Microsoft surface experience?

brandonjuraimi · Nov 8, 2012

Hello guys. For those who have used the Microsoft surface, can you share your experience? I am just curious about its speed, performance, and how user friendly it is

Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

cmscritic · Nov 8, 2012

I love mine. I find the interface refreshing and unique, the people app lets me do way more with social media than I have been able to do in the past. Typing on the touch cover is still a bit of a challenge but they are saying it takes a few days to get it done properly. Speed wise, there are no issues. Mine is snappy and responsive. Battery life is amazing. I can use it all day 6am until 7pm and still only be down to around 30-40% battery remaining. There is a lack of apps but nothing that I can't wait out. I expected the ecosystem will take a bit to get going and I'm willing to wait. I sold my ipad with retina and honestly don't miss it at all.

mchimney · Nov 8, 2012

I really love mine the more I use it. I'm typing this on the touchcover and although I make a lot of mistakes I seem to be getting better at it. That said, I do have some issues but nothing that major (yet!). Battery life seems to be much less than the ipad, people report 8-10 hours, I only get like 4-7. The apps are a disappointment, but I plan to use this device productively soo all I really need is dropbox. The device seems to slow down when editing 2 page documents in word. I tried to make a brochure on here and dragging pictures around was a nightmare. I did type a paper onhere and while it took longer then on a regular keyboard it wasn't that bad.

IE 10 for metro is complete trash. Can't even load XDA so I find myself always forced to use the desktop version. If you buy one, I suggest the model higher than 32gb as we really only get lke 14 gb because of the os taking up so much room.

The touchcover gets very dirty it seems. I'm not suire if I can clean it without ruining it. I sneeze on it before and it has a nasty stain =/.

The device itself is very prone to scratches, I tend to try to plug the thing into charge while its dark and that damn connector is such a pita that I always scratch the bezel.

I love the keyboard gestures (which I know can be used on any computer). The UI is very fast, there's a crap ton of gestures to learn. Yet, there are some gripes. Closing an app takes a crazy amount of time. You have to drag all theway from the top of the screen to the bottom, unnecessary.

Overall, I love it and I plan on keeping it. I still have my ipad and my nexus 7 but this really helps me get stuff done. The fact I can plug in almost any usb device and hve it work is amazing. You can even charge cellphones and stuff with the USB. I would recommend getting the surface IF you realize you can't run anything that's not in the store. No browser addons, no exe fils, nothing. Sometime that makes me wish I got the pro, but this device is really enough. Get past the quirkiness of metro + desktop and it's a beast.

Sorry for the typos. This was typed on the touch cover while lying down in bed.

*EDIT* The messenger app sucks realy badly too. You add someone as a friend (which can't be done in the app you have to go to a website) then you can't ever send them a message cause it says "Name unavailable" but they can send you messages. Its a one way form of communication.

*Edit2* Another clunky part. There are no jpg thumbail previews in the desktop. And when you want to open an image it has to open a program in metro

tcsekhar · Nov 8, 2012

brandonjuraimi said:
Hello guys. For those who have used the Microsoft surface, can you share your experience? I am just curious about its speed, performance, and how user friendly it is

Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

I love the surface responsiveness and the new UI. But still there is still miles to go to get this perfect.

1. After being ON for more than 3 days, clicking on Email opened up weather, can't reach the email by clicking on any of the tiles. Same with IE. I had to reboot.
2. The auto rotate stopped working suddenly. I had to reboot to get it working again.
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
4. There is no Cisco VPN client. If your work requires non standard Cisco VPN connectivity, stay away.
5. Enterprise Distribution of apps isn't clear yet. We shouldn't have to have enterprise apps published to Microsoft Store every time.
6. Silverlight doesn't run on RT? Kidding me?
7. Playing HD video isn't going to be easy. Not even one app which could play MKV files.
8. The copy paste of text inside surface isn't as easy as in iPad. Sometimes it takes too much time to get the needed text selected on IE.
9. Needs tweaking to run Flash on all websites (its a hack. Why?)
10, Pointing the cursor to an exact place in a text area isn't as easy as in iPad with the magnifying glass.

By the way, WHERE IS THE REPORT A PROBLEM button in RT

?

Though I have so many complaints, I still love my Surface. I don't use my iPad anymore. Many times, I had tried to touch my monitor while using my laptop. MS is spoiling me

cmscritic · Nov 8, 2012

mchimney said:
I really love mine the more I use it. I'm typing this on the touchcover and although I make a lot of mistakes I seem to be getting better at it. That said, I do have some issues but nothing that major (yet!). Battery life seems to be much less than the ipad, people report 8-10 hours, I only get like 4-7. The apps are a disappointment, but I plan to use this device productively soo all I really need is dropbox. The device seems to slow down when editing 2 page documents in word. I tried to make a brochure on here and dragging pictures around was a nightmare. I did type a paper onhere and while it took longer then on a regular keyboard it wasn't that bad.

