Over the last few years, Microsoft has worked hard to transform itself from a software giant into a devices and services company. While some of the changes have been controversial for technology enthusiasts, the company is headed in the right direction.

Windows

The biggest and most hotly-debated Microsoft product is, of course, Windows 8, the latest version of Microsoft’s desktop operating system. In a world where there is a large divide between traditional desktops/laptops and their more portable counterparts, tablets, Microsoft stands alone in working to bring the two device categories together.

After spending more than six months with a number of Windows 8 tablets, it’s obvious that this is the future. Unlike Android tablets and the iPad, Windows 8 and Windows RT manage to bring the best of both worlds, allowing you to use either the traditional Windows desktop or the new interface and Windows Store apps. I, for one, absolutely love this, since I’m not forced to trade portability for usability, or vice versa. The hardware isn’t perfect yet, but a number of devices are quite good and performance and battery life will only improve over time. And for all the doom and gloom reporting when it comes to sales, Windows 8 has reportedly managed to already garner 7.5% of the tablet market.

Of course, Microsoft’s OS is great on desktop and laptops too. I’ve been running Windows 8 on my primary desktop computer full-time for over a year, and I haven’t regretted it once. While Windows 8 truly shines with a touch screen, it’s certainly not necessary for an excellent experience. And the new features and performance enhancements make it well worth the upgrade on any computer.

On the software side, much has been made of Windows 8’s new interface and the lack of a Start menu. But to most people who use the OS regularly, it really isn’t a problem. Like anyone, I have a long list of OS tweaks and feature requests, but most if not all of them will be checked off when Windows 8.1 (codenamed “Blue”) is released later this year. Say what you will about Windows 8 and Windows RT, but it’s a great OS that’s only going to get better in the coming months.

Windows Phone

Arguably one of Microsoft’s most underrated products, Windows Phone is a great phone OS that really nails it in every department, be it the user interface, performance, software, or hardware. Sales have been much lower than many had hoped, but those who own a Windows Phone genuinely love it. The Lumia 920, for example, recently received Engadget’s “Smartphone of the Year” award – a fact that the Windows Phone team touts in its new (and hilarious) commercial.

The transition from the Windows CE-based Windows Phone 7 to the Windows 8-based Windows Phone 8 was a little rocky, but Microsoft is now in a position to iterate much faster and provide more powerful hardware than ever before. The company is also reportedly trying to merge the Windows and Windows Phone Stores – or, at the very least, make it easier for developers to create apps for both platforms. A few high-profile apps are still missing (most notably Instagram, which has been rumored to be in the works for some time now), but almost all of the major ones are there. I’d like to see Microsoft iterate a little faster, but Windows Phone definitely has a great future ahead of it.

Xbox

In recent years, Microsoft has worked hard to transform the Xbox brand from a core gaming platform to an all-encompassing entertainment service. In addition to blockbuster games, Xbox now boasts the Xbox Music and Xbox Video services, a wide range of entertainment apps, integration with numerous mobile platforms, and much more. Windows and Windows Phone both support Xbox LIVE-enabled games, and players can even unlock a few achievements on competing platforms like iOS. And while not many games have managed to take advantage of Xbox SmartGlass at this point, that will almost certainly change as developers have more time to integrate the multi-platform second screen experience into their games.

Of course, that’s just the current generation. On May 21, Microsoft is set to reveal the next Xbox, a console which is expected to take gaming and entertainment to the next level. The next Xbox is arguably one of Microsoft’s most anticipated product launches in history, and people around the world are waiting with baited breath to hear just what the company has in store for the “new generation of games, TV, and entertainment.”

Microsoft Surface

A year ago, the only Surface people were familiar with was Microsoft’s enormous multi-touch table, which was aimed at hotels, restaurants, and various other businesses. Then, last June, Microsoft pulled a surprise announcement and unveiled the Surface line of tablets, garnering a lot of excitement. Well, in my experience, the Surface tablets have the best hardware I’ve ever seen, perfectly blending design, performance, and usability. It’s hard to believe that the Surface with Windows RT and the Surface with Windows 8 Pro were the first computers Microsoft ever made.

The company is reportedly working on a number of new devices and form factors, and I can’t wait to see what new devices the team will come up with. Will we get a Surface-esque twist on a traditional laptop? A desktop? An 8-inch tablet? More powerful RT and Pro devices? It couldn’t be a more exciting time.

Office

Microsoft’s premiere productivity suite, Office, received a number of major cloud-centric features in the most recent release, making it even easier to collaborate on projects. Instead of keeping the applications and files locked to a single machine or mandating that people move to the cloud, the Office team managed to find the perfect balance of convenience, ease of use, and productivity, allowing you to sync directly to SkyDrive and collaborate with others regardless of whether they’re using a desktop application or web app. And the new Office 365 subscriptions make things even easier. While I’ve always been a big fan of Office, I’ve used it more in the last few months for my senior project than ever before. Looking ahead, Office is set to move into the app world with the rumored Gemini update and apps for Windows 8 and iOS.

Services

One can’t discuss the future of Microsoft without bringing up services like Outlook.com, SkyDrive, and Skype. Outlook.com took the best aspects of Hotmail and blended it with a beautiful interface and great new features, making it the go-to destination for email. Outlook.com makes Gmail feel clunky and old by comparison, and the team has worked hard to deliver new features like an updated calendar, new Android app, two-step authentication, and Skype integration at an almost stunning rate.

Similarly, SkyDrive has grown by leaps and bounds over the last year or two, and it’s rapidly being integrated into all of Microsoft’s products and services. Office, Outlook.com, Windows Phone, and Windows 8 all feature SkyDrive integration, and it’s only going to get better. Windows “Blue” will reportedly take things a step further, allowing you to sync your entire SkyDrive account – or parts of it, if you so choose – to your computer without the need for the SkyDrive for Windows desktop application. And with the aforementioned built-in Office Web Apps, it couldn’t be easier to access your documents and collaborate with others.

Then there’s Skype, which Microsoft acquired in 2011 for $8.5 billion and is slowly incorporating into its current offering. The IM and VoIP service recently replaced Windows Live Messenger as Microsoft’s primary communication service. The transition hasn’t been quite as smooth as many would have liked, but things are starting to look up. Skype is a very useful and well-liked brand, so it’ll be interesting to see where Microsoft takes the service in the coming months and years.

This, of course, is just some of what Microsoft has to offer. Microsoft might be the underdog when it comes to tablets, smartphones, and services, but the company is on the right track. Where others are copying the same interfaces and hardware designs, Microsoft is forging ahead and pioneering new computing concepts and form-factors. I honestly believe that the future is bright for Microsoft, and I can’t wait to see what the company does next.

Disclaimer: I am a member of the SkyDrive and Outlook.com Insiders program.

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When the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT was released last fall, I picked one up immediately. While the Windows RT version isn’t as powerful as its Windows 8 Pro counterpart, it’s still a fantastic device. Then, sometime in late January, I broke my audio jack. I’m almost certain that it was my fault – I was using an old audio splitter which probably dislodged the internal components when it was pushed in too deep. As a result, while the speakers still worked fine, overall audio quality was poor and dialog was almost unintelligible.

At the time, I was reviewing the Acer Iconia W510 and the Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T, so most of my entertainment was being consumed on one of those devices. Between that and my busy schedule, I didn’t get around to calling the Surface customer service department until the beginning of last week. I fully expected them to say that it was my fault or that I’d wanted too long to report the issue, but to my surprise they quickly offered to fix the issue. After running through a few tests to ensure that the problem wasn’t software-related, the customer service representative emailed me an overnight shipping label and I sent in my Surface RT for repair. A week later, I received a brand-new device – if it’s a refurbished model, it’s almost impossible to tell – which has been working perfectly.

