The Windows RT operating system was created specifically for devices based on ARM processors. This is Microsoft's attempt to gain market share in tablets. Although visually indistinguishable from Windows 8, there are some key differences, let's look at some of them.
Desktop Mode
Although made for tablet PCs, Windows RT has a "desktop mode" just like a regular PC. So it is, but it’s a little different, although it is called a desktop, it doesn’t look like a “computer” one. Desktop mode allows you to access:
- Control panels
- My Computer, Documents folders and libraries
- Internet Explorer 10
- MS Paint
- Notebook
This is where their similarities end, only those mentioned above are on the desktop, other applications, both existing with the system and installed, you cannot place
Conclusion: RT has a desktop mode that gives you access to the file manager and several built-in core apps, but you can't run other apps from the desktop.
Windows Store
Apps can only be installed from the Windows Store. Sad but true. These applications have been specifically tweaked to run on ARM-based tablet PCs, as well as PC x86 chipsets. Microsoft has created a high-level language for developers so that applications can run on both platforms.
This is why existing Windows applications (EXE executable) cannot run on Windows RT.
Conclusion: Anything you buy from the Windows Store will work on both Windows 8 RT and normal Windows 8. Other software cannot be installed.
Office 2013
Office preinstalled. Works in desktop mode, but does not include Outlook. Instead, you are supposed to use the default Windows 8 features of the Mail, People, and Messages app.
Web browsers
Currently, the only option for browsing the web in Windows RT is Internet Explorer 10. It can be launched either from the Metro start screen or in desktop mode from the desktop icon. While there is a version of Google Chrome that runs on Metro, it is not available from the Windows Store and therefore is not available for Windows RT.
It's entirely possible that other browsers will be allowed in storefronts in the future, but Microsoft does this by limiting the functionality of third-party browsers. When working on IE 10, you will enjoy full functionality and performance
Conclusion: You can use any browser except Internet Explorer 10. But forget plugins, you won't be able to use any of them! (at least for now)
Media features
The tablet version of Windows does not include Windows Media Player - Xbox music and video applications, that's what Bill Geist suggests for a replacement. There is also no Windows Media Center - if you want to control external devices (TV tuner for example), then you have to run for the full version of Windows 8
Conclusion: No Media Center, no Windows Media Player. Xbox Music and video program only.
Installing other operating systems
Vindovtsev has a new lotion. This is done so that you cannot install a new OS, such as Linux. Apple has done this on their iPads for a long time, and now so does Microsoft.
Conclusion: legally, you cannot change the OS on a tablet only if you hack Secure Boot (in Russia, the people are talented, I have no doubt that they will hack, and even share it for free
Other
Most of the core features of Windows 8 - like multi-monitor support and an enhanced task manager - are present in Windows RT. You have a new Explorer bar, and Windows Defender and SmartScreen to protect you. Multiple supported languages.
The chipset is low power, so you can get much longer battery life than a normal laptop. RT Windows is also more secure than Windows 8. The inability to run third-party applications minimizes the chances of virus and malware getting in (for the time being - but this may change).
I hope that it became a little more clear what can and cannot be done. Thank you!
- recovery mode
Often, or even almost always, when we buy any device, we expect it to perform the functions we need. It happens that not all devices justify the hopes placed on them, but if you think about it, it turns out that neither the gadget manufacturers nor the software creators are to blame, but the buyers themselves. Since the user is waiting for some functionality, so the developers put certain functions into their device. This is where the idea comes up that before buying, we need to look for the necessary functions in different devices and buy those in which we find them, and not just those that we liked or were advised by friends. Such an action would be correct. Let's look at who can benefit from a tablet on Windows RT.
Windows RT.