IE 10 for metro is complete trash. Can't even load XDA so I find myself always forced to use the desktop version. If you buy one, I suggest the model higher than 32gb as we really only get lke 14 gb because of the os taking up so much room.

The touchcover gets very dirty it seems. I'm not suire if I can clean it without ruining it. I sneeze on it before and it has a nasty stain =/.

The device itself is very prone to scratches, I tend to try to plug the thing into charge while its dark and that damn connector is such a pita that I always scratch the bezel.

I love the keyboard gestures (which I know can be used on any computer). The UI is very fast, there's a crap ton of gestures to learn. Yet, there are some gripes. Closing an app takes a crazy amount of time. You have to drag all theway from the top of the screen to the bottom, unnecessary.

Overall, I love it and I plan on keeping it. I still have my ipad and my nexus 7 but this really helps me get stuff done. The fact I can plug in almost any usb device and hve it work is amazing. You can even charge cellphones and stuff with the USB. I would recommend getting the surface IF you realize you can't run anything that's not in the store. No browser addons, no exe fils, nothing. Sometime that makes me wish I got the pro, but this device is really enough. Get past the quirkiness of metro + desktop and it's a beast.

Sorry for the typos. This was typed on the touch cover while lying down in bed.

*EDIT* The messenger app sucks realy badly too. You add someone as a friend (which can't be done in the app you have to go to a website) then you can't ever send them a message cause it says "Name unavailable" but they can send you messages. Its a one way form of communication.

*Edit2* Another clunky part. There are no jpg thumbail previews in the desktop. And when you want to open an image it has to open a program in metro

In response to some of your issues. I love metro ui based IE and find it loads XDA without issue. A good tip is to enable adblocking filters using the tips in this forum (find the topic called tips). It loads XDA fine now for me.

Closing an app by dragging top to bottom takes a lot of time? It's a half second gesture man. Be realistic. Alot of your complaints are issues that are not issues at all. It's a different UI, give it a break.

---------- Post added at 05:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------

tcsekhar said:
I love the surface responsiveness and the new UI. But still there is still miles to go to get this perfect.

1. After being ON for more than 3 days, clicking on Email opened up weather, can't reach the email by clicking on any of the tiles. Same with IE. I had to reboot.
2. The auto rotate stopped working suddenly. I had to reboot to get it working again.
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
4. There is no Cisco VPN client. If your work requires non standard Cisco VPN connectivity, stay away.
5. Enterprise Distribution of apps isn't clear yet. We shouldn't have to have enterprise apps published to Microsoft Store every time.
6. Silverlight doesn't run on RT? Kidding me?
7. Playing HD video isn't going to be easy. Not even one app which could play MKV files.
8. The copy paste of text inside surface isn't as easy as in iPad. Sometimes it takes too much time to get the needed text selected on IE.
9. Needs tweaking to run Flash on all websites (its a hack. Why?)
10, Pointing the cursor to an exact place in a text area isn't as easy as in iPad with the magnifying glass.

By the way, WHERE IS THE REPORT A PROBLEM button in RT ?

Though I have so many complaints, I still love my Surface. I don't use my iPad anymore. Many times, I had tried to touch my monitor while using my laptop. MS is spoiling me

MKV does not equal HD, so try playing an MP4 or something in HD before making comments like this. So what if it doesn't play MKV format, there are plenty it does play.

brandonjuraimi · Nov 8, 2012

cmscritic said:
I love mine. I find the interface refreshing and unique, the people app lets me do way more with social media than I have been able to do in the past. Typing on the touch cover is still a bit of a challenge but they are saying it takes a few days to get it done properly. Speed wise, there are no issues. Mine is snappy and responsive. Battery life is amazing. I can use it all day 6am until 7pm and still only be down to around 30-40% battery remaining. There is a lack of apps but nothing that I can't wait out. I expected the ecosystem will take a bit to get going and I'm willing to wait. I sold my ipad with retina and honestly don't miss it at all.

Wow your experience with the Microsoft surface sure is awesome. It sounds awesome and I can't wait to check it out. Not sure if it is available in my country though...

Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

brandonjuraimi · Nov 8, 2012

mchimney said:
I really love mine the more I use it. I'm typing this on the touchcover and although I make a lot of mistakes I seem to be getting better at it. That said, I do have some issues but nothing that major (yet!). Battery life seems to be much less than the ipad, people report 8-10 hours, I only get like 4-7. The apps are a disappointment, but I plan to use this device productively soo all I really need is dropbox. The device seems to slow down when editing 2 page documents in word. I tried to make a brochure on here and dragging pictures around was a nightmare. I did type a paper onhere and while it took longer then on a regular keyboard it wasn't that bad.

