Windows RT Takes Up Half the Storage of Microsoft’s Surface Tablet

Microsoft had recently disclosed how much storage you’ll end up having on the various different storage configurations of its Surface RT tablets, which runs the embedded Windows RT operating system designed for processors with architecture designed by ARM Holdings.

According to Microsoft, the base 32 GB edition of the Surface tablet will see half of that storage consumed by the OS itself and Microsoft says that the operating system will report that only 16 GB of storage is available to end users. For the larger capacity 64 GB, the OS will report that 46 GB will be available to consumers.

Given the large, approximately 16 GB of space consumed by Windows RT, users who are trying to decide between the two storage configurations for Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet may

That said, the situation isn’t entirely bad as the Surface RT has a USB port along with an SD card slot so users can always swap out and augment their storage needs with removable storage, like a memory card or a USB drive.

And if users are within range of a WiFi access point–there is no 3G/4G edition of the Surface RT tablet–users can also tap cloud storage options. Our own Warner Crocker had explored an app for Windows RT that taps various cloud storage services.

The surface will have to compete against Android tablets and the market-leading iPad. The device is a first for Microsoft as the software giant had never ventured into the tablet hardware space prior. More recently, there are also rumors of a Surface-branded Windows 8 smartphone from Microsoft.

In addition to the Surface RT, Microsoft will also release a Surface Pro in the future, which would share the same industrial design as the Surface RT but will run on an x86 processor and come with Windows 8 Professional. The Surface RT has been well received in general by consumers and the press.