Which One: Google Nexus 7 2013 Edition or Microsoft Surface RT

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kage

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On Black Friday I ordered the Microsoft Surface RT for $199 at Microsoft online store and last week I ordered the Google Nexus 7 32 GB 2013 edition. Both tablets should be arriving to my home tomorrow. Right now I'm leaning towards the Google Nexus 7, because it has better specs, better reviews, a more established app store and I read that Microsoft will be discontinuing Windows 8 RT. The only thing that the Surface RT has it going is MS Office.

If anyone has either or both tablets, what are the pros and cons from each tablet?
 
Two very different devices. I don't have either one but the Nexus is probably the better device overall as the original Surface RT is on the slow side though 8.1 is reported to make it run better. At 7 inch device is going to be used for consumption and is much more portable. The RT does have the ability to be used for Office but the of course the desktop is locked, there are ways to break the device though there aren't a lot of desktop ARM apps out there.

If you want a tablet tons of tablet apps and something very portable you'll like the Nexus better, if you want something where you'd want to use Office a lot you might like RT more.
 
Unless you are desperate for a crappy Office experience, you want the N7 2013. The Surface RT was mediocre when it came out, and it really hasn't aged well.
 
A quick note: Microsoft didn't actually say it was discontinuing Windows RT. It's aiming for a point at which its platforms merge, at which point RT wouldn't be necessary. However, you're not going to see the OS disappear in the near future (unless Surface 2 sells as poorly as the Surface RT did).

That said... of the two, Nexus 7, for sure. Unless you absolutely need Office on the road (or are a total "go go status quo!" Microsoft fan), Google's tablet will be more capable and entertaining on a practical basis.
 
Nexus 7, if you could have scored the Dell venue pro that would be a better match up. RT is doa with baytrail pushing pro tablets sub $200.
 
I decided to refuse shipment on the Microsoft Surface RT when it arrives and try out the Google Nexus 7. I will be saving up for a Windows 8.1 pro tablet.
 
kage said:
I decided to refuse shipment on the Microsoft Surface RT when it arrives and try out the Google Nexus 7. I will be saving up for a Windows 8.1 pro tablet.
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Good move. Surface RT has fairly crappy HW to go with a weak ecosystem. It's last years unwanted product that Microsoft is pawning off at low prices this year.
 
Easy...

If you want to use quasi Office and nothing else get RT.

If you want everything else and Google's equivalent of quasi Office called Google Docs and Quickoffice, much better display and GPS then get Nexus 7 2013.

Nexus 7 2013 keeps getting better and better with every OS update. Just got 4.4.2 last night and it's noticeably even more responsive and I haven't even enabled ART optimization.
 
I will disagree to a certain extent with what the others are saying.
I got a Galaxy tab 3 10' and a Surface RT at home right now.

Basically, the Android tablet has a much better app store, no question about that. If you want a huge Android phone that can't make phone calls, that's the way to go.

With the Surface RT, I get more of a laptop-like experience. It is not quasi office like others have said, It is the full home office. When in desktop mode, with the keyboard cover, I use it EXACTLY like I would on a laptop. Zero difference. it is ultra portable, huge battery life and awesome built.

On the Metro side, I use IE a lot, which is really good and runs basically everything, thus minimizing the need for apps. Win 8.1 runs super fast and snappy (not sure what people are saying when talking about it being slow).

All in all, I use the Surface, my wife uses the Android tablet.

The Surface RT got a lot of bad press when it came out, due to being overpriced and slow. Now with Win 8.1 and $200 price tag, this is all but moot. All recent youtube videos about the RT give it stellar reviews.

I understand you already made your choice, but perhaps this will help someone else in your situation...
 
Gigantism said:
With the Surface RT, I get more of a laptop-like experience. It is not quasi office like others have said, It is the full home office.
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It is crippled Office, since it doesn't run macros. If you want a laptop, get a real one, with real Office, and a real x86 CPU so you can run something other than crippled version of Office.

Win 8.1 runs super fast and snappy (not sure what people are saying when talking about it being slow).
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Tegra 3 chip in the Surface RT is a dismally slow chip, much slower than even old Intel Atom chips.

Regardless of OS, don't buy anything with a Tegra 3 in it today. It was a slow chip last year, it is a dismal chip this year.

There is a reason MS is dumping these for less than half price: They suck.
 
Gigantism said:
On the Metro side, I use IE a lot, which is really good and runs basically everything, thus minimizing the need for apps. Win 8.1 runs super fast and snappy (not sure what people are saying when talking about it being slow).
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8.1 did pep up my Clover Trail Samsung Ativ 500, overall the device is much smoother than whit 8 on it.
 
Snowdog said:
It is crippled Office, since it doesn't run macros. If you want a laptop, get a real one, with real Office, and a real x86 CPU so you can run something other than crippled version of Office.



