So my review on the new Microsoft Surface…
Overall, I think the device is a great piece of technology for the end user to use in their everyday use as a portable tool for productivity, management, personal activities, and other daily concepts. The design of the Surface is really a great innovation and insight into future technology. With great sounding speakers, HD video, USB, headphone, and charging station ports, it’s really all you’d ever need for a tablet based device. I don’t quite understand why they still kept the desktop environment on such a tool, but I suppose it’s useful for things like the filesystem if Microsoft didn’t want to have to completely redesign that side of Windows RT. But it’s much harder to use and I would say, probably only useful if you’ve got something like a trackpad or a mouse, and even anything to type on if you’ve ordered the touchpad or the mouse with your device.
Performance-wise, it seems very fast and fluid. I only got the touchcover, but I’m already impressed with it for how minimal it is. Taking into consideration, that it is only about 3mm thick, it’s got some of the best response I’ve ever seen with a trackpad in my life. Keys seen very responsive as well once you get used to it. One thing I would suggest, is that you update your Surface as soon as you get it and before you do anything on it. You’ll get various firmware and software updates, but once they are installed, the experience seems to be that much more improved from right out of the box. Make sure that all of your apps are updated as well from the Microsoft Store.
It works with flash, I’ve heard that it doesn’t work too well, but after the updates, I haven’t found any lagging with it, even at full HD personally. That’s my experience though. HTML5 seems to work even better though, if you want an alternative, in case you are watching videos on Youtube, because Youtube has the option to switch over to HTML5 instead of using Flash to preview the videos.
I am not as used to the FN key, but you do have all of the function keys your keyboard or touchpad by using the FN key to toggle, and every one of the top buttons after the ESC key and before the DEL key.
The touchpad itself is a great addition however. The idea that it acts as a very minimal, but functional “keyboard” but just as well a protective flap for the Surface’s screen, is amazing! It’s a very comfortable surface to type on as well since it’s made of a felt material.
I had wondered where the PRINTSCREEN button went on my keyboard because I wanted to be able to take a screenshot with the Windows Key and the PRINTSCREEN button to save to the Pictures library like you can do on Windows 8 though, and the touch cover, as well as the keyboard I believe, do not have it. I did some research and found that there is a device shortcut, just like there is on an apple device for taking screenshots; Pressing the windows logo below the screen simultaneously with the volume down button on the side of the surface.
Now at first, without watching a few reviews of the Surface on Youtube, I didn’t even know that the Windows Logo below the touch screen, was a “button” of its own!
I think this device is a great piece of technology in today’s world, once you get familiar with it, however… Just like Windows 8, it lacks the “documentation” available for the end-users to really understand all of what it can do. So for anybody that is getting frustrated with it, I believe that it’s 90% of the time, NOT the device, but the user’s understanding of how it works.
I would say though at the end of the day that this was a great way to spend my $800 on the 64GB version with the trackpad, and I hope to add a keyboard to go with it at some point in the future.
Now go out and get yourself a Surface! You won’t be disappointed. :)
~Ace
