Microsoft Surface review embargo lifted! Verge gives it a 7!

[leukotriene]

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/3540550/microsoft-surface-review

Looks like a very exciting first gen! I'm definitely dying to try this thing out in person. Probably wont buy it this year though. But very good for competition, the OS seems really cool.

 

[Technarchy]

Every review I've read, about 6 in total, have validated every concern I had about the Surface.

 

[3bs]

Every review I've read, about 6 in total, have validated every concern I had about the Surface.

Which are?

So you're not getting it?

 

[DingleButt]

In its current state it deserves a 7-7.5 probably. Thats also because its early on in the game. Giz gave it a 2/5 which is ridiculous, mostly because "its not a laptop". Others gave it 3.5-4/5.
Microsoft def has some work to do increasing performance and getting developers on board with proper app designs and such. Nothing that cant happen with some time.

Ill be holding off for now and gauging this vs. Pro vs. other Win8 convertibles as they develop.

 

[zbarvian]

Yeah there are definitely some lingering concerns. It's such a first-gen product, and Microsoft needs to vigorously try to fix the problems plaguing it in its current state.

 

[Technarchy]

The reviews I've read so far. All point to a product that needs work, but has the tools to be a contender. That's good, because lord knows the iPad is Mike Tyson in his prime, and everything put in front of it gets demolished.

Apple could use some actual competition for no reason other than keeping them hungry.

http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/microsoft-surface-rt/4505-3126_7-35332494.html

http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface-rt-review/

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/3540550/microsoft-surface-review

http://gizmodo.com/5953866/microsoft-surface-rt-review-this-is-technological-heartbreak

http://bgr.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface-review-a-tale-of-two-tablets/

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface-rt-review/

 

[waa1futs]

The reviews I've read so far. All point to a product that needs work, but has the tools to be a contender. That's good, because lord knows the iPad is Mike Tyson in his prime, and everything put in front of it gets demolished.

Apple could use some actual competition for no reason other than keeping them hungry.

http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/microsoft-surface-rt/4505-3126_7-35332494.html

http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface-rt-review/

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/3540550/microsoft-surface-review

http://gizmodo.com/5953866/microsoft-surface-rt-review-this-is-technological-heartbreak

http://bgr.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface-review-a-tale-of-two-tablets/

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface-rt-review/

Thank you technarchy for finding and posting these all in one spot.

EDIT: Digesting Anandtech's review below, he is the one I trust the most over any of the above websites.

 

[robanga]

Let's hope that there continues to be competition. I might buy one to play with it.

 

[TSE]

Gizmodo can really kiss my ass. Terrible tech site, terrible reviews, awful columns. They just don't get it. The Surface isn't a laptop. It is a tablet with an OS UI that will be shared among laptops, a great keyboard and occasional touchpad use if you prefer that.

Looks like a great device. I think Microsoft should have probably either included the keyboard or have the price of every model 100 dollars cheaper, but in my opinion this sure beats Android tablets.

 

[edvj]

The reviews I've read so far. All point to a product that needs work, but has the tools to be a contender. That's good, because lord knows the iPad is Mike Tyson in his prime, and everything put in front of it gets demolished.

Apple could use some actual competition for no reason other than keeping them hungry.

http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/microsoft-surface-rt/4505-3126_7-35332494.html

http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface-rt-review/

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/3540550/microsoft-surface-review

http://gizmodo.com/5953866/microsoft-surface-rt-review-this-is-technological-heartbreak

http://bgr.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface-review-a-tale-of-two-tablets/

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface-rt-review/

You forgot the most unbiased website when it comes to reviews AnandTech
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6385/microsoft-surface-review

 

[Technarchy]

You forgot the most unbiased website when it comes to reviews AnandTech
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6385/microsoft-surface-review

I agree. They are the most credible reviews.

