REVIEWS Hardware

Real World analysis More Surface reaction on p70 and p84

Hardware REVIEWS

Microsoft Surface with Windows RT

A unique, superbly designed tablet thats ideal for mobile professionals, but it has too many compromises to make it a must-have
P  RICE 32GB, 332 (399 inc VAT); 32GB with Touch Cover, 399 (479 inc VAT); 64GB with Touch Cover, 466 (559 inc VAT) S  UPPLIER www.microsoft.com
Photography: intro, Danny Bird; cutouts, Julian Velasquez; repro, Jan Cihak

The Surface hardware

Microsoft made it clear right fromthe outset that the Surface was intended to set an example toPC manufacturers, and its immediately apparent that this tablet isnt just a piece of boilerplate hardware. Two features make the Surface stand out from the uniform slabs of glass weve witnessed over the past couple of years: the kickstand and the detachable keyboards (see Touch and Type Covers, p99, for more on the latter). The mechanics of the kickstand are beautifully simple. The bottom half of the back of the tablet casing icks out to create a stand for the tablet, turning the device into a pseudo-laptop when used with one of the keyboards. When youre nished with the stand, it ips back into place, perfectly ush with the back of the tablet,

hen Microsoft droppedthe bombshell that it was launching its own tablet, the company not only risked alienating its PC partners, but detonating its credibility if it failed to show themhow to do so properly. Theres no doubt that the Microsoft Surface is a serious tablet, but is it good enough to tempt people away from their iPads, their Android tablets, or even their laptops? Or is it a stopgap until the fully edged Windows 8 versions of the Surface tablet arrive to complement this ARM-based version?

and with the satisfying clunk of an expensive car door. However, the stand is set at a xed position, leaving no means of adjusting the angle of the screen as is possible with a conventional laptop. That left the taller members of the PC Pro team awkwardly hunched over the Surface as they attempted to work with the device at a desk; although our more modestly sized colleagues had no complaint. That slightly too upright angle would be a much bigger problem if the 10.6in screen wasnt so sparkling. Viewing angles

are excellent although perhaps a little too good for snoopers in an adjacent train seat. A maximum screen brightness of 400cd/m2 is comparable to that of the iPad, and while the Surface has a measured contrast ratio of 3,333:1, its due to the presence of dynamic contrast. Flick between dark and bright pages, and its possible to detect the backlight

raising and lowering brightness to compensate. Still, the IPS panel guarantees the palette of bright colours that make up the Windows 8 Start screen zing offthe display, and photos and video deliver sumptuous levels ofsaturation. The 1,366 x 768 resolution isnt going to give Apples engineering department cause toshamefacedly return to the drawing board, but when youre sitting a foot or so away from the Surface screen it doesnt lack detail or sharpness. The tablet feels delightful to hold in the hand too. Theres much marketing wafe around theso-called VaporMg material that forms the casing, but it feels robust and smooth to the touch. The charcoal-black design is commendably understated, with only a subtle Windows logo adorning the rear. At 682g (without a keyboard), its only ashade heavier than the third-generation iPad, and even with a keyboard case attached, itsmuch lighter than most ultraportable laptops. At no pointdoes the Surface become uncomfortably warm, either.

Resolution isnt high, but the quality of the IPS display more than compensates for this, with rich colours that really pop off the screen

Connectivity and ports

Connectivity and expandability are other strong suits for the Surface. On the right-hand side ofthe tablet, youll nd a micro-HDMI port, for which Microsoft has created a pair of optional adapters (35 each) for

KEY SPECS
1.4GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 T30 CPU 2GB RAM 32/64GB storage microSDXC slot 10.6in 1,366 x 768 IPS display dual-band 802.11abgn Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4 2 x 0.9mp webcams WindowsRT 1yr C&R warranty 275 x 9.5 x 172mm (WDH) 682g

running external displays via HDMI or VGA. Unlike iPads or Android tablets, Windows RT allows you to extend your desktop to a secondary display rather than merely mirroring the tablet screen, which is a huge bonus when it comes to getting down to work. Beneath the micro-HDMI theres a USB 2 port, which can beused to plug in all manner of peripherals, including external hard disks, mice, digital cameras and even printers a full list of compatible devices can be foundatwww.pcpro.co.uk/ links/220surfacelist. We plugged in all manner of devices, both new and old, and theonly one we struggled to get working was an ageing Fujitsu scanner, and that has driver issues with Windows 7 too. If you dont want to waste a USB port on an external mouse or keyboard, the Bluetooth 4 support allows you to use wireless versions at your desktop. Elsewhere on the wireless front, theres dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi. One curious omission, however, is a SIM card slot. For adevice thats so geared towards working on the move, its bizarre that Microsoft didnt see t to at least offer a 3G/4G option.

