what i hate about the surface

[GoodThings2Life]

Same here. I've found that the PDF rendering isn't quite up to par yet. I hope they fix that. On every other app (web, OneNote, Word, etc), the text looks great, but not in PDFs. It'll get corrected.

It could be the PDF though. Is it text or image based?




Anyway, I really love my Surface. Regardless of resolution, the display is gorgeous. The whole thing is very well designed. The handful of glitches can be fixed, and no reason they can't add features as we go too.

 

[Dare2Blink]

I was lucky to get my surface on Thursday. I'm actually using it to submit this.
This is amazing. But if you want to know where is comes short, here are the cons:

Soft speakers. Yet too soft. It works fine for one person in a quiet room, bit don't expect to entertain anyone. It is considerably softer than my moms original iPad.

Grainy screen. Yes the ppi is 147. TEXT looks fine but the graphics is a bit grainy. Not a deal breaker but noticeable. It does look better than moms iPad. I think that is 137 ppi.

The worst: under powered cpu. This is a gorgeous platform for tablet os. Love it. But you defiantly feel the cpu being pushed to the limit. Forget 1080p playback. 720p also plays in slightly lower frame rate. It is noticeable. My titan 1 phone plays videos smoother then surface. You notice long app launch times.

If the cpu is enhanced, makes a huge difference, even in ui and user experience. I will be looking at other RT tablets out there.

I am a bit worried about the apparent under performance of RT. Please tell me how many apps oppened at once can it handle without slowing down. Also I wonder that software updates will make it run smoother or if this is as fast as it will get on surface RT. I seriously can?t understand why it can?t play 1080 p v?deos smoothy let alone 720 p. Hope that is fixed somehow, either way i?m getting the pro version but would still want the RT version to be a bit faster for everyone who get?s it.

 

[ShortStuff]

does anyone
know if the surface has nfc?

 

[rx74ray]

I find that surprising and hope a software update can fix that as both my iPad 2 and 4s can play make 720p MKV files (via a 3rd party app) without an issue since Apple have allowed devs access to the GPU for video playback.

What format HD video did you use?

I was just playing videos from YouTube directly on the browser, and it was sluggish.
but here is what happened after wards. I installed some standing windows updates and rebooted. now the surface is performing amazingly. it is noticeably faster, my browser is buttery smooth (it used to be jerky on scrolling/loading), also the video is flawless. I tested again on 720p and 1080p, no issues. I am pleased. I am typing this with my touch cover, what an experience. very cool.

is it just me or the battery life totally rocks?

 

[Reflexx]

does anyone

know if the surface has nfc?

It does not.

If that's important to you, Asus VivoTab does.

 

[Gken]

I love my surface RT, much better than some blog sites made it out to be, but then I wasn't looking for something to play games on since I use my Xbox for that.

If I had to pick one thing to fix right away it would be to update the email client so I can select more than one email to move at a time. I get lots of daily reports/logs that need to be relocated after I've scanned them and it'd be nice to have a check box like the windows phone app has that allows me to move multiple email at once. Minor issue since I can whip out my phone and do it, but it'd be nice to include that feature. I'm sure it's probably going to get updated eventually. Outlook web access also works, but it's not very finger friendly.

yeah I really wish they included outlook on this beast, but the mail client is ok. They admitted the client actually really sucks balls, hopefully some updates get thrown out here in a couple days or a week. You should try some games, they are actually really fun, mobile fun, but fun nonetheless.

I'm willing to bet everything is not optimized for the RT, but microsoft needed to get the product out in our hands ASAP, lots of updates are probably gonna be coming our way. Just look at how fast they fixed the youtube/flash problem. (I really appreciate how well the surface displays websites, flash compatibility is NOT overrated, still need it)

 

[rx74ray]

I am a bit worried about the apparent under performance of RT. Please tell me how many apps oppened at once can it handle without slowing down. Also I wonder that software updates will make it run smoother or if this is as fast as it will get on surface RT. I seriously can?t understand why it can?t play 1080 p v?deos smoothy let alone 720 p. Hope that is fixed somehow, either way i?m getting the pro version but would still want the RT version to be a bit faster for everyone who get?s it.

I posted an update to my comments a few posts back...

 

[Digital Moe]

The really need a feature that allows you to bounce to the top of a web page like in ios.

 

[Buttowski]

I was just playing videos from YouTube directly on the browser, and it was sluggish.
but here is what happened after wards. I installed some standing windows updates and rebooted. now the surface is performing amazingly. it is noticeably faster, my browser is buttery smooth (it used to be jerky on scrolling/loading), also the video is flawless. I tested again on 720p and 1080p, no issues. I am pleased. I am typing this with my touch cover, what an experience. very cool.

is it just me or the battery life totally rocks?

Yes, watched The Avengers today in all of its 1080p glory and it was perfectly smooth.

Yes, battery life is excellent.

My only real gripe which I think is a legitimate gripe is the low speaker volume. Had to watch the movie with headphones to really enjoy it.

 

[badMojo69]

Oh and I need the t3 app.

 

[srmiller82]

Oh and I need the t3 app.

T3 app?