The Windows RT operating system itself was first released on October 26, 2012 and positions itself as a mobile operating system for tablet computers based on ARM processors. Unfortunately, it does not support software products written for processors with the x86-x64 instruction set (Intel, AMD). You can only install applications from the official store. As of November 2013, the Windows Store contains about 125 thousand applications. This is not so much, but, in principle, there are enough needed for work. More on that later. Devices on this OS are produced by different companies: Lenovo, Dell and Microsoft itself.Surface RT, the product of the latter, has lived with me for some time, and I will express everything that I think by its example. In essence, Windows RT is a stripped-down version of the full-fledged Windows 8. The same desktop, control panel, start, windows, folders, shortcuts, etc. Of the full-fledged programs for the "desktop", there are only MS Office 2013, Paint and other programs from the standard "utility" set (voice recorder, command line, etc.). All the functionality of the work is carried out at the expense of the "metro" applications from the store. It is not a problem to assign a certain file type to launch from the desktop through the application. It makes no sense to overestimate or downgrade both the tablet and the OS itself, so you don’t have to think about it. From the very beginning, I wanted to buy an iPad, but I chose Surface and now I'll tell you what was waiting for me around this sharp turn. Of course, there are both pluses and minuses in Windows RT, but let's see which ones, let's take a closer look.
Pros.
Always start with a good start, so will I. It is impossible to say that a tablet on Windows RT is absolutely useless or bad, because it is not true. You have probably heard and read on various sites and forums more than once that Windows RT is a “non-viable system”. People have different opinions, but most of those who write such reviews do not have the right amount and quality of information that is needed for an adequate assessment. First of all, gadgets based on Microsoft operating systems are designed more for working with documents, files, multimedia than for games, services, applications, etc. The most important plus is the pre-installed full-fledged desktop MS Office 2013. It has absolutely all the full functionality and application package. It works very fast and well, compared to third-party counterparts, for example, on Android. The 2013 version also has a good feature of direct saving documents directly to the SkyDrive cloud (which will soon be renamed OneDrive), which provides convenient work with one file on several devices. The next big plus is the desktop. This is, in fact, the best multitasking and file manager, which can not be compared with similar functions of other mobile operating systems. You can talk and talk about the desktop and windowed mode for a long time, but why? Everyone (almost) has Windows installed on their personal home or work computer and you know what it is and why it's good. It is also convenient to work with splitting the screen into several working parts. You can open 2 applications and safely place them on the screen in parallel and work with them at the same time. On one side, for example, you can put a browser or desktop, and on the other, slightly smaller, insert Skype to chat. There are no other very big pluses compared to Android tablets and iPads. On a trifle: it is very convenient to work with Internet Explorer. Why? No, he did not become very fast and stable. But it works like a full desktop browser. Yes, you can play games on Facebook, Odnoklassniki and Vkontakte. And, of course, if you have a Windows 8 home PC and a Windows Phone smartphone, then a Windows RT tablet is very convenient in terms of data synchronization. Nevertheless, no matter how, Microsoft has its own ecosystem. And if you also connect the Xbox, then the RT tablet is what you need.
Minuses.
There are also not the most pleasant aspects of this product. For example, satisfying to play games will not work. In the market, you can literally count good games on your fingers, so if you are a gamer, then this is definitely not for you. The tablet also has strange behavior. For example, after unlocking, just an empty background of the design color, which is treated by a banal pressing of the "Win" key. Not critical, but still. Just as often, the system shows the message "the battery is missing", although in Surface it is not even removed. When you disconnect the physical keyboard from the tablet in a locked state, the OS does not display the touch keyboard in subsequent work, you have to restart the tablet or connect the Touch Cover or Type Cover again. Well, once again you need to remember that there is no way to install full-fledged programs for the desktop. This is actually quite unusual and causes some discomfort. You open the desktop and you just want to launch Photoshop, Google Chrome and so on, but alas. By the way, I missed Photoshop the most. The market has the official Photoshop app from Adobe, but it has less functionality than the standard photo editor on my smartphone. You will correctly notice that if I wanted to work with such programs, then I had to take Surface Pro and this can be considered not so much a minus as an annoying opinion. Internet Explorer, which does not seem to perform its functions poorly as a full-fledged desktop browser, still has unstable operation and slows down when used for a long time, and the video from Vimeo refuses to open at all. The saddest thing is that there are no worthy analogues. There is UC Browser, but it also does not differ in stability. The official VKontakte application “thinks” for a very long time. Updating information about messages or responses is done almost manually by logging out and logging into the client. Often when sending a large amount of text in messages, it just crashes. The display of content is just terrible and incomprehensible. This is mainly the problem of the application itself, but something is not in a hurry to update it. But the Twitter and Facebook clients, on the contrary, are very functional, convenient and beautiful. There are no complaints about their work. There was another case when I charged the battery to 100% and put the locked device on the table just to lie. After about 8 hours, I picked it up and it turned off. When I tried to turn on the device, I rudely hinted that the charge was at zero. Strange, but most likely the problem of the device itself.
surface.
