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jc1350

macrumors 6502a
Feb 4, 2008
606
39
I'm probably in the minority but I actually like the surface and yes, I'm an Apple fanboy. But it's really the clean interface that draws me in a bit, it's intriguing in once you get it you get it and most the things you want are right there at your fingertips. Honestly Windows 8 and it's tablet equivalent are the first original things Microsoft has done in... uh, probably ever as they've not usually an original idea in their vacuous collective heads and in the past every single thing was a ripoff, mostly from Apple. But their OS is in fact different as opposed to Android and the other as ran blatant iOS ripoffs, for that they seriously deserve some credit... and I can't believe I'm actually typing that but it's true.

This said I've an iPad 1 and a iPad Mini 1 and they connect with my family's Mac eco system exceedingly well, it's not like I'll be running off to buy a Surface any time soon. I'm just saying, these aren't that bad to counter those maybe hating on them instantly for being Microsoft, which is still understandable reaction considering their track record.

I agree. I'm in the Apple "ecosystem" with most of my media purchases and I still love my original gen iPad.

If I were in the MS/Xbox ecosystem, I would most likely have a Surface RT. My brother-in-law has one and it isn't bad. It does what he wants it to do and I don't see much of anything missing for my needs. Both supplement a desktop/laptop; neither replaces desktops/laptops imo.

I also liked the ad for its comical value.

*edit* - by "supplement desktops/laptops, I mean it in the sense of the things I do on my desktop (Aperture, video editing, typing more than 2 or 3 lines, etc). I understand that the RT is not strictly a tablet.
 

69650

Suspended
Mar 23, 2006
3,367
1,876
England
The surface PRO is a laptop in tablet form.

The surface RT is just a tablet with an OS that resembles the desktop version (a source of much confusion for customers).

Surface RT is just another "iPad killer" that has bit the dust. Throw it on the heap over in the corner on top of the HP Touchpads, Motorola Xooms, and Galaxy Tabs....

The Surface was never going to work. Many people said so at the launch. Even MS's own developers think it's a dog. When you have to explain what it is it's automatically a fail. Most people want simple to use. The iPad works because you just pick it up and go. The iTunes Store is head and shoulders above the competition.

If Apple made a cheaper mass market laptop or Google made an Android desktop rather than those limited Chromebooks, Microsoft would be toast.
 

PinkyMacGodess

Suspended
Mar 7, 2007
10,271
6,226
Midwest America.
$34B in market cap lost today. I think MS has more important things to worry about than the iPad.

Image

But the RT is the reason they are in the can... The RT is failing. They already haved the number ordered, and they can't even sell that small number... They are in trouble. I assume there is a really big trench being prepared for the massive number of RT's and Pro's that are being gathered... Maybe they will be interned near the Zunes...
 

Xavier

macrumors demi-god
Mar 23, 2006
2,796
1,531
Columbus
Microsoft needs to focus on telling people why they should buy a Surface and not why they should not buy an iPad.

I agree with this. There wasn't anything in this ad that made me feel I should consider the Surface.
 

ctdonath

macrumors 68000
Mar 11, 2009
1,592
629
Selling a computer (broadly speaking) on minor accessories is a losing proposition when it's not totally compatible with a dominant software ecosystem. I'm not spending hundreds of dollars for a keyboard and kickstand, I'm spending hundreds of dollars for a product that serves my needs - to wit, what apps/programs can I run on it?

Keyboard? both tablets have 'em available, iPad has a whole lot more - so many more options that :apple: doesn't bother making one.
Stand? same idea. So the Surface has one built-in...and word is it's cheesy, and methinks it will be broken not long after my kids (good ones at that) get done with it (at 3 & 5, they'll just do something not knowing it will break nor understand the consequences).
USB? meaningful to a non-trivial number of customers, but not a benefit to the rest. It doesn't have a DVD or 5.25" floppy drive either.

So...what can the Surface do?
 

LaDirection

macrumors 6502
Jul 14, 2006
288
0
Further proof that Microsft just doesn't get it. And don't be fooled, they REALLY think their tablet is way better than the iPad. They REALLY don't understand why their products are failling so amusingly.

Remember the Zune?

The day that google comes out with Android or Chrome desktop OS, whatever they will call it, with a free set of office apps is the day Microsoft will close.
 

mdelvecchio

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2010
3,151
1,149
Uh...if your iPad has a stand it must be a cheap knockoff. No iPad has a stand built in :confused:

apple makes a stand for the ipad in the same way that MS makes a keyboard for the surface. neither one comes with it.
 

PinkyMacGodess

Suspended
Mar 7, 2007
10,271
6,226
Midwest America.
Further proof that Microsft just doesn't get it. And don't be fooled, they REALLY think their tablet is way better than the iPad. They REALLY don't understand why their products are failling so amusingly.

