We had a brief chance to play with Microsoft’s brand new Surface tablet yesterday, and came away impressed by its excellent build quality, fascinating hybrid tendencies, and the fluidity with which you can move around the Windows 8 desktop. While the tablet runs Windows RT, an ARM-based variant of Microsoft’s brand new operating system, by and large the two are identical.
As you know, we were at Microsoft’s Pop-Up Store inside Toronto’s Eaton Centre this morning for the tablet’s launch, where at least 150 people were lined up to throw down at least $519+tax for the tablet. Considering this is not only a brand new mode of navigation for an operating system, but a brand new product from a company that is new to the PC hardware market, we’d love to hear your first impressions of Windows 8 and the Surface tablet.
If you haven’t obtained a Surface, or haven’t delved into Windows 8/RT just yet, do you plan to? This seems to be the first product from Microsoft in a long time that mainstream users are genuinely excited about. And while the dearth of apps is disappointing, there are some truly big names in the Windows Store, from Netflix to Tunein Radio to Wikipedia.
So, Surface is here, just in time to compete with the 4th generation iPad and the upcoming Nexus 10 tablet. We’re excited to see Microsoft step up and take control of its hardware future; the big question is, “are you going to partake?”