There is not much to say about the tablet itself. Specifications you can find online or on the official website. The body is made of aluminum and feels good in the hand. What we liked: the build quality is excellent, all the buttons function well, a very comfortable stand, a magnetic charging connector makes life easier, the presence of space for microSD (which I found out a week after purchase), the presence of a full USB input (very convenient, since the device designed to work with documents, and they are often transported on flash drives) and mini HDMI. And now, what is frustrating: the screen and the entire aluminum back part painfully collects biological information (prints), and if the screen can be easily wiped, then the back needs to be cleaned with at least something wet. Also, the volume is not very satisfying. In a noisy company at 100% volume, you will hear almost nothing. Cameras are no good. The main camera and the front camera are approximately 0.3 megapixels each. Enough only for Skype. The thickness is not very large, normal, but the weight is not always convenient to hold with one hand. At the expense of Touch Cover, my opinion is divided. On the one hand, an ideal thing in terms of material, very pleasant to the touch, tender. On the other hand, typing is not convenient. You don't feel the keystrokes, the gaps between them, and this brings some discomfort when typing, especially long text. I would still advise if you take Surface (RT or Pro) then with Type Cover.
Conclusion.
In the end, you need to tell who will need a tablet on this OS and whether it is needed at all. I can certainly say that not a large number of people will find meaning in Windows RT. Why? Because it's the same if Apple started putting not iOS on the iPad, but a stripped-down MacOS. This is silly. There are many tablets with full Windows 8 and in the same price range as RT machines. In principle, such a tablet can easily replace a netbook for working with documents. No need to bother to carry a bulky laptop with you or try to print on a smartphone, just take a small tablet with a full-fledged office and that's it. For journalists and other people who work a lot with text, this will be it. But I warn you! Do not think that it can replace your laptop or PC. I assumed this before buying. Now I'm sorry. A good move on Microsoft's part would be to stop supporting Windows RT and put Windows Phone on mobile tablets, and full-fledged Windows 8.1 on more powerful ones. So the company would equalize the chances of its tablets being bought with devices on Android and iOS. That's basically all there is to say. If you saw the features that you just need, then I see no reason to dissuade you from buying. Let these gadgets not be a priority for most of the population of our planet, but if you find in them what you need, then there are no questions. Make a choice based on your needs and preferences, and not on the basis of rumors and talk, and then everything will be fine. Although, sometimes there are words of truth in rumors. I agree. But still, you need to evaluate the situation, people and things in your head and on your own, and not draw conclusions from the words of others. Technology is generally a specific topic. Everyone has their own principles and desires. Every day a new model of a smartphone, tablet or something else is released into the world. Keeping up with everything is simply not possible if you do not have a million a day profit. Buy quality items that suit your needs.
2012 has been a year of significant change for Microsoft. For the first time, the company has united the efforts of various divisions and released a single product line covering all categories of mobile devices. Moreover, Windows RT plays almost a key role in this strategy: it should strengthen Microsoft's position in the tablet market, which has recently been actively eating up sales of classic PCs, thereby encroaching on the company's sacred bastion.
Microsoft wants Windows RT tablets to compete first and foremost with the iPad in terms of price and features, while integrating both work and entertainment sides of life.
But first of all, let's figure out what it is - Windows RT. In fact, this is just a specialized version of Windows 8 designed for ARM processors. In terms of functionality, it is completely similar to the "big" Windows 8, with one very important exception - it is incompatible with "old" Windows applications. As a result, users will be forced to purchase Windows RT apps from the Windows Store. In fact, this is a very serious limitation, because the main strength of Windows lies in its compatibility with a huge number of legacy applications. Can Windows RT be attractive without that trump card?
Interface Part 1 - Metro Modern UI
In my opinion, the main feature that characterizes Windows 8 in general and Windows RT in particular is a split personality. Immediately after loading the tablet, the user is faced with the bright side of Windows RT, which can be compared to Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll. This is the so-called "new" Windows interface (Modern UI), also known as the "Windows 8 style interface" (Windows 8 style UI), which until recently was known as Metro UI. With your permission, I will call this interface Metro, because I categorically dislike the other two names.
