The Microsoft Surface has been out for purchase for a while now, and finally, people have had the chance to see for themselves exactly how well this highly-publicized new tablet from Microsoft actually performs. The reviews so far have teetered between lauding it and shunning it in favor of “superior” models. After all, there were dozens of new tablet models that came rushing out of the woodwork this year alone. With such fierce competition, there’s bound to be some mixed reviews.
Getting a tablet?
The tablet industry has steadily grown to cater to the needs of casual consumers and business users who find tablets extremely reliable for a myriad of reasons. While casual consumers may just see the tablet as a great device for online classes, browsing the web, playing games, and taking candid photos that they can edit and upload to social media, business consumers know that the tablet is capable of doing more. The use of apps make it extremely flexible, from storing and sending documents to keeping control of a company’s telephony system (however, only sophisticated apps such as the RingCentral app can do this). The Surface is Microsoft’s first foray not just into tablets, but also into hardware. It has had many detractors, and it seems that their concerns are valid.
The Downhill Slide of the Surface
Without any bias towards Apple, we have to admit that the iPad has set the tone of tablet manufacturing industry over the last few years. So certain standards are expected, owing to the fact that the iPad was such a remarkable product that it remains at the top of the tablet rankings today. Microsoft’s Surface, if compared against an iPad (the yardstick by which others are being measured), seems to fall terribly short.
- Up: Setup is easy, and takes very little time before it is ready to receive apps and downloads.
- Down: Once it is set up, however, things become difficult when you need to use other services on it. The built-in apps are difficult to navigate and use, and to link them to existing online accounts (mail services, Facebook, and the like) are a big hassle.
- Up: The Surface RT has a People app, which allows you to connect various social networking sites.
- Down: There is no other way to use Twitter and Facebook and other social networking sites on this device except through the rather difficult-to-use People app. And it simply isn’t the same. It doesn’t possess the same experience in using these things natively the way Android and iOS allow.
- More Down: A tablet requires apps to run various things. But the app store for Microsoft is not only hilariously lacking in apps. It doesn’t compare to the Google Play store, which is building Android momentum but still does not compare to the iTunes App Store in terms of selection.
- Still more Down: Downloading anything is a nightmare. Connection randomly cuts off, and the app store goes down.
Perhaps Microsoft needs to do some heavy duty refining. Here’s hoping Microsoft Surface Pro fares better.
==== About the Author ====
Monique Jones is an Engineer who deals with telephone systems. Monique graduated as a Cum Laude with a Degree in Civil and Communications Engineering. Besides being an Engineer, she also works as a part time Writer. She helps her colleagues and other people about their communication issues, giving effective solutions to address their needs. On her free time, she works on her fashion business, read books, and chat with friends. She also loves traveling and photography.
