How would you improve the Surface?
So I've had the Surface since launch as have many of you and I've read hundreds of reviews on the device. I've had a number of co-workers and friends ask what I think about it. The response is that it excels in some areas and falters in others, but then again so does every tablet. I ask them, "What do you want to do with a tablet?" In some cases an ipad might be better and others the Surface might be better, or a Droid.
That being said, there are a number of things (hardware and software) that MS could and should have done a much better job with since the tablet market has a two year head start.
First up, hardware... Quite frankly the camera and speakers blow.
Camera (720p vid and 1mp still) - Seriously MS?? With all of the competing hardware out there this is the best you can do?? It's an embarrassment to have this hardware in today's market. I realize this tablet is intended more for video than stills, but come on.
Surface 2.0 Camera - 720p w/ 60hrz for video. Still Camera is a minimum 5mp rear, 2mp front. It should be more like 8mp rear though.
Speakers - Face it, any type of audio with depth sucks ass. I ran the same audio clip from skydrive on the Surface and ipad2 with volume maxed at 100% at the same time. When I paused the Surface track I barely even noticed it was stopped because the ipad audio was so dominating.
Surface 2.0 speakers - Find the supplier of ipad speakers and buy those. Probably cheaper than trying go make your own :-)
Volume rocker - Dunno about anyone else, but when I hold it in landscape mode I always bump the rocker.
Surface 2.0 volume rocker - I don't know, maybe put it along the top corner (left of the camera)?
Windows button - This is just me, but I'd have preferred an actual button w/o the slanted logo. As another review mentioned, it seems awkward in portrait mode. Also, when the screen shuts off I try to use this to wake it up and it only works probably 50% of the time.
Surface 2.0 - This is a physical button with 4 squared MS logo. And MS if you really want to take it up a notch, make it glow and/or have the ability for it to change colors, and give the user the option to change the color if they want or cycle through a series of colors. It might seem silly, but to the general user it would be a "wow, cool" factor.
Screen ratio - Again, just my .02, but I'd have preferred 16x10. Not all movies are 16x9, so claiming one can watch a movie w/o bars is not entirely accurate. Additionally, 16x10 would provide a better portrait viewing experience and be more magazine-esqe. I'd also drop a 1/2 inch from the width (landscape mode) and add a 1/2 inch to height.
Surface 2.0 - 16x10 ratio and drop a half inch from the overall width of the device and add it to the height.
Ambient light sensor - Ugh, get rid of it. It serves no valuable purpose and I get the random screen flickering. It's just as easy to access the charms bar to change brightness and one less piece of hardware for battery drain.
Surface 2.0 - no ambient light sensor.
GPS - Give Surface GPS. 3G or LTE is a separate monster, but GPS should have been available.
MicroSD - Just make it work and read files like it should. Don't make users jump through hoops to have the files added to the libraries.
On to software..
Windows RT - Oh, where to begin... MS, you really screwed this one up. Create a mobile os and come up with a catchy or clever name for it. I've talked to numerous people about this one and the result is the same, "What is RT??" I've thought about this one a lot and think Vista would have been a cool name for the mobile OS, but it's been used an abused. Windows Phone 8 is the same way; come up with a mobile os name/brand. Don't be afraid to not use "Windows" in the name either. Heck, pay a license fee to the German retailer you were so scared of and use Metro for the os name. Or just get creative. :p
As for the actual OS, remove the desktop and Metro-ize all traditional apps. The "Start" screen is the os/ux and leave it at that. If the traditional app can't be Metro-ized then get rid of it. Why must I go into the control panel to change the user acct type??? Doing all of this should free up some storage space too.
Surface 2.0 - no more desktop
IE10 - Nice try, but frankly it has render issues and is laggy. I can't even access my work email via the webmail exchange server, go figure. Also, swiping left/right to navigate pages is a great idea, but the fact that it takes several seconds of waiting while the page reloads (greys out) is quite frustrating and makes for a lousy ux. Don't reload the page, just go back.
Give users the option to white-list sites for Flash. Don't be such an Apple in this instance.
Split screen - Major kudos here, but why not take it a step further and allow for 3 split screens?? How cool would it be to have email on one small screen, music on another, and say editing a PPT on the main/large area??
Surface 2.0 - option for a 3rd split screen.
One last thing, take a tip from Apple and include a logo sticker with any product (yours or oems). It's free advertising. Do you know how many cars I see driving around w/ Apple stickers?? Geez...
That's my .02, so what are yours??
