Tech: Google leaves out Surface support in new Search + Chrome app

RastaMentality

The Verge -

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Maybe I say this too often, but I wanted to love this device. Actually, I wanted to love the Surface when I first saw it, before I even got my hands on the review unit. It made Windows 8 make sense in a way other products had not, and I could see a world where this kind of device was the only one I carried with me. Once I did get the review unit, I wanted to love it even more. And truth be told, there is a lot here to love. Plenty — but not enough for me right now.

The promise of the Surface was that it could deliver a best-in-class tablet experience, but then transform into the PC you needed when heavier lifting was required. Instead of putting down my tablet and picking up my laptop, I would just snap on my keyboard and get my work done. But that's not what the Surface offers, at least not in my experience. 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.

There may be a time in the future when all the bugs have been fixed, the third-party app support has arrived, and some very smart engineers in Redmond have ironed out the physical kinks in this type of product which prevent it from being all that it can be. But that time isn't right now — and unfortunately for Microsoft, the clock is ticking.

GOOD STUFF
Ambitious new software
Solidly made, handsome hardware
Full Office suite with no compromise
Excellent battery life

BAD STUFF
Performance is hit or miss
Weak ecosystem
Buggy software
Doesn't live up to hybrid promise

Rating: 7.0

http://vrge.co/TeoR0l

Adding more!

ABEL-o-matic

They will definitely release a Service Pack update

But I'm so excited to hear it has an excellent battery life!

RastaMentality

BoyGenius -

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Microsoft is the biggest software company in the world, but its first piece of Windows hardware is a beauty.

The company sought to reinvent the PC with the Surface, and to “bring all that goodness to the kind of device you can carry with you at all times,” according to Windows boss Steven Sinofsky. In this regard, Microsoft has accomplished its goal. The Surface is light and portable, and the battery gave me a full day of usage without a problem. Functions such as streaming video will obviously cut into battery life, but you’ll still go longer in between charges than you would with any popular Windows or Mac laptop.

Oh and by the way, there is absolutely no bloatware, crapware or whatever else you want to call it on the Surface, which is yet another point in Microsoft’s favor as it enters the Windows hardware market and competes against the very vendors that perfected the practice of ruining user experiences with unwanted garbage.

While Windows 8 is the version of Microsoft’s new OS that has split personality disorder, the Windows RT-powered Surface truly is a tale of two tablets. On one hand, it is an engineering feat with a design that is novel and functional. It really is the perfect combination of a tablet and a notebook thanks to the Touch Cover and the Type Cover, and I felt right at home with the Surface the moment I turned it on. On the other hand, the software experience does not feel like home. It’s new, and for many it will be scary.

But we are not Luddites. We can handle this.

The move to separate Windows 8 and Windows RT this way was a necessary one in the context of Microsoft’s interface unification strategy. And in order to build a lighter-weight OS that could power less expensive devices and compete with the likes of Apple’s iPad, Microsoft needed a “Windows Lite” solution. Some concessions could certainly have been made in order to better distinguish Windows RT and Windows 8, but this is the path Microsoft chose.

Windows RT has a lot of growing to do. The faster Microsoft can get developers on board, the better — and the early days will be slow-going in some respects as a result of this lack of apps. But even as it stands today, the Surface provides a terrific experience right out of the box and it will only get better over time.

http://j.mp/S2c4hn

PCWorld -

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Microsoft desperately needs a hardware phenom to put a physical face on the ethereal trappings of its new Windows software. Hence Surface RT, the first personal computing device the company has ever created in its nearly 40-year history. But you can't simply buy your way into the "thing" club. You need to make a sexy, groundbreaking product that actually works—and then consumers assign it "thing" status through swarm intelligence, via social media and word of mouth.

Surface RT definitely covers the bases on the industrial-design front. When you set up your workstation at the local café—kickstand kicked, Type Cover snapped—you'll become a magnet for attention. And in many important ways, Surface RT does successfully redefine what a tablet can be. Its touch gestures rock (once you surmount the learning curve), and its built-in productivity features eclipse anything that the iPad or the Android competition offers.

