I’ve been an avid iPad user for 30 months and counting. I still love and use my Pad a lot, but I also bought a new Surface RT. Will my Surface ever completely replace my iPad? I don’t know yet, but I’d love to find out. This blog series is aimed at comparing the two devices in all sorts of situations, from work to home, and analyzing the pros and cons of each. You can read other entries in the series using the links below.
- From iPad to Surface:
- Bonus Post: You Want to Buy a Surface, but What is Windows RT?
- Bonus Post: Developing Apps for Microsoft Surface, Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Phone 8
- Bonus Page: Infragistics NetAdvantage for Windows UI – Developer Controls for Windows 8 & Windows RT
The Microsoft Ecosystem
For a software company, Microsoft sure makes a lot of hardware. Setting aside most of the devices Microsoft ever created, we can look at the Microsoft ecosystem today in 2012 and we find a trifecta of devices:
- Windows PCs, laptops & tablets
- Windows 8
- Windows RT
- Windows Phone 8 devices
- Xbox 360 Gaming Console
This ecosystem is glued together by your Microsoft Account and SkyDrive. The Microsoft Account is the new name for the melting pot that is your Windows Live ID, Xbox LIVE Gamertag, and Hotmail account. SkyDrive can be compared to Dropbox in that it serves as cloud storage for your files, but it goes further. It also syncs settings, photos, music, files, notes and such across your devices and computers.
Apple has a similar ecosystem:
- Computers running iTunes (Mac or Windows)
- iOS Devices (iPhone & iPad)
- Apple TV
Apple also has the Apple ID and iCloud service to bind everything together. When it comes to computers, there is little benefit to actually using a Mac since you can pretty much get the same benefits from running iTunes on Windows. It can also be argued that the Apple TV certainly doesn’t have the clout of the Xbox 360. It’s a media consumption device for videos, music and photos on your TV, and not much else.
The main difference I want to explore is how you can sync data between devices. The following connections are allowed between devices:
Apple Devices Sync
- Sync content between an iPhone and an iTunes computer
- Sync content between an iPad and an iTunes computer
- Sync content between an Apple TV and an iTunes computer
The iTunes computer is the central link. All these devices can interact and sync with the cloud, but not with each other. For example, you can’t connect an iPhone to an iPad and move files & media around.
Microsoft Devices Sync
- Sync content between a Windows Phone and a Windows 8 computer
- Transfer content between a Windows RT tablet (like Surface) and a Windows 8 computer (via network or USB key)
- Sync content between an Xbox 360 and a Windows 8 computer
- Sync content between a Windows Phone and a Windows RT tablet
Don’t panic, I use “Windows 8” here but Windows 7 is still supported to sync data with Windows Phone 7.x via the Zune client. To sync Windows Phone 8 with Windows 7, use the the beta app. There is also a Windows Phone app for Mac if you don’t use Windows.
Did you notice that 4th bullet in the Microsoft list above? Indeed, you can’t connect an iPhone to an iPad, but you CAN connect a Windows Phone to a Surface. You do it with the Windows Phone app from the Windows Store.
Windows Phone App on Surface
The Windows Phone app allows users to sync their Windows Phone 8 devices with any Windows 8 or Windows RT computer, including the Surface. Yes, you heard me right, I said Windows Phone 8. Don’t try to connect your Lumia 900 or Samsung Focus running Windows Phone 7.5 , it won’t work. This is why the app rated so low in the Windows Store. Not supporting the current generation of Windows Phones is a lame omission and I really hope this gets fixed in the Windows Phone 7.8 update.
When you launch the app, you see a list of Windows Phone apps available in the Windows Phone Store. You’re instructed to connect your phone via USB. Upon connecting for the first time, you get prompted to name your device. Don’t worry, this name is not permanent and you can change it in the app settings.
You can tell the app to automatically import all your photos from your phone to your Surface upon connecting. If you connect your phone and the app is not running, a popup shows up in the upper-right. Tapping it presents you with options, including launching the Windows Phone app (the recommended option).
Once connected, the app imports all your Windows Phone photos if you opted to do so. The app shows your device name, device type, phone number (I erased mine from the screenshot) and battery level of the device. You can indeed charge your phone with your Surface via USB. You can also see at the bottom of the screen how much space is used and remains on your Windows Phone.
The app scrolls horizontally and presents several sections. It doesn’t rotate and can’t be used in portrait mode.
On your phone
This section presents a preview of the photos, videos and music on your phone. Photos can be browsed by album, music by albums, and videos by type (e.g. all vs. personal). Three tiles are available to add photos, videos and music. Each option allows you to browse for individual items or entire folders.
In the Store
These are just browser links to the apps and tapping them opens the app link in the browser. It only shows you 12 apps. To see more, you have to tap the link which takes you to the Windows Phone Store online. Disappointing.
On the Web
The last section on the far right contains more links to the web. These shortcuts take you to Microsoft pages to find a lost phone, see your Microsoft Account or visit the main windowsphone.com page.
Room for Improvement
It’s a good starting point, but the app is not perfect. It’d be nice if the Windows Phone app could do more, such as:
- Sync with Windows Phone 7.x devices
- Control where stuff gets sync’ed on my Windows 8 or Windows RT computer
- Allow me to add music to my phone by albums without having to manage files or folders
- Actually shop for apps and queue them for remote download on my phone without using a browser
- Find, ring or erase my phone remotely without using a browser
The Zune client on Windows 7 was a great way to manage Windows Phone content, and I would really like to see this Windows Phone app be modeled more around the Zune approach. I’m certainly glad we have this app, but Microsoft seriously needs to keep working on it as this is a very basic version 1.
Day 9 Summary
A common debate these days is whether or not the Surface can replace a laptop. I still believe that you’ll need a laptop for more involved productivity work, but my Surface certainly takes me further in laptop-less territory than my iPad can. Being able to sync (and charge) my phone with my tablet certainly becomes a part of that equation, and a step in the right direction.
If you have any questions about Surface, including suggestions for future topics to explore in this series, questions about my experiences with the Surface vs. iPad, or any other tablet, feel free to ask them in the comments section below, or contact me on Twitter at @ActiveNick.
If you’re a developer interested in building apps for Surface, Windows 8 and Windows RT, Infragistics has the right tools for you with the new NetAdvantage for Windows UI. You should also follow @infragistics on Twitter.
Did you buy a Surface or other Windows RT tablet? Are you waiting for the Windows 8 Pro tablets? What are some of the key apps you want to see on Surface? How many devices in the Windows RT, Windows Phone & Xbox 360 trifecta do you own? Let me know.
See you tomorrow!