While the Surface is well-built, no product is without some issues. The fact that Microsoft replaced the device without question was impressive, and I’m sure I could have decreased the turnaround time by bringing the device to a Microsoft Store. I’ve heard anecdotal evidence that Microsoft’s policy is just as relaxed for Surface accessories as well, with many Microsoft Stores replacing Touch Covers on the spot – no receipt or exchange needed. Compare this to my nightmarish experience with Alienware or the annoying time-intensive process most companies make you go through.

What’s your best customer service experience?

(I thought about titling this piece “Microsoft’s great customer Surface,” but I decided to spare everyone from having to read that terrible pun – at least, in the headline.)

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The rumors of a bite-sized Microsoft Surface tablet are heating up again. This time, they’re coming from the Wall Street Journal, which believes that Microsoft will have a 7-inch Surface ready for launch this fall. Interestingly, this may be a more recent development for Microsoft, since the WSJ is under the impression that a Surface with a smaller form-factor wan’t on the initial roadmap last year.

Microsoft expert Paul Thurrott says that a smaller Surface is on the way as well, but he claims that it’s actually an “8-inch model, not 7-inches.” This move would actually fit in with Microsoft’s strategy, since the current Surface tablets are slightly wider than most to allow for a 16:9 aspect ratio and full keyboard. Even if the new Surface isn’t 16:9 – some sources believe that it could drop support for snap to accommodate the decreased width – an 8-inch device would fit in nicely with the Windows 8 branding. “Surface 8,” anyone? Before you call me crazy, Microsoft has been known to tie product branding and even sales statistics to the latest OS version number.

Windows 8.1 “Blue” is expected to bring with it support for lower-resolution 1024 x 768 tablets, and rumors of an “Xbox Surface” of some sort have been swirling for months. While the Surface RT and Surface Pro are great devices, some people find them a little on the large side for reading. A 7- or 8-inch Surface would likely be more comfortable to hold or carry around for avid readers. It could also be perfect as a “coffee table” device, especially thanks to Xbox SmartGlass.

The big question, of course, is what would happen to the Surface’s two signature features: the Touch/Type Cover and kickstand. A kickstand could easily be integrated into the smaller form-factor, but a full-sized Touch Cover probably wouldn’t work due to the smaller surface area.

What do you think? Would you want a “Surface 8?” Let us know in the comments or in our dedicated Microsoft Surface forum.

[The Wall Street Journal | Paul Thurrott]

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Over the last few months, I’ve spent a lot of time with tablets running Windows 8 and Windows RT, particularly the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT, ASUS VivoTab RT, Acer Iconia W510, and Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T (above, clockwise, starting in the lower-left). All four tablets are good in their own right, but I’ve been especially pleased with the Surface RT and ATIV Smart PC 500T. My goal is not to declare an absolute winner. Rather, I will be comparing and contrasting some key aspects of the devices, pointing out each one’s strengths and weaknesses and noting my personal preference in each category.

Hardware Design

Aesthetically, the Surface wins the design category hands-down, followed by the VivoTab and ATIV. The Iconia, while decent, isn’t very appealing. Of course, there’s more to the hardware than just what it looks like. The Surface RT build quality is also quite excellent. What it doesn’t have, however, is a physical rotation lock button, something that Acer and Samsung’s devices include. While this feature is implemented in the Windows 8 OS, a hardware button is especially convenient.

Unlike previous versions of Microsoft’s OS, Windows 8 is very reliant on the Start button/key/Charm. The capacitive Start button on the Surface and the physical Start button on the ATIV both feel great, but I wasn’t as pleased with the one on the VivoTab and Iconia, with the latter being especially problematic.

In a world where tablets are constantly used for media consumption and – often times – productivity, a kickstand is very nice to have. While you can purchase keyboard docks or cases for the VivoTab, Iconia, and ATIV to keep the screen upright, the Surface has a kickstand built right into the device. This, more than any other feature, has spoiled me to the point where the Surface is my go-to device for watching videos on a tablet. It’s nice to be able to set it on my lap or on a table and just hit play.

For the most part, all four devices have the same ports and connectivity options, but the VivoTab and Iconia require a special dongle in order to use the USB 2.0 port. This can be frustrating if you’re out of the house and forgot to bring the dongle. Thankfully, the full-size port is built into the Surface and ATIV, so you can plug in a USB device at any time. As for the power cable, the ATIV’s offers the greatest length and it can be connected with the cable angling in any direction. This is in direct comparison to the Iconia’s power cable, which felt short at times and stuck out at an awkward angle.

Personal Preference: Microsoft Surface with Windows RT
Runner-Up: Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T

Compatibility

This category is divided up into two sub-categories: Windows 8 and Windows RT. The Surface RT and VivoTab RT run – you guessed it – Microsoft’s new OS which has been designed to run on ARM processors. Unfortunately, desktop applications aren’t compatible with ARM processors, so you’ll only have access to apps on the Windows Store. Some of these aren’t compatible with ARM either, but the vast majority are. Windows RT has worked great for me in everyday use, although I probably wouldn’t recommend using one of these devices as your sole PC. While they are great for both consumption and productivity (Office 2013 RT comes free), they work best as companion devices like the iPad and Android tablets. And like these devices, Windows RT tablets are extremely secure.

The Iconia and ATIV, on the other hand, run full-blown Windows 8 thanks to their Intel “Clover Trail” processors. I was initially skeptical that they’d be able to meet the size, heat, and battery life standards of the ARM devices, but Intel and the hardware manufacturers were able to create devices which are comparable in almost every way. As a result, you can install everything from Outlook (which is not available in Office 2013 RT) to Photoshop and the SkyDrive for Windows desktop application. I’ve already run into a few situations where having a desktop application on a tablet has come in handy, even though I don’t need them in most cases.

The one downside is that the Iconia comes riddled with crapware. The situation with the ATIV is much better, but you’ll still have to uninstall a few applications before it’s ready to go.

Personal Preference: Windows 8
Runner-Up: Windows RT

Screen Size

All four devices run at a resolution of 1366 x 768, but they come in three different sizes. The VivoTab and Iconia have standard 10.1-inch displays, while the Surface has a custom 10.6-inch screen. But if the size is important to you, you’ll like the ATIV’s 11.6-inch display. The Surface’s screen size seems to hit the sweet spot between size and portability, but the one on the ATIV is very easy to carry around too, making it a close second.

Personal Preference: Microsoft Surface with Windows RT
Runner-Up: Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T

Performance

While each device I’m comparing features similar specs – the biggest differences being the processor and screen size – the “Clover Trail” processor has a slight advantage over ARM. Apps opened up noticeably faster on devices with Intel’s processor, and things just seemed to run smoother. That being said, it isn’t a huge difference, and the ARM devices are perfectly usable. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look at the performance of individual desktop applications on “Clover Trail” devices. But for now, I’ve been very impressed by how little battery life applications like SkyDrive for Windows desktop have used up while running in the background. I’ve noticed a few performance hiccups with the Iconia, but it’s still slightly faster than the ARM devices.

Personal Preference: Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T
Runner-Up: Acer Iconia W510

Keyboard/Stylus

The Surface, VivoTab, Iconia, and ATIV can all be purchased with or without a keyboard, but if a keyboard is important to you – and in my opinion, it should be - it will be a major factor in which device you choose. If portability is paramount, the Surface’s Touch and Type Covers are the way to go. They perfectly blend a magnetic cover with a 3mm touch keyboard or a 5mm keyboard with standard keys. I always have a physical keyboard with me when I carry around the Surface, thanks to how thin and portable the covers are.

If you’d prefer to emulate a laptop-like experience, the keyboard docks for the VivoTab and Iconia provide just that while nearly doubling the device’s total battery life. The ATIV has a keyboard dock too, but it doesn’t include a battery. These docks are much thicker and heavier than the Surface’s Touch/Type Covers, but the benefits will outweigh these costs for many people. I’ve only had hands-on time with the ASUS VivoTab RT Mobile Dock (look for our review on Tuesday), but my Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T dock will be arriving soon.

