Teardown: Microsoft Surface Tablet

11/1/2012 3:35 PM EDT

A side-by-side comparison with Apple's iPad would be interesting.

11/1/2012 3:39 PM EDT

I am more interested in how well it does word and excel. It it can do those two well, then I could use it for real work.

11/2/2012 12:42 PM EDT

EREBUS raises a very good question. It was exactly what I went after to experience the Surface. I am impress with the keyboard. Using Word and Excel are very similar to the previous. Switching between tasks using Windows 8 interface is as easy as before. The feel is better through.

If you are not familiar with the GUI, Windows 8 has 2 GUIs - the palette type (brand new interface) and the Windows 7 interface. Switching between them is a very intuitive.

I'm impressed with the Surface.

11/2/2012 1:48 PM EDT

windows can grow into hardware. i have never seen any detailed explanation why storage usage keeps going up, and the system is getting slower over time. the best user experiences is always right after the fresh installation.


intel hasn't really solved the power issue yet. the combination of Microsoft+Intel for tablet market really needs more effort.

positive selling points: pc apps compatibility; MS UI, high performance;

negative side: power consumption; price tag; system stability (neither company is successful in embedded systems)

rumor said the reason Microsoft didn't offer 16GB model is because the OS+ basic app will take almost all the space in storage. if there is a 16GB model, then it will be very funny when people find out they only have 1GB left for their own data such as video/photo/music, etc.

11/2/2012 4:51 PM EDT

FWIW, I actually saw a Surface featured in the most recent episode of NCIS. Briefly. They used it for what looked like a Skype session.

11/3/2012 4:08 PM EDT

It will be fun to watch Apple try to compete with what's out there. "The End of Apple" is coming.

http://bit.ly/IC4m9t

11/5/2012 1:16 PM EST

The great irony with Microsoft is that they have usually done a really good job with their hardware - the microsoft split keyboard, mouse, xbox, kinect to datacenter hardware ... and now the cover that doubles as a keyboard - innovative stuff.

Their software has been another story. If windows 8 is as stable and intuitive as macos/ios then MSFT might be back!

11/8/2012 9:49 AM EST

Providing good connectivity is a plus, but the microsoft name tells me that it will have bugs that will appear down the road. More important, why should I need to learn a new interface to use those programs that I currently use? Not only is my current OS adequate for all of my uses, it mostly has all of the bugs taken care of. So why, aside from corporate greed, should I be forced to learn a new OS, and new versions of programs, that offer no advantages that I can see, except additional income to MS.
Also, I too wonder about why they all slow down after a few months. Is that some originally installed malware intended to force us into the next product offering? Or is it just poor programming and a poorly designed OS?

11/12/2012 6:06 AM EST

I don't think Intel+Microsoft can work well in tablet market. If the rumor that the bundled software (mostly OS) already eats up most SSD space is true, I wonder how good this machine can be.

11/13/2012 11:36 AM EST

At home we've updated two computers to use Windows 8 and both my wife and daughter like it and learned it OK. I would not use this Surface keyboard because my typing speed goes way down without a physical keyboard. I use an iPad 3 with Logitech Ultrathin keyboard for fastest typing speed.

4/11/2013 9:36 PM EDT

The following is an AP article from yesterday:
"Research group IDC said Wednesday that global shipments of personal computers fell 14 percent in the first three months of 2013, the sharpest plunge since the firm started tracking the industry in 1994. IDC said Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smartphones and tablets." It IS relevant to this discussion.