The Windows RT Review
by Vivek Gowri & Anand Lal Shimpi on October 25, 2012 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Windows RT
- Operating Systems
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- Windows 8
- Tablets
The Keyboard(s) - Handwriting Recognition Returns
Windows RT comes with three keyboards. The standard QWERTY keyboard looks and feels like a larger version of the Windows Phone 7 keyboard, with the same design aesthetic and similar pop-up options for punctuation. In Modern UI, it takes up the entire bottom half of the screen, but interestingly enough, in desktop mode it doesn’t quite stretch full screen - there’s roughly 20 pixels left on either side of the keyboard. You can choose to stretch it out such that it spans the width of the screen, which changes the key aspect ratio and makes the entire thing wider. It doesn’t change the usability at all, but it was an odd bit of discontinuity. The number page has a unique layout, with a number-pad on the right and commonly used punctuation and symbols on the left. Other than that though, it’s a pretty straightforward keyboard that does its job well.
The second keyboard is a split keyboard, but instead of being an overlay, it takes up the same amount of space as the regular QWERTY and adds a number pad right in the middle. The unorthodox layout is somewhat jarring at first, but if you want to type with your thumbs, this is the only way to do it. I honestly prefer the way Apple does it, with two separate key banks on either side of the screen (and actually, I think the first time I saw it like that was on the old Origami UMPCs back in the day) - it lets you see more of the display and ends up being more functional because of that.
The last keyboard is actually probably the most interesting, because it’s not really a keyboard. It’s the return of our old friend, the handwriting input panel. This is one of the only places I can find any remaining trace of the tablet PC era. None of the devices we had to test were pen-enabled, so the only way to use it was using our finger as a capacitive input. I was actually shocked at how well it worked. I know quite a few people waiting on the Wacom-infused Windows 8 Pro slates, but for those on a budget, I can easily see the handwriting input being quite useful in conjunction with OneNote and a capacitive stylus.
With Microsoft integrating a keyboard into the Surface covers, ASUS going so far as to bundle the laptop dock as a default feature with the VivoTab RT (they didn’t even want to talk pricing of the tablet individually), and almost everyone else offering at least the option of an add-on keyboard accessory, the virtual keyboard is a bit less critical here than it is on some other platforms. Beyond basic URL entry, I barely touched the virtual keyboard - for writing, email, messaging, or anything else, I just picked up the laptop dock. Given how much the physical typing experiences have been emphasized by the hardware manufacturers, it’s very plausible to think that the virtual keyboards could get relatively little use.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
233 Comments
View All Comments
Sivar - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
Vivek and Anand, did you experience the problems described by guidryp?cappasay - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
I may be wrong but from what I understand, all the crashes are about third-party apps forcefully closing down. Not native apps, and not a full system crash or anything like that. Presumably that will get better over time, as devs actually learn the platform (updates are getting pushed out daily). Slowdowns seem to have occurred in other videos, only you have a bunch of apps open at the same time.daboochmeister - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
Not according to other reviews. E.g. Matt Burns at TechCrunch, whose review reads as completely honest and informed, found crashes in the Metro^h^h^h^hodern apps, at least once per app, including MS's. And he found the new IE10 to be less than great.http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/23/microsoft-surface...
Other reviews have said much the same.
The more high-profile the site, the more likely they are to give it a positive review. Hmm ...
VivekGowri - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
For the record, I had exactly one random shutdown, and that was when I was switching between two different camera applications at the same time. It seemed forgivable, and other than that I legitimately had no major bugs/crashes when I was testing. My VivoTab RT was really solid from a software standpoint, I don't know what to tell you guys.daboochmeister - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
Hmm. Maybe the Surface RT then. Different hardware.PeteH - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
Just because some people run into bugs it doesn't mean everyone will.p05esto - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
Lame response. Have you personally found all of these bugs and problems you are posting about? Do you have a Windows tablet in your hands? Just curious. In other words you are a fool, lol.TEAMSWITCHER - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
I too, am finding myself a bit suspicious of these reviews. I just cant get excited about Windows 8...in any form. There is something about it that disgusts me. Let me try to explain......Windows 8 was not designed to solve problems for me. It was designed to solve problems for Microsoft - namely competing against Apple mobile devices and Google's web services. The only major new functionality is a UI that can driven by a touch screen - (Compete with Apple) and the new Start Screen which is huge billboard directing witless users to Microsoft Web services (Compete with Google.) What does Windows 8 do for me, the guy who runs Windows 7 on a single 27" monitor with a Mouse and Keyboard?
Many people have told me that the tiles will be great. Really? I think that Gadgets are better, as I don't need to leave my desktop for a simple status update! That Metro apps will be great - you can run two apps side-by-side. I can run many apps side-by-side in Windows 7. I have read that touch screen laptops will transform the Windows experience. Not for me, I don't want to look through a hundred finger smudges to see my work.
The UI is definitely NOT gorgeous! The overuse of inky pastel colors makes me cringe every time I look at it. The removal of glass Windows and drop shadows make the desktop look old, flat, and boring. Please don't give me the "Simple and Elegant" argument - its not that!
I fear that all my ranting is for naught. No matter what I say, type, or do it won't matter. Windows 8 will be a resounding success because there is simply nothing else the PC OEMs have to sell. Microsoft will no doubt take the stage at this fall's BUILD conference and proclaim that they were right.
Sadly for me I cannot agree. Windows 8 is where I and Microsoft part ways...forever! I'd like to think that the break up was amiable, but that's not what happened.
Microsoft tried to F@#K me!
steven75 - Friday, November 2, 2012 - link
It's also almost like Vivek is completely unaware of the iWork suite that came out with the iPad back in 2010. And it's completely touch-optimized, not just a ported hack from OS X.code65536 - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
So how exactly is this no-third-party-desktop-apps thing enforced? Are they simply relying on the fact that people haven't recompiled EXEs from Intel to ARM (no enforcement)? Are they restricting the availability of the compiler (but they need a native compiler for folks like driver developers)? Are they whitelisting EXEs? Or must EXEs have a certain digital signature before they are allowed to run?