By Matthew Lynley
The verdict is in for Microsoft’s new tablet, the Surface.
Coming in at a price that’s around that of the iPad, it’s a big gambit by Microsoft to find its way into the tablet market, which is slowly eating away at the PC market.
A number of top tech enthusiasts have spent time with the device, and so far, there seems to be a common trend: great hardware, not-so-great software.
David Pogue of the New York Times hammers that point home, saying, “And how ironic that what lets the Surface down is supposedly Microsoft’s specialty: software.”
Hardware
This was a huge positive for the Surface. Mat Honan at Wired writes, “It is extremely well-designed; meticulous even.” The device is heavier, but “the added weight is offset by superb internal weight distribution,” writes Anandtech’s Anand Lal Shimpi. “Read the specs and try not to drool on your keyboard,” Pogue writes. “The edges of the black magnesium body are angled and crisp, like a prop from a Batman movie.”
Battery
Another positive for the Surface. “Fast to charge, slow to die,” Honan writes. You have to carry around a wall-plug charger, but the device charges quickly, according to most reviewers.
Display
It has no “Retina” display, but the display isn’t that much worse than the iPad — it’s better working against glare and reflection, Shimpi writes. Text doesn’t look as sharp as the iPad, but video is comparable, Honan writes. “It was sharp and vivid in my tests, but inferior to the Retina display on the third-generation Apple tablet, which has much higher resolution,” The WSJ’s Walt Mossberg writes.
Touch Cover
Reviews were mixed on the Type Cover, but most thought the cover/keyboard was a step forward. “Type Cover is the phattest skinny thing since Mike D,” Honan writes. The actual build of the cover is solid, and the magnets are strong enough to support the weight of the Surface when held by the cover, Shimpi writes. The keyboard can be prone to typos, though: “If you’re a lighter typist then you’ll find yourself either missing the occasional keystroke or having to type a lot harder in order to guarantee accuracy.” Pogue writes, “the keys don’t move. You’re pounding a flat surface. If you type too fast, the keyboard skips letters.”
Windows RT
This tablet-focused operating system may be a deal-breaker for some prospective buyers.
First, there’s a distinct lack of apps, which you will have to download specifically for Windows RT. “There aren’t many to choose from; for example, there’s no Facebook , Spotify, Angry Birds, Instagram, Draw Something or New York Times app,” Pogue writes.
Windows RT also has an identity crisis, having both a traditional desktop view and the tablet-like surface interface of Windows 8. Mossberg gets into this in more detail in his full review of Windows 8. But, basically, Windows RT cramps the otherwise stellar hardware.
The Bottom Line
Mat Honan, Wired: “It is a new thing, in a new space, and likely to confuse many of Microsoft’s longtime customers. People will have problems with applications — especially when they encounter them online and are given an option by Internet Explorer to run them, only to discover this won’t work. But overall it’s quite good; certainly better than any full-size Android tablet on the market.”
Anand Lal Shimpi, Anandtech: “It makes sense that Microsoft’s OEM partners are feeling the pressure as there’s very little that I would change about Surface from a design perspective… I don’t believe Surface is perfect, but it’s a platform I can believe in. What I’m most excited about is to see what happens after a second or third rev of the design.”
Sam Biddle, Gizmodo: “Surface RT gets so many things right, and pulls so many good things together into one package. But it is undercooked. For all Microsoft’s claims to hardware perfection and software revolution, Surface RT is undone by too many little annoyances, cracks, and flaws.”
Walt Mossberg, WSJ: “Microsoft’s Surface is a tablet with some pluses: The major Office apps and nice optional keyboards. If you can live with its tiny number of third-party apps and somewhat disappointing battery life, it may give you the productivity some miss in other tablets.”
Josh Topolsky, The Verge: “It does the job of a tablet and the job of a laptop half as well as other devices on the market, and it often makes that job harder, not easier. Instead of being a no-compromise device, it often feels like a more-compromise one.”
David Pogue, The New York Times: “How incredible that this bold, envelope-pushing design came from Microsoft, a company that for years produced only feeble imitations of other companies’ fresh ideas. And how ironic that what lets the Surface down is supposedly Microsoft’s specialty: software.”
Matt Buchanan, BuzzFeed FWD: “The irony here is that Microsoft, a software company, has mostly nailed the hardware but fallen down when it comes to the software. The deeper irony still is that what matters more and more with devices like Surface is the software, apps and ecosystem that go into and surround the device — not the hardware itself, beyond its ability to be a stage for the software.”
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