Surface RT or Surface 2?
- Thread starter davehries
- Start date
Surface 2 is more "future-proof" than the Surface RT: faster CPU with better graphics (e.g. app gaming), two kickstand positions, better screen (if HD media matters to you).
Surface RT actually does have certain advantages... But $380 isn't that big a difference from $450; I'd cough up the extra for an S2. If we were comparing the Black Friday $200 deals against an S2, that'd be a harder choice if price matters.
Consider keyboard/cover costs as well, if your use case involves Office. First generation keyboards should be cheaper (secondhand too) and are compatible with second gen Surface, and vice versa.
Surface RT actually does have certain advantages... But $380 isn't that big a difference from $450; I'd cough up the extra for an S2. If we were comparing the Black Friday $200 deals against an S2, that'd be a harder choice if price matters.
Consider keyboard/cover costs as well, if your use case involves Office. First generation keyboards should be cheaper (secondhand too) and are compatible with second gen Surface, and vice versa.
Geez, the holiday bundle combos MS has up right now makes no sense to me.
Surface Free Cover Holiday Bundle
First generation Surface RT/Surface Pro only.
And then the requisite Type Cover 2s are basically backordered until the end of December... but these are full price.
And then your FREE Touch Cover is first gen, but I don't see the point in having two covers. Does anyone have both types of covers and uses both? Why?
Surface Free Cover Holiday Bundle
First generation Surface RT/Surface Pro only.
And then the requisite Type Cover 2s are basically backordered until the end of December... but these are full price.
And then your FREE Touch Cover is first gen, but I don't see the point in having two covers. Does anyone have both types of covers and uses both? Why?
Best Buy sells the Surface RT today for $200. I wanted to trade in my RT for a Surface 2 but they offered me only $130 which is less than half what I paid for it less than two months ago. Really sad. I will rather keep it and wait for the massive Surface 2 price drop that will eventually happen. Really sad because the Surface is a well built tablet that I really like.
Interesting. You say it's a well-built tablet that you "really like" but refuse to pay anywhere near full price for it. Gotcha.
The "big" 2nd generation price drops will happen next year around the fall, probably around this same time.
Everyone should know that trade-in programs never give as much as selling by yourself. eBay's Surface RT resales lately have been around the $280-ish mark.
muffin_man
New Member
ChemCat
New Member
Interesting. You say it's a well-built tablet that you "really like" but refuse to pay anywhere near full price for it. Gotcha.
This is actually a topic that I've been struggling with. I used to pay full price for apple stuff. Then when I moved to android I watched for sales. Now that I'm completely windows, I only pay a fraction of the prices. My nokia lumia 850 cost me $60. My surface cost me $200. My i7 desktop with 16gb ram clocked at 3.5 ghz cost me $300 to build. My i5 laptop clocked at 2.4 ghz cost me $250. I know cheap bastards like me drives the market to the ground. But I can't help myself.
The wear and tear on the mind and body that occurs when you camp out in the cold at a store, or worry about whether you found the best deal after hunting all over the Internet, is just not worth it. I get peace and comfort by going into a brick & mortor store such as Microsoft & speaking with a friendly & knowlogeable person (who obviously loves Surface computers as he or she has his personal Surface all tricked out with his own cover labels), and paying extra for a warranty that covers me accidentally dropping it into the river from my canoe or onto the sidewalk, etc. I say this a huge purchaser of items over the Internet. I hardly make it through a week without a delivery of something from Amazon. They really know how to market.
To answer you question by one who owns an RT, Surface Pro, & now a Surface 2 Pro 256gig, I would go with the Suface 2 & the cheapest Surface Touch cover for typing in a pinch but more important protection of your Surface. You can alway attach a cheap wireless USB full size keyboard for serious typing. I personally bought the new Surface Type keyboard and the bluetooth adapter for decent typing away from home & of course it offers good protection for the Surface. I think eventually Microsoft is going to see their error in pissing people off by selling the keyboard as an option. They will add around an extra $50 and sell the Surfaces with a keyboard cover with the Surface. Their other stupid marketing was to sell the Touch cover for only $10 less then the Type cover.
