Windows 10 is Microsoft's most ambitious, daring, and successful project in years. This is not just an update of the world's most popular operating system: as conceived by the creators, the Ten should become a universal system available on all modern platforms and unite computers, smartphones and tablets under one beautiful figure. You will be able to use Office on your PC - and exactly the same on your mobile device. Connect your Lumia to a monitor - and to it, in turn, a keyboard and mouse, and use it as a computer.
Thousands of your favorite PC programs in your pocket. Well, it's fantastic!
Unfortunately, this is still the case.
HP Pro 608 G1 is one of the first tablets on full-fledged Windows 10. One might say, a real flagship, which, like other similar devices, should convince buyers that all those beautiful words about a "single ecosystem", its convenience and uniqueness - the truth is that the future is already here, just put your iPad aside and give it a chance.
On paper, the Pro 608 looks really impressive. There is an Intel Atom processor, which is now installed in almost all expensive ultrabooks, and an eight-inch screen with a high resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels, and a pleasant design in general, and the ability to connect a keyboard through a special connector. And, of course, full-fledged Windows 10 is a trump card. Unfortunately, it is in it that all the shortcomings lie.
© hp.com/ru/
Actually, Windows 10 is great. She received a lot of enthusiastic reviews from all world journalists, she was warmly received by users, including those who are firmly attached to such a beloved Windows 7. "Ten" is beautiful, works even on computers with the capacity of a kitchen toaster, is convenient and functional. Moreover, it is free - provided that you have a licensed version of the previous version of Windows. Here is Cortana, a wonderful artificial intelligence that will help you quickly find the file and information on the network, send an email, and also remind you to buy flowers or call a friend. Taking this opportunity: Cortana is still not working in Russia. Microsoft, it's been a year now.
But all these nice words apply exclusively to the PC. Despite the fact that Windows 10 can work with touch screens, the entire ecosystem is simply not designed for this. "Ten" on tablets is a pale shadow of its desktop version.
Microsoft got so carried away by ideas about the versatility of its system that, apparently, it forgot how conceptually different in essence a personal computer and a tablet are.
What is a tablet anyway?
To put it as simply as possible, it's a portable large touchscreen. And we use it accordingly: we surf the Internet, communicate using the on-screen keyboard in messengers, and for work, if such a need arises, we connect the physical one. We watch movies, play games. In general, for the most part we consume content, sometimes doing something useful.
On Android, and especially iOS, it is convenient - these two systems were originally designed for touch screens. The programmers created them with the idea that users would use their fingers as their primary control.
With Windows 10, the situation is different. Conduct a thought experiment, it will be especially clear if you are now reading this text from a monitor or laptop screen. Disconnect your mouse or touchpad from your computer. And remove the keyboard. Now imagine that you need to complete your daily tasks using only your fingers. Open folders with your fingers. Simulate a right click with your fingers. Constantly call the onscreen keyboard … with the same worn-out fingers.
Microsoft tried to solve the interface problem by introducing the so-called "tablet mode" in Windows 10. By clicking on the icon on the taskbar, the interface is somewhat transformed: the desktop disappears, and you go to the menu with tiles of programs and applications. The idea itself is good - only there are practically no applications optimized for the "flatness" of the system. As soon as you launch your favorite program, you will be faced with the damned need to simulate the mouse cursor with your fingers. You can find popular applications in the Windows Market like Vkontakte and Instagram in an optimized form. But why then buy a device on Windows 10, if you can just as well and, most importantly, for the same money, buy an iPad or Android tablet, where all this is? Is it much more convenient there?
If you want to use your tablet like a full-fledged computer, get ready to carry your keyboard and mouse with you. Because you are unlikely to enjoy editing video or editing photos in some Photoshop, pointing your fingers at the screen.
With games, too, the situation is joyful only on paper. Of course, the ability to run League of Legends or Counter-Strike: Go on your tablet is cool, since Intel Atom can easily “pull” both. But, again, you can't play them without a keyboard and mouse. So isn't it easier to just buy a laptop?
HP Pro 608 G1 Tablet back cover © hp.com/en/
It seems that roughly the same claims can be made for the iPad Pro. Apple is also positioning its tablet as a tool for work. But there the problem is different: there are no professional applications on iOS that can replace their counterparts on OS X and full-fledged Windows.
But at the same time, the iPad Pro, apart from its "professional" inclinations, is an excellent tablet that is convenient to use. And the toolkit that is there allows you to solve simple professional tasks on the go. For example, I regularly type on it and sometimes draw in ProCreate - just for myself. And it is great because both Apple and third-party developers, again, specially "sharpened" their products for the features of the touch screen.
What about the tablet?
I have practically no complaints about the HP tablet itself. Is that the margin of brightness is too small, and the frames around the display are too large.
It is compact and powerful, keeping the battery charge well. The screen produces an excellent picture in high definition. The sound, albeit quiet, is generally detailed. And the fact that using it is incredibly inconvenient is not HP's fault - they just made a product that is pleasant to heart and eye - but Microsoft.
If Windows 10 wants to change the world, it needs to change itself. "Tablet mode" should not just throw you into the menu with tiles - it should radically change all interface elements, including the appearance of the same "Explorer" and the taskbar. There should be a convenient notification management. And the normal way to adjust the brightness of the screen - and not like now, when this function is hidden in the quick settings panel in the power saving icon.
I love Windows 10 and I believe in Microsoft, which has grown into one of the most ambitious companies today over the past year. But at the beginning of 2016, when choosing a tablet in a store, I pass by racks with devices running Windows 10. Without even looking in their direction.>
