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Why Is the Surface So Bad?

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Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?

#11

Post by mtgx »

Shivetya wrote: post #2

I wonder if the performance would seem better if Microsoft employed a similar trick that iOS uses, that being putting up a screen shot of the app while it loads. I am not sure if Apple still employs this trick but I do remember it being used and how it affected perceived performance.

Windows Phone and the Metro UI in general uses a ton of animations to make it seem "smooth" and "fast", when in fact you're just watching animations for the same time period it would take to load. But underneath all that, the overall responsiveness of the OS seems to be slower than both iOS and the latest Android versions.

Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?

#12

Post by rm999 »

>And that, I think, is the main reason the Surface falls short: It lacks focus

I see this as a general problem with the tech sector today: there is a lack of underlying vision that leads to innovation. How can Microsoft focus on something when they are chasing the moving target of Apple? Worse yet they only see what Apple is thinking/doing years after the fact.

The worst part of all this to me is that Apple isn't even trying to compete with Microsoft in this niche. Apple has left open a large space of power-users (I use this term loosely - people who type a lot fall in here - or users who want a full OS) who want tablet functionality. Microsoft should have done a better and quicker job of filling this niche.

Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?

#14

Post by marknutter »

therobot24 wrote: post #6

not to show a direct favoritism toward Microsoft, but his review reeks with personal bias: "my first thought was, Boy, that’s heavy! When I looked up the specs, I discovered that the Surface is only about 20 grams heavier than the iPad 3, but somehow those grams make a difference." "I’ve used many keyboards for the iPad, and the touch cover seemed just as good as those—meaning I could type on it somewhat more quickly…

Well what else is he supposed to compare it to?

Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?

#15

Post by firefoxman1 »

WrkInProgress wrote: post #7
firefoxman1 wrote: post #3

When I first got an HP Touchpad, the touchstone stand, and the keyboard I understood what the "post-PC" era really was. It was perfect: physical keyboard for productivity, yet a touchscreen with a tablet interface, and the mouse had finally seen its end. The Asus transformer was the next big step, I think. Again, keyboard and touchscreen, but this time a 19 hour battery. If it allowed dual booting it would be perfect…

Hence the keyboard and trackpad. There is a benefit of having both the desktop and "Metro".

Well here's the problem I've seen: the trackpad is (or should be) mostly useless in tablet mode, and the touchscreen is impossible to use in desktop mode. I much prefer a dual boot setup, so you aren't mentally switching every few minutes.

Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?

#16

Post by mtgx »

therobot24 wrote: post #6

not to show a direct favoritism toward Microsoft, but his review reeks with personal bias: "my first thought was, Boy, that’s heavy! When I looked up the specs, I discovered that the Surface is only about 20 grams heavier than the iPad 3, but somehow those grams make a difference." "I’ve used many keyboards for the iPad, and the touch cover seemed just as good as those—meaning I could type on it somewhat more quickly…

I don't think many people realized this but iPad 3 is actually heavier than iPad 2, and many might still remember how "light" the iPad 2 was compared to iPad 1. iPad 3 is somewhere in between the iPad 1 and 2 weights.

But I think the ideal weight for a tablet is around 300 grams, which half of what most 10" tablets have today. This is probably the most important reason why the "main iPad" will eventually become iPad Mini. 600 grams is too heavy for extended and comfortable use.

Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?

#17

Post by programminggeek »

The Surface is "Bad" because you're comparing it with the iPad 4, the Kindle Fire HD, the Asus Transformer (3rd or 4th gen), etc.

Microsoft missed the first 3 or so iterations of touch-only tablet computing. There are bug fixes and refinements to come I'm sure.

Compare the Surface to original iPad when it first came out and maybe it's not so bad?

Granted, the surface isn't competing with the original iPad, it's competing against the 4th gen iPad and that's a different beast altogether.

Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?

#18

Post by WrkInProgress »

mtgx wrote: post #11
Shivetya wrote: post #2

I wonder if the performance would seem better if Microsoft employed a similar trick that iOS uses, that being putting up a screen shot of the app while it loads. I am not sure if Apple still employs this trick but I do remember it being used and how it affected perceived performance.

Windows Phone and the Metro UI in general uses a ton of animations to make it seem "smooth" and "fast", when in fact you're just watching animations for the same time period it would take to load. But underneath all that, the overall responsiveness of the OS seems to be slower than both iOS and the latest Android versions.

I can't speak for Windows RT and Windows 8 because I haven't had a chance to use either extensively but I have used Windows Phone 7(.5).

In the past six months I've gone from a Samsung Focus to a HTC One X to a iPhone 5 and back to a HTC One X.

Despite running on seemingly antiquated hardware, the Focus and Windows Phone 7.5 was just as fast and reponsive, if not more so than the other two devices.

Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?

#19

Post by therobot24 »

marknutter wrote: post #14
therobot24 wrote: post #6

not to show a direct favoritism toward Microsoft, but his review reeks with personal bias: "my first thought was, Boy, that’s heavy! When I looked up the specs, I discovered that the Surface is only about 20 grams heavier than the iPad 3, but somehow those grams make a difference." "I’ve used many keyboards for the iPad, and the touch cover seemed just as good as those—meaning I could type on it somewhat more quickly…

Well what else is he supposed to compare it to?

No doubt about it, the surface should be compared with the iPad, but that's not what i'm complaining about. The reviewer states:

"The iPad may not allow you to do everything, but Apple has made sure that it’s great at what it can do. The Surface, by contrast, will let you do everything you want. The problem is that you’ll have no fun doing it."

My problem, is that the reviewer (at least in the article) seemed to make no attempt to go outside of the limits of the iPad with the Surface.

Re: Why Is the Surface So Bad?

#20

Post by nachteilig »

I kind of buy the 20 grams thing, actually. When I went to look at the iPhone 5 I noticed it felt lighter and discovered that it's only 28 grams lighter. Still, the surface didn't feel particularly heavy to me and I use iPad every day.

It's really not a bad first stab from Microsoft. I hope we can assume that the next rev will be even better a la Xbox (and not what happened with Zune).

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