What is the point of Windows RT When Tablets can Run Full Windows 8 ???

[omniusovermind]

So we went from there is no point to the RT today to there is no point to it in the future? What happens when Surface RT 2 comes out? I'm pretty sure it will continue to improve and OEMs will adjust price accordingly. There is no reason to think so otherwise, other than some of you just wish for RT to go away for some odd reason. I guess some of you would rather have less choices.

Ok let me try to put it to you another way. You're standing in the store this September and you have $600 in your hand. You see a tablet that runs Windows 8 full version made by Asus/Acer/HP/Samsung/ or whoever. It's $600. You look at the RT table and see a Surface RT running Windows RT and it's only $100 less. Both have very similar battery life, Both perform well. The difference is the one for $100 more will run not only all the apps the RT has, but also all Windows applications. It has full PC capabilities.

For the sake of $100 are you really going to choose the RT?

 

[ninjaap]

Ok let me try to put it to you another way. You're standing in the store this September and you have $600 in your hand. You see a tablet that runs Windows 8 full version made by Asus/Acer/HP/Samsung/ or whoever. It's $600. You look at the RT table and see a Surface RT running Windows RT and it's only $100 less. Both have very similar battery life, Both perform well. The difference is the one for $100 more will run not only all the apps the RT has, but also all Windows applications. It has full PC capabilities.

For the sake of $100 are you really going to choose the RT?

Yes, because with RT I will get it for $100 less plus free MS Office (-$130) plus Remote Desktop, which gives me full PC capabilities.

 

[berty6294]

I hope I don't see RT on an i7 machine. We will begin to see the decline of the x86 processors and as ARM technology gets better and better, they will replace the clunkers we have now! I like to compare it to Electric Cars (ARM) to gas cars (x86).

 

[omniusovermind]

Yes, because with RT I will get it for $100 less plus free MS Office (-$130) plus Remote Desktop, which gives me full PC capabilities.

Ok, so I guess we differ there but I already have Office. So if you had Office would you still choose an RT?

PS: RD is ok but it's just not as good as the real thing.

 

[omniusovermind]

I hope I don't see RT on an i7 machine. We will begin to see the decline of the x86 processors and as ARM technology gets better and better, they will replace the clunkers we have now! I like to compare it to Electric Cars (ARM) to gas cars (x86).

I have a feeling you haven't read anything about what Intel is up to this year.

 

[berty6294]

I have a feeling you haven't read anything about what Intel is up to this year.

I have, but I'll hold my breath till I see how it turns out. Plus, its not like nvidea isn't going to answer with something extraordinary!

 

[clbarker10]

Having the same OS for tablets and phones is not ideal IMHO. Apple took this route with iOS and so did Android, but from a development point of view it is problematic. The screen layout and relative size (i.e. the screen size in relation to the distance from your eyes) on a tablet is actually closer to the relative size of a laptop/desktop than it is to a smart phone. You hold a smart phone about the same distance from your eyes as a tablet, but the screen is much smaller and it's usually oriented in portrait layout. As a result, the UI for phone apps needs to be designed specifically for that layout. On the other hand, a touch app designed for a tablet will generally work just as well on a laptop or desktop monitor. A phone is also very restricted by the hardware/battery that can fit in it's form factor. A modern tablet can be nearly as powerful as a laptop.

I think that MS got this right. If MS had used a shared OS for both tablets and phones, the apps (at least for the UI layer, and possibly also to account for phone performance limitations) would still have to be written twice. A lot of code can be shared if the app is designed well, but there is no getting around the UI differences. Extending the desktop OS down to the tablet makes a lot more sense than extending the phone OS up to the tablet. In the MS ecosystem, I can write two touch apps (one for phone, another for Windows8/RT) and that will cover any device including phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. Having tablets share the same OS as laptops and desktops also allows for innovative hybrid form factors that are not possible in the Apple or Google world. My Surface Pro is used as both a laptop and a tablet.

In the Apple ecosystem I would still have to write the same two apps, but they would only cover phone and tablet. To cover laptops and desktops I would have to write a third app that runs on OSX (which uses entirely different APIs). In the Google ecosystem the same applies except that there is no real laptop/desktop OS to write for. Apple is actually in an awkward position going forward in my opinion. They are going to have to decide if they want to extend OSX down to the iPad and make OSX capable of running touch apps (in other words copy Windows 8), or they are going to be stuck with tablets that are quite limited compared to what MS is offering. They will also have no capability to provide a hybrid device.

