Review Microsoft Surface RT Tablet
Microsoft launches Windows RT - an operating system optimized for ARM devices. Of course, a new system like this will have to be made familiar to the users. What better way than for Microsoft to make a tablet themselves, which shows off their OS in a user-friendly way? The Microsoft Surface is the first tablet made by the software giant based in Redmond and so we have to ask the question: will this ambitious project succeed?
Our test configuration is equipped with an HD-ready display, an Nvidia quad-core Tegra 3 CPU, Windows RT, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB flash memory. With the Touch Cover, the tablet costs 579 Euros (~$737). The Touch Cover (by itself) costs 120 Euros (~$153), whereas the Type Cover (keyboard with mechanical keys) is priced at 130 Euros (~$166). The 64 GB Surface with Touch Cover is available for 679 Euros (~$865).
This model is aimed at consumer and light business users. However, the upcoming Surface with Windows 8 Pro aims to fulfill the needs of the more demanding business users. It will be larger and will include a Full HD display, an Intel Core i5 CPU, 4 GB of RAM, a 64/128 GB SSD and a stylus. We will write a separate review for the Surface with Windows 8 Pro once it is available.
Case
The Surface tablet has clean workmanship: the glass display cover has even gaps on all sides of the "dark-titan" chassis. The so-called VaporMg case is made of a magnesium alloy. This makes the tablet very sturdy, but it is not the lightest tablet available: 676 grams (~1.5 pounds). Single-handed use can quickly tire the user out.
Microsoft has prepared for this by installing a kickstand on the back of the device. The sturdy kickstand contains powerful hinges and emits an aura of reliability. This presents the user with the option of either putting the tablet down on the kickstand or holding it. When the kickstand is closed, it recedes into the case completely.
The angular shape of the tablet provides good ergonomics and feel. The Surface is 9.3 mm (~0.37 inches) thick - a hair thinner than the Apple iPad with Retina display.
Microsoft integrates a front camera with a 720p resolution at the front of the tablet. The rear camera also has a 720p resolution and is fitted into a small synthetic panel, which stretches from the back to the upper case edge.
All-in-all, Microsoft's first tablet does not need to hide from the competition. The nice looks and excellent workmanship underline the high quality of the device. The front of the tablet is bare with the exception of the Windows 8 logo. All other details, like the name of the tablet, can be found on the back, under the kickstand.
Connectivity
The Surface is equipped with good hardware. The tablet contains an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core CPU with an integrated GeForce ULP graphics chip. This is a well-known chip which has been out for a while and still finds a home in new tablets. Few CPUs in the ultra-mobile sector can give it a reason to worry: Apple A6X or Samsung Exynos 4 are currently the fiercest competitors.
Microsoft also invests in 32 GB storage space and 2 GB RAM for the Surface. The packet (with Touch Cover) is on-sale for 579 Euros (~$737). The pricing of the device may not have been identical to that of the competitor, Apple, but the price of the accessories is. We would have liked to see a few more ports.
Interfaces
Microsoft has not given the Surface a wide variety of interfaces to work with. Thankfully, the most important ports are covered.
The right case edge boasts a proprietary HD video out for external monitors. However, the user will require an adapter for VGA or HDMI (both available separately for 40 Euros/~$51) to use this port. The tablet also offers a USB 2.0 interface for peripheral devices, like a keyboard, mouse, USB stick or external HDD. A card reader is hidden under the kickstand; it supports Micro-SD cards up to 64 GB (SDXC).
The lower edge only contains the magnetic interface for the Touch Cover or Type Cover. Both keyboards dock into the tablet with a satisfying click.
Software for Surface
Microsoft delivers the Surface with the ARM-optimized OS, Windows RT. The new OS is packed with fresh features, like the interactive tile surface. We wrote an article about the Consumer Preview of the OS here.
The Surface could open programs and all Windows-compatible files via USB. This is possible thanks to the included desktop mode (Windows 7), which allows the usual transferring and copying of files from/to external devices. Software cannot be installed as Microsoft only allows the Surface RT users to install programs from the Windows Store. x86-compatible programs will run on the Surface tablet once the "full-version" of Windows 8 is launched.
A comfortable mail program connects to different accounts. The cloud storage service, SkyDrive, is also installed alongside the Xbox 360 App, which can link to Xbox games, videos and music.
In addition, the tablet offers a few office Apps which allow the user to work productively on-the-go. A pre-launch version of Office Home & Student 2013 RT (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote 2013) is pre-installed. The upgrade to full-version will be free-of-cost and performed by Windows Update once the software is available on Windows Store. However, in comparison to the desktop version, some features, like macros, are missing. The RT Office suite can only be used commercially if a business license is installed on a notebook or a desktop PC. The tablet is secured by encryption and Windows Defender.