IE 10 for metro is complete trash. Can't even load XDA so I find myself always forced to use the desktop version. If you buy one, I suggest the model higher than 32gb as we really only get lke 14 gb because of the os taking up so much room.

The touchcover gets very dirty it seems. I'm not suire if I can clean it without ruining it. I sneeze on it before and it has a nasty stain =/.

The device itself is very prone to scratches, I tend to try to plug the thing into charge while its dark and that damn connector is such a pita that I always scratch the bezel.

I love the keyboard gestures (which I know can be used on any computer). The UI is very fast, there's a crap ton of gestures to learn. Yet, there are some gripes. Closing an app takes a crazy amount of time. You have to drag all theway from the top of the screen to the bottom, unnecessary.

Overall, I love it and I plan on keeping it. I still have my ipad and my nexus 7 but this really helps me get stuff done. The fact I can plug in almost any usb device and hve it work is amazing. You can even charge cellphones and stuff with the USB. I would recommend getting the surface IF you realize you can't run anything that's not in the store. No browser addons, no exe fils, nothing. Sometime that makes me wish I got the pro, but this device is really enough. Get past the quirkiness of metro + desktop and it's a beast.

Sorry for the typos. This was typed on the touch cover while lying down in bed.

*EDIT* The messenger app sucks realy badly too. You add someone as a friend (which can't be done in the app you have to go to a website) then you can't ever send them a message cause it says "Name unavailable" but they can send you messages. Its a one way form of communication.

*Edit2* Another clunky part. There are no jpg thumbail previews in the desktop. And when you want to open an image it has to open a program in metro

The Microsoft surface is still new so it probably still have quite a number of flaws. Hope Microsoft work on it and come out with Microsoft surface 2?

Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

brandonjuraimi · Nov 8, 2012

tcsekhar said:
I love the surface responsiveness and the new UI. But still there is still miles to go to get this perfect.

1. After being ON for more than 3 days, clicking on Email opened up weather, can't reach the email by clicking on any of the tiles. Same with IE. I had to reboot.
2. The auto rotate stopped working suddenly. I had to reboot to get it working again.
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
4. There is no Cisco VPN client. If your work requires non standard Cisco VPN connectivity, stay away.
5. Enterprise Distribution of apps isn't clear yet. We shouldn't have to have enterprise apps published to Microsoft Store every time.
6. Silverlight doesn't run on RT? Kidding me?
7. Playing HD video isn't going to be easy. Not even one app which could play MKV files.
8. The copy paste of text inside surface isn't as easy as in iPad. Sometimes it takes too much time to get the needed text selected on IE.
9. Needs tweaking to run Flash on all websites (its a hack. Why?)
10, Pointing the cursor to an exact place in a text area isn't as easy as in iPad with the magnifying glass.

By the way, WHERE IS THE REPORT A PROBLEM button in RT ?

Though I have so many complaints, I still love my Surface. I don't use my iPad anymore. Many times, I had tried to touch my monitor while using my laptop. MS is spoiling me

That sounds really troublesome and watching movies and videos is a pain.

Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

tcsekhar · Nov 8, 2012

cmscritic said:
In response to some of your issues. I love metro ui based IE and find it loads XDA without issue. A good tip is to enable adblocking filters using the tips in this forum (find the topic called tips). It loads XDA fine now for me.

Closing an app by dragging top to bottom takes a lot of time? It's a half second gesture man. Be realistic. Alot of your complaints are issues that are not issues at all. It's a different UI, give it a break.

---------- Post added at 05:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------

MKV does not equal HD, so try playing an MP4 or something in HD before making comments like this. So what if it doesn't play MKV format, there are plenty it does play.

I agree MKV does not equal HD. But the best compression today seems to be MKV files, and I have a ton of those. I don't want to convert all of them again into MP4 or any other format at this point. When all other OS supports playing it, why not MS - especially when they are late in the game, and know what the expectations are?

mr_dan · Nov 8, 2012

only 4-7 hours? maybe faulty device? everybody has like 8-10.. 4-7 aint too good

tcsekhar · Nov 8, 2012

mr_dan said:
only 4-7 hours? maybe faulty device? everybody has like 8-10.. 4-7 aint too good

Mine with continuous use from morning 7AM till 9PM still have 30% juice. I just use for browse & search - no play or video.

cmscritic · Nov 8, 2012

tcsekhar said:
Mine with continuous use from morning 7AM till 9PM still have 30% juice. I just use for browse & search - no play or video.

Agreed. Mine is about the same.

---------- Post added at 08:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:33 PM ----------

tcsekhar said:
I agree MKV does not equal HD. But the best compression today seems to be MKV files, and I have a ton of those. I don't want to convert all of them again into MP4 or any other format at this point. When all other OS supports playing it, why not MS - especially when they are late in the game, and know what the expectations are?