As far as the OP's question, I think Win RT exists for two reasons.

1) Tablet hardware is still developing and for truly small, lite, and cheap tablets with good runtime (i.e. direct iPad competitor) ARM is really the only option at the moment. Traditional Windows and the programs written for it won't run on ARM so something else was needed. However, Intel is very close to having x86 CPUs that will be a viable option for building tablets in that category.

2) This is just my personal opinion, but I think MS needed to be able to sell a super cheap version of Windows to tablet OEMs if they wanted to compete with iPads and Android tablets on the low end of the price scale $400 - $500. They could always license the full Windows 8 at a lower price for tablets, but what would stop OEMs from using that discounted licensing on other products. It would be hard to enforce, especially for the new hybrid devices like the Lenovo Yoga. For this reason, It's possible that Windows Lite (RT) could be around for a while and maybe even in an x86 version.

Yes. Reason 2...Price! Price! Price! bigger market. It's simple guys.

 

[ninjaap]

Ok, so I guess we differ there but I already have Office. So if you had Office would you still choose an RT?

PS: RD is ok but it's just not as good as the real thing.

Yes that's my point, we all differ in our needs and wants. I already have Office on my home computer but need it on all my devices. Just because you want full desktop does not mean I do. Yes RD is not as good as the real thing, but its still helpful and can only improve as it gets more users.

 

[ninjaap]

Yes. Reason 2...Price! Price! Price! bigger market. It's simple guys.

Yes! Why is it so hard to understand? RT will always be cheaper than Pro, and will hold its own value as the "lite" version of Windows 8. As Pro devices drop in price, so will RT devices.

 

[derek533]

Yes! Why is it so hard to understand? RT will always be cheaper than Pro, and will hold its own value as the "lite" version of Windows 8. As Pro devices drop in price, so will RT devices.

Seems like there are a lot of "dense" posters who just can't see the benefit of having both RT and Pro machines on the market.

If Apple had an iPad that had an appearance that mirrored OSX but wasn't as fully featured as OSX, people would be calling it genius, and that "Apple is innovating again". Especially if said iPad functioned as a "macbook lite" with a detachable keyboard cover and stand built into the device. Yet MS does it, and people just can't see the forest for the trees, and bash it to death rendering it dead in the court of public opinion before it even has a chance to show what it can truly do.

Give me a break...

 

[martinmc78]

If Apple had an iPad that had an appearance that mirrored OSX but wasn't as fully featured as OSX, people would be calling it genius, and that "Apple is innovating again". Especially if said iPad functioned as a "macbook lite" with a detachable keyboard cover and stand built into the device. Yet MS does it, and people just can't see the forest for the trees, and bash it to death rendering it dead in the court of public opinion before it even has a chance to show what it can truly do.

Give me a break...

You know thats probably going to happen anyway right?

 

[chinesepiratefood]

I hope I don't see RT on an i7 machine. We will begin to see the decline of the x86 processors and as ARM technology gets better and better, they will replace the clunkers we have now! I like to compare it to Electric Cars (ARM) to gas cars (x86).

Intel's current Clovertrail Atom CPUs are faster than tegra 3 and Snapdragon S4, AND more power efficient. Yes next gen Cortex A15 designs are coming this year, so are next-gen atom designs by Intel.

 

[Coreldan]

Personally for me there's a few things, although some might be doable on full W8 tablets all the same.

1) First comes to mind is connected standby, but I suppose this is achievable with good battery life on Atoms too, otherwise no one would probably buy them
2) No cooling needed, doesn't heat up nearly as much when running ARM
3) Given that I don't need to run legacy apps on what I use Surface for, it's great how resistant it is against malware. I can remote desktop at home and on the move I only reall need officer and browser does the rest. Full W8 tablet would need the whole deal your desktop would, firewall, antivirus etc.. And that's a great way to slow down your tablet with limited power at it's disposal.

For the above reasons, I'm happy with my RT and don't really even want it to have full Windows 8.

