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Microsoft is having another Go at producing a rival to the iPad, but just how good is it?
THERE are those who swear that the Surface is Microsoft’s best ever product – a fantastic tablet that realises the dream of doing everything a laptop can with the added bonus of a touch-screen, stylus support, and an ultra-portable design.
It’s had one problem when it comes to breaking into the mainstream. Its price.
Who’s going to pay £799 for a Surface Pro when you can get an iPad with Apple Pencil support for £319?
Well, some people will, obviously – but when the man on the street is weighing up his purchase, he’ll likely head Apple’s way.
Which is why Microsoft’s new Surface Go is a big deal.
For a start, it’s smaller than a Surface Pro and sports a 10in screen (a bit bigger than an iPad), it’s much lighter than a Surface Pro at 522g (a bit heavier than an iPad), and it costs £379.99 (a bit more than an iPad, but very much in the same ball park).
It puts the Surface, and all the power of Windows 10 on a tablet, within reach of a lot more people.
Apple has, of course decided to separate its operating systems for touch-screens (iOS) from its operating system for traditional computers (macOS), while Microsoft has gone the other way and made the same version of Windows run on both types of machine.
Some people think Apple has the best of both worlds, while Microsoft has the worst, others think it’s the opposite way round.
Which camp you sit in probably depends on the kind of work you’re doing and whether you like to use a mouse over a touch screen (the Surface Pro gives you the versatility to work with either).
So, what do you get for your money beyond those headline specs?
Essentially, a very competent computer that can run Microsoft’s iconic Office suite (that’s Word, Powerpoint, and Excel).
Of course, those apps will run on the iPad, too – but there, they are specially-designed apps for the touchscreen. So, again, if you’re a mouse-person, the Surface may just have the edge.
Another thing to remember about the Surface Go is that it comes with Windows 10 in S mode. This means that you can only run apps on it that you buy from the Microsoft store.
It’s a safety feature which Microsoft says allows you to run your computer with more security. You can turn it off and open your system into Windows 10 fully, but you can’t go back – it’s a one-way switch.
Anyway, on to accessories, of which there are three and you should get them all.
First is the Surface Go Signature Type Cover (I don’t know why they have to give it such a long name), which is a fully-fledged keyboard with real keys and a trackpad (so you could get away without a mouse).
That costs £99.99 and comes a variety of suitably serious muted tones.
There’s also a new Surface Mouse, which works with all versions of the tablet, comes in the same colours as the Type Cover, and costs £29.99.
Lastly, Microsoft also offers the Surface Pen, the latest version of which has been upgraded to offer a more natural drawing experience with support for tilt shading and more than 4,000 levels of pressure sensitivity.
You can get the Pen in the same colours as the other accessories – burgundy, black, platinum, cobalt blue (dark blue), and aqua (light blue). The Surface Go is available to order now for delivery by August 23. It costs £379.99 for a version with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, or £509.99 for a version with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. Both versions sport a snappy Inet 4415Y processor.