Is the Microsoft Surface RT a good tablet?

[Louis]

I've been looking around to buy a reasonably priced windows tablet and the Surface looks like a good deal with the touch cover and keyboard and all it's ports, stand, etc. any other tablets I should consider?

[Arthur]

I personally wouldn't buy one. They didn't and probably won't sell enough windows RT licenses to develop significant interest by software developers. If you want a touch screen, I would still suggest a full laptop like the lenovo yoga.

[The Devil]

I say yes, but the 32gb version without the cover. At the $499 price tag, it makes it competitive to the iPad and premium Android tablets. Also, I recommend to hold off a bit before since the pro comes out soon, the price should lower. I also recommend to check out the Asus Vivotab Smart.

[Doug k]

The Surface is a solid device, and I use it over my PC for almost everything. Web browsing, Hulu, Facebook, etc. It has MS Office 2013 Home and Student installed (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote) which makes it really a unique hybrid between laptop and tablet.

You're correct that it does indeed have all of the ports. I personally have the type cove, 32 GB version. I would rate it 4 or 4.5 out of 5 stars. You may indeed want to wait until early February. The Pro version (runs all 'normal' Windows apps) should be out. It may be worth the $100 or so more you'd pay.

Strengths: Excellent design, smooth OS, all the ports, MS Office, real desktop browser (even if it is IE, it's better than the mobile versions on most tablets).

Weaknesses: App selection is only okay although this should change, desktop mode is stupid and rarely used. I think MS got scared and put it in there. All apps should be Metro style. Shows fingerprints.

[IntellectualMenace158]

It is a great tablet. My wife and I got one for Christmas and we absolutely love them. My wife really likes Apple but has recently come to the realization that Apple doesn't offer as much functionality as Android/Windows RT tablets. I am an electrical engineer and am quite tech savvy. With that in mind, I am always looking for the best product and am not very brand specific. We have products from Apple, Samsung, Microsoft etc and I honestly feel that the Surface RT is the best buy for the money. We frequently watch television shows on our TV via the micro hdmi port on the surface. It is nice being able to transfer files via our home network using DLNA or by just plugging in a usb flash drive or external hard drive. I would also disagree with a previous response stating that the desktop mode is pointless. While you might not have any apps on the desktop it does allow the following:

1) Easy access to settings - You can easily change a multitude of settings via the desk top. You can access the control panel and adjust nearly as many settings on the tablet as you would on your personal PC.

2) Easy access to files - It works just like my computer or windows explorer on your pc. We have a network hard drive that we save all of our files on and you can easily access all of those files via the desktop mode. It see's other computers and files they have open, usb flash drives, micro sd cards, network hard drives, and then all of the files/folders stored on the surface. You can move/copy videos/music/files easily and quickly using the desktop mode. I have had an ipad and a samsung galaxy 10.1 tablet and neither of them can do what the surface does.

You also have full versions of word, excel, power point, and one note. Currently, Microsoft is working on versions of office for iOS and Android but neither of them are expected to be the full version. We are in the middle of a transformation from using pc's to using our tablets and cell phones. The Surface enables you to do more without needing a pc than any other tablet on the market. There were reports of bugs/glitches when it first came out but that is all software and software problems can be fixed through updates. The hardware on this tablet is amazing and it is a very well made tablet. More apps will come out on the surface over time.