On to social networks: pictures or web pages can be directly shared with a simple swish of the finger from right to left. In the menu "Share", the user will be presented with methods to share the display content with contacts over social networks, via E-mail or on SkyDrive.
Communication
A bar made of synthetic material on the upper edge contains the power button and two microphone openings. The wireless antennas under the flap are wired to the wireless communication modules: Bluetooth 4.0 and WLAN 802.11a/b/g/n (2.4 and 5 GHz networks).
The wireless communication modules offered good signal strength in our tests. We could easily connect to a router with WLAN 802.11a/b/g/n and a Smartphone with Bluetooth 4.0.
Sadly, despite multiple tries, it seems the transmission of picture or MP3 files is not possible via Bluetooth. Microsoft allows connecting peripheral devices with Bluetooth, but no data transfer.
A GPS sensor is not installed in the Microsoft Surface. However, even the competition, like the Android-based Lenovo IdeaTab S2110A, lacks this feature. The Surface does not offer 3G or LTE so far.
Cameras & Multimedia
The two HD video cameras on the front and back of the Surface record in 720p (a little over 1 MP) and offer sufficient quality - if the ambient light is good. Sadly, no flash is included. This would allow the light sensors to work well, but as they are, the cameras can only take grainy pictures when the lighting is poor. This means that they are good for the occasional snapshots or video chats via Skype. The kickstand holds the Surface in the ideal position and points the rear camera straight.
The two stereo-array microphones on the top edge of the Surface record sound in relatively good quality and provide good voice quality in video chats.
Accessories
Like many other manufacturers, Microsoft provides few extras. The package includes the Surface, a compact, 136 grams (~0.3 pounds) 24 W power adapter and a short intro/guarantee card. The Touch Cover is also included - if the buyer ordered it. Currently, at the Microsoft Store, there are few accessories available: a second power adapter, the Touch Cover, the Type Cover and a VGA and HDMI adapter.
Warranty
Microsoft provides a 24-month manufacturer's guarantee for the Surface, as well as 90 days free technical support.
Input Devices & Interface
Without the Touch Cover, the user can interact with the Surface tablet via the touch screen, which recognizes up to five fingers simultaneously. The panel has no problems with input recognition and the finger glides over the glass with little resistance.
The 10.6-inch touch screen offers intuitive gestures which require a little getting used to, but are very useful: a swipe from the right opens the system menu and a swipe from the left blends in a bar with recently opened programs. A swipe from the bottom of the screen provides the user with the App commands whereas a swipe from top-to-bottom closes the App. Input is quickly and precisely recognized. The only gesture, which we had a few problems with, was pulling an App to the front by pulling it from the pop-up bar (left swish) and then closing it (top-to-bottom swish) in one motion.
The on-screen keyboard recognizes commands well. In addition, it can be quickly changed from the traditional virtual keyboard to a split version, which is optimized for the input with both thumbs.
In our opinion, the menu of the Surface is as fluid as the interface of the latest Apple iPad or an Android competitor with the same processor. Overall, the Surface touch screen is one of the best we have used to date.
The mechanical keys for the volume adjustment and Power/Standby have a good pressure point and do not leave any room for complaint.
Two birds with one stone
Alternatively, the user can attach the Touch Cover, which, like the Apple Smart Cover, acts as an intelligent display cover, which sends the tablet into standby when closed. Microsoft has installed a pressure-sensitive keyboard and touchpad on the inside of the waterproof cover, whereas the outside is covered by a thin layer of material similar to felt. If a finger is lightly placed on a key or the user quickly glides over one, the keyboard smartly does not recognize this as input. The 16 x 16 mm (~0.63 x 0.63 inches/normal dimensions) react to typing and translate the input well. The 65 x 31 mm (~2.6 x 1.2 inches) touchpad is somewhat small, but with the mouse replacement keys placed below, it works perfectly and can even translate a double tap into a right-click, or recognize scrolling with two fingers.
So how is typing with the Touch Cover? In the beginning, the user will make a few mistakes here and there due to the missing key feedback and the lack of a border between the bottom row of keys and the hand-rest regions. After a period of use, the user will be able to type quite well and will not want to type on any other keyboard. Sadly, the touchpad will see little use, as the navigation via touch screen is faster and much more precise. However, the touchpad cannot be turned off.
