Microsoft Surface Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 23, 2012 9:01 PM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- Surface
- Windows RT
Camera
Surface features two 720p cameras, one on the front and one on the back. Neither camera provides particularly great image quality but they are sufficient for web use.
The camera UI is quick and fairly simple. Tap and hold to lock exposure is supported, and you can tap anywhere on the screen to actually take a photo. Switching between front and rear facing cameras is quick, as is switching between photo and video modes.
The only aspect of Surface’s cameras that takes some getting used to is the 22-degree angled camera assembly on the back. The angled rear facing camera is designed to offset the inline created by the kickstand when deployed, so you can prop Surface up on its kickstand and not have the rear camera pointing at the ground. Unfortunately when handheld it means that you often have to tilt Surface a bit to get the right shot. I guess that’s better than having the rear facing camera pointing at the ground when used the kickstand deployed, but that likely depends on what you’re using Surface’s rear camera for.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
235 Comments
View All Comments
kyuu - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
Agreed, I'd like some clarification on this as well. I certainly hope it's a simple micro-HDMI that can be used with off-the-shelf adapters.ervinshiznit - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
Anand,You mention that you would have liked to have seen the surface with x86. Is Windows RT only compatible with ARM or does it support x86 also? I realize it's just a compilation issue but I was under the impression that only ARM builds of Windows RT would ever be released by Microsoft.
MadMan007 - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
Don't connect the hardware branding name 'Surface' and software. You are correct that WinRT=ARM only. But there will be Microsoft Surface devices using x86 hardware running full Windows 8.Will there be a budget Atom-based x86 Surface, in the same form factor as this one? I'm not sure off the top of my head, but that's probably what Anand meant.
ervinshiznit - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
There have only been plans announced for the Surface Pro, which would include a Core i5 and run full Windows 8.I bring up the Windows RT=ARM only because Anand brought up the performance issue in the context of MS Office, and he said that he would have liked to see an Atom in the Surface instead of this ARM core. But then it wouldn't be able to run RT. And that would also mean no free Office 2013 since it's not included in full Windows 8
Ryan Smith - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
Whether or not to include Office is basically arbitrary. Microsoft could include it with Surface Pro, as it's entirely up to them..The point to take home is not that RT doesn't run on Atom, but rather that Office on Surface is currently unusually sluggish. A SoC with better performance in lightly threaded situations (such as the Atom) would handle Office better based on what we're seeing.
Kevin G - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
Reading through this review and others seems to point the problem at Office being sluggish and not necessarily the Tegra 3. Even on the PC side where far higher performing hardware exists, Office doesn't give the impression of a speed champion. I'd love to see Office compared on the Surface, Surface Pro and a decent laptop. Yeah, the deck would stacked in favor of the laptop winning but it'd be a good reference point for users as well as reviewing the idea of usability on each device. For example, I can see the utility of viewing and making a quick and simple change to an Excel spread sheet on a tablet but for heavy Excel use restricted to an on screen touch keyboard would likely result in levels of frustration that'd have me snapping the tablet in two.kyuu - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
That's the reason for the Touch/Type Covers...ervinshiznit - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
Anand,You say
Application launch times are another thing entirely. Nearly every application I launched took longer than I would’ve liked on Surface. I can’t tell if this is a hardware issue or a software optimization problem, but application launches on Surface/Windows RT clearly take more time than on an iPad. I timed a few just to put this in perspective:
And after the : I expected a chart or something but there's nothing there.
JumpingJack - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
I asked the same question, Ryan said they were overwhelmed with the iPad announcement, the 8350 launch, and his... He said Anand will fill in he info a bit later.michal1980 - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
apple products didn't get short changed reviews... I wonder why.