The Windows RT Start screen is a space filled with app tiles. These tiles are constantly updated and show some information - for example, the People app tile shows contact photos, the Twitter client tile shows recent mentions, and so on. The advantages of this approach are obvious: you can not run programs to see important information. On the other hand, since the tiles constantly look different and have the same shape, visual memory does not work and finding the right application on the start screen is sometimes difficult, you have to use text search across all installed applications. Also, the disadvantages of the Windows RT start screen include the fact that neither the clock nor the battery level of the tablet are displayed anywhere on it. To see them, you have to call the Charms Bar (we will talk about it below).
In general, despite the unusualness, the Metro interface is convenient, especially if you purposefully spend 15 minutes on its development. Almost all the main functions are called by gestures. For example, if you swipe from the right edge of the screen to the center, you will see the so-called Charms Bar - it displays a virtual Start button, as well as a shortcut to access the app store and the Search and Settings buttons. At the same time, search and settings are contextual and call up the appropriate options for the currently active application.
Moving from the left edge to the center of the screen switches the user between running programs, so Microsoft receives a well-deserved medal for the best implementation of switching between applications on the market. If you do not want to scroll through all the programs in turn, just swipe from the left edge to the center and back - while you will see a list of all currently active applications. If your tablet has a keyboard, this list can be called up by pressing the Win + Tab keys.
Swiping up or down usually brings up a context menu that displays additional application options. If you sharply drag your finger across the entire screen from top to bottom, this will close the active program.
Another nice feature of Windows 8 / RT is the ability to assign 1/4 of the screen to the right or left for an additional application, while the remaining 3/4 will display the main application that you are working with at the moment. I almost always had Skype running in this "quarter". Please note that this feature is only available if the horizontal screen resolution is 1366 pixels or more.
Interface Part 2 - The Desktop, Great and Terrible
Windows RT's second personality—Mr. Hyde, if you will—is a desktop that looks pretty much the same as the Windows 7 desktop (except for the lack of a start button and a slightly different color scheme). It is launched in the same way as any other application - by clicking on its "tile" on the start screen.
At first glance, in terms of functionality and interface, there is no difference between the desktop in Windows 8 and Windows RT. You get access to the file system (using the good old "Explorer"), a full-fledged control panel (not a cut-down Metro version) and a full set of standard Windows programs, including the "regular" command line (with the ability to execute BAT files!), PowerShell, Paint, Notepad and even a registry editor. All windows and menus look exactly the same, in other words, completely unsuitable for touch screen control.
Since Windows RT does not support third-party programs for the Windows desktop, for most users, the desktop will remain a kind of portal that allows access to five useful applications - File Explorer, the full version of the Internet Explorer browser, as well as key programs of the Office 2013 suite: Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Of course, the lack of backward compatibility with the vast catalog of programs for Windows, which for many users is almost the only reason to use this operating system, is a huge minus. On the other hand, the closed nature of the OS and the ability to install programs only from the application store means that there are no misfortunes familiar to Windows users in the form of viruses, Trojans, and other wrecking crafts. That's why Windows RT, along with Windows Phone, is Microsoft's most secure operating system.
App Store and Software Availability
The App Store in Windows RT is the only way to install new software on your tablet. Unfortunately, the store itself, as in Windows Phone 8, is organized inconveniently. In particular, it has a list of the most popular free applications, but lacks a list of the most popular paid programs. In addition, the user does not have the ability to view a list of all programs released by a particular developer.
But the biggest disadvantage of the Windows RT app store is the fact that by default, the number of programs available to the user depends on the regional settings of the system. For a long time I could not understand why I see only about a hundred applications - it turned out that the Ukrainian locale was to blame for everything. To correct this omission, I had to launch the Desktop Control Panel and change the regional settings in it to the UK (if you change them to the US, all built-in applications switch from meters and degrees Celsius to feet and degrees Fahrenheit).
Then it turned out that in the app store settings there is a treacherous checkbox that hides programs whose language does not match the system language. Why it is enabled by default is incomprehensible to the mind. In my opinion, the person who made this decision should be fired without severance pay.
