Surface RT questions

[msweig]

I'm debating picking up a Surface RT. What I really want is a notebook that isn't on the market (yet), but I'm thinking an RT might be kinda nice to have since it would be quite portable and have functionality with the Office apps that other tablets generally don't have. (I have an old iPad my wife gave me once when she was done with it, and I find that for most consumption type stuff (websites, etc.) I just find myself using my phone).

But, I have some questions.
1) What are the limitations with Office RT compared to full blown Office?
2) There is a 32 and 64GB version available. And I know that the OS takes a good chunk of the room. But I don't think I need a ton of room, particularly since there is the MicroSD card slot. Are there any limitations with this slot/extra memory, or is it just like using a secondary drive on a typical PC?
3) Many of the reviews note the Surface RT is slow, lags, etc. But those reviews all seem to have come out when the device came out, and I know there has been software updates since then. Does this seem to fix the problem?
4) Any problems with speed with 8.1RT? (I know this isn't finalized yet, but I know many have played with the update).
5) External monitor question. Can you do dual screens with the Surface RT? (So I have the RT screen, and then the external monitor). And if so, how do the touch controls on the screen work? For example, let's say you have an external monitor set to extend your desktop to the right of the Surface screen. And you need to swipe from the right to bring up the charms bar. With an external monitor do you simply swipe from the right on the Surface monitor to do this?

Many thanks in advance.

Mark

 

[Michael Alan Goff]

I'm debating picking up a Surface RT. What I really want is a notebook that isn't on the market (yet), but I'm thinking an RT might be kinda nice to have since it would be quite portable and have functionality with the Office apps that other tablets generally don't have. (I have an old iPad my wife gave me once when she was done with it, and I find that for most consumption type stuff (websites, etc.) I just find myself using my phone).

But, I have some questions.
1) What are the limitations with Office RT compared to full blown Office?
2) There is a 32 and 64GB version available. And I know that the OS takes a good chunk of the room. But I don't think I need a ton of room, particularly since there is the MicroSD card slot. Are there any limitations with this slot/extra memory, or is it just like using a secondary drive on a typical PC?
3) Many of the reviews note the Surface RT is slow, lags, etc. But those reviews all seem to have come out when the device came out, and I know there has been software updates since then. Does this seem to fix the problem?
4) Any problems with speed with 8.1RT? (I know this isn't finalized yet, but I know many have played with the update).
5) External monitor question. Can you do dual screens with the Surface RT? (So I have the RT screen, and then the external monitor). And if so, how do the touch controls on the screen work? For example, let's say you have an external monitor set to extend your desktop to the right of the Surface screen. And you need to swipe from the right to bring up the charms bar. With an external monitor do you simply swipe from the right on the Surface monitor to do this?

Many thanks in advance.

Mark

1) The biggest one that exists is there are no VB Macros for RT Office.
2) Not sure
3) My Surface doesn't lag, so I don't think the problem is real to a large extent anymore.
4) 8.1 works faster in almost every way, except when you run into a nice IE 11 bug. Seriously going to need to get a tracking list or two if only for this site, it's horrible when it comes to bogging it down a lot.
5) Can't answer.

 

[hotphil]

2) There is a 32 and 64GB version available. And I know that the OS takes a good chunk of the room. But I don't think I need a ton of room, particularly since there is the MicroSD card slot. Are there any limitations with this slot/extra memory, or is it just like using a secondary drive on a typical PC?

Go for the 64. You can also add a 64GB card. The internal memory is the only place apps and SkyDrive will store their data - you may find you quickly fill 32GB. The card can be used for media/files etc.

 

[Derausgewanderte]

Mark

1) as mentioned above, plugins that you may be used to on x86/64 architecture will not work. E.g. I cannot access my Endnote reference database and cite while you type functions on the RT in a document that has Endnote references. I have not seen any other restrictions so far.
2) I highly recommend the 64Gb version, even though you could extend via a microSDC. I had no space issues so far
3) That was noticeable in the beginning. It only lags for me now when I open too many powerpoint files, word files simultaneously without realizing that I do not have 12Gb of Ram like on my desktop.
4) no speed issues. As expected a word document that opens on the desktop in 1s may take a little longer (maybe 2s) to open on the RT. Everything else is OK, including opening web pages.
5) Just today I had a large TV screen attached to it. I did not extend it to try exactly what you ask but will try that tomorrow. I projected to the TV screen only and to my surprise the touch worked fine even though the RT screen was blank. I was able to move things around and open the charms bar on the big TV screen. I do not know whether this works if I extend the screen at this point.

 

[msweig]

1)
5) Just today I had a large TV screen attached to it. I did not extend it to try exactly what you ask but will try that tomorrow. I projected to the TV screen only and to my surprise the touch worked fine even though the RT screen was blank. I was able to move things around and open the charms bar on the big TV screen. I do not know whether this works if I extend the screen at this point.

I don't know why, but that seems pretty cool, and kinda surprises me.

Thanks for the help so far everyone.

Mark

 

[inteller]

nothing surprising here...it's windows.