The Touch Cover is 3 mm (0.12 inches) thick, weighs 200 grams (~0.4 pounds) and is available in five colors: blue, white, pink, black and red. We find this variety to be a good idea and believe that this grants buyers a degree of customization.
The Touch Cover may not be for everyone. For example, if you have to frequently type large texts, then we recommend purchasing the Type Cover for 130 Euros (~$166) instead. This matte black keyboard has mechanical keys and should offer the comfort and typing speed of a traditional keyboard.
Display
The 10.6-inch "ClearType HD display" of the Microsoft Surface has a resolution of 1366x768 pixels (HD-ready resolution) and achieves a pixel density of 148 PPI (Pixels Per Inch). The competition offers much more: the Apple iPad (264 PPI) and Acer Iconia Tab A700 (224 PPI).
A huge advantage of the Microsoft Surface is the 16:9 picture format which allows the tablet to present movies without distracting black borders. Such borders are visible, for example, on the 4:3 display of the iPad.
In addition, the Surface panel is shining with other values: the average brightness is a good 331 cd/m², and the brightness hits a max of 356 cd/m² in the middle of the screen.
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Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 356 cd/m²
Contrast: 1079:1 (Black: 0.33 cd/m²)
The black value of the screen is a decent 0.33 cd/m². This results in a contrast of 1,079:1 - very good. The illumination of the panel is an acceptable 88%. The drop of brightness towards the edges is not noticeable in everyday use.
In the practical test of the screen, we found (subjective) the colors to be bright and the contrast to be very high. Text is sharp even after zooming and even the small words on the desktop can be read clearly without using the on-screen magnifier. Multimedia content like games, pictures or movies is displayed well by the panel thanks to the good black value and the high contrast.
The glass surface of the Surface is not vulnerable to scratches, but it can quickly accumulate smudges and fingerprints. Outdoors, the panel of the Surface is prone to strong reflections, like the screens of many other Smartphones and tablets. The good brightness cannot compensate completely for them, which means that the user should avoid direct sunlight.
The high viewing angle stability reminds us of IPS panels. The picture content does not lose brightness, contrast or invert colors at any of the commonly used angles. In fact, distracting reflections kick in before any adverse effect from changing the viewing angle can be detected.
Performance
The insides of the Microsoft Surface RT are well-known: a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC (System on Chip) version T30 (a conservative choice) runs the tablet at 1.4 GHz. This SoC can be found in many upper-class and high-end devices (like in the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T) and provides good performance.
Unfortunately, we cannot run the majority of our tablet benchmarks on the Microsoft Surface RT as the corresponding Apps are not yet available in Windows Store. As soon as they are launched, we will write an update. For the moment, we rely on the browser-based benchmarks: Browsermark, Google V8 and SunSpider 0.9.1. We also ran Futuremark Peacekeeper.
The results do not match our expectations. The Surface performs great in the JavaScript benchmark SunSpider . A score of less than 1,000 milliseconds had only been achieved by the Apple iPad 4 till now. Sadly, the results of the Browsermark and Google V8 are disappointing. Identically-equipped devices, like the Fujitsu Stylistic M532 and the Asus Transformer Pad TF300T score up to 40% higher in both tests.
The result from the Peacekeeper benchmark is also poor: 357 points place the Microsoft Surface far behind the competition (Apple iPad 2, Google Nexus 7, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, etc.). We are even more surprised to see the Surface left behind by Smartphones, like the Apple iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S3.
We believe that this lower performance can be attributed to the new OS and Internet Explorer 10. As soon as more benchmarks are available, we will explore this in further detail. Verdict: performance – ordinary.
In everyday use, this lower performance is noticeable. In comparison to the Apple iPad 4 or fast Android tablets, like the Asus Infinity, Apps start much slower on the Surface. Working on this tablet will proceed at a leisurely pace.
* ... smaller is better
We compared the Microsoft Surface directly to an iPad 4 in a video.
While turning on, both tablets are equally fast. The performance in the App menu is good for both tablets and so is the scrolling through the menu pages. The start of the Store App paints a similar picture.
The Internet browser is a bottleneck for the powerful hardware. Both browsers are equally fast when using Pinch-to-Zoom or scrolling through web pages. However, Apple's Safari loads our homepage very quickly, but the slow Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 takes very long (subjective). The browser interface is better in the Apple browser as well.
Movie playback is far better in the Surface, as the 16:9 display can play to its strengths and shows little or no black borders.
Games
A touch-based tablet can easily transform into a mobile gaming console and the Microsoft Surface is no exception. The good performance of the Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU with the integrated GeForce ULP graphics chip is noticeable here.
