Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBest bang for your buck.
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2015
The Surface RT delivers tons of functionality for a very low price. My friend had the Surface pro 2 and was constantly raving about it so I thought I'd give the Surface a try but didn't have tons of money to spend. I purchased the Surface RT for $209. I picked up the keyboard for $60 used. You really need the keyboard to get the most out of the Surface RT.
The Surface RT comes loaded with windows 8 RT which is sort of a barebones version of windows 8. The biggest (and really only) setback that I found with windows 8 RT is that you are stuck with Internet Explorer. That means no Chrome and no Firefox. You also can't upgrade to Windows 10 either. It does come with Word, Excel, and Powerpoint already preloaded which would normally cost around $100.
The screen size is rather small for someone so used to using full size laptops for most of my life but I have definitely gotten used to the screen size and now it is not an issue at all. The processor is decent. Can't really complain too much given the price tag. You can easily watch Netflix and Youtube as well as check email. I never tried running any games on it but certainly would recommend getting a different device if that is your purpose. The USB port is very useful and honestly is what sets this device apart from other similarly priced devices. You'll be surprised how thin this device is. It is very easy to carry around. Perfect portability. Battery life is great. Usually would get around 7-9 hours of solid use, 4-5 if all I was doing was watching Netflix or Youtube.
I have since upgraded to the surface Pro 2 due to the desire for a faster processor and full on Windows 8 (now upgraded to Windows 10) but would recommend the Surface RT for anyone who want a very capable device but doesn't want to shell out $500 and up for the newest iterations of the Surface.