 

[CDiS99]

I'm debating picking up a Surface RT. What I really want is a notebook that isn't on the market (yet), but I'm thinking an RT might be kinda nice to have since it would be quite portable and have functionality with the Office apps that other tablets generally don't have. (I have an old iPad my wife gave me once when she was done with it, and I find that for most consumption type stuff (websites, etc.) I just find myself using my phone).

But, I have some questions.
1) What are the limitations with Office RT compared to full blown Office?
2) There is a 32 and 64GB version available. And I know that the OS takes a good chunk of the room. But I don't think I need a ton of room, particularly since there is the MicroSD card slot. Are there any limitations with this slot/extra memory, or is it just like using a secondary drive on a typical PC?
3) Many of the reviews note the Surface RT is slow, lags, etc. But those reviews all seem to have come out when the device came out, and I know there has been software updates since then. Does this seem to fix the problem?
4) Any problems with speed with 8.1RT? (I know this isn't finalized yet, but I know many have played with the update).
5) External monitor question. Can you do dual screens with the Surface RT? (So I have the RT screen, and then the external monitor). And if so, how do the touch controls on the screen work? For example, let's say you have an external monitor set to extend your desktop to the right of the Surface screen. And you need to swipe from the right to bring up the charms bar. With an external monitor do you simply swipe from the right on the Surface monitor to do this?

Many thanks in advance.

Mark

1. See above. I have not yet encountered any problems with those limitations stated above. (I have had the Surface around 6 months.)

2. I have the 64 GB and do not an SD card, but I have not heard of any limitations. Like others mentioned above, I highly recommend the 64 GB model.

3. No lag whatsoever on my end. Internet, Office, Music, everything runs smooth and without a hitch.

4. I did not download the 8.1 preview so I'm not sure.

5. External monitor with the Surface is awesome. Like a PC you can mirror, extend, etc. When extending, I usually run Metro on the Surface and the Desktop on the other monitor (connected via VGA using an adapter). I plug in a mouse and full keyboard into a USB hub and go to work. It's plug and play, works wonderfully, and the amount of multi tasking that can be done is phenomenal.

Per your question about touch on the other monitor, touch will obviously not work if the external monitor is not touch enabled. But you just bring up the Charms bar, close programs, and everything else by using the mouse. Works fine.

 

[Dos101]

I'm debating picking up a Surface RT. What I really want is a notebook that isn't on the market (yet), but I'm thinking an RT might be kinda nice to have since it would be quite portable and have functionality with the Office apps that other tablets generally don't have. (I have an old iPad my wife gave me once when she was done with it, and I find that for most consumption type stuff (websites, etc.) I just find myself using my phone).

But, I have some questions.
1) What are the limitations with Office RT compared to full blown Office?
2) There is a 32 and 64GB version available. And I know that the OS takes a good chunk of the room. But I don't think I need a ton of room, particularly since there is the MicroSD card slot. Are there any limitations with this slot/extra memory, or is it just like using a secondary drive on a typical PC?
3) Many of the reviews note the Surface RT is slow, lags, etc. But those reviews all seem to have come out when the device came out, and I know there has been software updates since then. Does this seem to fix the problem?
4) Any problems with speed with 8.1RT? (I know this isn't finalized yet, but I know many have played with the update).
5) External monitor question. Can you do dual screens with the Surface RT? (So I have the RT screen, and then the external monitor). And if so, how do the touch controls on the screen work? For example, let's say you have an external monitor set to extend your desktop to the right of the Surface screen. And you need to swipe from the right to bring up the charms bar. With an external monitor do you simply swipe from the right on the Surface monitor to do this?

Many thanks in advance.

Mark

On top of what everyone else has already said:

1) No VB macros and limited plugin support (though I use Word, Excel, and OneNote on a daily basis for basic stuff and haven't run into anything I couldn't do). The addition of Outlook 2013 with the 8.1 update was an awesome bonus, even if it is a little slow to synchronize.

2) Go for the 64GB. Even with an SD card, you currently can't install apps to anything but the internal drive, and if you use offline SkyDrive features that will take up a ton of space too.

3) The only place I have encountered any slowness or lag is with Internet Explorer. For some sites it does take a while to load the page, and isn't the most responsive. It's getting better though.

4) Only complain with 8.1 so far is battery life, but I imagine this will be fixed when it goes RTM. If anything 8.1 made my Surface feel quicker though.

5) Just buy a micro-hdmi to HDMI or DVI cable and you're good to go. If you duplicate the screens then you can touch your surface and what your doing is replicated on the monitor, if you extend to a monitor and the monitor isn't touch enabled then you'll have to use a mouse.

 

[inteller]

i'm not aware of any touch enabled monitors supported for the Surface because you have to communicate the input back through USB or (would be cool) Bluetooth.

 

[mms-pc]

Speaking of connecting Surface RT to external monitors, what cable should I buy to connect Surface RT to LCD TV with HDMI input?

 

[inteller]

an HDMI cable.

 

[mms-pc]

an HDMI cable.

Thanks for your response, is it a micro-HDMI to HDMI one?
Just want to make sure that it's a micro-HDMI output port on Surface RT.

 

[inteller]

yes.