Apple has officially been abolished from my tech life.

[fatclue_98]

It might be the case for some, but not with myself. I know what people claim to think of RT on the good side, but I simply disagree with it. It doesn't run x86 games, so you need one of the i5-packing devices to make use of Steam (or, in the near-future, a Bay Trail device should play some of those Steam titles). I use Trillian for messaging people, and the IM+ alternative on Windows 8 (and Windows Phone) simply doesn't compare. I am a Computer Science major, and I need Visual Studio to do C++ programming, which is another x86 piece of software. I do Java/android classwork in Eclipse, and I need that x86 software, too.

If I am EVER to get a mobile device again (the HP laptop I got in 2008 ended up a colossal failure), I want something that works as a portable alternative to my desktop. I don't need something that basically functions as a bigger version of my phone.

I'm having a hard time understanding your point of view. You have strong feelings about the RT because it doesn't run x86 software and therefore, it doesn't fit your needs. Last time I checked, nothing else runs x86 either. Get a Surface Pro or any other Windows 8 tablets and be done with it.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Obviously. It has an unfair advantage, BECAUSE ITS A COMPUTER! And the iPad has full iWork, and iLife. I know it may sound like I am hating, but it just pisses me off, when someone insults Apple, and doesn't know the full story. All of those ads, with the RT tablet and the iPad, are all very uniformed. Ooo it has a kickstand, and a $120 keyboard cover, but the iPad just needs a smart cover, and an adapter set to use USB and SD cards. And who reads together, and then just randomly starts playing Halo. Meanwhile, it does not show the iPad playing infinity blade the iPad's exclusive game. Again, this sounds insulting, but I am trying my best not to make it sound that way. But congrats on the RT, I would like to have a Pro because of the Wacom Pen.

The iPad is as much a computer as the Surface RT... unless you have a very narrow definition of "computer".

Yes, it does sound like you're hating... and not even with accurate information.
The iPad does NOT have full iWorks and iLife. The iOS versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are orders of magnitude lesser in function than their OSX counterparts. Any objective-thinking observer can see that.

The kickstand is free. The $120 keyboard is now $69. Apple's smart cover is $39. You mention the adapter set to use USB and SD cards but each adapter is a separate purchase at $29 each. You cannot use both adapters simultaneously. You cannot use the SD card adapter to access the SD card in a general removable storage mode... it will only access certain files. The USB adapter is low-powered to support only a mere fraction of USB devices.

With my 64GB iPad 4, I had to purchase a powered USB hub and USB adapter so that I could use my Blue Yeti microphone. With the Surface RT, plug it in and go. That's a "win" for Surface RT. How anyone can claim equivalency with a straight face is laughable.

With Apple, you pay a premium for the tablet. Then you get nickel and dime'd for every little adapter. When all is said and done a person ends up paying nearly twice as much for an iPad configuration as they would for a Surface RT and still not have the same functionality. If you had instead focused on app availability then you would've been on the mark.

 

[inteller]

I have to disagree strongly here. The RT devices run a stripped-down OS that isn't really worth anything with Bay Trail out. The 64-GB Surface RT is $400 on Microsoft's site, and it's $500 with the touch cover. For $350, ASUS is soon going to be selling its T100 tablet, which will be an x86 Bay Trail device. It will come WITH an actual keyboard dock (with a USB 3.0 port, microHDMI, and microUSB), and it'll include Office 2013 Student as well. The Bay Trail tablets will hopefully eat the RT market up and get rid of it, because they sell at similar prices, have similar battery life, but the Atom devices add x86 support. That last part is what has the potential to separate Windows tablets from the iOS and Android toys.

First it was "wait for Haswell" then it is "wait for Bay Trail" what will it be next? Meanwhile I've enjoyed almost a full year of productivity while people are "waiting for the next big thing" Sounds like Intel needs to get its **** together.

and I've got bad news buddy, RT isn't going anywhere. au contraire...legacy desktop will be marginalized more and more over the next decade.

 

[six6xis]

Sadly enough ITunes with the Windows 8 connector (on a mac) does an awesome job with transferring downloaded music.

 

[wrm1]

The only thing stopping this from being a full web experience is the lack of Java support. Sure, this doesn't come into play very often, but when it does, it's a bit annoying. Still not enough to make me not adore my surface though.

 

[drjekel_mrhyde]

I just did it two weeks ago(iPad mini) and haven't looked back. I went to fix this lady's computers, but At&t was running late to fix her Uverse connection so I used my Surface RT connected via L920 and was able to pull up all her drivers and stored them on a USB stick. Got finished way faster than waiting around for At&t to finish.

 

[misfitpierce]

Happy to hear it friend.

 

[inteller]

the music matching really only works perfectly if you bought all your music from Xbox Music. all these different music services use different catalogs so matching will never be perfect. it is lame to assume someone has P2P'd music with bad ID3 tags.