Microsoft Surface RT review
Updated: A piece of engineering brilliance, but can the Surface with Windows RT satisfy the needs of a business user?
Design brilliance
By now, you may well have seen Microsoft's ingenious workaround to combat the inevitable problem of a tablet versus a laptop: how do you keep the screen at a position where it can be viewed whilst you type or watch a movie?
In the Surface's case, the answer is a clever little kick stand built in such a way that it sits flush with the back. This puts the screen at a 100-degree angle to the keyboard, and when working on a desk or train table we found it an excellent compromise.
We do like the kickstand - but it requires a flat surface to be at its most useful
The design gets a little annoying when used on knees say on a train without the luxury of a table. Because it's inherently flexible, when you start typing the screen bobs back and forth, and the hard lines of the kick stand do dig into your legs a little. We'd also like a little more flexibility over the angle taller people may want it to be a bit flatter than it is, for example.
But we don't want to leave the impression that it's a poorly designed. It isn't. As a whole, we found typing on the Surface a massive improvement over rival tablets, and have already typed 10,000 words on it, so Microsoft has got something right.
We're tempted to say the screen is a benefit over previous-generation laptops as well, but this comes with more caveats.
At 10.6in, you'll certainly notice the difference if you're shifting away from a 13in, 14in or 15in laptop, even if a 1,366 x 768 resolution may be similar. The reason why it might be considered a benefit is the quality of the screen itself: it's brilliantly bright and the colour accuracy is as good as you'll find on a mobile device. Photos leap from the screen.
We're also pleased to see that Microsoft hasn't jettisoned connectivity for the sake of sleekness. On the right-hand side there's a USB 2 port, which we can almost guarantee you'll find yourself using at some point.
Theoretically, pretty much any device that works with Windows 7 should be supported by the Surface, and in the majority of our tests this proved true. Only two products provide unusable: a cheap HP all-in-one and an old Fujitsu scanner (see a full list of compatible products).
A micro-HDMI port could occasionally prove useful as well, especially as Microsoft is selling adapters for VGA and full HDMI connections. Plus, you can actually extend your desktop onto a second display; not an option with the iPad.
The final piece of design ingenuity we'll salute is hidden from view, but nevertheless handy: the fact that the Surface includes two MIMO aerials, helping to ensure excellent wireless performance in our tests. As you'd expect, it supports 802.11n, while Bluetooth 4 support is a bonus.
Defeating ransomware with unified security from WatchGuard
How SMBs can defend against the onslaught of ransomware attacks
Free downloadThe IT expert’s guide to AI and content management
How artificial intelligence and machine learning could be critical to your business
Free download
