Microsoft Surface RT Priced

Skeeter · 27 Oct 2012 at 11:50

Jesus christ guys, calm down.

Just seen the new TV add. I quite like it.

Glaucus · 27 Oct 2012 at 20:38

If you missed the launch video

DanF · 27 Oct 2012 at 22:23

Looks like office in the old desktop mode really chugs on the surface RT

Oh he might not have got the update ...

bledd · 28 Oct 2012 at 02:38

Something looks largely amiss there, I highly doubt MS would have signed off on it if it performs that poorly. Hopefully he just needs an update or something.

Time will tell!

KraniX · 28 Oct 2012 at 07:49

bledd. said:
Something looks largely amiss there, I highly doubt MS would have signed off on it if it performs that poorly. Hopefully he just needs an update or something.

Time will tell!

From the reviews it seems a lot of people have experienced lag with the preview version of office, is fixed with the update but incredibly stupid of MS to not ensure that was sorted before it went out to reviewers and press.

Cavallino · 28 Oct 2012 at 08:12

KraniX said:
From the reviews it seems a lot of people have experienced lag with the preview version of office, is fixed with the update but incredibly stupid of MS to not ensure that was sorted before it went out to reviewers and press.

You'll probably find that MS QA guys didnt actually type that fast

jr1104 · 28 Oct 2012 at 09:33

I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but have any of the reviews discussed how the video out port works? Will it simply mirror what is on the screen, or will it be possible to have an extended desktop?

KraniX · 28 Oct 2012 at 10:12

jr1104 said:
I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but have any of the reviews discussed how the video out port works? Will it simply mirror what is on the screen, or will it be possible to have an extended desktop?

Seems it can do both, good article here

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/microsoft-surface-video-144651

And you don't need the expensive official connectors, this guy was using a standard hdmi to micro hdmi.

I'm still trying to decide if an RT now or waiting for the Pro will be best...

jr1104 · 28 Oct 2012 at 10:31

Cheers for the link, glad it can do that. The more I look at it, I think the RT covers enough of the features of Windows that it's not worth the extra wait/money for the Pro version. Apart from maybe installing some photo editing software, I can't think of anything else I would do on the Pro that can't be done on RT.

mikejs21 · 28 Oct 2012 at 10:52

Considering getting the rt version to replace my original ipad. I was going to wait for the pro but reckon ill just get a laptop in a few months to do more advanced stuff that the rt can't.

Camalot · 28 Oct 2012 at 10:52

Looking good, where are you guys buying from?

Skeeter · 28 Oct 2012 at 11:43

The Pro is meant to be a replacement to Laptop while the RT is an iPad rival with a keyboard. There 2 very different products.

mikejs21 · 28 Oct 2012 at 11:50

Skeeter said:
The Pro is meant to be a replacement to Laptop while the RT is an iPad rival with a keyboard. There 2 very different products.

That makes me think, would it make more sense to just get the pro instead of the rt and a laptop?

Assume this can't be answered but would the pro be ok with running visual studio?

ljt · 28 Oct 2012 at 12:33

mikejs21 said:
That makes me think, would it make more sense to just get the pro instead of the rt and a laptop?

Assume this can't be answered but would the pro be ok with running visual studio?

I would have thought so considering the system requirements for VS 2012 are a 1.6Ghz CPU and 1Gb RAM

Most of the 3rd party tablets already exceed that spec by a good margin (core i3/i5 running at 1.7-2.6Ghz CPU and 4Gb ram minimum) so I can't see surface pro being much different than them.

POB · 28 Oct 2012 at 12:33

mikejs21 said:
Assume this can't be answered but would the pro be ok with running visual studio?

Yes, it would work fine, only potential issue is the screen resolution. Full HD might be a bit much for a 10.6" display.

mikejs21 · 28 Oct 2012 at 12:49

Hmmm bugger! Any idea as to when more info will be out about the pro version? Or is it January for that?
Decisions decisions.

Skeeter · 28 Oct 2012 at 12:50

POB said:
Yes, it would work fine, only potential issue is the screen resolution. Full HD might be a bit much for a 10.6" display.

Its OK if you turn the font sizes up. We got some full HD laptops at work and they come with the fonts on something like 125% by default. They look fine.

A Pro does everything the RT does plus more, so there's little point in buying a small netbook/laptop and an RT. However if you want a more powerfully laptop (into mobile workstation territory or for gaming) then the Pro won't cut it.

The Pro is ideal for people who carry around a small laptop for things like Office and emails, but also carry an iPad for when they want to check things quickly. We have a few guys at work work do this (sales and marketing) who could replace 2 devices with 1.

JBod · 28 Oct 2012 at 13:30

Is the 32GB version available anywhere to buy now? I am getting it paid for me by work, but I am not patient when it comes to gadgets.

DeathStorm · 28 Oct 2012 at 15:10

bledd. said:
Something looks largely amiss there, I highly doubt MS would have signed off on it if it performs that poorly. Hopefully he just needs an update or something.

Well you'd hope so wouldn't you!

I really want a Surface, I'm much happier using hardware that's been designed to that level of excellence but quite put off by how weak the processor appears to be. Think I'll still give it a try if I can find a demo unit, otherwise might just wait for the next update of Surface.

DeathStorm · 28 Oct 2012 at 15:10

POB said:
Yes, it would work fine, only potential issue is the screen resolution. Full HD might be a bit much for a 10.6" display.

If you're trying to do development work wouldn't it make more sense to hook it up to a larger monitor and a keyboard/mouse than trying to make it work on a screen and keyboard designed for small size?