Microsoft Surface: All you need to know

After all those in-depth speculations, Microsoft's finally unveiled its chic tablet, Surface. The software giant has made its presence felt for the past three decades, crafting ingenious software for computing, but this is the first tablet that it has ever built. Microsoft was a late entrant into the mobile world that had just two powerful entities – Apple and Android. Microsoft’s initial smartphones didn’t get much love and the company had begun to lose ground in the mobile terrain. The company bounced back with the tiled Windows Phone UI, and then made the big announcement of Windows 8, which would offer seamless experience for various platforms, like smartphones, tablets and desktops.

What is Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT?
Yesterday, as we pondered over what the big Microsoft announcement was, we wondered whether the company’s tablet would be based on Windows RT (Windows 8 operating system for ARM devices) or Windows 8. Interestingly, Microsoft dished out both – its new Surface line-up includes both - the Windows Surface RT (ARM tablet as Windows RT) and the Windows 8 Pro.

To begin with, if you are still confused over the Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro naming, then let us make it simple first. Windows RT is the name given to the Windows 8 operating system that will run on ARM-based devices. So, is that the only difference? Well, the answer is – No. Windows 8 (Windows 8 Pro) features both - a touch Metro UI and the traditional desktop seen in Windows 7. On the other hand, Windows RT will feature only the Metro UI. It is a complete touch experience without the traditional desktop. Windows Metro apps, according to MS will work across Windows 8 and Windows RT. The Surface for Windows 8 Pro will be like a full fledged computer that can run exe files.

Viewing 1 of 5