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

[jhoff80]

Wow, there's ignorance on both sides here. First of all, to address a few points. Intel already has Connected Standby on Atom, and it's coming to Haswell later this year. Bay Trail, the next generation Atom SoC, will have a greatly improved GPU, using Ivy Bridge style Execution Units (instead of just licensing something from PowerVR like in the past). That being said, Bay Trail probably won't be fanless, nor will Haswell (even at 7W). It's more likely we won't see fanless Intel SoCs until late 2014, possibly with Broadwell. Of course, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Samsung aren't just sitting on their hands either, and will continue to improve.

More importantly though, the fact that all of you are arguing about SoC superiority though is exactly what I'm talking about. As far as Microsoft is now concerned, it doesn't matter which is better any more. Whichever one does end up being better, they can use it, no matter the architecture.

 

[theefman]

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

All your criteria apart from 2 are met by devices like the Acer W510, Asus Vivo Tab Smart, and currently the HP Envy X2. Sexy design does not apply to the OS which is what we are discussing, not the Surface RT itself. Viruses are debatable, other ARM platforms are not immune so its probably just a matter of time before the first RT virus (or to put it more accurately exploit) appears.

 

[Rich White]

RT appeals to Microsoft Office users who require a long battery life. Internet, Kindle, Office and streaming media. That's its niche. Android is a toy and many aren't in the Apple ecosystem.

Does RT have a future? I was skeptical until MS lowered the price of Office/ Windows for small devices to $30 for OEMs.. At that price point Windows RT should be a $50 premium at retail and no more when compared to a Google Nexus 7. Worth it to me. I expect a Surface Pro 7" inch to sell for $500 with Office, HD, 64GB, LTE. and a touch cover. Likely not that low on opening day but $499 off contract makes it a winner. $299 without the touch cover and LTE.

Do I think Intel will eventually smoke ARM chips and RT doesn't make it to Windows 9? Yes. That's about the size of it..

 

[ninjaap]

Ahhh phooey! I don't understand why you guys are so adamant about killing off RT devices? You don't see us advocating the demise of Pro machines. If you don't need or want it then don't buy it. Let the market decide. There hasn't even been any numbers out for the Surface Pro and/or other Atom devices (or has there been?). As far as we know, the Surface RT has outsold current Windows 8 hybrids/tablets. I will believe none of you naysayers, because none of you can predict the future. All I know is, as long as it's an option, I will continue to support and buy Windows RT for my 10" and below tablet needs, for all the reasons I have already mentioned in earlier posts, and buy Windows 8 Pro for my larger laptops and desktop needs. And please stop trying to convince me that my criteria is inferior to those of yours and I will stop trying to convince you that your criteria is a waste of money.

 

[Raghu Gundlapalli]

Cost, battery life, weight. Intel has a long way to go before they can catchup with ARM on battery life. I do agree that there are advantages to having a pro compared to RT.

Can somebody tell me what is the Point of Windows RT ??

I mean if i would buy a Tablet, i?d buy a Full Windows 8 Tablet like Surface Pro.

I dont get the Point of Windows RT, i never will-

 

[omniusovermind]

None of the pro RT arguments address what's already been pointed out - By the end of this year with the newer Intel x86 CPU's, you'll be looking at being able to do everything you can do on an RT, while getting the same battery life and on top of that be able to run full Windows programs for a negligible difference in price. It's simple math and common sense: Do more with no drawbacks.

Ahhh phooey! I don't understand why you guys are so adamant about killing off RT devices? You don't see us advocating the demise of Pro machines. If you don't need or want it then don't buy it. Let the market decide. There hasn't even been any numbers out for the Surface Pro and/or other Atom devices (or has there been?). As far as we know, the Surface RT has outsold current Windows 8 hybrids/tablets. I will believe none of you naysayers, because none of you can predict the future. All I know is, as long as it's an option, I will continue to support and buy Windows RT for my 10" and below tablet needs, for all the reasons I have already mentioned in earlier posts, and buy Windows 8 Pro for my larger laptops and desktop needs. And please stop trying to convince me that my criteria is inferior to those of yours and I will stop trying to convince you that your criteria is a waste of money.

Nobody's trying to kill off RT. But I don't see the point in covering my eyes and ears to the fact that I could be standing at he counter looking at an RT barely priced any less than a full Windows 8 tablet and buying the RT when you can do so much more on the other. It's simply not as much value for the small price difference.

Cost, battery life, weight. Intel has a long way to go before they can catchup with ARM on battery life.

No, no they don't. Those newer chips are slated to be out by the end of this year. Even right now, with the Clover Trail Atoms which aren't quite "there" yet in terms of power you can buy an Asus Vivo Tab Smart for $500. So by January I could be looking at buying the next gen CPU Windows 8 tablet for around the same price, same weight, same battery life.

 

[KingCrimson]

Can somebody tell me what is the Point of Windows RT ??

I mean if i would buy a Tablet, i?d buy a Full Windows 8 Tablet like Surface Pro.

I dont get the Point of Windows RT, i never will-

I think having a pure ARM experience is worth something. Especially once the Surface RT gets on the Tegra 4 or Snapdragon 800 and the app store fills out, and Microsoft removes the desktop once and for all. There is room for a pure RT experience in the market for those that have no need for the old programs.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

price is the biggest point.

 

[Coreldan]

and Microsoft removes the desktop once and for all. There is room for a pure RT experience in the market for those that have no need for the old programs.

