Surface 2 vs. Surface RT

[Wendy Haylett]

Thanks to WillysJeepMan and HeyCori ... Haven't been to Best Buy yet to do a hands-on compare, but I tend to think for the huge $$ savings the RT will be great ... and a big improvement over the Kindle FireHD as a tablet. I figure we can take it back and bump up to a 2 if there are any complaints ... or what for the 3 next Fall.

 

[Wendy Haylett]

Did a side-by-side real-world test of the Surface RT versus Surface 2 at Best Buy yesterday. The Surface RT performed admirably and the display seemed great, so I am convinced that at the Black Friday prices it will be a steal for an awesome Christmas new tech toy! I have no hesitation and will be buying it. Of course, I will keep my Surface 2 :wink:

 

[etphoto]

Did a side-by-side real-world test of the Surface RT versus Surface 2 at Best Buy yesterday. The Surface RT performed admirably and the display seemed great, so I am convinced that at the Black Friday prices it will be a steal for an awesome Christmas new tech toy! I have no hesitation and will be buying it. Of course, I will keep my Surface 2 :wink:

what Black Friday sale did you find? The best deal I could find was for $229 @ Best Buy and Amazon.

 

[Wendy Haylett]

what Black Friday sale did you find? The best deal I could find was for $229 @ Best Buy and Amazon.

$199 at Best Buy (Not with type or touch pad) and through Microsoft:
Black Friday 2013 update: More Apple iPad mini, Microsoft Surface RT tablet deals | ZDNet

 

[Reflexx]

I find the RT to be just fine. You'll notice the biggest speed difference in Office. But if you're not some power user it will be enough. Especially for someone like mom or grandma that doesn't type fast enough anyway.

 

[Ezhik]

Consider the x86 ASUS T100 if you want gaming - it can handle real games like Bioshock and Dirt 3 quite well, there are videos on YouTube. It's 350$ with a keyboard, though sadly is not as pretty as the Surface.

 

[jaimeastin]

You heard kinda wrong. RT doesn't get slower after months, it doesn't change speed at all! (except software updates tend to make it quicker and quicker with each one)

Not a hit at android, but my surface rt or 2 have never slowed down after time or an update... Now my brand new nexus 7, with only a few basic apps like Skype, SkyDrive, etc, is now slow... All I installed lately was the new kitkat update. I was blown away. I was like I guess you really do have to restart android every few months... Maybe days, lol.

My surfaces have been super solid. My surface 2 which I bought Launch day sat in the box for over 3 weeks. I continued to use my rt. After the 8.1 update, the rt was faster and more efficient. I was like, should I return my 2? What is the benefit??

Well, my 2 proved to be worthy. It is faster, better battery life, way better standby life, screen, etc. I even took my receipt back to the Microsoft store to get in on the promotion for the type/touch cover combo.

I sold my rt to a friend she loves it. She is a college student and is very happy with it.

It is really what you want to do. I know this, the 2 is future proof. I don't think the rt will be unbearable like an apple update on an old phone, but it will show its age in a year or more... Unless one continues to use it now the way they will then.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Not a hit at android, but my surface rt or 2 have never slowed down after time or an update... Now my brand new nexus 7, with only a few basic apps like Skype, SkyDrive, etc, is now slow... All I installed lately was the new kitkat update. I was blown away. I was like I guess you really do have to restart android every few months... Maybe days, lol.

My surfaces have been super solid. My surface 2 which I bought Launch day sat in the box for over 3 weeks. I continued to use my rt. After the 8.1 update, the rt was faster and more efficient. I was like, should I return my 2? What is the benefit??

Well, my 2 proved to be worthy. It is faster, better battery life, way better standby life, screen, etc. I even took my receipt back to the Microsoft store to get in on the promotion for the type/touch cover combo.

I sold my rt to a friend she loves it. She is a college student and is very happy with it.

It is really what you want to do. I know this, the 2 is future proof. I don't think the rt will be unbearable like an apple update on an old phone, but it will show its age in a year or more... Unless one continues to use it now the way they will then.

I've also noticed that standby time is impressive with the Surface 2. It's far and away better than standby time on the original Surface.

 

[etphoto]

Kind of an older thread, but I finally decided on the RT. I just can't see getting my 76 yr old mom the "latest / greatest" device. The email from Microsoft advertising their Black Friday sale finally got me to pull the trigger.

 

[elangab]

I think you should get the first gen as a new device. The second one is much better but if you're not sure about the RT os, it's smarter to test drive it on a cheaper device.
If you'll like it, you'll be good to get Surface 3 when it's out, which should bring to the table much more than just "faster". The surface 2 is just a stronger version of surface one, excluding the new kick stand. If you'll end up not using the thing, well... it's better to have a 199$ dust collector than a 499$ one... ��


For me, it's always getting the third version. The first one is beta, the second one is what the first one should have been and third one is usually the one that steps things up. Having said that, I'm using a 199$ refurbished first gen to test things out. It's a fun device.

 

[Daniel Gandolfo]

I am very happy with my Surface RT. It does everything I need it to do. There is not too much lag using IE 11. I am waiting for the SURFACE 3 now and won't get a Surface 2.

 

[ctitanic]

I have both an RT and a 2, and the 2 is everything I hoped the RT would have been. The $100 difference is absolutely worth it, not only for the speed increases (which definitely detract from the original in a meaningful way), but also for future proofing (miracast support, etc).

I loved my RT, but it was really a beta test for the real thing, which has arrived in the form of the Surface 2

Totally agree. Surface 2 is 3 times faster.

 

[ttxzee]

have a look at my VERY in-depth comparison video here: