seanmonstar

A gushing review of the Surface by Jeff Atwood.

How wonderful it is to flip open the Surface and quickly type a 4 paragraph email response when I need to. How wonderful it is to browse the web and touch whatever I want to. And switching between the two modes of interaction – sometimes typing, sometimes touching – is completely natural.

I’ve read plenty, and played with one myself, and I’m pretty sure I love the concept. I probably need a Surface Pro, and hopefully they have more of the kinks worked out. I was thinking of waiting for v2 before I read this, also:

It’s a fascinating glimpse into the future, but it’ll be totally utterly obsolete in 2 years. Do not buy this device expecting longevity.

My only gripe is that while SmartGlass itself reacts the way you would expect, controlling your Xbox with your connected device does not.

As much as I hoped Microsoft would better integrate my living room, it definitely seems like they fell a little short. At the same time, it suddenly gives me more use and features for free.¹ I just hope they release some updates such that interacting with my Xbox becomes an absolute delight. I’d buy the next one if they do.

Mathew Honan, at Wired:

Yes, you can use it as your only computer. I would never have made that claim about an iPad or Android tablet.

That’s the feeling I got too, having both an iPad and an Android tablet.

I’ve had an Xbox for close to a decade now, just for the games. The fact that Microsoft just keeps improving it is icing. In fact, this video makes me feel like Microsoft is better equipped to revolutionize the living room than Google or Apple is.

I can’t wait for SmartGlass.