[cabirum]

What did you expect from a $250 device? Or, what did you expect from an 8″ 1200x800 tablet with just 2gb ram and 32gb ssd which comes with a full Windows OS, instead of Win RT? Some phones have more powerful hardware than that.

It's not Microsoft's fault that Asus decided to sell a cheap, untested, poorly-built device. It's your fault, as a tech-savvy customer, to buy it.

[dingdingdang]

OP explicitly states that the machine was part of Microsoft's "Signature Device" program and as such MS certainly has a responsibility for allowing these hardware specs onto the street. Nonetheless, I totally agree with notion that I would personally never have been caught in that situation due to being able to read tech specs and having internalized rough idea of Windows performance in relation to hardware setup...

[wfjackson]

OP is mistaken. The signature designation only implies that it's free of pre-installed crapware and junkware. If one wants a real Nexus like device(branded Google), then Surface is their friend(made by MS).

>as such MS certainly has a responsibility for allowing these hardware specs onto the street

And then get sued by the DoJ and split up by a court. Thanks to the antitrust ruling, MS cannot force anything on the OEMs. If you can install Windows on a 512MB RAM machine and sell it, MS can't do shit to stop you.

[mcintyre1994]

Surely Microsoft can choose which devices they put some signature branding on, and which ones they choose to stock in their own retail stores though? They can't control the hardware running Windows but they absolutely should control be aware of what their 'signature' on an OEM device implies.

[gurkendoktor]

> It's not Microsoft's fault...

In addition to the "Signature" branding, OP bought it in a Microsoft Store. There is really no excuse for being so terrible at taking care of their own ecosystem.

[vinceguidry]

As someone who worked in a testing department at a large company, I have to say that vetting even just your own devices for defects is an incredibly tough nut to crack, much less other companys'.

Your solution is effectively "Don't sell non-Microsoft products at your store."

Yes, I know that Apple has managed to do exactly that, build a retail store where there's an expectation that anything you buy there will be at the brand level of quality. Apple can do a lot of things other companies can't. It has the best designers, the best technology platforms, the best infrastructure. Apple's remarkable consistency is the product of the company Jobs built.

Microsoft has to struggle very hard to come up with one half-decent product.

[macspoofing]

>What did you expect from a $250 device?

I don't care what it costs - it should work.

>It's not Microsoft's fault that Asus decided to sell a cheap, untested, poorly-built device.

Microsoft probably wouldn't be able to prevent Asus from selling it outright, but it could refuse to sell it through MS Store or giving it a 'signature device' branding.

[cabirum]

  > it should work    

It works.

  > refuse to sell it through MS Store

MS is probably bound by some partnership agreements so it cannot refuse, and 'signature device' means there's no third-party bloatware as OP said.

[maximumoverload]

    > It works.

For a certain definition of "works".

    > MS is probably bound by some partnership agreements so it cannot refuse

Who cares? It's in MS store sold as MS "signature device".

[nikanj]

Are you saying that if it had more ram, the vendor would've updated the windows image? I don't see a connection between the out-of-box software being broken and the device having lower specs than a phone.

[cabirum]

No, I'm saying specs alone are a warning sign of a junk device. Outdated software and lack of touchscreen drivers are just another consequence of manufacturers neglect.

[atomicrat2552]

OP here. I was expecting something called a "Microsoft Signature Device" to be similar to a Nexus device, wherein MS was working with the OEM to make a sort of reference device for the form factor. Nexus devices usually don't have the latest-and-greatest, and they still work pretty damn well.

What I got out of this instead is that MS guarantees a "Signature Device" to just be free of any bloatware. I was also deceived by the devices in-store working perfectly well, but having been already fixed by store employees before customers could get to them.

Guess I know better for the next time, eh?

[atomicrat2552]

Things seem to be much better now that I've got 8.1 and some various other updates in. Still have more updates installing, and hopefully everything is peachy keen by tomorrow evening when I do the Day 1 post :)

[cabirum]

I do hope your tablet works at least as well as devices in store (after finishing with updates :) ).