Tegra 3 chip in the Surface RT is a dismally slow chip, much slower than even old Intel Atom chips.

Regardless of OS, don't buy anything with a Tegra 3 in it today. It was a slow chip last year, it is a dismal chip this year.

There is a reason MS is dumping these for less than half price: They suck.
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That is true: this version of office doesn't support macros. But it is the home/student edition... Most people in that demographic don't use macros.
Plus full office (without macros) is infinitely better than what you can do with office documents on other tablets.

You can say all you want about the Tegra Chip, I own a surface, I use it everyday and I feel like it is super fast and snappy. For the record, I didn't own a surface prior to win 8.1.

And you nailed it at the end. Microsoft is selling those for less than half the price. And at that price, it's the best tablet IMO.
 
Gigantism said:
You can say all you want about the Tegra Chip, I own a surface, I use it everyday and I feel like it is super fast and snappy. For the record, I didn't own a surface prior to win 8.1.
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Fast running what software. Imaginary titles?

But fanboys aside, benchmarks don't lie. The tegra 3 is slow. It has a slow CPU and very slow GPU. So IF any decent games ever got released for Metro, they would suck on Surface RT.


And you nailed it at the end. Microsoft is selling those for less than half the price. And at that price, it's the best tablet IMO.
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Penny wise, pound foolish comes to mind. You could spend $100 more and get a real laptop, or few $$ more and get a Baytrail tablet with Real windows/Office, if that is important.

Saving $100 is a one time joy, living with limitations of cheap crap lasts for as long as you own it.
 
Snowdog said:
Fast running what software. Imaginary titles?

But fanboys aside, benchmarks don't lie. The tegra 3 is slow. It has a slow CPU and very slow GPU. So IF any decent games ever got released for Metro, they would suck on Surface RT.

Penny wise, pound foolish comes to mind. You could spend $100 more and get a real laptop, or few $$ more and get a Baytrail tablet with Real windows/Office, if that is important.

Saving $100 is a one time joy, living with limitations of cheap crap lasts for as long as you own it.
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Fast in the sense that the UI isn't laggy or anything like that. Fast like I can watch a video and read my emails or go on Facebook or do any other stuff that people do on tablets, but at the same time. I can watch 2 HD videos side by side if I wanted to (not that I do that) and it doesn't lag.

I don't play games on my surface (I have a PC for that) and I already stated that if you wanna Candy Crush, you are better off with an Android tablet.

Imaginary titles? Please... name 1 software that you can run on other tablets that I can't run on my surface due to being slow (games aside)...
You can read about benchmarks all you want, I do not experience slowness on my surface, period.

I get it, you don't like the surface. I personally do. It's much more portable than a laptop, and also has 4 times the battery life. It's funny you mentioned fanboyism, as "hater" comes to mind when reading your posts.

And since the OP was asking about the surface RT vs a Nexus 7, I'm not sure what more you can do on the Nexus.

I'm not trying to convince you (I don't think it's possible), I'm simply stating my opinion and experience.
 
Discussing Windows on tablets tends to be a tough and controversial subject around here. Most users around here aren't daily users of such devices and RT is a tough sell admittedly. I'm one of the biggest Windows tablet proponents around here and even I'm not a fan of RT devices. But I do believe in the concept because RT does have advantages of simplicity, resistance to Windows x86, etc.

Unfortunately the hardware for low power Windows tablets just wasn't where it needed to be last year on both the ARM and x86 side. Neither Tegra 3 nor Clover Trail were really up to the task of running Windows 8 well along with 8 needing further optimization for low power devices. 8.1 actually does add some life to last year's hardware which does impress me in that Microsoft did work that actually helped owners of existing devices a year old. That's not typically the case with mobile hardware where consumers are often forced to buy new hardware to gain advantage in tummy of performance.
 
heatlesssun said:
Discussing Windows on tablets tends to be a tough and controversial subject around here. Most users around here aren't daily users of such devices and RT is a tough sell admittedly. I'm one of the biggest Windows tablet proponents around here and even I'm not a fan of RT devices. But I do believe in the concept because RT does have advantages of simplicity, resistance to Windows x86, etc.

Unfortunately the hardware for low power Windows tablets just wasn't where it needed to be last year on both the ARM and x86 side. Neither Tegra 3 nor Clover Trail were really up to the task of running Windows 8 well along with 8 needing further optimization for low power devices. 8.1 actually does add some life to last year's hardware which does impress me in that Microsoft did work that actually helped owners of existing devices a year old. That's not typically the case with mobile hardware where consumers are often forced to buy new hardware to gain advantage in tummy of performance.
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I agree with everything you said. I can't imagine what it must have been like before 8.1, as it seems to have left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.
 
lol normally people ask which one because they don't want to buy one then return it. But you have already bought them so try them out for yourself.

If you want access to MS office then keep Surface. Otherwise go with an android device.
 
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