IMAGE: ROBERT CARDIN
Simple. Elegant. But also a work in progress.
But Surface RT may not be the best new Windows device to purchase in the short term, and Windows RT definitely isn't the version of Windows you want to invest in. I doubt that any other tablet will be able to match the light weight and slim profile of the Surface RT/Touch Cover combo, but many people will be better served by waiting for a tablet that runs the full version of Windows 8 on x86 silicon. Such competing devices won't be quite as portable as Surface RT, and they'll almost always cost more. But they will grant access to the full Windows software experience, and battery life in Clover Trail tablets should even match the longevity of Surface RT.

One exciting option is Surface Pro. It's the big-kid version of Surface RT, and it should go on sale in three months. It will be slightly thicker than Microsoft's RT tablet, and about a half-pound heavier. But it will carry an Intel Core i5 processor, boast a 1920-by-1080-pixel display, and support the full breadth of Windows software, from desktop applications to every new Windows 8 app. All this, plus the Pro version supports the Touch and Type covers, and delivers all the other elements of Microsoft's nifty industrial design.

Is Surface RT a total nonstarter? No, it's definitely packed with utility, and that's why it earns 3.5 stars. In business-travel situations where I need only to write articles and respond to email, I can see throwing Surface RT and the Type Cover into my backpack, and leaving my Ultrabook (and iPad) at home.

But is this tablet a full-fledged "thing"? No, not yet. It's supposed to answer a host of problems, but instead it poses too many questions of its own.

http://pcwrld.us/T9tUKW

Engadget -

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The Microsoft Surface with Windows RT's $499 starting MSRP means those thinking about making the investment here will be carefully cross-shopping against same-priced offerings from Apple, ASUS and others. Where does this one rate? Very well -- but very differently. While those devices are primarily targeted at content-hungry consumers, the Surface is a slate upon which you can get some serious work done, and do so comfortably. You can't always say that of the competition.
It's in the other half of the equation, that of the content consumption and entertainment, where the Surface is currently lacking. It needs a bigger pile of apps and games to make up for that and, while we're sure they're coming, we don't know when. If those apps arrive soon, then early adopters will feel vindicated. If, however, the Windows RT market is slow to mature, not truly getting hot for another six months or so, holding off will prove to have been the smarter option.
So, if gaming and music and movies and reading are what you're looking to enjoy, then we might advise sitting this one out for a few months just to make sure that all your bases will indeed be covered. If, however, you're looking for an impeccably engineered tablet upon which you can do some serious work, a device that doesn't look, feel or act like a toy, then you should get yourself a Surface with Windows RT.

http://tinyurl.com/9nk3gmo

SlashGear -

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Wrap-Up

In the end, it all comes down to ecosystem. If you’re already invested in Microsoft then it’s a good solution: if you’re a Windows Phone user, or an Xbox 360 gamer, or simply have a background with Windows 7, then Surface will likely fit into your world more smoothly than an iPad or Android tablet might. If you’ve considered subscribing to Xbox Music, Microsoft’s streaming audio service, then Surface makes sense there, too, considering cross-platform apps for that haven’t been released yet.

Personal reactions of ClearType HD aside, it’s hard to be too critical of Microsoft’s hardware. The Surface team has cribbed some of Apple’s notorious attention to detail and applied it with its own spin, and the result is a well-constructed slate with legitimately useful design elements like the kickstand. You could argue that the focus on the Touch Cover and Type Cover are Microsoft proving reluctant to let go of physical keyboards, but using Surface without them is undoubtedly practical and their convenience (and the fact that Office is preloaded, albeit in preview form) means you get the best of both worlds.