However, even having access to the full catalog of applications, I was not impressed with their assortment. There is, frankly, nothing to look at there: of the programs that are personally interesting to me, I found only Skype, Kindle, Evernote, a few games (Cut The Rope, Fruit Ninja, Reckless Racing) and ... that's it! A domestic user may be interested in Yandex.Maps, the official ICQ client (terrible quality) and applications for listening to music from the VKontakte social network. So at first (and possibly second and third as well), happy Windows RT users will have to survive with pre-installed programs.
Preinstalled Applications
Windows RT comes with a good set of pre-installed applications that, on paper, are able to solve almost all the tasks of a typical user. Alas, in practice things are far from being as good as in theory.
Let's start with the mail client Mail. At first glance, it is not bad (except for a completely dull color scheme, which personally drives me into depression) and is organized according to the standard three-column layout for Outlook / Windows Mail. But if you try to somehow customize Mail for yourself, then it suddenly turns out that it has exactly one setting - turning on / off combining letters into chains. In the properties of individual accounts, you can set a signature and select an email check interval. Also bad. In addition, this email client works extremely slowly, especially if you include this very combination of letters in chains. There are also complaints about the interface: for example, you cannot tap on the sender's name and create a new letter addressed to him, and manually checking mail requires calling the context toolbar. In the end, I tormented for a couple of days and switched to the Gmail web interface, which works perfectly fine in "desktop" IE (albeit with noticeable slowdowns).
But strangely enough, I liked the calendar in Windows RT. It also does not differ in the richness of settings, but at the same time it allows you to perform all the necessary manipulations with events - and I, in principle, do not need more.
The Internet Explorer browser in Windows RT exists in two versions: "tiled" and full, for the desktop. In the "tiled" version, you see just a bare web page, and to call up the list of open bookmarks and the address bar, you need to swipe up or down. Why you can't just show a list of bookmarks on top to quickly switch between them is not clear. Well, "desktop" IE is just "desktop" IE. Interestingly, the "tiled" version does not have its own settings, but in the settings of the "desktop" version, you can set which version of the browser will be used to open links by default.
The music player in Windows RT is not bad in principle (and supports gapless!), but the irrational use of screen space just killed me. It is completely incomprehensible why a Windows tablet with a screen resolution of 1366x768 in the album display mode shows only eight albums, and an iPad with a resolution of 1024x768 - 18 in full and six more partially. In addition, if the iPad music player always shows which song is currently playing, then in Windows RT you need to call the context toolbar for this.
Office 2013 for Windows RT
One of the biggest benefits of Windows RT is the Office 2013 Home & Student suite of apps that comes pre-installed on devices running Windows RT. In fact, this is a full-fledged Office 2013, the same as on x86 computers, only recompiled for ARM processors. Its interface, again, completely repeats the desktop version and is very poorly adapted to work with a touch screen. You can turn on a special touch mode in the menu, but all it does is slightly increase the distance between the buttons on the toolbar. By the way, I still do not understand why this mode is disabled by default.
During testing, it turned out that Office differs in some, let's call it this way, features. For example, Word reacted incorrectly to changes in screen orientation and randomly resized its window. After installing the update to the release version of Office 2013, this behavior persisted. Also, after installing this update, for some reason it suddenly turned out that Excel is not the default program for opening Excel files. But the update solved the problem with Word being extremely slow (before it, the program simply could not keep up with my typing speed). However, high CPU usage while working in Office is still a problem. In my opinion, simple typing should not lead to spikes in CPU usage up to 80%.
However, for all its shortcomings, Office for Windows RT is a huge advantage of this OS. Nothing like this exists for iOS and Android tablets.
Work speed
All Windows RT tablets presented so far are based on the Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset (four ARM Cortex-A9 cores, GeForce ULP graphics). In principle, the OS works relatively well on this hardware, but it feels like there is practically no performance margin. If everything is more or less tolerable in the OS itself and pre-installed programs, then many third-party applications significantly slow down. In some programs (for example, in Office), when simply typing on the keyboard, the processor load jumps up to 60-80%.
In addition, during the testing process, I discovered another interesting feature. I remember that 15 years ago the following joke was popular in certain circles:
The son comes to his father-programmer and says:
Dad, show me multitasking in Windows 95!
Wait, son, now the floppy disk is being formatted.
