No 16GB Microsoft Surface: Windows RT with Office is nearly 12x Larger Than iOS

[dgstorm]

The Microsoft Surface is already up for pre-order and prices are in line with those for the iPad starting at $499 for a 32GB model without the Touch Cover, that defines the Surface. You might argue that the Surface is actually a better deal because for the same kind of money you can only get a 16GB iPad. You’d be technically right, but to make the picture crystal clear, let’s also note that Windows 8 with Office would be nearly 12 times larger than iOS on the iPad.

Windows RT with Office and essential apps on the Surface takes up a whopping 12GB, according to members of Microsoft’s Surface team.

Answering a question about how much space Windows RT occupies, Ricardo Lopez, a test manager on the Microsoft Surface team said he had nearly 20 GB of free space with Windows RT, Office RT, and "a bunch of apps."

So while we can't exactly say how much Windows RT takes up, fact of the matter is that you should get around 20GB of free space. And that's not much more than the nearly 14GB of free memory on the 16GB iPad.

Continue Reading @: Here?s why there is no 16GB Microsoft Surface: Windows RT with Office is nearly 12x bigger than iOS

 

[J515OP]

Not much more? That is still nearly 50% more free space for the same price plus arguably a more functional OS and certainly a more functional office suite. It is just the way the game is played, storage space is given in the total size of the drive available regardless of the OS size. While it is a good thing to consider the size of the OS and it may come as a surprise in some cases, this is nothing new and PCs, tablets and phones all use the same method of reporting drive size while avoiding OS size.

It will be interesting to see what the actual OS size is when these start shipping.

Edit: Oh and let's not forget micorSDXC card support :tongue:

 

[TeknoBlast]

A 64Gb is more than enough space. I had a 64GB ZuneHD that I barely filled. I think I had about 30GB worth of music, pictures, and videos combined. I'm sure I'm going to use the same amount of space. As for the expansion slot, probably wont be using that for a long while.

 

[J515OP]

Well, it looks like this has been officially addressed. According to AnandTech, Windows RT takes up about 6.47GB and Office take up about 830MB totaling 7.3GB of used space out of the box. So really on a 32GB device you are getting about 24GB of usable space which isn't bad at all. Plus you always have the option of expanding that via the micro SD.

Source: AnandTech - Microsoft Surface Review (see just below the last picture).