Tablets Any Surface RT Owners ... Comments vs iPad?

[zhenya]

Tried out an Asus RT tablet at Best Buy this morning. To go right in hand with my last Windows 8 tablet experience, this example would not open IE. I rebooted, and IE would now open but it was no longer connected to the wifi access point. The sales guy and I spent several minutes trying to get it connected again to no avail. He admitted that the Windows tablets were having a lot of issues like this.

If MS can't get this stuff sorted out quick, their tablet dreams are going to die a quick death. The iPad 2 and 3 on display next to this were absolutely trashed from heavy use, but their software was working flawlessly.

 

[DingleButt]

Tried out an Asus RT tablet at Best Buy this morning. To go right in hand with my last Windows 8 tablet experience, this example would not open IE. I rebooted, and IE would now open but it was no longer connected to the wifi access point. The sales guy and I spent several minutes trying to get it connected again to no avail. He admitted that the Windows tablets were having a lot of issues like this.

If MS can't get this stuff sorted out quick, their tablet dreams are going to die a quick death. The iPad 2 and 3 on display next to this were absolutely trashed from heavy use, but their software was working flawlessly.

Haha, think about why all the computers might have internet connectivity issues in that location over 2 OS's (RT and 8) at least. Sound like an access point issue? I believe the IE crashing. Ive seen that on my own Win8 computer.

A few of the computers at my BestBuy were trying to connect to the wrong WiFi point until I pointed them to the right point.

 

[zhenya]

Haha, think about why all the computers might have internet connectivity issues in that location over 2 OS's (RT and 8) at least. Sound like an access point issue? I believe the IE crashing. Ive seen that on my own Win8 computer.

A few of the computers at my BestBuy were trying to connect to the wrong WiFi point until I pointed them to the right point.

??

There were a dozen tablets on display there. I tried ~5-6 of them. The Microsoft one was the only one that had issues.

Excuses don't sell products.

 

[DingleButt]

??

There were a dozen tablets on display there. I tried ~5-6 of them. The Microsoft one was the only one that had issues.

Excuses don't sell products.

The comment was aimed at the expression about how all the Windows computers were having issues. You really think Windows 8/RT both have some huge bug disallowing WiFi or something?

 

[zhenya]

The comment was aimed at the expression about how all the Windows computers were having issues. You really think Windows 8/RT both have some huge bug disallowing WiFi or something?

My examples were at two different stores 5 days apart. There was only one Windows tablet at BB today, and it was the only one having trouble. The trouble I had with the other Samsung tablet has been covered here. The 'issues' the sales guy was referring to was not specifically in reference to the wifi, but to that and the fact that we had to reboot it. They are having more issues than the competition they are surrounded by.

 

[spinedoc77]

My examples were at two different stores 5 days apart. There was only one Windows tablet at BB today, and it was the only one having trouble. The trouble I had with the other Samsung tablet has been covered here. The 'issues' the sales guy was referring to was not specifically in reference to the wifi, but to that and the fact that we had to reboot it. They are having more issues than the competition they are surrounded by.

I'll still take windows on my iPad sized tablet ANY day of the week. Seriously, my ipads over the years have had their share of issues. My ipad3 loads web pages very slowly, makes me want to tear my hair out, it also only intermittently connects to wifi and drops wifi a lot after installing ios6 on it, sometimes it just exits out of a program randomly, and if I open more than 3 or 4 tabs on the internet it's a crapshoot whether it will close or stay open. The well known cure for the well known wifi problem is to forget the network and re-enter it, or is it to reboot, or is it to set HTTP Proxy to auto? There ain't no cure for the slow web page loading other than spending $829 and getting an ipad4.