 

[badMojo69]

T3 app?

It's only the best gadget magazine on the planet... https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/t3/id392680566?at=10l3Vy

I can't give up my iPad 100% until we get digital magazines...and not zinio

 

[toekramp]

Last night I realized I have no way to unrar or use parity files on RT :/ First disappointment.

 

[ChevyMSU35]

I was just playing videos from YouTube directly on the browser, and it was sluggish.
but here is what happened after wards. I installed some standing windows updates and rebooted. now the surface is performing amazingly. it is noticeably faster, my browser is buttery smooth (it used to be jerky on scrolling/loading), also the video is flawless. I tested again on 720p and 1080p, no issues. I am pleased. I am typing this with my touch cover, what an experience. very cool.

This. A million times this. It seems like every time I've seen someone say that performance is sluggish, there's a follow-up post saying "hey I installed the Windows RT update and now it's great!" There were also some WiFi and Touch Cover issues fixed by the update.

If you haven't done so already, install the Windows RT update!

 

[EricCantona]

I returned my surface but I will get the pro when it comes out.
I was confused about the apps that I could install. I was aware I could not install a legacy software. But I think the confusion starts with the naming of the store. They should differentiate between the desktop store and the surface store clearer. They should have renamed the desktop store to something that clearly suggests that these apps are for desktop only.

And hopefully they stay consistent by separating apps for desktop and tablet ie not letting an app available on Surface pro but not on RT. Otherwise this would create a total confusion for the customer.

 

[si49]

I returned my surface but I will get the pro when it comes out.
I was confused about the apps that I could install. I was aware I could not install a legacy software. But I think the confusion starts with the naming of the store. They should differentiate between the desktop store and the surface store clearer. They should have renamed the desktop store to something that clearly suggests that these apps are for desktop only.

And hopefully they stay consistent by separating apps for desktop and tablet ie not letting an app available on Surface pro but not on RT. Otherwise this would create a total confusion for the customer.

Were you able to return without a restocking fee? did they hassle you at all? I'm holding out for the PRO but really want to try the RT.

 

[EricCantona]

No restocking fee within 14 days. Minor hassle.

 

[cp2_4eva]

I like this tablet, but I'm finding myself using the screen more for typing than the touch keyboard when its on my lap.

Store associate told me that all apps should open with in four seconds or less. I find some of my apps take longer. He gave me the spiel about Microsoft not allowing apps that cause slow startup times. Cant be true since I find my apps sometimes take longer.

The overall flow of the OS is somewhat of an odd flow. I hate the way you make tiles smaller or larger and how you move tiles. something doesn't seem fluid about it. closing apps seems a bit odd too. The operating system is seeming a bit counter intuitive at times.

No official youtube app? Come on folks that seemed a bit off, but it works just fine on the web version. I like being logged into my account though for my favorite channels. The youtube clients on the market have low ratings so I haven't tried them yet.

The tablet actually is heavier feeling than I thought it would be after a while, but maybe that is because I haven't put it down much. lol.

I hate that there is no stock clock/alarm app. I want to use this as an alarm clock too, but that's a no go. Unless there is something I am missing about s certain functionality or something.

Overall I like this tablet. I wasn't much of a tablet person, because it seemed a bit redundant between my computer and smartphone. I simply love the tiles and the info they can provide.

Also, has anyone gotten the full version of the office 2013 home and student? seems I still have the preview version and I was told the full version is already available. Any help with that?

Cameras suck period on this, but im not looking for a stellar camera. I have a nice Nikon DSLR for all that.

For what windows surface RT is, I think it is pretty good though. I cant actually be productive and still have fun with apps while using a lighter than a laptop type of device. I think Microsoft could tighten up a few things and possibly rethink a few things. Maybe actually follow a few suggestions early on. I mean not too many people are used to the tablet yet. why not heed the consumers wishes and give them a few things. Mainly performance.

I know I had quite s few negatives, but I still like this thing and I am just riding on faith that MSFT will tweak their first gen tablet. then again, they could be taking consumers for a short ride like they did with the popular Lumia 900. Then so called ditch them.

 

[Agent-P]

does anyone
know if the surface has nfc?

I know they kept it out for cost reasons, but I would've loved to have NFC on my Surface.

I imagine it going like this: I could start reading an article on my Surface and then if I need to leave, just tap it with my phone and continue reading on the train. Or if I wanted to show a picture on my phone to a group of people, I could tap my phone to my Surface and show everyone the photo on the bigger screen quicker than going to SkyDrive on the Surface. Or if someone sends me a link to a YouTube video on my phone, I could tap it to the Surface and watch it on the bigger screen.

 

[johnbash612]

Yes, watched The Avengers today in all of its 1080p glory and it was perfectly smooth.

Yes, battery life is excellent.

My only real gripe which I think is a legitimate gripe is the low speaker volume. Had to watch the movie with headphones to really enjoy it.

The biggest issues with the speakers is that they are not front facing. Try to listen to a song or a movie and cup the sound toward you, the improvement is ridiculous. Unfortunately putting the speakers in front requires it to be on the bezel, which many people hate. The life of a tablet owner :happy: