Microsoft Surface Review: I got what I wanted

Thursday, November 1st, 2012 Chris Witeck, Director Product Marketing

We recently highlighted the fact that with our Open Mobile clients that we have full support for Windows 8. We’ve also expressed thoughts on what Windows 8 will mean for the mobile professional. In those posts we talk about how our customers are not rushing to Windows 8 on their IT managed laptops, but we are seeing curiosity on how Windows 8 performs on a tablet and how tablets running Windows 8 will have an impact on BYOD in the Enterprise. For this blog, I wanted to take a closer look at the new Microsoft Surface Tablet from the perspective of the mobile professional (Note: I am not expressing an official iPass opinion here, instead expressing my own opinion as the persona of a mobile professional).

First off, up to this point I was an avid iPad user. I liked the iPad, but always felt that it was not the perfect device for me. It was great for content consumption, but I never felt it could be a laptop replacement and instead became another device in my bag along with my laptop and phone. However, I’ve been interested in a device that could combine much of what I can do with a laptop with the portability and convenience of a tablet. So with that in mind I purchased a Microsoft Surface this week.

My thoughts? Let’s start with things my iPad could not do that I was hoping that my Surface could do:

1. Microsoft Office integration, or specifically for me access to PowerPoint and Excel
2. Easy access to my work files
3. Better multi-tasking

Now I know it is easy to nit with these as there are some options with the iPad, but none that I have ever been happy with. Now in using Surface, how close did I get to meeting these requirements?

In short- I got what I wanted.

1. Microsoft Office integration: the Microsoft Surface device available today with Microsoft RT has Microsoft Office bundled in, and it is not a stripped down version but a fully functional version. The real estate provided by the Surface screen doesn’t feel cramped in any way, so I can easily see this as something I could create and edit documents in that cramped coach seat flying across the country as well sitting in a hotel room. With the right adapter, using a projector to present a PowerPoint file should be easy.
2. Easy access to my work files: I know this is definitely possible with the iPad using cloud storage solutions such as Dropbox, but with the Surface you do have more options. Microsoft Surface makes it easy to set up a sync relationship between the Surface and another laptop with easy offline and online access to content via Microsoft SkyDrive. Additionally you can use file explorer to navigate to content on a network, something I often wished for on an iPad.
3. Better multi-tasking: I know with the iPad there is the concept of background tasks and app switching, but there is not an easy way to have two apps running simultaneously. With the Surface you actually can do that, have two apps running side by side. You can do this easily in the desktop mode where the environment is more like a laptop, but even with the new Windows 8 UI where you have the tiles across the screen, you can have two apps running side by side. This is useful if you are typing an email and want to have a web page as a reference right next by.

Other things I liked:

• The keyboard that comes with the Surface is really good, folds into the cover and is very convenient. I typed this blog entry on the Surface keyboard and find it much easier for typing than the iPad screen. I would not list this as a big advantage as you can get keyboards for the iPad if you really need one.
• A lot has been said that the Surface has a lower screen resolution than the iPad, but frankly I found the Surface screen to be impressive.
• So far the battery life is impressive. This would have been a deal breaker for me as one reason for having a tablet is to get that 9-10 hours of battery life.
• The browser is a pro and a con. The pro is that this is a fully functional browser with better support for web sites than what you often see on the iPad. However, the con is that the browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer. I’ve not used IE in a long time and even on the Surface it just feels slow compared to something like Google Chrome. Perhaps Google will make a version of Chrome available at some point, but I have a feeling that Microsoft may make that a challenge.
• The iPass Open Mobile for Windows Touch client just looks awesome on a Surface (I had to get an iPass plug in here somewhere). It is the perfect accessory for the mobile traveler who needs convenient access to Wi-Fi (Note: you do need to be an iPass customer in order to have access to the iPass Mobile Network of Wi-Fi hotspots). Even if you are not an iPass user I’d would recommend anyone to check out the Open Mobile for Windows Touch app- the ‘Speed Test’ capability on the Open Mobile client is worth the download alone and can be used without being an iPass customer.

So to summarize, is this an iPad killer?

So far this sounds like a glowing endorsement of the Microsoft Surface. However, I will say that I don’t see it as an iPad killer, but it may take a bite out of some of the iPad market. Why is that? I think the Surface is a great device and will find its niche, but I see it as something that mobile professionals will gravitate towards but the broad consumer market will continue to look at the iPad. Why is that? To start with, the availability of apps in the Windows store is very limited, but that could be a short term concern as the app ecosystem is built out.

However, more importantly there is much that the iPad just makes easy. With the iPad you have this whole concept of using iTunes to manage content from a laptop to an iPhone or iPad. There is not that type of equivalent on the Surface. Managing movies, pictures, videos and music I think is not as intuitive on the Surface. If I had a friend or family member who is not a proficient laptop user, I may steer them towards an iPad instead of a Surface.

If all I want to do is consume content, I probably would have stuck with the iPad. I think those who want to have both a content consumption and content creation device are in the minority. However, the question is how sizable is that minority. That I don’t know, but if you count yourself as part of that minority then I recommend you take a look at the Microsoft Surface (just don’t forget to download the iPass Open Mobile Client)

[Created with Microsoft OneNote 2010]

Tags: Microsoft, mobile employee, mobile workforce, tablet