Secreted beneath that ip-out stand is also a microSDXC slot, which is capable of adding another 64GB of removable storage to theSurface. That might well be a necessity if you opt for the 32GB version, which has only 16GB of free space, with almost half the stated storage consumed by Windows, the Ofce apps and the recovery partition. The 64GB version of the Surface offers 46GB offree space.

Working with Windows RT

So theres little to complain about on the hardware side, but what about the software? Surface runs Windows RT, the ARM-optimised version of Windows 8, and that necessarily involves a few awkward compromises. The most obvious of these is that almost all desktop software isprohibited. Even though the traditional Windows desktop remains a part of the build its available through a Start menu tile just as it is in the x86 versions of Windows 8 the only software

permitted to run here is the preinstalled Ofce suite and Internet Explorer. Even if traditional software vendors were prepared to recompile their software for ARM, it would make no difference; Microsoft has pulled up the drawbridge. While Internet Explorer is perfectly happy to let you download installers for desktop applications such as Google Chrome, attempts to click on the EXE le are met with a warning that this app cant run on your PC and an invitation to visit the Windows Store. The very presence of the desktop in Windows RT almost feels like youre being taunted with what youre missing out on. Why Microsoft didnt remove the desktop altogether and simply allow users to run full-screen instances of the Ofce apps from the Start screen is bewildering. It has all the hallmarks of a bodge: acompromise to resolve the conicting priorities of the Windows and Ofce teams. Its also worth noting that the version of Ofce bundled with

You cant complain about the slenderness of the Surface. Its 9.5mm thick and reasonably light considering the screen size

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REVIEWS Hardware

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The Store is in its infancy, and not a match for Android or iOS The Surfaces VaporMG chassis feels smooth and robust

RT allows installers to be downloaded, but blocks installation

Under the kickstand is a microSDXC slot

Windows RT is Home & Student which means it isnt licensed forbusiness use (Jon Honeyball and Simon Jones cover these limitations in greater depth on p70and p84), and that theres noOutlook included in the deal. Try to share a document from Word via email and youre presented with an abrupt warningmessage informing you that theres no email program installed, despite the presence of the Mail app in Windows 8. The Share charm provides no relief either, as nothing can be shared from thedesktop. That said, the presence of almost fully featured Ofce apps isa considerable bonus no other tablet has a complement of apps that can compete with Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. We say almost fully featured because a few notable features such as macros and, bizarrely, full SkyDrive integration are absent. Plus, when you try to push Ofce hard ddling with complex spreadsheets or adding highresolution photos to heavily formatted Word documents

performance plummets, sometimes causing Ofce to dither like a contestant answering the nal question on Who Wants To Be AMillionaire? Its also worth noting that Windows RT also offers separate user accounts, meaning that you dont have to risk giving the kids the opportunity to wipe your data when they want to play a game in the back seat of the car.

Performance
This brings us to the overall performance of the Surface RT. On paper, the gures are mightily impressive: the score of 1,042ms recorded in the SunSpider browser benchmark is as fast as any tablet thats ever passed through our lab. Unfortunately, our Real World Benchmarks wont run on Windows RT. However, other performance indicators suggest the Tegra 3 processor inside the Surface doesnt cope as well with Windows as even previousgeneration Intel processors. Our Samsung 700T tablet, equipped

with a Sandy Bridge 1.6GHz Corei5-2467M and 4GB of RAM, rebooted and returned to the password screen in 31 seconds; the1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 with 2GB of RAM here took 47 seconds. When our Samsung tablet lands on the Start screen, its ready to get going without delay; the Surface RT stumbles through the rst 30 seconds or so, like an ageing Windows XP installation inneed of a refresh. App performance is patchy too.Running two Windows 8 apps side by side often causes performance to stutter, while moderately demanding 3D gamessuch as Pinball FX2 are occasionally juddery. Even streaming tunes over Xbox Music can cause the Surface RT to wobble. These performance hiccups might not beso apparent to users who havent experienced Windows 8on an x86 device, and they certainly arent showstoppers, butwe wonder if the performance trade-offs are too great, especially when you bring battery life into the equation. The Surface RT lasted a shade over nine hours in our looping video test a respectable, if not stellar, score for a tablet. The third-generation iPad lasted 12hrs 32mins, although a fairer comparison can perhaps be drawn with the Tegra 3-equipped Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime, which lasted 10hrs 8mins on its own, and 18hrs 5mins with the extra battery slice in its detachable keyboard. Alas, the Surface keyboards arent equipped with anextra battery.

