My review of Windows RT 8: It's better than you think

Brampton_Boy

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While Mayberry may not be the best place to post a review of Windows RT 8/8.1, I thought I would share my experiences with using a Windows RT based laptop/tablet.

For the past couple of months, I was in the market for a new laptop that was both durable and light, with a battery that could last for 10+ hours. The Macbook Air was the number 1 choice on my list, but the 13.3 inch screen was a huge turn off (I do alot of work in Excel/Stata, so I prefer a larger screen).

Ultimately, I couldn't really find anything that satisfied all my requirements (that was in my budget), so I decided to purchase two laptops: one exclusively for travel (Ideapad Yoga 11), and one for home/office use (Lenovo y510p).

The Yoga Ideapad 11 is a tablet/laptop hybrid that runs Windows RT (the much maligned operating system). I got the unit at a steal ($299), so I figured I could live with a gimped version of Windows when I am on the road. Truth be told, the device, as well as Windows RT, has vastly exceeded all of my expectations.

If you only use your laptop for office, internet and media consumption, I cannot imagine why you would need anything beyond Windows RT. No, it is not a gaming laptop, and it is virtually impossible to install legacy applications, but the operating system serves a very specific purpose and does so amazingly well.

Pros:

Performance is smooth - I can have multiple instances of internet explorer open, as well as Word, Powerpoint etc with no noticeable slow down. The copy of Office that ships with Windows RT is fully functional. As far as I can tell, it is identical to the desktop version I have installed. 1080p videos all play without stuttering

The battery life on Windows RT devices is also ludicrous. I get 14 hours of light/medium usage out of a single charge, which almost triple what I get on the y510p. I have been at work since 8am, and still have 60% charge remaining.

Fairly intuitive - If you can learn how to navigate an android device, Windows RT shouldn't pose any significant challenges.

Cons:

App store is non existent - I suppose this is the biggest gripe people have with Windows RT. There are very few (useful) apps to choose from, and many of them cost money. With that being said, if you only use your laptop for browsing, office and movies/music, everything you need is pre-installed. There is even a torrent app that works pretty well.

Future support seems kind of iffy - Windows RT has been a HUGE failure for Microsoft and 3rd party vendors, and many have dropped support for the OS. This begs the question as to whether Windows RT will be supported into the future (on that note, Windows RT 8.1 came out today, so that's a bonus)


Conclusion:

Windows RT is significantly better than people give it credit for. I think many reviewers forget that Windows RT devices are not desktop replacements, and it is unfair to compare them to proper X86 devices.

If I want to play games, edit photos/movies etc, I will use my desktop. However, the Yoga Pad 11 has replaced my Asus Transformer as my go to tablet, and I carry it with me every time I go to work/conference etc.

I actually think Windows RT is the perfect device for non power users who want a simple computing experience without having to worry about drivers, viruses etc.

Solid 8/10
 
Most people are afraid of change, that's why you get so many people bashing Windows 8.
 
Most people are afraid of change, that's why you get so many people bashing Windows 8.

Or in this case win RT since you can only get programs on it through MS approved marketplace, radical shift from the old "get your program from wherever you want and it can be installed on your machine" method that was key to making windows such a popular platform. Everyone was able to do programs freely for it and distribute however they wanted. Now you have to go through MS and have app meet their corporate policies.
 
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