Why am I? Moreover, while copying files from external drives to the internal memory of the tablet, it is simply impossible to work with Windows RT. That is, you can switch between already running programs, but the applications themselves do not respond to any user actions. Such is the multitasking of the sample of 2012.
But the most annoying feature of Windows RT in terms of performance is the very long boot time for the tablet and the first launch of programs. Restart is much faster.
Equipment Compatibility
Apologists for Windows RT call one of the advantages of this operating system compatibility with a wide range of equipment. Indeed, almost all tablets running Windows RT are equipped with USB ports and theoretically allow you to connect a wide variety of devices. I decided to try out in practice which of the devices at hand Windows RT could recognize.
Keyboards and mice. There are no problems with these devices - Windows RT works without problems with any keyboards and mice, including Apple keyboards.
External drives. Again, no problem: both flash drives and hard drives are recognized without problems.
Printers. I can’t say anything about printers in general, however, both the working Canon laser and the HP home inkjet refused to work due to the lack of drivers, both via USB and with a network connection.
Scanners. Two different scanners refused to work in Windows RT.
Android smartphones. The Galaxy Nexus Android smartphone was perfectly recognized by the operating system as an MTP device. Files back and forth were copied without problems.
Draw your own conclusions.
Anything-Miscellaneous
At the time of writing this review, Windows RT is being updated very actively. So active that important updates arrived on the tablet almost every day, requiring a reboot. It is worth noting that such updates are installed very thoughtfully, with feeling, sense and arrangement, so most often when working with Windows RT I saw the following screen:
Some concern is the amount of space occupied by Windows RT in the memory of the tablet. I used the ASUS VivoTab RT tablet as a guinea pig, which is equipped with a built-in 32 GB drive. On the new tablet, 14 GB are initially available to the user. After a week of constant updates, the amount of free space decreased to 13 GB, and after installing the gigabyte update for Office 2013 - to 12.5 GB. At this rate, in a couple of months, the operating system will eat up all the internal memory of the tablet and ask for supplements.
By the way, about updates. There are three places in Windows RT where the user should go for updates. Software updates appear in the app store, OS updates appear in the update center. But for some reason, some updates do not appear in the Metro version of the update center, they can only be seen in the update center in the desktop version of the Control Panel.
The behavior of the keyboard (both screen and hardware) causes a lot of comments. I will list the three most important:
- Whereas in Windows 7 and previous versions the operating system remembers the keyboard layout for each individual application, in Windows RT the keyboard layout is a global state. Just for this dubious innovation alone, I want to tear someone's head off. Moreover, even the on-screen keyboard ALWAYS opens in the layout that was active last time. That is, if you, for example, wrote something in Russian, then both in the password entry window and in the address bar of the browser, the Russian layout will be active when switching.
- Now there are hundreds of millions of people in the world who know that by default in Windows, input languages are switched with the Alt + Shift key combination. But in Windows RT, Microsoft decided to spit on all these users and their habits by changing the default combination to Win+Space. This can only be explained by a slavish imitation of Apple and nothing else.
- If, say, in iOS, switching the input language on the on-screen keyboard is carried out with one click on the corresponding button, then in Windows RT you click on the button, after which you see a menu from which you need to select the desired layout. Why it was necessary to complicate such a simple and constantly used action - I'll never know.
Finally, I noticed that after installing the Russian language pack, part of the menu and signatures in the system were translated into Russian, while the other part remained in English.
Bonus track
I would like to leave this collection of unprecedented beauty of screenshots without comment.
In the dry matter
In order to avoid accusations of malice, during the writing of this review, I did my best to restrain my emotions and tried to express my thoughts as dryly as possible. However, the same question haunted me all the time: how could the great company Microsoft release such a weak and crude product as Windows RT?
In my opinion, Microsoft simply does not understand why the iPad is so successful: Apple's tablet is popular because it is the simplest product that does not scare users with obscure questions and does not require special knowledge from them. And in exchange for this simplicity, people are willing to put up with the limited nature of the device. Windows RT, on the other hand, combines the worst features of the iPad and desktop Windows: it is limited like iOS, but at the same time it has all the classic Windows quirks (see the Miscellaneous and Bonus Track sections). Its only real advantage is the presence of a full-fledged Office 2013 in the package.
