So Why Did i Get a Microsoft Surface Tablet and stuff

As i may have mentioned before... my top three tablet choices were (in order): Microsoft Surface RT, Kindle Fire HD and Google Nexus 7 (16GB).  Yes, the Surface base model was more than both of those 7 inchers combined.  Well, i guess on specs it also had the same amont of RAM, the same amount of storage (sort of Windows RT/Office surely take up more memory) as those combined too.  However, the Surface also has a USB port and a microSD card slot - the other two tablets do not. 

i do not currently have the type cover (though i tried it out at the Microsoft store and it worked fairly well).  If you want to use the Office Home and Student 2013, i would highly recommend getting the type cover (or something similar).  i guess it was nice that i also got another 3 GB from SkyDrive (i think i am up around 28GB now). 

First of all, why did i chose RT over Android (Apple was never a consideration, especially with how high they priced their "mini").  Basically i view Android as kind of a fragmented mess.  i also view it mostly as a smart phone platform.  In the wild you have all kinds of different Android devices running all kinds of different OSes.  You can see gingerbread, honeycomb, ice cream sandwich, jellybean, key lime pie (not yet).  i still see this as kind of a mess. 

i may be off base here, but when i looked at Windows RT i saw a slightly more normal OS.  i viewed it as something that could still be supported 3 or so years from now with minimal change (outside updates).  Who knows, Android could be up to Orange Sherbet by then.  

Yes, i know that the Windows Store is behind on the sheer quantity of apps.  This doesn't really bother me.  You are basically comparing a "mature" ecosystem (like Android or Apple) to a new service launch.  i also like the more curated Windows Store to the "wild, wild west" that i see as Android.  There is heavy pirating, maliscious code, etc.  That is why i found Amazon's App Store more interesting than Google Play. 

Now if Microsoft would only give me a pre-paid solution to buy apps (and the apps on the Windows store seem slightly more expensive).  Then again if i upgraded my PC to Windows 8, maybe i could use apps on a tablet and a PC.  There is a pretty good offer from MSFT to upgrade online for $39.99. 

Speaking of apps, how many are currently available for my Surface RT (there were 98 games on launch day)... 
* Games 98 / 91
* Social 87/59
* Entertainment 76 /99
* Photo 93 / 47
* Music/Video 81 / 67
* Sports 90 /67
* Books/Reference 78 / 82
* News/Weather 44 / 80
* Health/Fitness 85 / 45
* Food Dining 72 / 45
* Lifestyle 80 / 73
* Shopping 24 / 18

Well, that is what was listed on my Surface RT today at (10:30 AM).  So, overall 908 games listed categorically in Top New and 773 listed in Top Free.  The apps will come, i guess it is just a matter of time. 

Update: That number appears at least a little off, i didn't realize that the category titles were clickable (which shows every app).  There are currently about 2,768 apps available for my Surface RT (2,244 free).

"Details"

Relative Size: Microsoft Surface RT vs 15.6" Toshiba notebook computer

 



Camera Sample (used indoors, looks better here than on my computer - soft and blurry):

 



 

Kickstand (from side, also USB port, video output port and charging port):

 





Issues:

* Pre-paid app option?
* Lack of apps (which may be a good thing for me right now)
* Charging, unable to tell when it is fully charged (no indication that i know of on the charger).  So, how can i tell when/if the Surface is fully charged.  It does charge quickly (i think) which is nice
* Cameras: not really usable for many things (hopefully good enough for future barcode scanning app, but i do have a DSLR
* The Surface RT is an absolute fingerprint and dust magnet.