Wiindows @ Disney - First Impressions

This is only my first impressions of what I have found with my 2 Windows 8 devices on our short trip to Walt Disney World however I wanted to take a few moments to write this report.

Microsoft Windows 8 Pro Surface Tablet

First - the Microsoft Surface Pro is a great device. It has for the first time in about a decade given me the confidence to travel without a laptop. For me a laptop has always been a must when travelling. I have probably had to "remote in" to handle problems at work, write reports and more tasks dozens of times. Without a laptop this would have been impossible. I know that the Surface has enough power to handle most if not all laptop tasks, with the possible exception of video editing. However to get to most of these destinations I must fly. Airports and Airplanes are often very busy and crowded places. Personal space is often difficult to find. Maybe it's just me but I often think of the Star Trek episode, "Mark of Gideon" whenever I am in these crowded places. I found that the Surface tablet is bigger and bulkier then is necessary if you simply want to play games, listen to music, surf the internet, read a book etc. The IPAD is a much better device for these tasks, It is lighter, smaller and handles those simple tasks just fine.

I have been suggesting for months now that the Surface or other Windows 8 devices are better "professional" devices for those on the move. Here the Surface shines. Once at the resort I was able to truly read email through a Outlook 2013 client, open documents in Word and Excel and even write this fine article with great ease. None of this could have been done on my IPAD.

Also once at the resort and with personal space I was able again to use the Surface to read the newspaper and other tasks normally handled with my IPAD.

In fact after writing this article, I will unsnap the magnetic keyboard, flip the tablet vertically and finally sit back, relax and read the online versions of my local newspapers before heading back to the parks!

Windows 8 Phone

My biggest problem here was the camera on the Nokia Lumia 822. I found that the shutter speed was often very slow and clunky. Snap the picture and sometimes you need to wait a few seconds for the shutter to kick in and sometime it kicks in and takes 3-4 pictures at once. As our first day went on I discovered that if you use the physical shutter button things work a bit better. In addition it is important to remember that this problem probably rests with the physical phone and not Windows itself. Verizon Wireless currently only has 2 Windows 8 phones so here is hoping that more models are released soon.

The other problem I had on day 1 was that twice, once in Philadelphia and once in Orlando the phone lost cellular service. I was able to fix this both times by powering it off and back on. I am also hoping that this was a fluke as well.

A nice feature of the Windows 8 phone is that all photos (and videos) you take can be set to automatically upload to your SkyDrive account. If you were to lose you phone this would indeed be a life saver. Once back at the resort I was able to browse my photos immediately on my Surface tablet through SkyDrive. From here you can easily view, edit and organize your new photos.

Well my journey with Windows 8 at Disney World continues so I must go.

Have a Magical Day!