The existence of Windows RT looks especially puzzling when you consider Windows tablets based on the new generation of Intel Atom (CloverTrail). Looking ahead, I will say that with excellent autonomy (more than 10 hours on battery), CloverTrail-based tablets are faster than Windows RT-based ARM tablets, and at the same time are fully compatible with the entire extensive catalog of programs for Windows. I think buying a Windows RT tablet is only worth it if you really need Office and are on a tight budget and can't afford a Windows 8 Pro tablet.
Tablets running Windows are slowly but surely conquering the mobile computing market. Despite the numerical superiority on the part of Android devices, various representatives of mobile gadgets from Microsoft are still in demand. All of you are used to the "seven", as well as the still fresh "eight" on your PCs and laptops, and we know perfectly well how to install programs on them.
Introduction
But the image of the tablet that has developed in the minds of millions of users is completely different: Windows is a bit of a curiosity here. Quite often, questions that seem quite primitive at first glance arise. For example - how to install a program on a gadget running G8 or one of its variations, Windows RT. Despite the seeming simplicity of this action, everything is not so simple.
Microsoft App Store
The most elementary
The easiest is to install programs on a tablet that works with the "seven". Such devices are not as popular as those that run on the Windows 8 operating system, but they are also worth considering. Such gadgets are an alternative to laptops and netbooks. Their functionality is completely similar, except that there is no physical keyboard.
PC analogy
Due to the presence of a USB port in such a device, installing software is no different from the classic one on a PC. You can download any exe file on the Internet and run it on a tablet with Windows 7 without any problems. Of course, since the operating system is licensed, various services and software stores from Microsoft are available to you, where you can purchase, for example, the Office package for Windows .
Microsoft Store
The process of purchasing software in this case is no different from ordering something in a regular online store. When you go to the Microsoft Store website and select the necessary purchase, for example, Office 365 Home, you pay for it with your electronic card and receive a link to download the program itself, plus a license key. Installation, introduction of the key - and your gadget has a licensed office.
Purchasing Apps
The whole difference from buying in a regular store will be only in the absence of a box with a disk. But if you need another installation for your tablet for any reason, then once you have bought the key, you can download the program at any time after using the same license key for installation.
Gadgets on the "eight"
G8 tablets offer more options for getting and installing apps. At least, numerous functions for obtaining licensed software are built right into the tiled interface. To do this, there is the Windows Store - a store where you can purchase and install applications on your mobile computer that are designed specifically for it.
Store
Do not confuse the Windows Store and the Microsoft Store, since the first is designed specifically for installing programs on Windows 8 and its special "tablet version" RT. Thus, everything related to gadgets based on Windows 8 and installing software for them is similar to RT.
Applications for Windows 8 can be easily installed on the device from files on a flash drive and downloaded from the Internet, both from official sites and from Microsoft stores, as well as from any other resources.
freedom of choice
But you can only do this if the processor of your device belongs in its architecture to the Intel or AMD families. Only then will it all be fair. For tablets based on an ARM architecture processor, everything is much more complicated and simpler at the same time. But if you're the lucky owner of an Intel/AMD device with Windows 8, you have more freedom of choice when you need to install software.
The store is built into the system's tiled interface. At the moment, it has more than a hundred thousand programs, games and a wide variety of software for different purposes. Alas, but with the "seven" you will not be able to use it. Although this is not required, because for gadgets running on the "seven" there are already a lot of options for installing applications.
Gadgets with Windows RunTime
For tablets that are controlled by the RT version, alas, only installation from the Store is valid. The fact is that RT is an operating system designed specifically for devices based on ARM processors. Such gadgets cannot play regular exe files, so installing programs for RT is only possible from a special online store.
Since your tablet will most likely have Russian localization, in order to install some program or game, it is enough to find a tile with the name "Shop". To log in, you will need an Internet connection and a Microsoft account, in other words, a mailbox. With the help of search or category of the most popular applications, you can find something of interest.
The purchase takes place as in a regular online store and the money is debited from your card. In this service, you can also install a lot of free programs on tablets with RT or try trial versions of paid ones. Despite the seeming infringement in opportunities, programs for RT are full of a choice of a wide variety of applications. In general, a tablet running Windows 8 in the RT edition is as convenient as any other.