That would be one huge selling point less for me. While I agree that perhaps Office etc could've been baked into new UI, but I don't want to give up file management and other aspects of the desktop. I would be REALLY bummed if they removed the desktop from me now. By all means minimize the need to use it by implementing other stuff, but removing features doesn't sound smart.

 

[ninjaap]

Windows 7 with an Atom processor's draw was that it was affordable, but was considered slow. Then they came out with Windows 7 tablets with Atom processors, tagged it with a $1000+ price tag, and that was considered crap, because it performed like a $300 HP netbook with Atom. All of a sudden we get Windows 7, slapped with Modern UI, called it Windows 8, and it's a godsend. Sure Modern UI runs great on Atom, like it does on ARM, but it still runs kinda slow in desktop mode, especially when you start using heavier programs. Never again Atom, never again! If I want desktop mode in my tablet it will be an i5 or higher.

 

[omniusovermind]

Windows 7 with an Atom processor's draw was that it was affordable, but was considered slow. Then they came out with Windows 7 tablets with Atom processors, tagged it with a $1000+ price tag, and that was considered crap, because it performed like a $300 HP netbook with Atom. All of a sudden we get Windows 7, slapped with Modern UI, called it Windows 8, and it's a godsend. Sure Modern UI runs great on Atom, like it does on ARM, but it still runs kinda slow in desktop mode, especially when you start using heavier programs. Never again Atom, never again! If I want desktop mode in my tablet it will be an i5 or higher.

Keep your eyes on Bay Bridge. The tech community are all saying it's going to be a big performance leap from current Atoms

 

[Ray Adams]

Having Core i5 on table will not give you 9 hours of working. Personally I think it's better to buy atom based table than RT. I did it buying Asus Vivotab Smart instead of RT version. Price is about the same, but you also have full access to your desktop! RT will be useful only if price for tablet will be twice less than Atom version.

 

[GSOgymrat]

None of the pro RT arguments address what's already been pointed out - By the end of this year with the newer Intel x86 CPU's, you'll be looking at being able to do everything you can do on an RT, while getting the same battery life and on top of that be able to run full Windows programs for a negligible difference in price. It's simple math and common sense: Do more with no drawbacks.
.

Are you saying that Microsoft shouldn't have "apps" anymore but just have Windows 8 programs? Eliminating Windows RT seems to be the equivalent of Apple eliminating iOS in favor of OS X. Perhaps that would be good in terms of a unified ecosystem but the trend seems to be people buying more media consumption devices such as iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nexus 7 in comparison to laptops and desktops.

As an average consumer I know that if Microsoft had come out with Surface Pro and not released Surface RT I would have never bought it because Surface Pro cannot compete with iPad as a tablet. Surface Pro is not a tablet, it's more like a laptop and I don't want or need a laptop. It is too heavy, the power supply is too big, you can't hold it in one hand while you read, etc. Many people think iPad is too big and are choosing iPad Mini, Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire.

If Windows 8 can be placed on a device like iPad Mini with comparable speed, battery life and apps selection I see no need for Windows RT either but we don't seem to be there yet.

 

[Rich White]

. Many people think iPad is too big and are choosing iPad Mini, Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire.

If Windows 8 can be placed on a device like iPad Mini with comparable speed, battery life and apps selection I see no need for Windows RT either but we don't seem to be there yet.

That's it. I expect we see the 7.5" Surface (both Pro and RT) this year to compete with the mini for Holiday Season.

It's next year when the 6" phones and Atoms hit where we see a convergence of sorts. With Smart Glass and other Display Sharing tech we will see 10" and 14" Touchscreen monitors weighing under a pound. Lenovo announced a 14" travel touchscreen monitor at CES with Stylus. 1.5 lbs, Gorilla Glass, 10 hours battery life kickstand,, etc. Choose your weapon .

One look at the Lenovo K900 5.5" Atom Phone and you know that's just beggin to go 6" next year and add Windows Pro or RT with LTE.

When you think about it a 10" tablet doesn't make sense. Just bring the display with you when you need it. When my 920 goes off contract I expect some incredible choices on the market.

 

[Traderhorn]

Hi i bought surface RT 64GB, 3 months ago, after looking at Apple/Android tablets, decided on RT, as i have windows phone 7.5,
and windows 7 laptop,both have worked very well, so i thought stick with windows, so far it does everything i need,
having full flash player support is one reason i went for RT, and it is well made with good battery life,
lack of apps at the start is not an issue as i can do most things with the browser, if i need full windows i prefer laptop not tablet,
so surface RT will meet many peoples needs. and surface pro for others, every device will suit someone.

 

[ny_yankees]

Price is a big issue when comes to do these things. People want a tablet on the go that can do most of the things their home desktop/laptops can do. So some will opt for the cheaper tablets which will can get the work done

 

[Joe920]

Hey, if there's no point to RT then prices will start dropping rapidly, which would become a pretty good point! Fingers crossed.

 

[Reflexx]

I've come to the conclusion that there are just some people who do not have the ability of understanding that different people have different priorities and needs.

 

[Flagz]

I don't want full windows, I have a 27" i7 touch screen desktop and a 13" i5 ultrabook for my paper work, studio work, and video work. I want a media consumption tablet (Netflix, Hulu, web browsing, light email, games.) I don't want a fan in my tablet, or quick draining battery. Surface RT has been my PERFECT TABLET.

 

[Billy Harrison]

What's the point of having the iPad and an Apple laptop? Its the same thing your asking about windows! RT has better battery like than Pro. Its app based just like the iPad. Its less expensive and the Pro just like the iPad. But you have an option to go all out with the Pro and still have a great tablet unlike the Apple laptop. Makes since to me.