The ATIV Smart PC 500T also comes with a digital S-Pen, allowing you to write notes directly on documents, draw diagrams and sketches, etc. A digital stylus is nothing new (I had a Toshiba tablet with a pen back in 2006), but it’s very nice to have around. This, combined with the keyboard dock, makes the ATIV the most versatile of the four devices.

Personal Preference: Surface Touch/Type Cover
Runner-Up: Samsung S-Pen

Battery Life

When it comes to battery life, these tablets are fairly similar across the board. Each offers approximately nine hours of battery life, which is plenty for day-to-day use; especially if you charge it every night. But whereas the Surface’s thin Touch/Type Cover is great for portability, the keyboard docks for the VivoTab and Iconia add an additional seven to nine hours of power, significantly extending your battery life. So if battery life is key, you’ll want to pick up one of those two tablets and a keyboard dock. If not, any of the four will work equally well.

Personal Preference: ASUS VivoTab RT with Mobile Dock
Runner-Up: Acer Iconia W510 with Keyboard Dock

Gallery

As you can see, each device has its strengths and weaknesses, but there are two obvious frontrunners. Still, you shouldn’t take this to mean that the other two are inadequate; this is just a brief look at each device. For more in-depth coverage, check out our reviews of the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT and the ASUS VivoTab RT. And stay tuned for our reviews of the Acer Iconia W510 (coming this Monday) and Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T.

The Acer Iconia W510 and Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T tablets were provided to me, by Intel, as part of the company’s #IntelTablets #TabletCrew program.

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When Microsoft released the Surface with Windows RT at the end of October last year, it promised to release a more high-performance version based on Intel’s processor within 90 days. Now, just a little over three months later, it’s finally time for the debut of the Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro.

A full PC with Ultrabook-like specs and the form-factor of a tablet, the Surface Pro is ideal for people who want the best of both worlds. It’s not without some compromises – the high-end specs and thin design mean you’ll only get about five hours of use on a full charge – but it’s still an excellent piece of hardware. In addition to running Windows 8 Pro, the Surface Pro comes with a stylus and a slightly modified design based on user feedback.

I’m really excited about the launch of the Surface Pro, since it offers full compatibility with all of your favorite apps and games. I don’t usually need to use desktop applications like Outlook and Photoshop on a tablet – that’s what my desktop PC is for – but they’ve certainly come in handy on occasion. If you’re looking for a companion device, the Surface RT is the way to go. But if you want a true laptop replacement which also doubles as a tablet, look no further than the Surface Pro.

Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro is available at the Microsoft Store, as well as other retail locations including Best Buy and Staples. You can pick up the 64GB model for $899 or the 128GB model for $999 (I highly recommend reading Ed Bott’s piece on Surface storage space). A number of limited edition accessories are also being released to celebrate the launch.

Will you be picking up a Surface Pro?

[Microsoft]

Full disclosure: I am a member of the #IntelTablets #TabletCrew program, but any and all opinions expressed on this site are that of my own.

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When Microsoft released the Surface with Windows RT at the end of October, it promised to deliver the more powerful Surface with Windows 8 Pro 90 days later. Today, the Redmond devices and services company announced that the Surface Pro will go on sale on February 9 – 106 days after the Surface RT. In conjunction with this release, Microsoft plans to make available three limited edition Touch Covers and a Surface edition of the Wedge Touch Mouse, as well as wider availability for the Surface RT and a new cover-less 64GB SKU.

Most of the Surface Pro specs remain unchanged, including the Intel Core i5 processor, 64GB/128GB of storage, 10.6-inch ClearType Full HD Display (1920 x 1080), 4GB of RAM, USB 3.0, and the inclusion of a Surface Pen. The company did, however, tweak a few minor things based on user feedback, including the screen angle, power cable, and microUSB card slot. More importantly, the Surface Pro will ship with a Type Cover in the box, eliminating one of the device’s two biggest complaints. The other, of course, being the five-hour-or-so battery life. The Surface Pro will retail for $899 (64GB) and $999 (128GB).

If the Surface RT is more your style, you’ll be able to pick up a 64GB model without the bundled Touch Cover on the same date. The big question, however, is pricing. There is a $100 difference between the 32GB Surface RT and the 32GB Surface RT with Black Touch Cover, so it would stand to reason that the 64GB Surface RT will retail for $599, $100 less than the 64GB Surface RT with Black Touch Cover and matching the price of the 32GB bundle. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a little while longer for the exact details.

Additionally, the Surface RT is expanding to new 13 markets. Specifically, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. This is in addition to Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the UK, and the US, where the device is currently available. The device, of course, is sold at Microsoft Stores in the US and Canada, as well as select retailers like Best Buy, Staples, and others around the world.

Last but not least are the two new accessories: The Touch Cover Limited Edition and the Wedge Touch Mouse Surface Edition. The former features a laser-etched design which differs based on which color you pick up – red, magenta, or cyan. These limited edition Touch Covers will retail for $129 – the same price as the Type Cover – and will only be available for a short time. The new Surface edition of the Wedge Touch Mouse, on the other hand, is the same Bluetooth-with-four-way-scrolling model that Microsoft Hardware released last year, but with a similar finish to the Surface’s VaporMg casing. It will retail for $69.95.

Update: While the press release initially said that the Type Cover would be included, this is apparently not the case. You will have to purchase it separately, just as Microsoft originally stated.

[The Official Microsoft Blog]

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You shouldn’t own a tablet without a keyboard. Let me rephrase that: Unless all you’re interested in is browsing the internet, watching movies, and playing a few games, tablets feel incomplete without a keyboard dock/cover/attachment of some sort.

Tablets are great consumption devices, but if I want to get any work done at all – at least, at a reasonable pace – I need a real keyboard. Virtual keyboards are great in many cases, but I would never want to use one to write a paper, article, or even a long email. One could argue that I’ve been spoiled by the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT and its Touch Cover, but using a virtual keyboard for more than entertainment consumption and simple responses has always frustrated me. Some work better than others – the Kindle Fire’s virtual keyboard is atrocious – but none can match a dock or cover.

Over the last few months, I’ve become accustomed to effortlessly switching between work and play modes with my Surface, due in large part to the Touch Cover. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my two other Windows 8/RT tablets, the ASUS VivoTab RT and the Acer Iconia W510. I’m supposed to receive a keyboard dock for the former device at some point - although it hasn’t arrived yet – and I’m seriously considering picking up a dock for the latter as well. While I’ve only had the Iconia W510 for a few days, I’ve found it difficult to get any real work done on the device. It works great for consumption, but it’s not nearly as versatile.

Maybe it’s just me, but using a tablet for anything other than consumption without a keyboard just doesn’t feel right.

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The Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro is set to be released in just a few weeks, roughly 90 days after the Surface with Windows RT hit the market. I fully expected the device to be virtually identical to its predecessor, but with a slightly thicker form-factor and the inclusion of a pen, fan, and beefier internal hardware. Surprisingly, the Redmond devices and services company didn’t just rest on its laurels. Instead, the Surface Pro has a number of minor tweaks aimed at addressing user feedback from the first three months on the market.

While I stand by my relatively glowing review of the Surface RT, the device did have a few minor annoyances. The biggest of which, of course, was a charging port which seemed great in theory but was a little difficult to use in practice. Thankfully, while Microsoft kept the same design with the Surface Pro, it has been tweaked in such a way as to make it much easier to use. Other power-related improvements include a longer power cable and the introduction of an extra USB port on the charging unit. Microsoft also bumped up the distinctive 22-degree chamfer to 26 degrees for a better viewing angle - adjusting the back-facing camera accordingly – and repositioned the microSDXC card slot on the right-hand side of the device, rather than under the kickstand. None of these alterations are particularly life-changing, but they do serve to add an additional layer of polish to what was already an excellent device.

So should you upgrade to the Surface Pro? That depends on what you need. Personally, I like to describe the Surface RT as a tablet with laptop functionality and the Surface Pro as a laptop with tablet functionality. Both devices share a similar design and compatible accessories, but the Surface RT is a tablet that you can use for work. The Surface Pro, on the other hand, is a laptop with the body of a tablet, bringing with it full application compatibility but a shorter battery life, thicker design, some additional weight.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft decides to release a Surface RT design refresh a few months from now to bring it in line with the Surface Pro. Regardless, it’s nice to see that the company isn’t waiting for version two to address customer feedback.

[The Verge]

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While the performance increases we’ve seen in the last year or so have been more in the “nice to have” category on most mobile device platforms, the one area where increases in performance has some actual use is for full fledged Windows devices. The faster you can make tablets and laptops without sacrificing portability, the more like a true computer they become. That also opens up for using them for computer gaming, and while you won’t be running the latest games with maximum settings, that’s frankly not needed to have a good time. That leaves you with one problem though: Controls. On a laptop, the lack of a mouse- and in some cases a better keyboard- are potential issues. On a tablet, the complete lack of both those two things is definitely an issue. You could lug around a mouse and a keyboard, or you could go the console route, and hook up a controller. The Xbox 360 might be 7 years old and due for an upgrade, but its controllers- which are fully compatible with Windows- are in the prime of their lives. 

A while ago I started using the wireless adapter I bought for using a resurrected (broken controller that I replaced the shell of) Xbox 360 controller on Android with my PC, like it was designed for. It had some issues, partly due to the replacement shell of the controller being a bit off, partly because of some USB bandwidth issues I had. I like playing with a controller, so I went out and bought the wired USB version of the controller, which can connect to both Xbox 360 consoles and Windows computers over USB. I still have the wireless adapter and controller, but the wired controller works best for my needs.

The original wireless adapter I had required me to browse the drivers manually on my computer, while the wired controller installed itself without problems. The drivers are built into Windows, so even the manual installation only meant browsing local drivers and finding the one for the Xbox 360 wireless adapter, but it’s still a but of an issue when this happens. Since my wireless adapter was a knockoff, however I don’t know if that’s the reason why it happened. However, since the solution I found online (installing drivers manually) was for the official adapter, I think not. I have also seen YouTube videos of the wireless adapter used on Windows RT, and the same method of manually browsing for drivers was used there. Bottom line, whether or not the controller will install itself or not seems to depend on both OS and chance, so I’d suggest googling for an OS-specific solution if you should encounter the issue.

Design

Most people are familiar with the Xbox 360 controller, but I’ll quickly go over the design. You have two analog sticks, one mounted higher on the controller than the other. You have a d-pad, which on the special edition controller that came out a couple of years ago (wireless only) can be switched from 4 way mode to 8 way mode. You have start and select buttons, which work like you’d expect depending on the game, with the start button often working like Escape on a PC. You have four shoulder buttons, two of which are analog, and four normal digital game buttons. The difference between analog sticks/buttons and digital ones is that analog controls don’t deal with absolute states like on/off. Instead they notice how hard you pull a trigger, or in exactly what direction and how far you’re pushing a stick. This actually gives controllers an advantage over a mouse and keyboard in areas where the keyboard is used for movement, which is restricted to digital controls unless you’re Ben Heck.

The wireless controller has a 2x AA battery back on the bottom, whereas the wired controller just has the USB cable – which is luckily long enough to not be an issue – sticking out from the top. The Xbox button, a middle button used to turn the controller on and indicate which controller position it’s in (1-4), can also be used on Windows via a helper program that you can download from Microsoft. This gives you battery status on the wireless controller when the button is pressed, whereas it’s mostly a useless on-screen controller number identifier for the wired controller. Both controllers also have two motors for vibrations, and an accessory port used for connecting accessories like a keypad to the controller. Both the wireless adapter and the wired controller use USB for the actual connection, so you don’t need anything more than that- though obviously, the wireless adapter is “something more than just the controller.”

I have to say that the Xbox 360 controller might be the best controller ever made. It’s a pleasure to use, with ergonomics that I personally don’t think are matched by any controller on the market. Part of my issue with Android game controllers/consoles is that no matter how many third party controllers come out, the 7 year old Xbox 360 controller will still be a better controller. Being able to use it on Windows is therefore a big bonus, as it gives you what I think is the best controller out there.

Performance

What’s great about this controller is that Xbox 360 controller support is built right into a ton of games. This has a lot to do with the multi-platform aspect of gaming these days, and many games are released both on consoles and for the PC. Heck, many PC games are ports of console games, and might even be designed to be used with a controller, only to get mouse and keyboard support as an add-on. Since Windows support is an official feature of Xbox controllers, most developers put the support into the PC version of the games as well. Every game I have in my Steam library is also available as a console game, and all have support for the Xbox controller built in. I don’t know if this is a universal rule, but it seems to be.

What’s nice is that we’re talking seriously deep integration here, with games essentially switching to Xbox mode when a controller is detected. On-screen button instructions change to show icons of the buttons, everything is mapped perfectly from the get-go, and you have the same controller controls as you’d have on an Xbox console. This sort of deep integration goes beyond what you get with a standard game controller, which is why there are software tools out there that let you emulate an Xbox controller with other controllers. It just makes it so much easier to use a controller when you don’t have to run after your PC and beat it with a stick to make it understand what to do with the signals it receives from the USB port.

As for performance, you essentially get the Xbox 360 experience when using this controller on a PC. A lot of games are the same, but PC gaming in general has two major advantages: Mods, and performance. During the Steam holiday sale I bought a game I used to love playing on the PS3, Just Cause 2. I bought it because on the PC, you can mod the heck out of it, making it a sandbox like few others. On top of that, since I primarily play games on my desktop computer rather than my laptop, the ability to run the game in 1080p with high settings makes it a better graphical experience than it was on consoles. If you run games on a tablet or laptop, however, you’re likely to run things at lower settings, but last year’s games’ high settings are next year’s games’ low settings.

Conclusion

An Xbox 360 controller might be one of the best accessories you can get if you like to do some gaming on your laptop or tablet, or just your home computer for that matter. Some PC gamers swear to a mouse and keyboard, but I think PC gaming is getting closer and closer to console gaming in many ways. Steam recently launched its Big Picture mode, which basically lets you run the Steam program in a special full screen mode that’s more like the interface of a console. The idea is that this, paired with a game controller, essentially turns your PC into a game console.

This idea is very interesting, especially with regards to mobile computers. Fewer and fewer people even have desktop computers, instead relying on laptops and tablets. As these devices become more powerful, a massive library of existing games become available to them. Having a controller and a TV/controller friendly UI eliminates the last remnants of the old desktop PC setup dependence, which I think is a nice thing. Come home, connect your Windows 8 tablet to your TV, grab the controller, and relax with an hour or two of Skyrim.

Microsoft sells both the wireless controller, the wired controller, and the wireless controller adapter. You can pick them up just about anywhere that sells games, with prices in the range of $15-20 for the wireless adapter, $30-40 for the wired controller, and $35-60 for the wireless controller. Lately I’ve seen that Microsoft has packaged these controllers in a special Windows-branded box, likely to highlight the controllers as compatible with Windows, even though any controller will work on both. When I bought my wired controller, it came in such a Windows branded box, and also available was a wireless controller with the adapter bundled.

It’s nice to see that Microsoft recognizes that the market for these controllers on Windows is very much there,both with regards to the integration with games (though a lot of the credit here goes to individual game developers) and this branding. I do wish that Microsoft would do something about that ridiculously large wireless adapter, as I’d think it would be possible to shrink it down a lot. considering the focus on portability in the PC world lately, both with regards to tablets and ultrabooks, having a smaller wireless adapter (or even having the functionality built into some computers, if the hardware was small enough) would definitely make this an even more desirable accessory for mobile Windows setups. I wouldn’t complain if a company decided to come out with a tablet that has a multimedia dock with a built-in wireless adapter either, if licensing allows it. Either way, a controller like this is a great accessory to have around.

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Christmas is the perfect time to show your family the latest tech and find out what they think. So yesterday, I sat down with my grandfather and pulled out my Microsoft Surface with Windows RT tablet. I’d shown him Windows 8 on a laptop while it was in the pre-release phase, but this was the first time I’d seen him since the OS – and the tablet – hit the market on October 26.

Based on past experience, I wasn’t sure how he’d react. He loves technology, but he hasn’t followed the tech industry for a few years and, as a result, has gotten pretty far behind. Additionally, he hasn’t always been too excited about some newer software updates and he isn’t afraid to voice his opinion. So part of me was surprised when he couldn’t stop raving about the Surface.

Windows 8 is, in many ways, a big change. It’s arguably the biggest update to Windows since Windows 95, bringing with it a whole new interface and ushering in a new era of laptop/tablet hybrids. While there is a slight learning curve, my grandfather mastered it quickly and was soon navigating the new interface with ease. What really impressed him, however, was that it worked great both as a tablet and as a traditional laptop. He’d been thinking about getting a tablet for some time now, but he didn’t want to give up his traditional desktop applications. While they won’t run on the Surface with Windows RT, the upcoming Surface with Windows 8 Pro will support them. After spending a little while with the Surface and discussing the differences between the models, he quickly decided to pick up a Surface Pro when it’s released next month.

Touchscreens can be difficult for some people to use, since their fingers will often accidentally move or bump something. But the experience is still, in many ways, superior to a mouse and keyboard for people like my grandfather. Of course, when he needs the finer control provided by a mouse and keyboard, it’s right there waiting for him. The Surface’s kickstand, too, proved to be a huge bonus, since he didn’t have to hold the device the entire time. At one point, I had him switch to an ASUS VivoTab RT tablet (check back soon for our review) for a few minutes, and he immediately complained about the lack of a kickstand.

Many people have said that the experience of switching between the new interface and the traditional desktop can be jarring, but my grandfather seemed to transition effortlessly. He loved having the desktop for programs like Access and AutoCAD, but he really enjoyed the new app experience as well, particularly Weather and News. No, seriously, he probably spent a good hour checking the weather back home.

In the end, he actually ended up calling other friends and family members over so he could show them the tablet and apps, and spent time demoing them without any involvement on my part. The fact that he was able to quickly pick it up well enough to teach someone else is telling. Yes, Windows 8 is a big change, but it’s actually a good one. Best of all, it works for all ages and use cases, from kids to seniors and students to business professions. And if you’re a power user, here are some tips on how to make Windows 8 “not suck.”

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The trackpad on the Touch and Type Covers for the Microsoft Surface with Windows RT implements the increasingly popular reverse scrolling direction, which is nice for some people and extremely irritating for others. Thankfully, those in the latter group don’t have to live with it. While I have, for the most part, gotten used to scrolling in the opposite direction, Microsoft actually provides a way to change this with the Trackpad Settings app.

Compatible only with the Surface, the Trackpad Settings app allows you to flip the scrolling direction, as well as enable or disable scrolling, tap gestures, or even the entire trackpad in general. The app is limited to only these four options, but many people are sure to find it invaluable.

Some people might experience a minor issue where the app cannot detect the Touch/Type Cover, but there’s a relatively simple fix:

1. Make sure you have the latest updates: From the Start screen, type Update, tap Settings, then tap Check for updates.
2. From the Start screen, type Devices, tap Settings, then tap Devices and Printers. Then tap Refresh three times (circular arrow next to Search box). Try using the app again.

Download: Windows Store

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The Microsoft Surface with Windows RT is a great tablet (read our review here), but until now, the device has only been available at Microsoft’s sixty-six retail and pop-up stores in the US and Canada. While it was certainly possible to purchase the device through the store’s website – in fact, this was the only option for people in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, and the UK - it made it difficult for people to get some hands-on time before handing over a few hundred dollars. In response to customers and retailers, Microsoft has decided to widen availability to a number of retailers like Best Buy and Staples. Naturally, production is being intensified to meet the increased demand.

According to Microsoft Retail Sales and Marketing corporate vice president Steve Schueler, this move is being done a few weeks ahead of schedule. The original plan was to “expand the retail presence for Surface after the first of the year,” but you’ll actually start seeing Surface tablets in stores in the United States and Australia as early as tomorrow, with additional countries coming soon.

Staples is the first retailer to announce that it will be carrying the Microsoft Surface “at all Staples locations and Staples.com as early as December 12.” Best Buy is also reportedly on the list has the Surface listed as “coming soon”, and Harvey Norman, JB-HiFi, and Officeworks in Australia are reportedly on the list as well.

This is excellent news for customers, as it means that they’ll be able to test the device’s standout features like the integrated kickstand and Touch or Type Covers for themselves, but it will also increase the Microsoft Surface’s exposure exponentially. One has to wonder how many customers walked into their local store after seeing one of the Surface commercials or reading a review, only to find out that it wasn’t available. This should rectify that problem.

[Microsoft | ZDNet]

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Xbox SmartGlass provides a great second screen companion experience for Xbox 360, allowing you to control your console, manage media playback, and access information about whatever experience you’re currently using, and much more. While the first iteration of the app was released last year as the Xbox Companion app, the release of SmartGlass and the new Xbox 360 dashboard update took things a step further and added a whole slew of great features.

Two of my favorite - albeit minor – additions are the option to pull up the Guide and the ability to jump through lists as if you were pressing the bumpers (LB/RB) or triggers (LT/RT) on the controller. The former is fairly self-explanatory (just tap Switch and then hit Guide), but you might not discover the latter without some experimentation. Here’s how it works:

With the original Xbox Companion app, you had to navigate the dashboard using the four directional arrows. While these still exist if you’re using a mouse and keyboard on Windows 8, the touch experience on Windows Phone, Windows 8, Android, and iOS is even better, allowing you to slide your finger side-to-side in order to move around.

The best part, however, is that devices with bigger screens like the Microsoft Surface support an additional gesture. Short swipes still allow you to move between tiles on the dashboard, but longer swipes will actually pivot between screens or jump through lists. It’s a subtle feature, but it makes navigating the dashboard even faster and more convenient.

SmartGlass is available now on Windows 8, Windows Phone (both 7.x and 8), Android phones, and iOS (including, as of last week, better support for the iPhone 5).

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One of the things I like about Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 is how integrated the gaming experience is. Both platforms are powered by Microsoft’s extremely popular Xbox LIVE service, so they include the usual achievements, leaderboards, friends lists, Avatars, etc. But they also include support for asynchronous game notifications, Beacons, and SmartGlass. The end result is an experience that is consistent across platforms, despite the obvious differences in hardware and software.

The best examples of this are turn notifications and SmartGlass. I recently downloaded the new Xbox LIVE-enabled version of AlphaJax (a game I highly recommend, by the way), started a few games, and then sat down in front of my Windows 8 PC to get some work done. A few minutes later, a push notification appeared on Windows 8 letting me know that I had a new AlphaJax game invite. While I couldn’t continue the game on my PC – AlphaJax isn’t available on Windows 8 - the notification was a handy reminder that someone was waiting for me to take my turn. Many games support these notifications, and they also appear on Windows Phone.

SmartGlass works similarly, instantly sending a notification to my devices when I turn on my Xbox 360. This allows me to sit down in the living room, turn on my game console, and tap the notification on my Microsoft Surface with Windows RT tablet to start controlling the Xbox and using second-screen experiences. The SmartGlass Live Tile also shows whatever game you’re currently playing or recently finished.

Beacons are the only aspect of this that doesn’t work as well as I’d like. While notifications appear in the Games Hub’s notification center on Windows Phone whenever a friend starts playing a game I’ve set a Beacon for, they stay around way too long. More often than not, the friend has long since finished by the time I notice the Beacon, yet it still shows up under notifications. As a result, Beacons haven’t been all that useful on mobile devices as opposed to the actual Xbox 360 console.

Of course, these are just a few of the many gaming features. Beacons and notifications aren’t new on Windows Phone, but with Windows 8 devices now on store shelves, the experience has become better than ever before. Game notifications are no longer limited to just my phone; they’re on PCs and tablets as well.

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The Microsoft Surface with Windows RT, the Redmond devices and services company’s first-ever computer, was released a month ago to a fairly good critical reception (read our review here). Many people, however, have been hesitant to jump on the Windows RT bandwagon, despite the obvious appeal of the hardware. But come January, you’ll be able to pick up a Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro for less than a grand.

Calob recently wrote about the appeal of Windows 8′s tablet/laptop hybrid form-factor and its potential role as an “iPad killer,” and I completely agree with him. But while the Surface RT is excellent, it does have a few limitations: namely, the inability to install legacy desktop applications like Photoshop, Outlook (the rest of the Office suite is included for free), and others. The Surface Pro changes this, offering many of the same features and a very similar form-factor.

Scheduled for release sometime in January 2013, Surface with Windows 8 Pro will be offered in the 64GB and 128GB varieties for $899 and $999, respectively. That’s just $200 more than the top-of-the-line Surface with Windows RT. I was concerned that the Surface Pro would be priced somewhere around the $1,200 range, so this pricing is quite exciting.

In addition to the tablet itself, your 9-10 Benjamins will get you a Surface pen with Palm Block technology, an Intel Core i5 processor, a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1200 (2560 x 1440 while using video out via the Mini Display Port), and USB 3.0. The rest of the specs are nearly identical to the Surface RT, aside from an increase of 4.2mm in thickness, an additional 0.5lbs of weight, and a bigger 42.5W-h battery.

There are, however, a few downsides. Unlike the Surface RT, the Surface Pro does not include a free copy of Office 2013 or – believe it or not – a Touch or Type Cover. For a device that’s even closer to a full-fledged PC than the first Surface, the exclusion of the trademark cover is surprising. Thankfully, they can be purchased separately for $119-129. To be fair, the low-end Surface RT model doesn’t include a Touch Cover either, and not bundling it with the Surface Pro allows customers to choose which keyboard they’d prefer.

Will you be picking up a Surface with Windows 8 Pro in January? Let us know in the comments and stop by the forums for further discussion.

[The Microsoft Blog via enConnected]

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Last week Thursday, along with eating insane amounts of turkey and visiting with family and friends, I was able to see a family member’s brand-new ASUS VivoBook. This particular VivoBook was the X202E-DH31T model, which means that it has an Intel Core i3 processor clocked at 1.8GHz, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB 5,400RPM hard drive.

After using it for a while, I understand how Microsoft thinks that this can compete with the iPad: this particular VivoBook is a traditional laptop, complete with the ability to run traditional Windows software, just with a touchscreen that turns the laptop into a tablet when you are done with work that requires a keyboard and mouse versus just your fingers.

Everything was very smooth, even with the spinning platter storage and less-than-stellar processor. Apps opened up quickly and animations and transitions were as smooth on the ASUS as they are on my Intel Core i7 3770k- and 7970GHz Edition-powered gaming rig.

When I was finished fiddling around with the laptop, I went back to my iPad and realized that, while it’s a fantastic device, Windows 8 devices are just a bit better. Instead of lugging around my MacBook and a tablet, I could just bring my VivoBook (or other Windows 8 convertible) along with me and save on weight and forego the uneasiness that comes with bringing a lot of expensive tech along to wherever I need to go – while still being able to do the work that I do which requires a full desktop experience.

At this point, I don’t think I’m ready to entirely give up a laptop/tablet combination, but I’m starting to consider it. I always knew that the Windows 8 convertibles and hybrids that were introduced earlier this year would be competition for Apple, but I just didn’t realize just how fantastic they would turn out to be – and how worried the Cupertino-based company should be, too.

I think I’d personally like something with even more power than this particular VivoBook, but the point still stands: Windows 8 convertibles and hybrids are, in my opinion, the true iPad and Android tablet killers.

But that’s just one man, one editor’s experience. Have you used a Windows 8 hybrid or convertible? And if so, did you like it – or even feel that you wanted to replace your current mobile setup with one? Let’s chat in the comments below!

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After decades of sitting on the sidelines, Microsoft has entered the PC and tablet market with the release of the Surface, a tablet with laptop aspects running Windows RT. The device is, in many ways, the gold standard of computing – particularly on Windows – and it features a number of unique innovations. After a few weeks of using the Surface on a day-to-day basis, it’s time for the final word. Read on to find out if it’s worth your money.

Quick Specs

The Surface is one of the larger tablets on the market, thanks to its 1366 x 768 widescreen 10.6-inch ClearType HD Display, and it is fashioned out of the nearly indestructible VaporMg casing. Inside, it’s powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 31.5W-h battery, along with your choice of either 32GB or 64GB of storage (although a portion of this is used up by the Windows RT OS). And at 1.5lbs, it’s just slightly heavier than the iPad.

For audio and video calls, the Surface comes with 720p HD LifeCams on both the front and back of the device, as well as dual microphones and stereo speakers. A bevy of connectivity options and sensors also come standard, including 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, microSDXC, HD video out, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as a gyroscope, compass, accelerometer, and ambient light sensor.

The real highlight, however, is the optional Touch/Type Cover and the integrated kickstand. Combined, these features could very well allow you to replace your old laptop with a Surface, especially since it comes with Windows RT and a free copy of Office Home and Student 2013 RT.

Packaging

The Surface packaging is surprisingly nice. Microsoft has eschewed a bunch of flashy images and data overload in favor of a clean and simple white box with a slick black sleeve. It’s worth noting that the black sleeve is cut at an angle not dissimilar to the chamfer on the device itself, lending a sense of cohesion to the entire package. Surface logos can be found on the front and two of the sides of the box, and the back highlights a few of the important technical specifications.

Sliding off the sleeve reveals the even simpler white box with “Surface” in blue letters, as well as a small black piece in which the optional Touch or Type Cover is set. And inside the box itself, which opens like a book, you’ll find the Surface, power cable, and the standard user manuals and other required documents.

Hardware

The Surface is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful tablets on the market. The device itself is jet black, but the optional Touch Cover can be used to inject color. Most tablets and computers are unimaginative, but the Surface will instantly stand out in a crowd.

The VaporMg casing is extremely durable and the metal always feels cool to the touch – more refreshing than actually cold. A 22-degree chamfer also runs around the perimeter of the entire device, complementing the kickstand’s 22-degree angle. It’s very comfortable to hold, for the most part, although I found myself readjusting my grip from time to time.

If you’re coming from a smaller tablet like the Kindle Fire, the 10.81 x 6.77 x 0.37-inch Surface will definitely feel larger and heavier than you’re used to. iPad owners, on the other hand, probably won’t have any issues adjusting to the additional 0.06lbs and the 0.9-inch bump up in screen size. The Surface is also wider than most tablets, allowing it to provide a full 16:9 entertainment experience and accommodate the keyboard on the Touch and Type Covers. As a result, I found myself using the device in its default landscape orientation most of the time. Portrait works well, but it almost seems too narrow. Size-wise, the Surface is large enough to get work done, but small enough that it can fit on an airplane tray table (including the Touch/Type Cover) with plenty of room to spare.

The screen fills up the majority of the front of the device, but the Surface does have a black strip around the edge in which the front-facing camera, active camera LED, and the Start button are situated. Surprisingly, some of the people I’ve showed the Surface to had no idea that the latest iteration of the distinctive Windows flag was actually a capacitive button. The only other instance of branding you’ll find on the device is the identical Windows flag on the back.

The hardware power button can be found on the top of the device, while the dual microphones are arrayed in the center. The power button has some travel and feels great most of the time, but I did find myself wondering if I was holding it down all of the way when attempting to force a restart for testing purposes.

The left side includes the headphone jack, one of the two speakers, and the volume rocker. Here, you’ll also find a small indent for opening the kickstand. The volume rocker might be a bit too sensitive, however, since in a few instances I’ve noticed the volume go from muted to 2-4% after pulling it out of my backpack.

The right side of the device is where most of the ports and slots can be found, including HD video out, a USB port, microSDXC card slot, magnetic power plug, and second speaker. You’ll need a special adaptor for VGA or HDMI out, but the USB port is extremely versatile. In fact, while the inclusion of a USB port has often been looked over by many people, it opens up the world of possibilities that you’ve come to expect from Windows devices. Most printers are supported out of the box, and you can use the port for anything from mice and keyboards to flash drives, smartphones, and USB sound cards. The microSDXC card slot is hidden under the kickstand, so it can be a little difficult to find, but it allows you to expand the storage significantly.

The magnetic power cable, unfortunately, is one of the few areas in which the Surface’s design falls short. It can take a little fiddling to set it properly, so you can’t mindlessly snap it in. You can, however, connect it in either direction. Additionally, the light on the tip of the power cable is a double-edged sword. The small white indicator allows you to tell if power is flowing to the device, but it’s bright enough that if you leave the Surface next to your bed at night, you might have to point the light away from you.

The speakers are a little on the quiet side, and I found it difficult to watch a movie at a comfortable volume without headphones. It’s loud enough for games and notifications, but you’ll probably want to use headphones if you aren’t in a quiet room. Here, however, the Surface shines. The headphone audio quality is consistently excellent, and the volume has such a range that I rarely found myself going higher than 15%.

On the bottom, you’ll find the magnetic connector for the Touch and Type Cover which stretches across the length of the device. The experience of connecting the cover is a snap – pardon the pun - and it’s everything that the power cable should have been. The magnetic connection is strong enough that you can safely swing the device with the cover, but disconnecting it takes no effort at all. Some people might find this groove slightly uncomfortable in their hands when the cover isn’t attached, but it didn’t bother me too much. Although, since I rarely used the device in portrait mode, I didn’t really have to worry about it anyway.

Last, but certainly not least, is the back of the device, where you’ll find the kickstand and rear-facing camera. The addition of the kickstand is the best thing Microsoft could have ever done, since it allows the tablet to be propped up like a laptop. The angle is locked at 22-degrees, but I found this optimal in most situations. And yes, the sound and build quality of the kickstand is just as satisfying as Microsoft has repeatedly claimed in its presentations and ads. The camera is also slightly angled, providing it with a straight shot when the kickstand is out.

Without a doubt, the Surface has the best hardware I’ve ever used. The build quality is top-notch, and the entire device has a premium, high-quality feel. The only exceptions to this being the power cable and the somewhat quiet speakers. And with the Touch/Type Cover and integrated kickstand, it’s a no-brainer for both work and entertainment.

Screen

The Surface features a non-standard 10.6-inch display running at a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. This, of course, is the minimum resolution for Windows 8/RT if you want to use Snap for multitasking in landscape mode. The resolution isn’t as high as some tablets on the market, but it’s hardly noticeable. Text renders very well, thanks to the ClearType HD technology, and HD videos look great. It even works well in direct sunlight, although you’ll need to turn up the brightness.

The screen responsiveness was excellent as well. The only time I had an issue with it recognizing a touch, swipe, or pinch was in a few poorly-designed third-party apps. Thankfully, these are few and far between, and the worst offender, LastPass, recently received an update which fixed most of the problems.

5-point multi-touch is supported, but two people won’t be able to use an app like Fresh Paint at the same time. It’s not a big deal in most cases, but it was noticeable when a seven-year-old asked for help painting a picture and we had to take turns.

Software

Much like Windows Phone, Windows 8/RT provides a consistent experience across devices. Hardware manufacturers can preinstall a few apps and add some features, but the core Windows experience is always the same. As a result, this review will only touch upon the software features and apps exclusive to Windows RT.

One of the biggest reasons to get a Surface is the inclusion of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT, allowing you to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote on your tablet. This, of course, is because Windows RT doesn’t support legacy desktop applications. The device ships with a preview version of the Office suite, but an update to the final version was already available at launch. And unlike most tablets and smartphones, you won’t have to settle for a stripped-down version of Office. A handful of the more advanced features aren’t yet available in Office 2013 RT, but you probably won’t notice their exclusion. Plus, Surface owners are the first to get their hands on the latest version of Office, which isn’t publically available yet.

It’s worth noting that Office, the file system, and advanced system settings are only reasons you’ll have to use the traditional Windows desktop on your Surface. Microsoft doesn’t have Windows Store versions of its productivity suite yet - aside from OneNote – but Office 2013′s Touch Mode is enabled by default and I never encountered any issues with touch in this mode.

The biggest barrier to using the Surface as your primary computing device is Windows RT. The OS is almost identical to Windows 8, but a few applications like Windows Media Player are missing (although with the inclusion of Xbox Music and free music streaming, it’s not necessary) and you can’t install desktop applications. Instead, you’ll need to rely on the Windows Store to download all of your apps, just like on other tablets. This might seem like a downside at first – and it might be, if you need to install something like Photoshop or a high-end video game – but I’ve found that I rarely use desktop applications anymore. The Windows Store is growing fast, and it already has almost everything I need. I was, however, disappointed to discover that a handful of games in the Windows Store don’t support Windows RT yet.

Having used Windows Phone as my primary smartphone for two years, I initially found the text correction and prediction slightly difficult to get used to. While Windows Phone has a superior virtual keyboard, the one included with Windows 8 is pretty good. Plus, being able to switch between a full keyboard, split keyboard for fast typing with two thumbs, and handwriting recognition (which is so good it’s scary) was very handy.

The Surface is also my first true experience with Windows 8/RT on a touchscreen device. And boy does it impress. Windows 8 with a keyboard and mouse works very well (read the full review for more details), but a touchscreen device is where it truly shines.

Performance

As previously stated, the Surface comes with a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor and 2GB of RAM, which is more than enough to run the apps in the Windows Store. Load times for a game like Adera are a few seconds longer on the Surface than on my 2.6GHz six-core desktop PC with 8GB of RAM, but that’s completely understandable.

While performance is great most of the time, there were a few instances early on where I noticed issues with performance hiccups and frame rate issues, but they quickly passed. Thankfully, these issues seem to have disappeared post-firmware update.

Office Home and Student 2013 RT has great performance as well. The applications start up very quickly, and I never experienced any hangs, lockups, and other glitches.

Overall, Surface with Windows RT has excellent performance. The interface is fast and fluid, and it truly is a joy to use.

Keyboard & Trackpad

The Touch/Type Cover is one of the highlights of the Surface, and it delivers. The Touch Cover is shockingly thin at just 3mm, making it as easy to use as a book cover. The keys are sensitive enough that you don’t have to press them very hard, but intelligent enough that you can lightly tap along with music without accidental keystrokes. After a few days of getting adjusted to it, I was able to type on it almost as fast as on my old laptop with a chiclet keyboard, although my thumbs will still occasionally miss the spacebar for some reason.

If you’d prefer a more traditional typing experience, you can pick up a slightly thicker Type Cover. This 5mm keyboard has some travel to the keys for a more traditional laptop keyboard experience, as well as a full range of function keys.