Remember the Zune?

The day that google comes out with Android or Chrome desktop OS, whatever they will call it, with a free set of office apps is the day Microsoft will close.

THey won't go away over the RT and Pro, but I would wonder what kind of conversations are going between Google and Microsoft...
 

tshrimp

macrumors 6502
Mar 30, 2012
413
3,439
Kind of funny. I admit I love my iPad mini, but miss my expandable storage from my Android Tablet (Acer A500). I just had to uninstall several games and remove all my music to get SWKOTOR to install.

Commercials might not be working, but...they are kinda true. What is actually false about the commercial (technically speaking) ?
 

Glideslope

macrumors 604
Dec 7, 2007
7,928
5,360
The Adirondacks.
But the RT is the reason they are in the can... The RT is failing. They already haved the number ordered, and they can't even sell that small number... They are in trouble. I assume there is a really big trench being prepared for the massive number of RT's and Pro's that are being gathered... Maybe they will be interned near the Zunes...

WIN 8 is just as much a problem as the RT. 8.1 is still an unknown. Our IT won't go near WIN8. We have no plans to move off WIN7 Enterprise any time in the next year. It's too bad in some ways. I actually like WIN8 Mobile. It's simply to much of a risk for many currently.
 

appleisking

macrumors 6502a
May 24, 2013
658
3,022
And no one is responsible either... They just go through time screwing up one product after another.

Maybe this time will cost Ballmer his job?

Take a look at the stock quote. Ouch. The week chart looks like you could make a free-fall jump, the curve is so steep.
 

CausticPuppy

macrumors 68000
May 1, 2012
1,536
68
I agree with this. There wasn't anything in this ad that made me feel I should consider the Surface.

The funniest thing about all these ads is that they are based on showing a feature the iPad has but the Surface RT lacks.... the ability to talk to you. :D


The iPad just needs to say "yeah, well I can TALK." And then walk away.
 

Glideslope

macrumors 604
Dec 7, 2007
7,928
5,360
The Adirondacks.
Kind of funny. I admit I love my iPad mini, but miss my expandable storage from my Android Tablet (Acer A500). I just had to uninstall several games and remove all my music to get SWKOTOR to install.

Commercials might not be working, but...they are kinda true. What is actually false about the commercial (technically speaking) ?

That you "Must have a USB Port" to be a Tablet. :apple:
 

PinkyMacGodess

Suspended
Mar 7, 2007
10,271
6,226
Midwest America.
I actually like the tablets but these ads aren't doing MS any favors.

I had an employee at a kiosk show me the RT. It made sense, but I really didn't see anything it did that the iPad couldn't do that I'd miss. Oh, and he kept saying (because this was 'pre-Pro' time) that I should wait for the Pro when it came out and I'd really want to get one of those. Now, thinking back on it, I'm glad I didn't pre-order a Pro. I considered it, but figured with all of the bad press from the RT, I could just imagine how bad the 'Pro' would turn out to be.
 

YourHerojb

macrumors regular
May 5, 2011
145
0
The conversation here is so much different than the fights over android phone vs iPhone. It's the same iOS and the reception is loads different between iPhone and iPad. Without adding in my own opinions, I'm just curious to why?
 

Heltik

macrumors 6502
Jul 16, 2002
254
51
USA
Why all the negativity? It's clearly a superior product than iPad. Because it has a stand.

That won't ever snap off.
 

mw360

macrumors 68020
Aug 15, 2010
2,032
2,395
So the Surface is like one of those £20 LCD photo frames? Oh, wait it's got a USB port where I can transfer the photos from my PC where I previously transferred them from my camera. Ugh, people still do all that rigmarole? Oh no, its okay, it's just a netbook. That explains the price.

Edit: Just to make my actual point - everything Microsoft points out as their advantage (other than the price) is exactly the sort of legacy hindrance that Apple deliberately left behind. Microsoft are too stupid to see it. The iPad is just one object with no moving parts, you hold it and use it in your hand, not hunched over its tiny screen and keyboard at a desk and not by fiddling about with crappy bits of plastic sticking out of every edge.
 
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mac 2005

macrumors 6502a
Apr 1, 2005
782
126
Chicago
Especially weak considering the iPad DOES have a stand.

Aren't they just throwing money away on these ads at this point? With the price drop it seems pretty obvious they're not selling enough of these, seems like they're just having a fire sale like some of the other tablets that ended up going away.

You make a great point -- the kickstand is built right into the standard cover. And doesn't the small type on the screen indicate that the "real keyboard" is an optional accessory? The iPad also offers a "real keyboard" -- lots of 'em, in fact, that consumers can choose based on a range of criteria.
 
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