Getting a Surface RT: is it a wise investment?


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For a study which I am going to do, I can get the discounted Surface RT for the MS student pricetag (around 200 EUR).

I already have a decent and good notebook/gaming machine.

 

Is this Surface RT a wise investment for study purposes? To simply get it along in class, create some Word, Excel documents etc. for the course; not too big and heavy to carry it?

Or can I better invest 'a little' extra and go for a ZenBook, VivoBook or alike?

 

Can Windows 8.1 and further Windows editions run on it?

And... can it be upgraded to the Windows 8 regular/pro edition, or is this, because of the ARM-structure, not possible?

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I have a xps 10  which runs windows 8 rt so I can answer your questions. If you are using it for class then it rocks for that purpose since it comes with office .  one note rt allows you to use a capacitive stylus to write notes.  Yes windows rt will be upgraded to 8.1 when it is released to the Microsoft store. I wouldn't suggest installing the beta right now. 

 

I think it is perfect for what you need it for. If you have any questions let me know.

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Windows 8.1 RT will run on it. The Surface RT can't run full Windows.

 

Personally I like Windows RT, so I would say if you can get it cheap, why not. It's going to be more useful than a Nexus 7, and with Office, probably more useful for school than an iPad. They're well built too, although I would go with the full keyboard (the Type, not the Touch) if you really want to use it full time.

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For the purposes you mentioned, buy it if you can get a good price. If you want it for more, wait for the second iteration with more horsepower. If there is no second iteration, it's not a wise investment for anything more than a study :)

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if you loves in quicky small games, yes

games is the most dominant apps in RT store.

if you want to invest how-to knowledge in RT so you can use later for works? no.

you better getting a real laptop for that.

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I've been using my Surface RT now for 6 months + and I love it! Always getting people asking me what it is in meetings or on the train. Especially with Office 2013 now it really makes the any other device look completely out of date if you want to do work.

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For a study which I am going to do, I can get the discounted Surface RT for the MS student pricetag (around 200 EUR).

I already have a decent and good notebook/gaming machine.

 

Is this Surface RT a wise investment for study purposes? To simply get it along in class, create some Word, Excel documents etc. for the course; not too big and heavy to carry it?

Or can I better invest 'a little' extra and go for a ZenBook, VivoBook or alike?

 

Can Windows 8.1 and further Windows editions run on it?

And... can it be upgraded to the Windows 8 regular/pro edition, or is this, because of the ARM-structure, not possible?

 

 

I love my RT, and bought it specifically to take to class. It's light, doesn't make any noise, and extremely easy to carry.

 

Yes, it'll run 8.1, but it WILL NOT run Windows 8 Pro. It is an ARM device, not an x64 device. If you need x64, Surface Pro is your best option.

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For a study which I am going to do, I can get the discounted Surface RT for the MS student pricetag (around 200 EUR).

I already have a decent and good notebook/gaming machine.

 

Is this Surface RT a wise investment for study purposes? To simply get it along in class, create some Word, Excel documents etc. for the course; not too big and heavy to carry it?

Or can I better invest 'a little' extra and go for a ZenBook, VivoBook or alike?

 

Can Windows 8.1 and further Windows editions run on it?

And... can it be upgraded to the Windows 8 regular/pro edition, or is this, because of the ARM-structure, not possible?

Hey for your purposes, the Surface RT will be fine. It is the same reason why I bought my Samsung Chromebook. It does everything I need it to for situations like these. Price is great and extremely light and thin when carying around. When I am home or have an important meeting to go to that requires more power, that's when I use my Windows 7 Core i7 laptop.

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It's all about the apps. Don't think in terms of hardware. Research if the apps you need are available on all platforms you're interested in.

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Windows 8.1 RT will run on it. The Surface RT can't run full Windows.

 

Personally I like Windows RT, so I would say if you can get it cheap, why not. It's going to be more useful than a Nexus 7, and with Office, probably more useful for school than an iPad. They're well built too, although I would go with the full keyboard (the Type, not the Touch) if you really want to use it full time.

The Surface RT is running the "full Windows."  It's just running a version running on an ARM CPU.