To answer you question by one who owns an RT, Surface Pro, & now a Surface 2 Pro 256gig, I would go with the Suface 2 & the cheapest Surface Touch cover for typing in a pinch but more important protection of your Surface. You can alway attach a cheap wireless USB full size keyboard for serious typing. I personally bought the new Surface Type keyboard and the bluetooth adapter for decent typing away from home & of course it offers good protection for the Surface. I think eventually Microsoft is going to see their error in pissing people off by selling the keyboard as an option. They will add around an extra $50 and sell the Surfaces with a keyboard cover with the Surface. Their other stupid marketing was to sell the Touch cover for only $10 less then the Type cover.
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That's not a problem. Seeking deals in itself is not at issue; I love finding deals too (though I'm not about to suffer the frustration of Black Friday physical shopping either). What I'm speaking to has to do with consumer psychology in microeconomics (every adult should be required to take Econ 101 in college, I firmly believe). One of those basic concepts is the fluid nature of pricing-to-value, supply-and-demand, and profit. I mock people who exhibit entitlement issues like they have the right to cheap products or deserve cheap products. There is a line between deal-shopping and believing something is not worth its retail price on its face. Seriously, why the hell do people pay $500-plus for an iPad that does so little?
Well, they believe it's worth $500-plus. I disagree. Simple economics dictates that if people continue to buy the matching official accessories at a higher markup, it makes sense to keep the pricing there. This is what Apple does. The fact of the matter is that from user reviews, people who do get the matching covers are very happy with them. Anyone who doesn't want to spend that much and feels "cheated" can certainly get cheaper 3rd party options, and that has nothing to do with the price-matched "value" assigned to the official covers by people who do buy them.
Microeconomics of "value" as I countered in a different thread:
It's not that your opinions about the pricing aren't valid; it's that they're irrelevant.
While you let that sink in, I'll explain with a question:
"Is an Audi too expensive?"
You will answer "yes," and you'd be wrong. Your correct answer should have been "I can't afford it." Once you figure out the difference, the microeconomics of price-profit-value-supply-demand should become clear: You have no product rights. You don't need it. You don't deserve it. The purchase is a privilege. What's outlandish to you is merely you whining that you can't afford something. Others who can afford it and value something enough to pay the price become part of the microeconomic cycle, because the price matches the value at that point. ....
Then consider this: What sort of fool buys an Audi and then comes to the Audi forums to complain that the prices are too high and they should lower them to get more market share? That's not how it works. The smart consumer buys or doesn't buy and moves on. It's up to the company to decide how to proceed on the macro scale.
End-users like us shouldn't be obsessed about this sort of thing, only with how a purchase is performing to our needs/expectations. Everything else is gravy.
Except that eBay shows all the Surface RT 32GB models that have been selling from Nov30-now sold in the $250-$400 range, average $300.
@OP: And back on topic. Surface 2 since the price difference isn't big enough to make the decision difficult, IMO. If interested in a matching keyboard cover, I don't recommend the Touch 1 if you type a fair bit, but you can find Type 1 covers on eBay for less than $100.
WillysJeepMan
Member
In my opinion, the Surface 2 for $450 is a better deal. As others have said, if you could get in on one of the doorbuster RT deals (under $200), then THAT would merit serious consideration.
In either case, I would highly recommend getting a Type Cover 2... they're terrific but expensive so factor that into your consideration. Also, if you want to do any stylus work, don't bother with the cheap styli with a rubber or foam tip, I have found that the Adonit Jot ($15 @ walmart.com) is an excellent choice and actually makes inking on the non-Pro Surfaces useful.
There is not going to be a massive Surface 2 price drop.