I get what you are saying, Apple is the darling, people overlook there stuff and make excuses for them left and right. Microsoft doesn't have that same luxury, they will be held to a higher standard as any non Apple company is. I think Windows Pro runs pretty darn great, not perfect but so far I've had about the same degree of error as I've had with my ipad on a daily basis, little nitpickings that aren't a big deal. I think consumers will end up seeing how nice a real OS is. I already can't stand to use my ipad after having a Win Pro tablet, and I used to LOVE my ipad like there was no tomorrow. Sold my ipad3 today and am keeping the wifes ipad2 for the baby, lol since everyone on here tells me iOS is superior because even a baby can use it.

 

[SeanR1]

The Surface has no apps. .

Really? Not one single app? I hope they get 2300 fart apps soon so I can consider it.

 

[cynics]

I'll still take windows on my iPad sized tablet ANY day of the week. Seriously, my ipads over the years have had their share of issues. My ipad3 loads web pages very slowly, makes me want to tear my hair out, it also only intermittently connects to wifi and drops wifi a lot after installing ios6 on it, sometimes it just exits out of a program randomly, and if I open more than 3 or 4 tabs on the internet it's a crapshoot whether it will close or stay open. The well known cure for the well known wifi problem is to forget the network and re-enter it, or is it to reboot, or is it to set HTTP Proxy to auto? There ain't no cure for the slow web page loading other than spending $829 and getting an ipad4.

I get what you are saying, Apple is the darling, people overlook there stuff and make excuses for them left and right. Microsoft doesn't have that same luxury, they will be held to a higher standard as any non Apple company is. I think Windows Pro runs pretty darn great, not perfect but so far I've had about the same degree of error as I've had with my ipad on a daily basis, little nitpickings that aren't a big deal. I think consumers will end up seeing how nice a real OS is. I already can't stand to use my ipad after having a Win Pro tablet, and I used to LOVE my ipad like there was no tomorrow. Sold my ipad3 today and am keeping the wifes ipad2 for the baby, lol since everyone on here tells me iOS is superior because even a baby can use it.

I agree. Browsing the web with multiple tabs open is a questionable experience on my iPad 3. However my Xoom will do the same thing sometimes. I don't usually bring that up because I have had the same experience on both so it cancels each other out. It's strange because it does it with any browser I use too.

I haven't had the luxury of using an N7 or MS tab so hopefully it's better. I plan on getting an N10 (after I see more reviews) and this will be one of the first things I check.

 

[jmgregory1]

I'll still take windows on my iPad sized tablet ANY day of the week. Seriously, my ipads over the years have had their share of issues. My ipad3 loads web pages very slowly, makes me want to tear my hair out, it also only intermittently connects to wifi and drops wifi a lot after installing ios6 on it, sometimes it just exits out of a program randomly, and if I open more than 3 or 4 tabs on the internet it's a crapshoot whether it will close or stay open. The well known cure for the well known wifi problem is to forget the network and re-enter it, or is it to reboot, or is it to set HTTP Proxy to auto? There ain't no cure for the slow web page loading other than spending $829 and getting an ipad4.

I get what you are saying, Apple is the darling, people overlook there stuff and make excuses for them left and right. Microsoft doesn't have that same luxury, they will be held to a higher standard as any non Apple company is. I think Windows Pro runs pretty darn great, not perfect but so far I've had about the same degree of error as I've had with my ipad on a daily basis, little nitpickings that aren't a big deal. I think consumers will end up seeing how nice a real OS is. I already can't stand to use my ipad after having a Win Pro tablet, and I used to LOVE my ipad like there was no tomorrow. Sold my ipad3 today and am keeping the wifes ipad2 for the baby, lol since everyone on here tells me iOS is superior because even a baby can use it.

So which is it? First you say the iPad is so bad in loading web pages (with multiple tabs open) that you sold your iPad. Then you say the Windows tablet runs pretty darn great, not perfect but so far the same degree of error as the iPad, little nitpickings that aren't a big deal.

And what exactly, as I've asked before, is it that makes MS OS better to have on your tablet than a tablet OS?

I haven't asked, but do you work for Microsoft or a Microsoft affiliate?