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Does anyone have any experience using the Surface RT with a stylus? Is the experience good? I'm thinking about getting a tablet for note taking - i.e. to replace paper - so what I'd really like is something that has a good stylus because I like drawing.

 

I assume Surface RT + capacitive stylus is probably exactly the same as iPad + capacitive stylus, so I'm thinking about waiting for Surface Pro 2 (with presumed Halswell therefore better battery & hopefully thinner chassis) before making the leap. 

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Does anyone have any experience using the Surface RT with a stylus? Is the experience good? I'm thinking about getting a tablet for note taking - i.e. to replace paper - so what I'd really like is something that has a good stylus because I like drawing.

 

I assume Surface RT + capacitive stylus is probably exactly the same as iPad + capacitive stylus, so I'm thinking about waiting for Surface Pro 2 (with presumed Halswell therefore better battery & hopefully thinner chassis) before making the leap. 

 

 

I have a xps 10  which runs windows 8 rt so I can answer your questions. If you are using it for class then it rocks for that purpose since it comes with office .  one note rt allows you to use a capacitive stylus to write notes.  Yes windows rt will be upgraded to 8.1 when it is released to the Microsoft store. I wouldn't suggest installing the beta right now. 

 

I think it is perfect for what you need it for. If you have any questions let me know.

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I hear people taking about the successor: any idea when the Surface 2 (RT) will be out this year/next year?

 

People want to believe the Surface RT2 or a Surface Mini will be released with Windows 8.1, or shortly thereafter, but no one knows for sure, or even if there will be a Surface RT2.

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People want to believe the Surface RT2 or a Surface Mini will be released with Windows 8.1, or shortly thereafter, but no one knows for sure, or even if there will be a Surface RT2.

 

Thx, so we're talking at least October/November on this... with the "premium" price for the 2nd edition I guess?

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I would wait until Intel releases their low powered x86 chips that would allow old programs & full programs to run along with the modern apps. Tablets with the new Intel chip will be nearly the same price as RT tablets, but will a much more fuller experience.  

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For that price and for what you are doing with it, you should be fine. Personally, I don't see RT as the way of the future for Windows, but that's just me.

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The Surface RT is running the "full Windows."  It's just running a version running on an ARM CPU.

I assumed he meant that out of the box you can't run any third party desktop apps, so it's not "full windows" in the true sense of the word, but a locked down version. But you're right, Windows RT is pretty much Windows 8 for ARM with some restrictions.

 

I've got a Surface RT with type keyboard, and it really is a great device. You just have to really understand what you're getting or it could lead to frustration. But with Office and a regular (not mobile) flash-enabled browser (includes modern and desktop IE) the need for "apps" is greatly reduced on Windows RT in my opinion. There are some fun games in the store, plus some of the more popular apps like Netflix (needed due to the lack of silverlight).

 

Most common windows desktop apps are also included: explorer, command prompt, powershell, notepad, paint, mobility center, etc. Windows Media player is missing, as is wordpad. And since it is running on an ARM cpu not x86, it is not binary compatible with x86 compiled win32 apps. Also Microsoft has a signing restriction in place so no third party desktop apps are allowed to run. There is a "jailbreak" script to change this requirement (doesn't work with 8.1 preview at the moment though) you can run a handful of desktop apps that have been recompiled for ARM (putty, VNC, 7-zip, Quake 1-3), as well as some pure .NET 4.x apps no modification needed. 

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2092158

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2092348

 

Honestly I wouldn't have bought mine if it weren't for the jailbreak, but some people feel differently. Depends on what you want to do with it. 

 

The big thing that is still missing is third-party VPN clients... again probably due to the desktop app signing requirements. There is a built-in VPN client, but it does not support most SSL VPNs, so be warned if this is a requirement.

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Thx, so we're talking at least October/November on this... with the "premium" price for the 2nd edition I guess?

 

Were I a betting man I would think Microsoft would have something out for the holidays, but yes, probably at a premium. Or perhaps just a mini version, as Windows 8.1 makes a smaller version viable.

 

But who knows, Microsoft is pretty all over the place these days. :laugh:

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if you are looking for something comparable to an iPad or Android tablet (a non laptop replacement tablet) then an RT tablet is not a bad investment at all, however, if you are looking to replace a laptop then you are going to was the Surface Pro style tablet.

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