Windows RT will undoubtedly prove the sticking point. That it comes late to the tablet game and thus with fewer apps than competing platforms is a given. That there are some for whom Windows itself is anathema is no surprise. However, the poorly-explained – and not easy to ascertain at first glance – differences in abilities between RT and Windows 8 will need time to bed down before Surface finds its niche. That will happen, but with headaches along the way, and it may not be until Surface Pro arrives with its higher-resolution screen and digital pen that Microsoft’s tablet gets the respect it deserves.

http://slgr.co/Sh5PW9

RastaMentality

TechCrunch -

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Should you buy the Surface RT? No.
The Surface RT is a product of unfortunate timing. The hardware is great. The Type Cover turns it into a small convertible tablet powered by a promising OS in Windows RT. That said, there are simply more mature options available right now.
Microsoft needs to court developers for Windows RT. As a consumer tablet, the Surface lacks all of the appeal of the iPad. There aren’t any mainstream apps and Microsoft has failed to connect Windows desktop and mobile ecosystem in any meaningful way like Android or iOS/OS X.
Windows RT is a brand new operating system that is incompatible with legacy Windows software. This immediately limits the appeal since the Surface RT is dependent on Windows RT’s application Store – a storefront that is currently devoid of anything useful.

The Surface RT isn’t a tablet. It’s not a legitimate alternative to the iPad or Galaxy Note 10.1. That’s not a bad thing. With the Touch Covers, the Surface RT is a fine alternative to a laptop, offering a slightly limited Windows experience in a small, versatile form. Just don’t call it an iPad killer.

If properly nurtured, Windows RT and the Surface RT could be something worthwhile. But right now, given Microsoft’s track record with Windows Phone, buying the Surface RT is a huge risk. The built-in apps are very limited and the Internet experience is fairly poor. Skip this generation of the Surface RT or at least wait until it offers a richer, more useful experience. While we’re bullish on Windows 8, the RT incarnation just isn’t quite there.

Is it heavy?
Not heavy, but solid. Listed by Microsoft as “under 1.5lbs”. The new iPad with 3G is 1.46 lbs.

How much does the Surface cost?
$499 for the 32GB. $599 for the 32GB plus Touch Cover. $699 for 64GB plus Touch Cover.

Who should buy one?
Very few people. Perhaps a student who already utilizes Microsoft’s cloud storage system, SkyDrive, and is looking for a compact note-taking device that can sometime play a movie.

Is there a lot of glare?
Yes, but no more than other tablets.

Is the Kickstand adjustable?
No, locked in at 22 degrees.

Can I open up the Surface?
Yes, the backplate is secured with 12 Torex head screws.

Can I download pictures from my camera to the Surface?
Yes, from the microSD card slot or over USB.

Does the Surface work with 3G/4G networks?

No, the Surface RT does not have a built-in cellular modem and because of Windows RT’s application requirement, you cannot install a carrier’s application for USB modems. A WiFi hotspot will work

Does Windows RT have a lot of apps?
No, it likely doesn’t have any of your top apps. The most popular ones in Windows RT is Netflix and Kindle.

http://wp.me/p1FaB8-2Q3Q

AllThingsD -

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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.

http://allthingsd.com/20121023/hardw...with-pc-chops/

RastaMentality

Gizmodo: Microsoft Surface RT Review: This Is Technological Heartbreak -

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SHOULD YOU BUY IT?
No. The Surface, with an obligatory Touch Cover, is $600. That's a lot of money. Especially given that it's no laptop replacement, no matter how it looks or what Microsoft says. It's a tablet-plus, priced right alongside the iPad and in most ways inferior.

That could change. Maybe there will be a new Touch Cover that retains the original's terrific physical qualities while actually allowing good typing. Maybe the quasi-vaporware Surface Pro, which eschews Windows RT in favor of the real-deal Win 8, will make all the difference, opening itself up to the open seas of PC software (for several hundred dollars more). Maybe the app store will look different in a month, or a year, and have anything to offer. Maybe. But remember that Windows Phone—which has swelled from mere hundreds, to tens of thousands, to over a hundred thousand app offerings over the past two years—is still a wasteland compared to iOS and Android. Poor precedent. Maybe Windows RT will be different. Maybe.

But those maybes aren't worth putting money on. As much as it looked (and even felt) like it for a bit, the future isn't here quite yet.

But it's Windows on Surface RT that's the greatest letdown of all, the lethal letdown, because it's not Windows 8, but Windows RT. You can't tell the difference by looking at them, but you certainly will once you use it. Windows RT is underpowered (everything opens and syncs slightly too slowly), under-functional (you cannot install a single app that's not available through the Windows RT app store, which offers a paltry selection), and under-planned (the built-in apps can't feel like Lite versions of something better). You'd be right to note that many of those limitations apply to the iPad as well, but no one could mistake iOS for OS X the way RT apes Windows 8. And even if it's a plight common to tablets, Microsoft—for better or worse—has hyped Surface RT as being so much more.

