Quote:
Originally Posted by xendula
I disagree: the Surface RT is a media tablet, the Surface Pro is a PC.
On the Pro, I can install regular windows software. On the RT, I can install tablet apps only from the MS app store. The RT is not the complete Windows 8 experience.
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A long time ago one of the MS execs in charge of PocketPC made the point that when it came to content you could align devices along a consumption/creation spectrum: TVs are a pure consumption device, Cameras are a pure creation device.
He went on to line up PocketPCs and smartphones as primarily consumption devices and PCs primarily creation devices. The area in between is a gray area but if you look at the iPxxx and Android devices they are overwhelmingly about consumption and only to a small degree about creation.
The Surface RT, in addition to being architected as a PC is being *marketed* as a PC: functional keyboards, MS Office, USB peripheral support. It may not be as open as an x86 PC but it meets the content creation test better that the iPad which itself is way more of a creation device than most androids.
Just because a device curates application distribution doesn't alter its functionality and the primary functionality of RT tablets is to substitute for netbooks.
Note that most of the people who expect RT tablets to fail see them as media pads whereas most people who see them as worthy of consideration or even buying see them as PCs.
In the end, MS chose to build Surface tablets with a full PC OS instead of their excellent if underappreciated Gadget OS (WindowsCE) so it is clear *they* intend it as primarily a PC.