We ran Hydro Thunder Hurricane, Pinball FX2, Cut the Rope and the brand-new Angry Birds Star Wars on the Surface to test its performance. Cut the Rope demands little from the CPU/GPU but the other games require a lot more power. Even so, the Surface delivers the necessary performance, and the game experience is fluid. The precise touch screen and nice gyro sensor ensure good control. Due to the weight of the device, the user will probably want to use the kickstand or place the tablet on the lap after a while of use.
Emissions
Temperature
The temperature emissions of the Microsoft Surface are similar to those of other devices which run on Tegra 3 (like the Acer Iconia Tab A700).
Even at full load (3D games or flash-intensive websites), the surface of the tablet reaches a max 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 °F). The tablet remains in a tolerable region on average: 32-33 °C (89.6-91.4 °F).
While idle, the device can reach a max of 29 degrees Celsius (84.2 °F), and the average of the nine measuring points on the top and bottom of the Surface is a moderate 28 °C (82.4 °F).
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.6 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 35.3 °C / 96 F, ranging from 19.6 to 60 °C for the class Convertible.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 37.3 °C / 99 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.5 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 30.3 °C / 87 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (34.4 °C / 93.9 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.1 °C / 82.6 F (-6.3 °C / -11.3 F).
Speakers
The two stereo speakers provide good sound output, but are soon pushed to their limits when playing music, game sounds or films, due to their small dimensions. The sound output is heavy on the highs with few middles and little bass. This means that the speakers are only good for background sound, especially as the max volume is relatively low. Thankfully, the audio jack provides good, loud output and the user can plug in external speakers or headphones.
Battery Life
Power Consumption
The power consumption of the Microsoft Surface is appropriate for its class. The battery has a capacity of 31.5 Wh. While idle, the Surface consumes between 3 and 6.2 W. This means that in everyday use, the user should expect a power consumption of roughly 4.5 W.
While playing an HD video, the Microsoft Surface requires 7.6 W. While the Nvidia Tegra 3 is at full load (playing Full HD videos or a 3D game), the tablet consumes a max of 10.6 W. The 24 W power adapter is well-equipped to deal with this.
| Off / Standby |   0 / 1.4 Watt |
| Idle |  3 / 4.9 / 6.2 Watt |
| Load |
7.6 / 10.6 Watt |
    
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Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Voltcraft VC 940 | |
Battery Life
The battery life of the Microsoft Surface allows the user to work with the tablet an entire work day without any issues. The Reader’s test, which runs a read script on the tablet at minimum brightness to measure the max run time, measures 15 hours and 32 minutes. The more realistic surf test, which uses Internet Explorer 10 to load a set number of different web pages, runs for a good 8.5 hours with adjusted brightness. These run times are respectable as the battery is relatively small. The Microsoft Surface places squarely in the mid-field when compared to other tablets running on the Tegra 3. The long-life Acer Iconia Tab A510 remains in the lead and even the Apple iPad with Retina display has more juice (but also a 10 Wh bigger battery).
Verdict
The Microsoft Surface is a good tablet, but there are a few weaknesses. For example, the performance is low - at least, when measured with the available benchmarks. Other tablets with Tegra 3 post higher scores. However, the Surface does offer good performance for everyday use (subjective) and is consequently a good option for every application. In addition, the tablet offers many Apps in the App Store, which is easily accessible and should grow exponentially in the coming months.
The interfaces of the Surface are limited, but the tablet does have a USB port and an SD card reader - slightly more than the average tablet. The video out will excite users with HD output. However, s/he will have to first purchase the separately available adapter.
The 10.6-inch touch screen is very good and offers bright and lively content. The viewing angle stability is great and so is the fast interface. The resolution is good, although other tablets even offer Full HD.
The Touch Cover is a well-designed accessory which will raise the productivity of the tablet.
The cameras capture in 720p, which is standard. The photos are not great, but the cameras record good video. The speakers can not beat external speakers, but they do a decent job for their size.
The workmanship of the tablet is very good. Most people would wish for the Surface to be a bit slimmer and lighter, but thankfully the tablet does not overheat at load. The high mobility of the device is guaranteed by the long battery life. The power adapter can be left at home, as the Surface lasts an entire work day with adjusted brightness.
Our final thoughts: users who want to explore the tablet scene should take a look at the Microsoft Surface with its fresh OS. After a few minutes of use, we found the device to be very appealing. Microsoft has managed to stage a good tablet premiere and the device is available for 579 Euros (~$737/incl. keyboard). Overall, the Microsoft Surface is ready to take on the competition.