In the end though, this is nothing more than Microsoft's tablet. And a buggy, at times broken one, at that, whose "ecosystem" feels more like a tundra. There's no Twitter or Facebook app, and the most popular 3rd party client breaks often. The Kindle app is completely unusable. There's no image editing software. A People app is supposed to give you all the social media access you'd ever need, but It's impossible to write on someone's Facebook wall through the People app, Surface's social hub; the only workaround is to load Internet Explorer. Blech. Something as simple as loading a video requires a jumbled process of USB importing, dipping in and out of the stripped-down desktop mode, opening a Video app, importing, going back into the Video app, and then playing. What.

The app selection, overall, is worse than the already pathetic Windows Phone app fare, looking like the software equivalent to a barren Soviet grocery store. The difference is that Windows Phone, used in quick, informative bursts, skates by on the strength of its excellent with integrated features. At the moment, there's just not that much to do with Microsoft's über-tablet. Surface is weak because Windows RT is weak; a tepid tablet OS pretending to be a computer's.

You can do work, yes. But productivity is limited to a "preview" (beta) version of Microsoft Office. It also hurts that Office requires plunging into Windows RT's Desktop mode, where users of actual Windows 8 are able to install a decade's worth of legacy software. Normally, this would compensate. But RT users can't install any of this older software. None of it. Desktop mode is entirely worthless in RT, a cruel tease of non-functionality. It'll only remind you of how much you can't do with your Surface, and is going to confuse the living hell out of most people who buy one—especially when Surface Pro, built on x86 architecture and perfectly compatible with all of those legacy programs, steps in a few months from now.

I pity Microsoft's retail staff.

http://gizmodo.com/5953866/microsoft...cal-heartbreak

Wired -

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Yes, you can use it as your only computer. I would never have made that claim about an iPad or Android tablet. But if you only need to live in Microsoft Office and the web and e-mail, and use your computer for media consumption, you’ll do great with this. I used it as my primary computer for several days. There were applications I missed, and I would never want it to be my only computer (the keyboard and screen are just too small) but it worked. I was fine.

This is a great device. 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. And once the application ecosystem fleshes out, it’s a viable alternative to the iPad as well.

WIRED Fast to charge, slow to die. Amazingly fluid gesture-driven interface. Kickstand + Type Cover + Office applications mean it can pull double duty as a functional laptop. Type Cover is the phattest skinny thing since Mike D. OMG, a USB port on a tablet! I’m totally charging up my iPhone with this thing.

TIRED Programs can be slow to load. No 3G or LTE? But I want my internet everywhere! If anything, Type Cover is too sensitive. You’ll find a better selection of apps at your local TGI Friday’s.

http://www.wired.com/reviews/2012/10...t-surface/all/

manwhore

So they are mixed. I'm not going to read all of that..

Maiko

This is what I thought the moment I heard what Windows RT was. They need to open it up because the machine has the power to do so.

RastaMentality

Quote:

Originally posted by man*****

So they are mixed. I'm not going to read all of that..

The general consensus is that the hardware is great but the software is buggy + the app selection is worse than WP right now + needs a lot of improving. 2 reviewers said there's no use to buy it and to maybe wait for the Pro. A lot of them are saying that it doesn't pull off hybrid well + that you basically have to get the keyboard to use it because its shaped too weird to use the on screen one.

RastaMentality

Quote:

Originally posted by mrmaiko

This is what I thought the moment I heard what Windows RT was. They need to open it up because the machine has the power to do so.

That's what the Surface Pro is for... This is the one they're trying to sell for the holidays.

Maiko

Quote:

Originally posted by RastaMentality

That's what the Surface Pro is for... This is the one they're trying to sell for the holidays.

Yeah I know but it brings me back to say... releasing a Deluxe edition of the album with better songs than what is on the base album. The base album will get all the mediocre reviews and people may miss the goodness that is the deluxe editon. Well sheit! Did I just describe IASF?

