Sorry Android (tablets), I’m tired of you.

Posted by t3lancer2007 on October 29, 2012 01:13 pm 0

Yes, I’ve been an Android fanboy for three years now (since the OG Droid) and I’ve finally lost interest. Not so much the phone front, but the tablet front. I’ve really tried to like Android’s tablet ecosystem, playing around with Paranoid Android on my Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S3, and I tried it on an actual tablet I bought, the Galaxy Note 10.1. I spent a week or so with the Galaxy Note, using it every single day with the stylus and with touch. I rooted and flashed CM10 on it for the stock Jellybean experience, and I did all of my typical Android rituals; however, I was bored. So I returned the Note 10.1.

October 26, 2012 I stood in line for 4 hours in 40F weather with strong wind to be one of the first people in Austin, Tx to get the Microsoft Surface (and mainly to get the free year of Xbox Music) and I couldn’t be happier. Windows 8 is where it’s at for the tablet interface. The surface’s lower than retina resolution isn’t even a problem for me, nor is the weight. The gestures are all intuitive, the apps in the Windows Store are only for the tablet (something Android still hasn’t accomplished as I was constantly installing phone apps on my 10.1 inch tablet), and the hardware is fantastic. This UI is what I would call polished and everything works extremely well. Yeah, the iPad scrolls really nicely, but to me, after 3 years, it’s still just a blown up Phone UI. Windows 8 is just the perfect medium between iOS and Android. Its more polish than iOS and better functionality than Android.

The hardware though is probably the best thing about the surface. I’ve never owned, seen, or felt hardware like this. This tablet is SOLID. The kickstand is great, the touch cover is great, the screen is great, the full USB port is great, and not charging through USB is just fantastic.

Now my rant/rave is mostly about tablets and I’ll continue to keep buying Android phones for the time being, but if Microsoft keeps it up with the amazing Windows 8 ecosystem, I might consider switching permanently.