Do I buy one?

[andrewkeith5]

I'm seriously considering upgrading my almost-2-year-old Galaxy Tab 10.1 with a Surface RT (cant decide between the 1 and 2). Since I stopped commuting by train and got a Lenovo Yoga, I haven't used my tablet so much as before as I'm mot regularly travelling and at home I have the Yoga.

But there are still plenty of occasions where I find myself travelling and wanting something more than my phone, but not wanting to carry an expensive and (relatively) cumbersome ultrabook.

What are peoples experiences of the RT for this sort of use? Mostly I'd be using it for bog standard day to day stuff- kindle, web browsing, the odd bit of content creation. What really attracts me to the surface is that it runs the same OS as my laptop and would fit into my ecosystem better than any other tablet.

I'm also quite keen on the idea of remote-desktopping into my Yoga from the Surface when I'm away from home, which being Microsoft made, I'd hope the surface is pretty good at. Has anyone done this?

Sorry for the long post! Andrew.

 

[Christian Kallevig]

It works pretty decently for browsing the web, and the touch controls are very good. It is not lightning fast, though. Still, totally usable.

The biggest hangup you might have is Kindle as the screen's aspect ratio is less than ideal for reading books. It's still quite possible, it's just a bit awkward. Also, if you are using it to read fine text, I'd recommend checking one out at a Microsoft Store or wherever you can find one to see if the clarity is good enough for you. It's definitely not bad on the RT, but it could stand to be improved.

For light content creation, Surface RT is the best experience you're going to get on a tablet. Typing is not quite as comfortable as a full keyboard, but it's close enough that you can type quickly and accurately after getting used to whichever keyboard cover you choose. This is definitely one of the strongest points of Surface.

Remote desktop is definitely quite possible here, though you of course want to be aware of the difference in screen resolution, and it's not going to be lag free. The latency is only a fraction of a second, but it's enough to be noticeable. So, fine for most things, just don't expect to be gaming on it.

Overall I'd say it's definitely not a bad choice. You should be fully aware of what the app situation is like as you already run Windows 8, so that clearly is not a hang up for you. And for a lot of things you do, the Surface will feel like an ultra-portable version of your laptop, and for the most part you won't have to worry if it's plugged in all the time. Just pick it up and go.

I still recommend checking one out in person before deciding though, especially with the coming wave of Bay Trail tablets.

 

[msweig]

I don't have an RT, but I ordered the Surface 2, and had a chance to play with both in the store earlier this week.
Surface 2 is much zippier than RT
There was a guy there the same time as I was that tried out the new touch cover, and sounded like he had some decent experience with the first Gen cover. He said the second Gen was a massive improvement for typing.

Better to let others comment on use as I'm not qualified for that...

 

[Christian Kallevig]

Well, I happen to be on my Surface RT right now. I'm typing at near full speed (although I do have to watch my finger more closely than on my laptop as I'm using the Touch Cover). The only real problem I have with using it to browse the web is that it tends to take a few seconds to load in the next bit of the page whenever you scroll down. It's not awful, but it is a little annoying. Still, the fact that I prefer using my RT around the house to bringing my laptop with me should say something

 

[inteller]

Yoga is a nice device, I have one. However I think my Surface is still better.

 

[ninjaap]

As long as your Yoga has Windows 8 Pro installed, then you'll be fine with Remote Desktop.

 

[inteller]

Yogas don't typically come with Pro, not the ones from places like Best Buy. The legacy apps I need on my yoga are for proprietary peripherals so being remote won't help me as I need to interact with those peripherals.

 

[andrewkeith5]

Yogas don't typically come with Pro, not the ones from places like Best Buy. The legacy apps I need on my yoga are for proprietary peripherals so being remote won't help me as I need to interact with those peripherals.

Sorry, should have mentioned I do of course have Pro Pack so I can get hardware virtualisation and remote desktop

Thanks for your comments everyone, I think I'm decided but will wait until the Surface 2 has been released and see what deals are on...

 

[johnbash612]

Many people here on this forum will tell you they love their rt, myself included. Its a damn amazing product. Yet, I think the improvements to the surface 2 are worth the extra 100 dollars. I didn't complain much about the speed of the rt until I tried the 2. The fact that you can feel the spec bump to me means its worth the upgrade (you couldn't tell from iPad 3 to iPad 4 unless you benchmarked but with the rt to 2 you can physically see it.) I also complained about the screen a lot. As a textbook reader, the font was often blurry and I had to zoom ridiculous amounts to make it comfortable, but the new screen is fantastic. Finally, you in particular will use the secondary kickstand position sitting on a train, and honestly I thought it would be useless until I physically used it in a store; its a very stable and comfortable angle. By all means wait for the 2 to come out (or try it now at a nearby Ms store) and try both side by side, but I'm fairly confident you will choose the 2 if you do that regardless

 

[TeknoBlast]

Also agree. The first Surface RT is great, but the extra $100 for the Surface 2 is well worth it.

 

[andrewkeith5]

Thanks for your help! I'm actually in the UK so a Microsoft store is out of the question, but I will definitely wait until I can see one in one of the local stores here O have to consider than in Britain the Surface 2 without a keyboard is ?40 more than a surface with a touch cover, so the equivalent would be a ?140 increase...or $225... Do you guys think its worth it still?