Those buying the 32GB Surface RT tablet may be in for a bit of a shock when they venture into the device’s file explorer. Microsoft posted a new answer in their FAQ document yesterday which answers the oft-asked question of how much usable space the Surface RT tablet actually has. According to the document, once space reserved for Windows Recovery Tools (5GB) and Windows RT, Office RT, and other built-in applications (8GB) are taken into account, owners of the 32GB Surface RT tablet are left with just 16GB of storage to use for applications and files. Owners of the 64GB Surface RT have a bit more space, with 45GB of usable free space.
The numbers show how bulky the Windows Programs are. By comparison, Apple’s 32GB iPad leaves users about 28GB of free space available once the OS and pre-installed applications are taken into account, and the numbers will likely be very similar to the iPad for Google’s upcoming Nexus 10 tablet.
Microsoft notes that users can expand the storage of their Surface RT tablet by utilizing the company’s SkyDrive cloud storage platform, or by the microSD card slot included in the Surface RT, which adds up to 64GB of internal storage to the tablet. Of course, you’ll only be able to add files, music, videos, and other content to the microSD card, as apps will need to run on the built-in storage on the Surface RT.
[via Microsoft]