A second look: The mighty Surface RT tablet

25.10.2012
NEW YORK -- The Surface RT tablet goes on sale starting at $499 for the 32 GB version at 12:01 a.m. Friday, and it seems to be a rough-and-tumble device.

After a Microsoft official intentionally dropped a Surface RT tablet onto a carpeted floor without damaging it, reporters at the Windows 8 event were allowed to try the tablets for a few minutes. Several reporters did just about everything but drop the devices, but there was still a lot of poking and prodding.

The Microsoft Surface tablet comes with a built-in kickstand.

The metal case of the Windows RT is a big change over Android tablets. It's not nearly the elegant, sleek design of the iPad either. I'm not sure I like the sharper edges of the Surface, . But if you add either the Touch or Type cover that doubles as a keyboard, with the magnetic hinge, you can't tell if the edges are sharp.

The metal kickstand on the back of the opens and closes with a click and is essential for using the Surface and cover/keyboard to make it stand upright.

I tried out both cover keyboards for touch typing (sold separately) as well as the on-screen touch keyboard. For my typing skills, which are pretty fast, only the Type cover would work. I found that the keys on the Type cover kept track of my typing, while the Touch cover's keys don't give much. I found that trying to type fast was an effort just to avoid leaving out spaces between words.