Since the debut of Microsoft Surface tablets (RT/Pro) last year, they have caught the eye of the public. However, it appears both models do not sell well over the past year. Compared to other large-display tablets such as Nexus 10 and iPad, Surface Pro is a bit too expensive and Surface RT seems not well worth the price (originally starts from $399) under an ARM-based architecture.
With Surface's expanding into more countries and continuous price cut recently, however, we haven't seen a corresponding rising on sales. There is likely to be some incentive, but not much. Even if the 32-G Surface RT model now sells at $349, cheaper than the $499 iPad (16G) and $399 Nexus 10 (16G), things are not better. Why people don't choose the promoted Surface RT tablet at such a reasonable price?
1. RT instead of Pro
Surface Pro and RT belong to the same product line, but use completely different core and hardware. Pro is almost a light laptop while RT is only a Win8 tablet, similar to Android tablets or iPad. All windows-based apps can be installed on Pro, but only apps designed for Win 8 ARM can be installed on Surface RT. Many guys even think Surface RT a useless device without the consideration of Office suite and Touch/Cover keyboard.
2. Far less than 32 G
The $349 RT model is acclaimed to come with 32G storage and pretty attractive from the angle of tech specs, but the actual storage is only 15G since half the storage is used for the Win 8 OS (ARM) itself together with some built-in apps. The RT tablet does not run as fast as expected. On the contrary, even 16 G iPad or Nexus 10 performs like a charm.
3. No keyboard cover
Yes, the $349 Surface RT model does not come with touch or type cover, while this falls to one of the primary reasons why some people, especially those who deal with docs a lot, have shown great interest in Surface tablet. Together with the 10.6-inch display, Surface RT is almost a perfect combination for study, work and entertainments. To have MS original cover, people have to pay extra $119.99 for touch cover or $129.99 for type cover.
4. Too few apps
No one will choose Windows 8 devices when it comes to apps, not to mention the Windows 8 ARM tablet. But this is exactly what Surface RT runs on. Apps supported by Surface RT are far less than Android or iOS, and most of them are lousy or paid. As a previous Window Phone user, I have suffered a lot from the incomplete Windows appstore. Although more apps keep being added to Win 8 appstore, I am afraid you will still get disappointed soon as long as you have ever experienced apple appstore or Android Google Play. A case in point is that we can easily find free & efficient eBook reader apps (non-official) on iPad or Nexus, but it is hard to find good ones on Surface RT or even Surface Pro. There are several official reader apps, but Nook for Windows 8 crashes a lot while Kindle for Win 8 does not support regular EPUB and PDF books. This post may well help if you want to read eBooks on Surface or Win 8.
The bottom line
If you are a college student or simply want to own a Surface-like tablet suitable for study, work and play, it is recommended that you wait for a bit while until the Pro version sells at a lower price. Obviously, Surface Pro is more worth the price than the RT version.
About the Author:
Ada Wang works for Epubor, which delivers eBook-related solutions to customers. In the meantime, she writes blogs concerning eBooks, eReaders and popular electronic gadgets for a collection of blogs.
1. RT instead of Pro
Surface Pro and RT belong to the same product line, but use completely different core and hardware. Pro is almost a light laptop while RT is only a Win8 tablet, similar to Android tablets or iPad. All windows-based apps can be installed on Pro, but only apps designed for Win 8 ARM can be installed on Surface RT. Many guys even think Surface RT a useless device without the consideration of Office suite and Touch/Cover keyboard.
2. Far less than 32 G
The $349 RT model is acclaimed to come with 32G storage and pretty attractive from the angle of tech specs, but the actual storage is only 15G since half the storage is used for the Win 8 OS (ARM) itself together with some built-in apps. The RT tablet does not run as fast as expected. On the contrary, even 16 G iPad or Nexus 10 performs like a charm.
3. No keyboard cover
Yes, the $349 Surface RT model does not come with touch or type cover, while this falls to one of the primary reasons why some people, especially those who deal with docs a lot, have shown great interest in Surface tablet. Together with the 10.6-inch display, Surface RT is almost a perfect combination for study, work and entertainments. To have MS original cover, people have to pay extra $119.99 for touch cover or $129.99 for type cover.
4. Too few apps
No one will choose Windows 8 devices when it comes to apps, not to mention the Windows 8 ARM tablet. But this is exactly what Surface RT runs on. Apps supported by Surface RT are far less than Android or iOS, and most of them are lousy or paid. As a previous Window Phone user, I have suffered a lot from the incomplete Windows appstore. Although more apps keep being added to Win 8 appstore, I am afraid you will still get disappointed soon as long as you have ever experienced apple appstore or Android Google Play. A case in point is that we can easily find free & efficient eBook reader apps (non-official) on iPad or Nexus, but it is hard to find good ones on Surface RT or even Surface Pro. There are several official reader apps, but Nook for Windows 8 crashes a lot while Kindle for Win 8 does not support regular EPUB and PDF books. This post may well help if you want to read eBooks on Surface or Win 8.
The bottom line
If you are a college student or simply want to own a Surface-like tablet suitable for study, work and play, it is recommended that you wait for a bit while until the Pro version sells at a lower price. Obviously, Surface Pro is more worth the price than the RT version.
About the Author:
Ada Wang works for Epubor, which delivers eBook-related solutions to customers. In the meantime, she writes blogs concerning eBooks, eReaders and popular electronic gadgets for a collection of blogs.
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