Surface RT: Microsoft and the way forward

Surface RT has just arrived in Spain after four months on sale in the United States and other countries with a success that is difficult to measure given Microsoft's silence regarding the sales figures of its tablet. The call to be a reference device for the new Windows RT has garnered positive reviews in the hardware section and negative ones in terms of software. The contrast between the two sections is the perfect reflection of its future, on which Microsoft still has a lot to decide.

Surface RT has to face not only external rivals, such as iPad and Android tablets, or other competitors with Windows RT, but also against Surface Pro, Microsoft's version of the tablet with full Windows 8, whose idea has already conquered the minds of many consumers.In this situation, will the Surface RT be up to the challenge?, will Microsoft be?

How strong is Microsoft's bet?

When Microsoft introduced Windows 8 and its revamped touch-oriented look, many of us soon imagined how it would work on a tablet. Those from Redmond responded quickly to expectations with Surface, and they did so with a very clear motivation: to create a sample of what the company sees as the ideal device to run your new WindowsSurface was born as a model to imitate, an example to follow, in the style of what Google has been doing with its Android Nexus devices. But that initial objective, to serve as a reference for both manufacturers and consumers, soon seemed to be too small.

Microsoft, unlike Google, didn't just patronize devices made by others.From Redmond they assumed the entire process of development and distribution of their tablets, including design, manufacture and sale. Although this was not unusual for a company capable of selling 72 million Xbox 360 consoles, it did imply a fundamental change in strategy that has been followed for decades in the market for personal computers and operating systems. The shift has led today's Microsoft to define itself as a device and services company, which has not gone down well with many of its traditional partners.

These partners cannot help but see that, even if the initial objectives were contained, Surface seems more and more like a serious bet by Microsoft and a paradigm shift in the companyNow, some hesitation around the Surface RT makes one get the feeling that the Windows RT tablet isn't all that Microsoft could make it out to be.As if from Redmond they were still holding back. We have the reference product for an entire sector, it is the tablet with Windows running on ARM architecture that we could expect, but, despite everything, the writer does not feel that it is enough.

The hardware conveys a feeling…

I don't know how many of you have had the opportunity to hold Surface with your own hands, but it is enough to see images or videos of him to recognize that the tablet transmits sobriety and elegance. It's the kind of feeling one expects to find in a work team. Propped on its kickstand and with the built-in keyboard, Surface does seem like a reasonable replacement for my laptop It has that tablet feel that I can actually do things like on which, from my point of view, is lacking in a good part of its rivals in the market.

Of course not everything is perfect. Microsoft may have been naive at some point in the Surface RT's hardware setup. Starting with a screen resolution that, although totally valid, pales in comparison to that of other tablets; and following the doubts that its Tegra 3 processor transmits to some compared to the competition. They are mere examples, and it is inevitable that there will be more points in which each one would have preferred other specifications.

Now, it seems clear that the balance struck by Redmond in the external design and hardware configuration of your tablet is up to expectations, if not above. The vast majority of published analyzes attest to this. So, if we have a great PC on Surface RT with Windows running inside, why bother? The answer is, precisely, Windows that works inside.

… but the software is another

One can imagine the debate at Microsoft once they decided to take Windows beyond the x86 architecture and make it run on ARM processors. Thus was born Windows RT, and such a novelty implied a fundamental dilemma: what to do with all those Windows applications created for x86 processors and that would not work directly on ARM. We all know the chosen solution: choose to control the application distribution channel in Windows RT.

Lo and behold, Windows Store made perfect sense Some will say that it's really about pushing your app store at all costs, that it's pure marketing. Microsoft, for its part, insists that it is about providing the best user experience by ensuring the proper functioning of applications under Windows RT.The truth is that the reasons are not important, after all the product is yours and… we already know how the sentence ends.

But there is an inherent consequence of software installation channel control: limiting Windows. This, of course, also has its explanation. It's not hard to imagine many users trying to install their classic desktop programs on Windows RT and getting frustrated when they don't work. So the immediate solution chosen by Microsoft was to lock the Windows desktop and prevent applications from not being installed from the Windows Store. Suddenly we have a Windows that is not a Windows Surface RT, that tablet that when we saw it we could imagine working with it, thus becomes another one of the bunch. At least for now.

Solution: Windows Store and alternatives

Nothing is lost yet.Surface RT is still a very good product in terms of hardware and the software can always be updated, but Microsoft needs to wake up as soon as possible. If the Windows Store is really the way they want to go, they need to do something right now. The shortage of critical applications in your store is obvious and cannot, and should not, be hidden. From Redmond they must make an extra effort to convince the developers or the lost time will become increasingly difficult to recover.

With the Surface Pro just around the corner, many are beginning to have doubts about the future of the version with Windows RT. Microsoft can't afford that with a product that's only been on the market for four months. The impulse must come from the company itself, with all the necessary own applications and convincing as many developers as necessary.

And if they don't want to face the problem they should let the community do it. 'Jailbreak' in hand, part of the scene has already shown its discontent with the limitations imposed by Microsoft in Windows RT. By themselves they have begun to port applications to the ARM architecture, returning some of the classic Windows to the Surface RT. Many will consider that this is not even a solution, there will even be some who see it as a problem, but if Microsoft does not take the reins quickly perhaps it should cede it to those who have shown real interest

Microsoft must choose a path

In recent years, Microsoft has made several forays into manufacturing its own hardware. Beyond its acclaimed range of peripherals, Xbox and Zune are two prime examples. Both took different paths and nothing prevents the Surface RT from ending up following one of them.The Zune never really took off and ended up being forgotten despite being a good hardware product. For its part, Xbox has succeeded, and on its path to success there is a lesson worth remembering.

The first Xbox was a complete PC turned video game console. The scene knew it and seemed to see it before Microsoft itself. The black box soon became the community's favorite toy. Transformed into a spectacular media center, it soon became the object of desire for many users interested in making the most of the hardware they had paid for and trusted. The first Xbox gained more value from what the community was able to do with it than from Microsoft itself

Surface RT could very well take one of these paths: gradually being forgotten like the Zune or lost thanks to the user community like Xbox.I prefer not to think about the first one and I won't be the one to complain if the Surface RT ends up taking the second one, but there is a third path and choosing it is in the hands of Microsoft: promoting the Windows Store and its applicationsIt would be nice if, this time, from Redmond they really trust what they themselves have created.

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