 

[Renzatic]

The reviews pretty much tell me what I expected the Surface to be: a well built device that's pretty alright now, but is likely to be spectacular in about a year or so.

Lets hope MS gives this the TLC it needs.

 

[MRU]

That's good, because lord knows the iPad is Mike Tyson in his prime, and everything put in front of it gets demolished.

Good analogy because I'm sure a lot if 3rd gen iPad users feel like he's just bitten their ear off right now too (iPad 4th gen)

The verge video review is very good, it validates my concerns about RT and the performance you could see on the tablet was clearly not the greatest at this point, but I think most of my concerns will be addressed by Surface Pro.

Though I still don't think the desktop environment is suited well for touch, and with a higher res on the pro (1920x1080) hitting some of the smaller buttons / interface elements may be tricky with fingers. But it will at least come with a stylus so that could help there.

Definetly a revision 1 machine, but competition is good around (even if it did give apple a knee jerk reaction releasing iPad 4 pissing off half of its 3rd gen user base) alongside the forthcoming google announcements at the end of the week.

 

[Renzatic]

Definetly a revision 1 machine, but competition is good around (even if it did give apple a knee jerk reaction releasing iPad 4 pissing off half of its 3rd gen user base) alongside the forthcoming google announcements at the end of the week.

I think they did this just to get the iPad in sync with the iPhone. After all, the iPad is supposed to be the bigger, faster, more capable iPhone. It doesn't make sense for it to be running on previous gen hardware 6 months out of the year. From here on out, I bet we'll see all the iDevices get new releases at the same keynotes.

As for it pissing everyone off...why? I've got an iPad 3, and it's true that I no longer have the latest and greatest, but you know what? I'm not too bothered by it. My iPad didn't suddenly start hanging all the time and breaking down on me after they announced the 4. It's still as nice and speed as it's always been.

...cept the home button is getting a little flaky.

 

[Vizin]

.

 

[Faux Carnival]

Well, the hardware is easily a 9/10. The only problem is MAYBE the display. And I think they did this on purpose in order to leave something to improve. I think next year they will introduce proper dpi scaling in Windows 9 and we'll see high resolution displays. Anyway, there is little to improve in hardware side.

However, on the software side things are yet to start. Current problems: Some bugginess, lack of apps, quality of existing apps, the Desktop/Metro UI confusion... All this will be sorted out in a year. 1.5 years tops. I think the Surface is a great first generation device.

 

[Renzatic]

I dunno. Lifehacker is pretty decent. Even if they are kinda annoying about calling handy hints and tips "hacks" like a bunch of cheesy bastards.

 

[Technarchy]

Good analogy because I'm sure a lot if 3rd gen iPad users feel like he's just bitten their ear off right now too (iPad 4th gen)

The verge video review is very good, it validates my concerns about RT and the performance you could see on the tablet was clearly not the greatest at this point, but I think most of my concerns will be addressed by Surface Pro.

Though I still don't think the desktop environment is suited well for touch, and with a higher res on the pro (1920x1080) hitting some of the smaller buttons / interface elements may be tricky with fingers. But it will at least come with a stylus so that could help there.

Definetly a revision 1 machine, but competition is good around (even if it did give apple a knee jerk reaction releasing iPad 4 pissing off half of its 3rd gen user base) alongside the forthcoming google announcements at the end of the week.

I fully admit to being surprised Apple did a iPad gen4 refresh so quickly, but truth be told, I'm somewhat indifferent, and will be sitting out upgrading till 2013.

What I'm more psyched about is gen5 because odds are it will have a lot in common with the iPad Mini, which is an absolutely stunning looking device.

I attribute the change to Apple wanting 30pin phased out quickly, and to get more global LTE support.

 

[daveathall]

I fully admit to being surprised Apple did a iPad gen4 refresh so quickly, but truth be told, I'm somewhat indifferent, and will be sitting out upgrading till 2013.