 

[WinFan1]

I personally think the main reason that windows with RT exists is because 1) not everyone does work with legacy applications. 2)It works fantastically well as a media consumption device. 3) Has free office that still allows you to edit powerpoints, word docs, and excel documents.
I think to dismiss a product because it does not fit with you as an individual is silly to say the very least. i own a surface RT and it works great.

 

[berty6294]

Intel's current Clovertrail Atom CPUs are faster than tegra 3 and Snapdragon S4, AND more power efficient. Yes next gen Cortex A15 designs are coming this year, so are next-gen atom designs by Intel.

I understand that. Intel is making some great improvements, thing is, Nvidea is making even bigger improvements! I'd like to see the new Atom compared to Tegra 4 or 4i. The Tegra 3 is last years technology.

 

[theefman]

The facts seem to speak for themselves, no RT device seems to be selling in any significant numbers apart from the Surface RT and those numbers pale in comparison to ios and android tablets. When advocating for RT you also have to look at what market it is competing in and what that market is buying and they are not buying devices that have Office, can connect to priners or USB peripherals. They are buying devices that rely primarily on apps and connect to a rich ecosystem and that is an area that RT is lacking in and why it is not seen as competitive with ios and android.

RT also defeats the purpose of Windows 8, an OS that is pitched as being able to run on practically any hardware and fulfil any computing requirement, whether light or heavy. Will RT evolve to the point that you can write apps for it with only an RT device? Will full Photoshop, AutoCAD and other complex programs come to RT? RT also has minimal price advantage over full Windows 8 devices, the Surface RT is still the same price and the only other available RT device has only recently seen a price cut, and that is for the 32GB version. Office is touted as the killer feature but its readily available to Windows 8 users and at $99 for 5 PC's its not going to be an issue for someone who really wants Office. If not they can probably make do with Office Web Apps or other free alternatives.

So where really is the advantage of Windows RT at the moment? In the ARM world its less competitive because of apps, in the x86 world its limited by lack of compatibility. Maybe in the future it will be the defacto Windows version but today it doesnt look like it is able to compete in the computing environment that exists.

 

[berty6294]

The facts seem to speak for themselves, no RT device seems to be selling in any significant numbers apart from the Surface RT and those numbers pale in comparison to ios and android tablets. When advocating for RT you also have to look at what market it is competing in and what that market is buying and they are not buying devices that have Office, can connect to priners or USB peripherals. They are buying devices that rely primarily on apps and connect to a rich ecosystem and that is an area that RT is lacking in and why it is not seen as competitive with ios and android.

RT also defeats the purpose of Windows 8, an OS that is pitched as being able to run on practically any hardware and fulfil any computing requirement, whether light or heavy. Will RT evolve to the point that you can write apps for it with only an RT device? Will full Photoshop, AutoCAD and other complex programs come to RT? RT also has minimal price advantage over full Windows 8 devices, the Surface RT is still the same price and the only other available RT device has only recently seen a price cut, and that is for the 32GB version. Office is touted as the killer feature but its readily available to Windows 8 users and at $99 for 5 PC's its not going to be an issue for someone who really wants Office. If not they can probably make do with Office Web Apps or other free alternatives.

So where really is the advantage of Windows RT at the moment? In the ARM world its less competitive because of apps, in the x86 world its limited by lack of compatibility. Maybe in the future it will be the defacto Windows version but today it doesnt look like it is able to compete in the computing environment that exists.

Right now? Light weight, thin, incredible battery life, virus free, sexy design, and cheaper.

 

[MacDaMachine]

I understand that. Intel is making some great improvements, thing is, Nvidea is making even bigger improvements! I'd like to see the new Atom compared to Tegra 4 or 4i. The Tegra 3 is last years technology.

Tegra 4 would beast it. Atom is all CPU, the GPU on it can't compete.

 

[CSJr1]

[opinion]

Surface RT is going to be the core for WP8.5 or GDDR 5. All apps that will run on RT will be able to be run on WP and of course W8pro. So Surface RT will the bridge from Windows 8 and WP8.

[/opinion]

 

[berty6294]

Tegra 4 would beast it. Atom is all CPU, the GPU on it can't compete.

Not to mention it is noise free, fan free, and takes up less space! Id take Tegra 4 over Atom any day!