Day 2 with the Microsoft Surface was all about testing the device out in a more casual, non-work environment. I wanted to see how the Surface would work out for a weekend/non-heavy set of tasks and focused mostly on web, social media, email and some casual gaming.
As a Consumption Device
If I’m just looking at the Surface as a consumption device like I do my iPad, it’s adequate to the task (though a massively expensive overkill). Though, if I’m looking to just surf the web, or read email, I’m still likely to stick with either my iPad or Nexus 7.
- Web Surfing – I’m sorry, but IE10 on Windows 8 is not a touch-friendly browser. And I don’t know if this is because of issues with IE10, or if websites just aren’t developing with Win8 tablets in mind. On every site I’ve been to that has mouse-over menus, I’ve been SOL. Touching the menu header registers as a click to go to the root of that section (or in the case of Polygon.com, just goes to the homepage.). This is alleviated by using they keyboard and trackpad, but if I want to sit on the couch or in bed and surf, it’s not the ideal situation
- E-Mail – The built-in e-mail client that comes with Win8 is as good a built-in client as I’ve used in recent years. Not breaking any new ground or trying to do anything clever (like Mailbox for iOS), but it gets the job done.
- Twitter, Facebook – While there is now an official Twitter app for Windows 8, there’s still nothing for Facebook so unless you’re willing to go for one of the unofficial apps, you’re going to be going to IE10 for your friend stalking needs.
The Twitter app is a bit of a mixed bag at the moment. It looks nice enough, but lacks certain features I’ve come to rely on with my other Twitter apps on other platforms. The first being the lack of indicator on the Home/Connect/Direct Messages icons on the left side of the screen to show me if I have anything new waiting for me in those sections. The second is the ability to force faster updates. It feels to me like the Win8 Twitter app is much slower to update and even though I gave it permission, it seems very reluctant to check for updates when running in the background. This makes the Twitter app good enough for casual use, but if you use it as a work tool in any way, you’ll be constantly forcing an update.
- Netflix, Streaming Video – Netflix for Win8 works like a charm on the Surface. Honestly I like the UI for Netflix better here than on my iPad, Xbox, Playstation 3 or Roku. Just a nice look, feel and experience.
Other video streaming is a bit of a mixed bag. There isn’t an app for Amazon Instant Videos, which is a real bummer for me as that’s my secondary streaming service when Netflix is missing something. Sure I could use IE10 and just watch via the web, but per my comments above on web surfing, this isn’t the ideal situation.
- Kindle, eBooks – The Kindle app is much what you’d expect if you’ve used it on any other platform, and it runs great on the Surface. Visually, it’s as good an e-reading experience as you could ask for from a non-eink device.
That said, the weight of the Surface makes this a TERRIBLE reader device. At two pounds, the best you can hope for when on the couch or in bed is to find a way to rest it against a pillow, your knees etc. Holding it one (or even two) handed is very uncomfortable and you won’t be able to keep it up for long.
As an Active Use Device
If one half of the equation is passive consumption, I’d classify the other half of computer use as active use, either to create content (writing, graphics, coding, note taking etc) or to use the device in some other much more interactive way needing more attention and concentration (gaming). So far, my use in this category has been pretty limited. For writing, I’ve mostly just been writing these blog posts, and for gaming I’ve just tried a few of the Win8/Surface specific games like A World of Keflings, Galactic Reign and Solitare. I’ll have an entire post at some point later to talk about gaming specifically.
That does it for Day 2. Sunday isn’t likely to see much use, so I’ll consider Monday “Day 3” and he first chance to take the Surface through the paces as a work device. I’m specifically looking forward to trying to take notes in meetings with the stylus.