Anyways, I'm still getting it either way.

vuelve88

I finally understand what Windows RT is.

ABEL-o-matic

I think people are still ignorant about the apps ecosystem. I mean it hasn't been released yet, and Ballmer stated that there will be 100k apps by this Friday.

As as for the slugging IE youtube performance, they should really wait until a Chrome, or a Firefox app is available. Some are just too biased. The only one I find very credible is from Engadget.

vuelve88

Quote:

Originally posted by mrmaiko

Anyways, I'm still getting it either way.

But if you get an iPad, you will be cool.

RastaMentality

Quote:

Originally posted by ABEL-o-matic

I think people are still ignorant about the apps ecosystem. I mean it hasn't been released yet, and Ballmer stated that there will be 100k apps by this Friday.

As as for the slugging IE youtube performance, they should really wait until a Chrome, or a Firefox app is available. Some are just too biased. The only one I find very credible is from Engadget.

He didn't say there'd be 100k apps. He said he HOPED there were 100k apps for Windows 8 (not RT) by the first 90 days. They also hope for 400m windows devices.

100k apps =/= the ones that people like on other OSes. I don't expect the App Store to take off until prolly 6 months and even then they'll be behind because that's after the holidays.

ABEL-o-matic

Quote:

Originally posted by RastaMentality

He didn't say there'd be 100k apps. He said he HOPED there were 100k apps for Windows 8 (not RT) by the first 90 days. They also hope for 400m windows devices.

100k apps =/= the ones that people like on other OSes. I don't expect the App Store to take off until prolly 6 months and even then they'll be behind because that's after the holidays.

I guess. I still think that The Verge review is very biased because it kept focusing on what's not in there rather than what it has to offer. He didn't even mention the hidden MicroSD slot, or the functionality of the ports and such. I think he reviewed this based on everything that is wrong rather than spend more time with everything else.

h.u.r.r.i.c.a.n.e

It seems like most of the issues are software based - give it a few months and a few updates and optimizations, along with more apps arriving in the store, and I think Microsoft will have a very nice tablet. Sad they couldn't get off to a great start though.

Quote:

Originally posted by ABEL-o-matic

I guess. I still think that The Verge review is very biased because it kept focusing on what's not in there rather than what it has to offer. He didn't even mention the hidden MicroSD slot, or the functionality of the ports and such. I think he reviewed this based on everything that is wrong rather than spend more time with everything else.

The Giz review was the most biased.

He didn't say anything about the added functionality compared to something like an iPad or an Android, he didn't mention how smooth the software was; all he could do was blast the mail app. I mean, the mail apps on iPad do far less.

ABEL-o-matic

Quote:

Originally posted by h.u.r.r.i.c.a.n.e

It seems like most of the issues are software based - give it a few months and a few updates and optimizations, along with more apps arriving in the store, and I think Microsoft will have a very nice tablet. Sad they couldn't get off to a great start though.

The Giz review was the most biased.

He didn't say anything about the added functionality compared to something like an iPad or an Android, he didn't mention how smooth the software was; all he could do was blast the mail app. I mean, the mail apps on iPad do far less.

Chhhh;;; I think some of the reviews are too presumptuous about a tablet that's NOT even released. I swear Youtube reviews from real users are what counts more than these stupid blogs and what not.

Kudos to Engadget for giving an unbiased review.

RastaMentality

Quote:

Originally posted by h.u.r.r.i.c.a.n.e

It seems like most of the issues are software based - give it a few months and a few updates and optimizations, along with more apps arriving in the store, and I think Microsoft will have a very nice tablet. Sad they couldn't get off to a great start though.

The Giz review was the most biased.

He didn't say anything about the added functionality compared to something like an iPad or an Android, he didn't mention how smooth the software was; all he could do was blast the mail app. I mean, the mail apps on iPad do far less.

A mail app can do more but still be ******

Josh said a lot of the apps crashed for him a lot. Not sure how that's biased tbh. He's just stating an experience just like any of y'all would.

An average of all the reviews:

ABEL-o-matic

7.4 For a 1st gen device is amazing, I must say.

Maiko

Quote:

Originally posted by vuelve88

But if you get an iPad, you will be cool.

Already have that