The new Microsoft Surface

Two things arrived from Microsoft today, and one of them was the new Microsoft Surface RT.

Wow, I'm impressed!  I've been playing with a Samsung Series 7 running Windows 8 before this, but the Surface seems way better with no fans.  It just seems nicer somehow.  Starting at $499, I think Microsoft is going to get some market share with this device, and not just for people who want to be able to use Microsoft Office.  It feels different than the iPad or any other tablet I've played with.  Kind of like how Xbox felt different from all the other consoles when it first came out.

I thought I would not want a keyboard, but the TV ads convinced me to give it a try.  I actually got each of the two available keyboards and both are nice, but I'm writing this with the one with real keys and it feels like a great keyboard, with the keys in the right place for me.  The keyboard really does just snap in place like magic and then it just works.  It's actually been awhile since a piece of technology made me think, "that's cool" but this did.

 

Sizewise, it is a little bigger than the iPad 3 but it feels about the same even with the keyboard attached.  The two keyboards weigh about the same, so I'm guessing most will go with the one with real keys if they get a keyboard.

 

I have resisted keyboards on touch devices, but I'm giving it a second thought now since this one is so light and gets out of the way easily.  The photo above shows the Microsoft Surface next to an iPad 3, and the extra keyboard above that.

This is an RT version, so I was surprised that it came with Microsoft Office installed.  The one drawback to RT is that you can't just install any Windows application on it.  For that you'll need to wait for "Surface with Windows 8 Pro" which isn't available yet.

I'll do an update after I've had it for a while, but for now, I'm impressed!