Microsoft's new Surface for Windows 8 Pro is a light, sleek device with the functionality of a tablet and also that of a full laptop, but it's not perfect.
After checking out a loaner from Microsoft we came up with some things we'd like to see changed to make this a better product. Here's the list. (Watch a slideshow of Surface's features.)
1. You can't adjust the camera angle.
2. The battery life is poor. Microsoft claims 4.5 to 5 hours, but it can be less depending on workload.
3. No option to swap in a freshly charged battery.
4. You get significantly less storage than advertised. For example the device we borrowed had only 84.5GB out of 128GB total storage available for customer use.
5. The Touch keyboard yields slower wpm scores.
6. There is no 3G or 4G option.
7. There is no Ethernet port.
8. There is no version of Office as with Microsoft's other tablet Surface RT.
9. The kickstand. This prop supports the display at what Microsoft says is an optimal angle, but one angle just isn't appropriate for all uses.
10. There's no place to stow the stylus. It's magnetized to fit in the power-cord connector, but if you plug in the power you have to remove the stylus.
Tim Greene covers Microsoft for Network World and writes the Mostly Microsoft blog. Reach him at tgreene@nww.com and follow him on Twitter @Tim_Greene.
Read more about data center in Network World's Data Center section.
See also:
Microsoft predicts the future with old newspaper headlines
10 things we love about the Surface for Windows 8 Pro
Gartner: Apple OS X will be as accepted as Windows by the end of 2014
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