Buy now or wait?

[Lina]

Hey everyone,

I hope this post is in the right section and sorry if it's a repeat that you've heard a few times, first time on the site!

I don't yet have a surface, I was all set to buy one (literally was just waiting for the magenta touch cover to come back in stock in the UK) but then I came across a couple of threads on this site discussing the slowness/sluggishness of the surface. A few of you have mentioned that with first gen models this is always the case, and if people want something more advanced they should wait for next gen.

Now this is my dilemma, my primary use for the surface RT will be to use on the go, for days when I'm out all day in meetings or travelling. I'm an online content writer so need a tablet that I can work/write and edit pics on, etc, that is also very slimline and portable, with exceptional battery power. I don't need a full laptop replacement. So the surface RT sounds perfect. However as I mentioned above, I am getting concerned about some of the topics raised, and was wondering if you would recommend waiting for the next gen, or should I just buy it now and hope there will be software updates? If you do advise for the next gen, do you have an idea how long a wait it might be?

Thanks.

 

[Agave Azul]

I ventured out this past saturday and headed for the MicroSoft Store here locally.
There were about 20 Surface Tablets to test out, hold, and operate.
After going over the Surface, I was generally happy with what I was experiencing.
The way the charge cord connects to the Tablet was precise yet not awkward.
The same went for the keypad; I actually liked the way MS developed this and I was happy on how it connected to their Surface.

Now, only a few things prevented me from taking one home :
1.
The finished surface area on the back of the Surface:
I expected to be more closely alike the competitiors.
I was seeking a more truly finished rear cover.
Maybe I get that it was the kickstand that kept the Surface the way it is delivered.
I was hoping more that it would be more smoothe to the feel.

2.
I was looking for more speed in the processor.
The Windows 8 desktop functionality was intriguing.
I wanted to play more with the windows tiles but I had to share what was be displayed.
I am sure once I got more familiar with the Windows 8, that I would be more satisfied.

More smoothe finished body lines and a faster processor would have had me taking it home.

I want one badly.
I am willing to wait it out for the next release.
I am sure then I will have what I am looking for from my friends at MicroSoft!!!

 

[Afy]

I guess fit and finish are a personal thing. I quite like mine.
Everyone one wants a faster processor which may be just around the corner. But that is a never ending story.

The surface is certainly not sluggish... its just that most apps need to connect to the internet to load. Seems to be something to do with the API.. which I guess will change over time. The apps are certainly no more sluggish than some on other platforms, or even desktop applications.

Lina, personally I feel you should pull the trigger and not look back. You will be happy with one.

 

[Rallicat]

I personally bought the Surface RT and have no regrets. Nothing that I have done so far has caused me concern when it comes to performance, although it is always possible that updates and patches could make the product faster, but for me, it is by no means 'slow'.

I bought mine primarily for personal use, but I've been taking it to work and using it to take notes at business meetings using OneNote (Metro app, although having the desktop version available is handy too!).

The Surface RT is unlikely to have the raw power and performance of the Surface Pro (or other Intel / AMD Windows 8 Tablets), but the price you pay for that is the Pro will be thicker, heavier (admittedly not by much) and not have anywhere near the same battery life. With the Surface RT I've been hugely impressed with the battery life - the thing just lasts all day. Period. You'd have to absolutely hammer the thing with gaming and media to get through the battery before you made it to your next charging point!

The only real reason to steer clear of the Surface RT (or other devices with an ARM processor) is if you absolutely /need/ to install your own desktop software. This is something I don't need - I have a desktop computer anyway, so with the surface I use it as a 'pure tablet' device, making use of Metro apps from the store, safe in the knowledge that if I need to fire up Microsoft Office, it'll be there for me - but for anything else desktop related, I look to my main PC. If you'd like a tablet where you can install your own desktop software though, then either wait for the Surface Pro, or evaluate some of the other Windows 8 Tablets that are already out there from HP, Dell, Asus etc - there's bound to be something for you!