 

[spinedoc77]

So which is it? First you say the iPad is so bad in loading web pages (with multiple tabs open) that you sold your iPad. Then you say the Windows tablet runs pretty darn great, not perfect but so far the same degree of error as the iPad, little nitpickings that aren't a big deal.

And what exactly, as I've asked before, is it that makes MS OS better to have on your tablet than a tablet OS?

I haven't asked, but do you work for Microsoft or a Microsoft affiliate?

If you want to be specific my Windows tablet can load pages faster, keep more tabs open without freezing or crashing, etc than my ipad 3 could.

As for MS OS, I think I've answered that about a million times. If you want to be specific Office until next spring, but who knows how watered down it will be for iOS/Android, Photoshop, my wife also has some print/graphics software she refuses to let go which is windows/Mac only, I also have a lot of windows only medical programs which I need to run, some of my authoring programs, I can go on. Just last week my wife finished her 90 day business action plan on my tablet using powerpoint and adobe PDF editor, she was amazed that she could work for hours as a laptop, then when she was tired she undocked it and sat in bed continuing her work on her presentation, something that she would never have achieved with her ipad, or even her 11" macbook air.

For me the true advantage is not having to put up with a tablet that has a different OS, different programs, different requirements than the ecosystem I've grown accustomed to and rely on for the past 20 years, that I think is extremely powerful and it will be surprising just how many consumers have stomached iOS, or have just waited in the wings for windows (or OSx) to truly come to a tablet, a real tablet with the form factor of the ipad, all day battery life, etc.

And no, I don't have any relationship with Microsoft at all except enjoying their products for the past 20+ years. I've also highly enjoyed Apple products and Google products as well. I want to make it clear again that there are consumers for all these companies, I don't think the ipad is going away any time soon and it will continue to be immensely popular, especially for the fashion conscious crowd who only wants simple media consumption and maybe hasn't made the connection or cares that the windows tablets can also function just as well as simple media consumption devices.

 

[Renzatic]

Eh, I disagree about RT's going away. It's MS' "average consumer" tablet. The cheap, but still potentially nice alternative to the higher priced, heavier tablets most of us here are gunning for. It's for people who don't need all the power the x86 platform provides. They just want something to write emails, check out Facebook, and do light productivity work on, much like the iPad.

You can argue this market isn't exactly Microsoft's forte, but it's still large enough and lucrative enough for them to risk an attempt at it.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Be careful with the "It can do a lot more than the iPad can" line. That has been said about Android for forever and I couldn't find anything my N7 could do that my iPad couldn't.

Then you don't know how to use you Nexus 7 then.

 

[jrswizzle]

Then you don't know how to use you Nexus 7 then.

Lol I figured that and asked people to show me - couldn't come up with anything. Granted I'm not one for tinkering/rooting. Or jailbreaking for that matter.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Lol I figured that and asked people to show me - couldn't come up with anything. Granted I'm not one for tinkering/rooting. Or jailbreaking for that matter.

I wasn't meaning that in an offensive way. I'm just suggesting you haven't fully explored all the stuff that Android can do, or that you haven't taken the time to critically analyse the differences.

And I also wasn't talking about stuff which needs the device to be rooted.

Perhaps for your usage pattern there is no functional difference but as someone who has used both iOS and Android extensively, there is a lot you can do on Android which you do not have access (by Apple) to do on iOS.

 

[Rodster]

I went today to a Best Buy store looking specifically for a Mini. I came across an ASUS 600T running Windows 8 RT and boy I came away impressed. I have read that RT seems to chug on MS Surface tablets.

On the 600T it was liquid smooth scrolling just like on the iPad. I loved the ability to jump between Metro (forgot what they are calling it now) and desktop mode. The live tiles looked sweet. Having MS Office on the tablet was an added bonus but i'm not paying $600 for the tablet.

 

[NewAnger]

My local news, channel 9 here in Denver just told people to hold off on buying the Surface. They said that if sales don't go as expected, there will be huge discounts in the spring.

Yes, they really did say to hold off.

