When Microsoft launched the Surface RT Tablet 4 months ago, it did so with the confidence of offering a viable new tablet solution, and in many ways thought it would revolutionise tablet use with its Windows 8 Lite experience. Windows RT, the mobile specific version of Windows 8 has failed to live up to the expectation, and a lack of app support has left the Surface RT floundering a little.
Yes, the device has sold well, but not in nearly the assertive numbers that Microsoft had hoped while Windows RT has failed to be accepted like the full Windows 8 eventually was. Luckily the Surface RT is not the only Surface product in the lineage as Microsoft also released the Surface Pro last month, a slate that is an entirely different east.
The Surface Pro goes beyond being a revolutionary tablet, and in fact it is probably best to look at this touch screen unit as a notebook or ultrabook. The Surface Pro is not just an upgraded Surface RT; it is a totally different product that offers perhaps the most complete mobile computing solution we have ever seen. The critics are falling over the Pro, whereas they were lukewarm at best towards the RT.
In every department the Surface Pro is better than the Surface RT. While the RT sports a very good 10.6 inch 1266 x 768 pixel screen, the Pro packs a blockbuster full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 panel. The 4GB of RAM in the Pro is twice as much than what the RT boasts, while the Intel i5 processor in the Pro is vastly superior to the Nvidia Tegra 3 chip in the RT.
Of course both tablets look the same, but the Pro comes with the snap on keyboard out of the box, whereas with the RT it is a buyable add-on. Also the Pro features the full Windows 8 OS, which means with that huge power and keyboard you really do have a world class tablet and world class laptop all in one.
It is still early days so predicting any sales success for the Surface Pro is tough, but it is certainly more attractive than the Surface RT.