 

[Lina]

Thanks for this guys. Great, I shall be purchasing. I don't need any desktop software as I read somewhere that it has photoshop lite, so as long as there's some sort of picture editor I'm fine! Just waiting for the magenta cover to come back in stock..

 

[mapexvenus]

Not sure what the others are experiencing, but my Surface certainly IS sluggish, buggy and shows every sign of a first-generation tablet device running a first-generation tablet OS. This is coming form someone who stood in line to buy the device. To make matters worse, customer service is terrible.

 

[archapacman]

The surface is a love and hate relationship.

When I first brought it, I was ecstatic.

Then the dual OS drove me nuts for the first 8 hours.

Within the next day I realized how much I love the dual OS ONCE you get use to it (Please learn all keyboard shortcuts).

Then I realized the limits of taking notes on Capacitive stylus and was again, thinking about a return.

I then figure how to optimize OneNote so that I can take good notes and sync them on cloud. I LOVE the device.

Now, within this week, I have met sluggish and buggy performance after my 14 day return policy. I was starting to hate the device again.

Just two days ago, I found out why: I had 3 desktop apps opened, 5 IE tabs opened, along with 5 Windows Store apps maxed open on the Surface. This not only caused SOOOO much lag, but bugs in each app. When I found out, I immediately learn the habit of swipe and close apps.

The surface is Microsoft try-hard product. I love what they are doing, but they need to adopt some Apple's iPad strategy:
1) If you are going to allow multi-task for up to 5 apps WITH desktop, please have at least 4 GB ram
2) If not, 5 apps are overkilled. I really only use about 3 apps at once. They also need to implement a "kill-all" app feature when you swipe left and right to see all the apps.

Now, after today's update, everything is fast, bugless, smooth... everything I have experienced plus more since the beginning!

I can't honestly say this is a perfect device, but by far, it is a damn good one if you put in some time to learn it. You don't need a laptop if you have a strong desktop and can remote at home if you need to bring it around your house.

 

[J515OP]

Just two days ago, I found out why: I had 3 desktop apps opened, 5 IE tabs opened, along with 5 Windows Store apps maxed open on the Surface. This not only caused SOOOO much lag, but bugs in each app. When I found out, I immediately learn the habit of swipe and close apps.

The surface is Microsoft try-hard product. I love what they are doing, but they need to adopt some Apple's iPad strategy:
1) If you are going to allow multi-task for up to 5 apps WITH desktop, please have at least 4 GB ram
2) If not, 5 apps are overkilled. I really only use about 3 apps at once. They also need to implement a "kill-all" app feature when you swipe left and right to see all the apps.

Ha! Try that with any other tablet Desktop apps? Sorry we don't do that. Multitasking to the extreme with multiple windows? Um nope not unless you are on the Surface. Obviously MS has some optimization to do with how the multitasking works to not bog down the system. Users have been asking for true multitasking that doesn't nanny what or how much they can have open.

MS delivered a true desktop experience in this sense. Just like a desktop you can open and open and open until you destroy system performance. Heck this is how reviews of PC performance are often conducted "I had three browsers with 25 tabs each, streaming music and movies and was using photoshop when the system started to lag."

That being said MS needs to keep in mind this is a tablet that is a portable device with limited processing and battery power and not a desktop. In this sense Android rules multitasking where you just open whatever you want and let the OS manage the resources. It did take them several versions of improvement on this ability beginning with Android 2.2 and improving it all the way through 4.0 with its recent apps button becoming one of the three primaries (replacing menu) because of its importance.

So it is going to be a trade off. Either more and better hardware which you can always overwhelm with user controlled multitasking (like on a PC) which will take up costs and bring down battery life or a system managed multitasking that intelligently handles the resources so that the user feels they have everything they need open without realizing the system is shutting apps down as necessary to maintain performance. It is a matter of opinion which is preferable for power users but for the mass tablet market there is only one solution. Hopefully MS is working on this as a down the line update (Service pack or whatever they will call it).

Until then power users should be mindful of their resources and the simple kill all addition suggested would go a long way to helping relieve the situation until MS can develop and deploy better solution. At least that is my 2 pennies on the subject.

JP