Seven months of SURFACING.

Seven months of SURFACING.

I’ve had my SURFACE RT since November 2012. I thought it was time to give a little update on it since I wrote my review of it. http://www.2old2play.com/news/hardware-reviews/surfacing-microsoft-surface-review

My gamble paid off. My SURFACE RT is so good at what it does, that if it had hit the market before other tablets, that landscape would be quite different today. I know it’s bold to say that but every time I use it, I don’t desire for more that it provides.

HARDWARE
My SURFACE RT 32 GB without a keyboard looks and functions exactly as it did from the beginning with the exception of some ‘improvements’. Over the months there have been several updates, both OS and firmware. One of those updates did something to the audio to seriously improve it’s volume. Sure it was a software change but the effect on hardware was significant.
Powering on has had firmware updates too because once in a blue moon it would not turn on. One solution always worked for me. Hold the power button for 30 seconds followed by one tap and fixed. Some, people were stymied and frustrated by this problem. I think the problem may be gone now but it happens so seldom I have to put more time in to know if it is truly gone or not.

The screen’s visibility and touch features still work perfectly. No scratches or dead spots. The case is perfect in every way including the flip stand. There is still one minor but nagging issue. The auto brightness function can change the brightness for no good reason. I think I can turn that feature off but it isn’t that big of a deal.

I added a 64GB MicroSD card and might have used it once.

Battery still charges quickly and last a ‘long’ time. It gets a good workout every single day and usually gets charged once a day.

Power pack has a minor but potentially fatal flaw now. It’s magnetic plugin has delaminated along what should have been glued edges. I have to be careful when pulling it away from the port. I know it is covered under warranty but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I think a couple of drops of model glue should work on that kind of plastic.

I haven’t drop tested it yet.

OPERATING SYSTEM
Monthly updates come and go and have been more pain free than those for my full Win 8 laptops. I have had one system lock up in seven months.
I still haven’t used the Cloud but I think I see where I might feel safe using it from time to time. Say it after me. Privacy, privacy, privacy.

APPS
I still haven’t bought an App. Everything I need is either free or included in the box. That’ll change in July. I plan to get HALO: SPARTAN ASSAULT.
There are tons of Apps in the store but I mostly don’t need them. I use the odd demo or limited feature version. This may change a tiny bit on the near future when I will be able to start using XBLive points/dollars. I didn’t want to be using my credit card online yet again.
Occasionally an App has crashed. Inconsequential results except for restarting it.

FUTURE
I look forward to future enhancements and functionality when the XBOX ONE is released. This shiny little number may have even more surprisingly good features.
I’m fairly sure my wife is going to get her own Surface.