Both covers include keys for controlling media playback, as well as keys for each of the Charms: Search, Share, Devices, and Settings. These  are very handy, although I sometimes forget that they’re there. The same can be said for the trackpad, which I found myself generally ignoring unless I needed finer control than could be provided with touch. The trackpad is a little on the small side, but it never really bothered me. Reverse scrolling did, however, take some getting used to.

Connectivity

Unlike some tablets, the Surface does not support cellular connections. This might be a downside for some – and it would certainly be nice to have it as an option – but I wouldn’t want it even if it was offered. I don’t need another charge on my monthly bill.

WiFi performance, however, has been consistently excellent. I never had to wait for it to connect to a WiFi network after resuming from sleep, and the range and signal strength is excellent. I had no trouble getting great speeds in my room, despite the notoriously bad WiFi strength.

Camera

The 1MP cameras on the Surface are decent, but I probably wouldn’t use them for everyday photography. Then again, who wants to be that guy holding up a tablet to take a photo? Both the front- and rear-facing cameras are 720p HD LifeCams, and they work well enough for photos, videos, and VoIP calls. There are, however, some notable artifacts in the image quality (although thankfully, it isn’t as apparent in videos).

As previously mentioned, the back-facing camera is angled so that it points straight ahead when the kickstand is out. This allows you to set the Surface down on a surface (ahem) like a desk or counter and start recording video or snapping photos. The camera timer also helps in this regard.

The biggest downside of the camera is the absence of SkyDrive integration. Yes, you can manually upload photos via the SkyDrive app or website, but Windows Phone’s auto-upload feature seems to have spoiled me.

Battery Life

Earlier this week, I wrote about my experience with the Surface’s battery life in the real world. Suffice to say that I’m impressed. It doesn’t have a long of a battery life as some tablets on the market, but it has more than enough to get me through a whole day.

On an average day, I’ll catch up on the news for about 15-20 minutes before my first class, then switch over to OneNote (either the Windows Store app or the included desktop application) to take notes during the 75-minute lecture. This is followed by a fairly long break – three hours and 15 minutes – during which I’ll write articles for Pocketables, Anythingbutiphone, and Anythingbutipad; play games like Angry Birds Star Wars; watch a movie or TV shows; or read a book – all on my Surface. Then it’s two back-to-back 75-minute classes, with the first one once again consisting of heavy note-taking. When it’s all said and done, I usually have about 25%-40% of my battery life remaining at the end of the day, plenty for use during the evening.

When it’s all said and done, the non-removable battery seems to last about 7-12 hours, depending on screen brightness and what you’re doing. More often than not, it seems to come out to about one hour per 10%.

One of the most surprising things about the 31.5W-h battery is how fast it charges. I can usually take my Surface from completely dead to 50% battery life in just an hour of charging, and a full charge takes just two to two-and-a-half hours.

Conclusion

The Microsoft Surface with Windows RT is, unquestionably, the best Windows tablet on the market. Microsoft has really set the bar for all of its hardware manufacturers, hopefully paving the way for a whole slew of compelling devices in the coming months and years.

The Surface is great for entertainment, but versatile enough that it can quickly transform into a laptop-like form factor for getting work done. Some people might not like the typing experience with the Touch Cover, but that’s why Microsoft also offers the Type Cover and a full-fledged USB port. More importantly, the inclusion of Office Home and Student 2013 RT is a killer feature.

In the end, it really comes down to what you want to do on your Surface. It excels at entertainment, casual gaming, web browsing, productivity, and most other common use cases, but you can’t install your old Windows applications. So if you’re someone who has to be able to use something like Photoshop, iTunes, or your programming environment on your tablet/laptop, the Surface might not be for you. But in that case, neither will the iPad or an Android tablet. Of course, the release of Surface with Windows 8 is only two months away, so if you want the best of both worlds you won’t have to wait very long.

If these relatively minor issues don’t seem like a big deal to you, then I would highly recommend the Surface with Windows RT. You won’t be disappointed.

You can purchase a 32GB Surface with Windows RT from the Microsoft Store for $499.99 by itself or $599.99 with a black Touch Cover, or you can get the 64GB version with the Touch Cover for $699.99. Touch Covers (cyan, red, magenta, and white) and Type Covers are also sold separately for $119.99 and $129.99, respectively. Also, be sure to check out our dedicated Surface forum.

The post Review: Microsoft Surface with Windows RT appeared first on Pocketables.

Estimated battery life ratings from manufacturers are all well and good, but nothing beats usage in the real world. I’ve been using my Surface with Windows RT tablet fairly heavily since I got it just under a month ago, and the battery life has been great. I’m usually able to get through an entire day with a decent amount of power left over on the medium screen brightness setting.

On an average day, I’ll catch up on the news for about 15-20 minutes before my first class, then switch over to OneNote (either the Windows Store app or the included desktop application) to take notes during the 75-minute lecture. This is followed by a fairly long break – three hours and 15 minutes – during which I’ll write articles for Pocketables, Anythingbutiphone, and Anythingbutipad; play games like Angry Birds Star Wars; watch a movie or TV shows; or read a book – all on my Surface. Then it’s two back-to-back 75-minute classes, with the first one once again consisting of heavy note-taking. When it’s all said and done, I usually have about 25%-40% of my battery life remaining at the end of the day, plenty for use during the evening.

I wouldn’t call the Surface’s battery life extraordinarily long, but in the real world, it’s enough for me.

The post What is the Microsoft Surface’s battery life like in the real world? appeared first on Pocketables.

With the Zune software client, which is used to sync Windows Phone 7.x devices, it’s easy to change the auto-run option in the settings by simply toggling the “Start the Zune software when I connect a compatible device” checkbox. Frustratingly, this is not the case with the new app on the Windows Store. Looking in the app’s settings, you won’t find a single reference to automatic startup when a device is connected. This is because the Windows Phone app actually takes advantage of AutoPlay, a feature that you might not have much experience with but has existed in Windows for many years. As a result, it can be a somewhat difficult to turn off the Windows Phone app’s auto-run setting or configure it to use a different app on your computer.

To change the setting, open up the Control Panel and either search for AutoPlay or look under Hardware and Sound. Scroll down to the Devices section at the bottom and change the Windows Phone setting to whatever you’d prefer. In my case, “Ask me every time,” which will always display the toast notification. Hit save, and you’re done.

This is a simple process, but it’s not as immediately apparent as an option in the app settings. The advantage, however, is that AutoPlay actually manages the global settings for the entire machine – rather than on an app-by-app basis – and it is automatically synced to all of your other Windows 8 and Windows RT devices unless you specify otherwise.

The post Windows Phone 8 tip: Choose what happens when connecting to Microsoft Surface or Windows 8 appeared first on Pocketables.

One of the great features in Windows 8 is the ability to sync not only your personalization and system settings, but app settings as well. MetroTwit, for example, is an excellent example of an app which you only need to set up once. From then on, all of your settings and preferences are synced across all of your devices. Unfortunately, developers who take advantage of this feature seem to be few and far between.

Some games, like the Myst-inspired Adera, purport to include play, pause, and resume functionality, allowing you to “start a game on any device, pause the game, and then pick up where you left off on any other compatible device.” But in my experience with the game – which is excellent, by the way – that has not been the case. So imagine my surprise when I launched Angry Birds Space on my desktop PC and discovered that I had three stars on all of the levels that I had previously completed on my Surface!

This might seem like a minor feature to some people, but it is invaluable. Apps that sync your save data make it easy to switch between devices on the fly. And, more importantly, you no longer have to worry about losing your save game if something were to happen to the device.

Strangely, Angry Birds Star Wars, which is a superior game in almost every way and was released just a handful of days after Space, does not include this functionality. Developers, this feature exists in Windows 8 and it is very easy to implement. Please use it! There’s no reason not to.

The post The joy of synced save games on the Microsoft Surface and Windows 8 appeared first on Pocketables.