 

[derekamoss]

Ok.... So I have been apple user since 2000 and have been apple loyal since then. The only Microsoft product I have used during that time was Office for mac and windows xp when I was in the Navy. I was admin so I had to use it all day and couldn't stand it so when we got a new person in and there weren't enough pc's for everyone I came up with the suggestion of letting me work on my MacBook pro and use a usb drive to switch and put it on the ships network. Couldn't do everything but it worked. So saying that, I have had an iPhone since they came out and have used it only, except for when I smashed it and had to use an old flip phone, yikes thT was nuts, until I replaced it. I have also had a 1st and 3rd gem iPad and loved them but I recently bought an Asus Vivo tab Rt and I have to say Win 8 on a tablet is really really good. Desktop, not so much. I don't even use my ipads anymore. On a tablet the start menu works a lot better. Iim not saying its better, but I do enjoy more and, with the do k keyboard it adds another 7hrs of battery life and makes it just like a laptop keyboard so I can use office et with is freaking awesome.

 

[iHailCarlo]

This thing is DOA, no apps, lack of significant storage, battling an established iOS and Android in the tablet market. MS should have re-thought this before releasing such a crappy product.

You want a tablet get an iPad, you want a great netbook get a MacBook Air. Dont waste your time and money on this joke.

 

[OSMac]

Asus has out now a new VivoTab Smart tablet.

It's the same size as the Rt version, same battery life, and fanless too,
but it runs full Windows 8 plus new metro apps on a Intel CloverTrail CPU, it's priced at $499 .

How can RT survive?

 

[j_maddison]

Asus has out now a new VivoTab Smart tablet.

It's the same size as the Rt version, but it runs full Windows 8 on a Intel CloverTrail CPU, it's priced at $499 .

How can RT survive?

I think that's an excellent point. RT is a tablet that has the advantage of Office...... but in reality it's just a normal word processor and a normal spreadsheet app and there's no Outlook.

Without apps, and without it being any good for the Business world, I'm failing to see the point of RT. Initially I was very excited, and almost ordered one for work, I'm very glad I didn't now.

The flip side with Surface pro is, there's no push functionality when it's in sleep mode (or what ever MS are calling sleep). Without that I'm just better off carrying an iPad and a MacBook Air around with me.

What I'd like to see is what Ubuntu are looking into at the moment, a mobile OS that turns into a full fledged Desktop OS when it's plugged into an external monitor. That for me at least, has some milage.

 

[TheHateMachine]

The flip side with Surface pro is, there's no push functionality when it's in sleep mode (or what ever MS are calling sleep). Without that I'm just better off carrying an iPad and a MacBook Air around with me.

I think Smart Connect gets around this. It regularly takes the device out of deep sleep to sync but it technically still stays in sleep mode. After it is done it goes right back into full sleep. The only requirement is of course an Intel proc, Intel network adapter and a SSD. Obviously the Pro has the proc and SSD down but I do not know who makes the wireless adapter for it.

 

[OSMac]

Tried the Asus Smart Intel based tablet...
Very nice , lightweight device.
Having the full windows 8 desktop was only limited by touch.

It might be better if there was an option for a pointer in desktop mode and the screen acted as a trackpad.

Having tried a couple Win 8 devices I'm finding I prefer a traditional laptop or tower with the familar Windows 7 desktop for when desktop programs are needed, otherwise the iPad is the one getting most use.

 

[j_maddison]

I think Smart Connect gets around this. It regularly takes the device out of deep sleep to sync but it technically still stays in sleep mode. After it is done it goes right back into full sleep. The only requirement is of course an Intel proc, Intel network adapter and a SSD. Obviously the Pro has the proc and SSD down but I do not know who makes the wireless adapter for it.

Appreciate the heads up and advice. That might prove useful, thank you.

 

[TheHateMachine]

Appreciate the heads up and advice. That might prove useful, thank you.

Apple uses it on their laptops, its a fairly nice feature. Intel has some game!