cons Kickstand assist only on left face. Only one angle on kickstand. Requires flat surface to use with Touch and Type covers. Speakers are very soft. Few apps on Microsoft's Store. Not compatible with existing Windows 7 and XP programs. Proprietary charger port. "
Seemed like a good review over all but a couple of things bugged me about it. First, he reviews the 64GB c/ cover version and says that it is the entry level model. That's just wrong. He complains that kickstand lip is only on one side rather then talk about how nice it is to have a kickstand in the first place. And complains that using the keyboard cover requires a flat surface rather then how nice it is that the cover even has a keyboard. But anyway, 4/5 is still quite good.
Decent review and it's been brought up under the comments section but it really irritates me at how anti-MSFT/pro-AAPl the tech bloggers have become. Right off the bat, the writer compares a $699 64gb RT with a $499 16gb iPad which indirectly makes the Surface look expensive. For the avg joe, they'll prob see that and stop reading b/c the Surface suddenly looks ridiculously overpriced compared to the iPad.
The one thing that bothered me was the app store critique. While I feel that it is a bit of a "con", it should not be held against it being that it's an entirely new platform for developers. He should have noted that developers will increase as the platform matures, just like the iPad.
Just reading pros/cons this guy is overly hard on it. There are some great features that no competition has and he moans about them.
Yea, you are probably right, but I think for us who are more aware of the device it just shows how good it is. If he even seems to be against the device, yet cant come up with any real issue to moan about and has to give it a 4/5, it definitely is a good product :D
There's bound to be some skepticism over a new player. I'm not too worried to tell the truth. Its shortfalls will improve on time and its advantages will separate the device from its competition
**Sent from my Windows Phone using Board Express**
Microsoft calls it a "Micro HD" port and sells a Micro HD-to-HDMI port adapter ($39.99 list), as well as a Micro HD-to-VGA adapter ($39.99 list). However, when we hooked up an off the shelf micro-HDMI-to-HDMI cable to the Surface, we were able to hook up to and use a HDMI monitor without any issues.
"I'm left with no choice but to blame Windows RT, which just doesn't seem optimized for speed or fluidity beyond the Start screen. A couple of these problems exist on Intel-powered devices as well apps are slow to load there, too but they're much more manageable on full-blown Windows 8. Windows RT just seems too resource-intensive for the hardware supporting it."
"I'm left with no choice but to blame Windows RT, which just doesn't seem optimized for speed or fluidity beyond the Start screen. A couple of these problems exist on Intel-powered devices as well apps are slow to load there, too but they're much more manageable on full-blown Windows 8. Windows RT just seems too resource-intensive for the hardware supporting it."
Could it be something else other than the OS?
Hopefully they got a dud because the PCMag review of the Vivo Tab mentions nothing about performance issues.
In terms of its hardware and operating system, the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT is a very good product. It's very light, and powerful enough to run a version of Windows, so it's very attractive to Windows early adopters as well as business users who have plans to migrate to Windows 8. It's powerful enough to be a daily carry device for work, always with you on your commute across the state or across the country. It shares some programs and its main interface with Windows 8, which is a boon, provided you get used to using the new Windows UI. Users who haven't yet tried Windows 8 will have to get used to the new way of doing things, but since Microsoft has mandated that all new PCs come with either Windows 8 or Windows RT, you'll have to start using the new UI on new Windows PCs and tablets eventually.