I know what you mean, I'd love to have it too (especially for the space savings) but I think we need to give MS some time to get the apps rolling. It's a new ecosystem and I've no doubt it'll get rolling soon. Would LOVE to see VLC on it.. that would rock.

mchimney · Nov 9, 2012

I understand the os is new but I love the potential. I love this device regardless of my complaints. I do miss Google though.

In regards to my battery, I think something must be wrong, I'm using quite a lot of battery even just idling

cmscritic · Nov 9, 2012

mchimney said:
I understand the os is new but I love the potential. I love this device regardless of my complaints. I do miss Google though.

In regards to my battery, I think something must be wrong, I'm using quite a lot of battery even just idling

I'd take it in and have it looked at. I can usually go the whole day without issue.

brandonjuraimi · Nov 9, 2012

mchimney said:
I understand the os is new but I love the potential. I love this device regardless of my complaints. I do miss Google though.

In regards to my battery, I think something must be wrong, I'm using quite a lot of battery even just idling

Probably your wifi, email or any idling applications could have cause the huge drainage of battery

Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

guitar1969 · Nov 9, 2012

brandonjuraimi said:
Probably your wifi, email or any idling applications could have cause the huge drainage of battery

Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

I know Bluettoth also kills battery on phones and on the surface it is on by default. We need one of those battery monitoring apps, especially since the Start screen doesn't report battery details - I did find the "Windows Mobility Center" in the backend/desktop, and created a link on the start screen - it provides batter percentage among other shortcuts - pretty cool.

what I do love about the Surface is all the little things that can be tweaked on the descktop - By far more customizable than any other tablet out there.

encho · Nov 9, 2012

tcsekhar said:
I agree MKV does not equal HD. But the best compression today seems to be MKV files, and I have a ton of those. I don't want to convert all of them again into MP4 or any other format at this point. When all other OS supports playing it, why not MS - especially when they are late in the game, and know what the expectations are?

MKV is just a container, like avi or ogg. So actual compression is x264 or as some call it mp4. There is also MP4 container which contains also x264 compressed videos, so moving files from mkv to MP4 is possible without reencoding, but just repacking.

But I agree, it is not for everyone and I'm sure mkv support will come soon through some third party app like vlc or mplayer.

This device is very new to the market and the os as well.

guitar1969 · Nov 10, 2012

encho said:
MKV is just a container, like avi or ogg. So actual compression is x264 or as some call it mp4. There is also MP4 container which contains also x264 compressed videos, so moving files from mkv to MP4 is possible without reencoding, but just repacking.

But I agree, it is not for everyone and I'm sure mkv support will come soon through some third party app like vlc or mplayer.

This device is very new to the market and the os as well.

MKV is definitely the container of choice for HD in this day and age so any current system needs to be able to handle it if they want to sell units My whole HTPC movie library is in MKV. Having to convert to mp4 is not very practical as it requires time and steps (I use Handbrake for my Ipod touch). The latest Androids can play alomost anything thrown at them. I am sure someone will release a video player that will handle it if the surface is truly to be considered a media device. The question is will MS let it get certified in the store (Still unclear on the process and what's allowed - I would love to see a Opera or Firefox borwser too and I thought MS got sued years back for limiting options of browsers on the desktop OS). The question is how open MS will be to allow competing apps, especially if they want to sell hardware.

encho · Nov 10, 2012

guitar1969 said:
MKV is definitely the container of choice for HD in this day and age so any current system needs to be able to handle it if they want to sell units My whole HTPC movie library is in MKV. Having to convert to mp4 is not very practical as it requires time and steps (I use Handbrake for my Ipod touch). The latest Androids can play alomost anything thrown at them. I am sure someone will release a video player that will handle it if the surface is truly to be considered a media device. The question is will MS let it get certified in the store (Still unclear on the process and what's allowed - I would love to see a Opera or Firefox borwser too and I thought MS got sued years back for limiting options of browsers on the desktop OS). The question is how open MS will be to allow competing apps, especially if they want to sell hardware.

Back in my Linux days I had a script which unpacks MKV like it would zip file and repacks into MP4. The whole process takes 1 minute. But as you said MKV support needs to come to RT and MS is aware of the fact that sale of their Surface tablets depends on third party apps.

So I don't think they'll have an issue with VLC or Opera or anything else. More apps equals more profit.

twisticles · Nov 10, 2012

tcsekhar said:
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,

Agree its not very good, I hope they release an RT version of Outlook.

But you CAN multiselect, kind of swipe an email to the right a bit and a tick pops up in the corner, and then do the same for other.

At the moment, Hotmail/Outlook.com is better than the RT mail app...

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