Windows Store
Without access to desktop software, Surface RT owners are dependent on the apps available from the Windows Store. Were a little nervous about drawing any rm conclusions concerning the quality of the Windows Store, as its an immature, evolving beast with new apps appearing on a daily basis. However, at the time of writing, theres no doubt that the Windows Store falls a long way short of its iOS and Android rivals in terms of both quantity and quality of applications.
The kickstand and Touch Cover enable you to get serious work done using the Surface

Big names are conspicuous by their absence: Twitter, Facebook, (no, the People app isnt an outright replacement for dedicated clients), the BBC iPlayer, most national newspapers, Lovelm, Spotify, Photoshop Touch the list goes on. At the time of writing, we were struggling to even nd a decent photo-editing app, which are (almost literally) ten a penny inthe rival stores. The presence of the full-blown version of Internet Explorer partly compensates for this lack of apps. Services such as iPlayer, Twitter and YouTube can be accessed, sometimes offering more features than are available via apps on rival

platforms (the rewind from start feature in iPlayer, for example). A smattering of decent apps areavailable for Windows RT, suchas the art package Fresh Paint and cloud photo effects studio PhotoFunia. Familiar favourites such as Skype, Kindle and TuneIn Radio also add to the package, buttheres no doubt the Windows Store is in urgent need of high-quality reinforcements.

Sign of things to come?

The Surface RT is an incredibly hard device to dene. Microsofts rst tablet is bold, unique and the most fully featured device of its

type. No other tablet makes it as easy to get to work straight out of the box; no other tablet has its broad compatibility with a range of peripherals; and no other tablet has such over-arching ambition. Yet it falls short in several respects. The ARM processor seems to struggle under the weight of Windows, the Windows Store is weaker than either of its two main rivals, and the boarded-up desktop is frustrating. The Surface RT fallsbetween two stools. On theone hand, it isnt as good a tablet as the iPad orthe cream of the Android crop,and the lack of backwards compatibility with traditional

Windows desktop software means that it cant be considered as a genuine laptop replacement. It remains an attractive device in its own right, but more than anything, it whets our appetite for the full Windows 8 version of the Surface; this is due to arrive early in 2013, and will have a fully unlocked desktop and all the benets of a regular laptop. If you can hold out until the new year, we think its going to be worth the wait. BARRY COLLINS

PERFORMANCE FEATURES & DESIGN VALUE FOR MONEY

OVERALL

Touch and Type Covers

There are two types of keyboard for the Microsoft Surface. The Touch Cover is a halfway house between a software keyboard and the rubber-keyed wonder of the old 48K Spectrum. Theres no tactile feedback when you touch the keys instead youre forced tokeep your eyes glued to the screen, or turnup the volume and listen for the clicky key sound. Our rst instinct was that typing on the Touch Cover would be a terrible experience, but we were pleasantly surprised. While we didnt quite get up to full lick, we found our regular typing speed wasnt massively hampered, and even the small trackpad surface beneath the spacebar proved responsive and accurate. The Type Cover is our favourite of the two, though. This has proper, well-spaced keys that deliver a decent amount of travel. Within minutes we were back up to full laptop typing speed, and creating plenty of noise the keyboard is a touch rattly. It also has a set of dedicated function keys (F1, F2 and so on). These are accessible only on the Touch Cover as a secondary option, behind the top row of Windows 8-specic control buttons (volume controls, Charm shortcuts and so on). The trackpad is functional and responsive, but as with the Touch Covers trackpad, theres no support for gestures, which is disappointing. The Type Cover is a bigger letdown when you attempt to use the Surface on your lap. Its base is too exible, often causing the keys on the edges of the keyboard to stop responding. We found the Touch Cover more reliable with the Surface resting on your lap, which is worth considering if you spend much of your time tapping away in airport lounges or crowded commuter trains. The price of both keyboards is a little steep for our liking. The Touch Cover is a 79addon for the 32GB Surface, while the Type Cover is 110. The 64GB model (559 inc VAT) hasa Touch Cover, with the Type Cover again adding 110 to the price. Why Microsoft is forcing 64GB owners to pay the full amount for the Type Cover instead of a small premium is bafing. A total price of 669 for the 64GB Surface RT and Type Cover our preferred specication is far too high.

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