What I'm more psyched about is gen5 because odds are it will have a lot in common with the iPad Mini, which is an absolutely stunning looking device.

I attribute the change to Apple wanting 30pin phased out quickly, and to get more global LTE support.

I too was surprised by the refresh, I must admit that I was just expecting the connector to be changed. I agree, the iPad mini is a stunner, I'm very tempted to put myself down for a pre order when it arrives, my only concern is that it may get refreshed in March with the normal iPad cycle, having said that, I'm not so sure that (for my old eyes) a retina display will be that noticeable on a smaller machine, hell, I still have a iPad 1 and think the display is great. If i wait, I maybe becoming a higher spec whore.

 

[NewbieCanada]

The reviews pretty much tell me what I expected the Surface to be: a well built device that's pretty alright now, but is likely to be spectacular in about a year or so.

Lets hope MS gives this the TLC it needs.

I haven't read the reviews yet, but going on your summary and the others in this thread, I have a question - is "pretty all right" good enough to survive a year to become spectacular?

They're the upstart competition in a field where Apple is on generation 3.5 and dominates the market. Some would say that to have a chance they had to blow the iPad away in the first generation and it seems from the summaries of the reviews they haven't done that.

 

[Renzatic]

They don't have to blow the doors off the iPad to be a success. There was really no way the Surface could be an iPad killer right out the gate anyway. MS is going through their weird transitional phase with the OS, slowly moving towards their idea of what a tablet is. They're still bringing their ecosystem together. Their app store is still a brand new thing. Like you said, they're an upstart in a (somewhat) established market. For them to at least attempt to match Apple on every front, they have to have a product out to build support both from customers and developers.

All MS has to do is release a good product that'll gain them some attention, and go from there. As far as that goes, they've done a good job. From what I've seen and read, the Surface looks like an excellent piece of hardware supported by some solid, but rough around the edges software. As long as it doesn't fall flat on its face in the market and gains a goodly bit of developer support pretty quickly, they could very well one day produce something that could be considered an iPad killer. Or at least a good even match.

The potential's there. We just gotta wait and see what MS does with it.

 

[ChazUK]

Windows Phone 7 hardware and OS got similar treatment at launch didn't it? High (enough) scores but not enough to dent into Android or iOS in a significant way.

Hopefully Windows 8 RT (and WP8) won't suffer the same fate as WP7.

 

[MRU]

As for it pissing everyone off...why?

I didn't say everyone, I said a lot I'd actually already decided that I was going to bestow my iPad 3 on my relatives and buy an iPad Mini anyway, so for me its not a big deal, but I was still surprised regardless.

I'm then as I've said in previous posts tempted to get a Surface Pro or whatever the future holds.....

I do hope that the 6 month cycle is not indicative of how Apple plan to go forward though, and that perhaps they have just moved to an October timeframe for future iPad & iPod releases, so they can as you say base the new hardware on the current phone...

 

[Dontazemebro]

Every review I've read, about 6 in total, have validated every concern I had about the Surface.

What really bugs me is that you can only use 5 worthwhile apps in desktop mode (Office suite & Desktop IE).

I've been fiddling with the latest RTM on my lappy and Win 8 has been quite the disappointment.

 

[Technarchy]

What really bugs me is that you can only use 5 worthwhile apps in desktop mode (Office suite & Desktop IE).

I've been fiddling with the latest RTM on my lappy and Win 8 has been quite the disappointment.

There shouldn't be a "desktop" mode at all. It's a recipe for disaster that will leave users completely bewildered.

I think Wired said it best: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2012/10/microsoft-surface/

Which makes it curious that there is a Desktop mode at all (which there is!). What is it there for? There are a handful of system applications and a suite of Office apps. But otherwise, it seems like it’s just going to cause confusion. The old Windows desktop is a very odd interface element on this device. I think Microsoft should have cleanly pulled the band-aid off and ditched the desktop metaphor altogether. Leave that for desktop computers.