$1000 for a tablet is completely and utterly ASININE. I don't give a crap how good it is. Microsoft can go die in a fire for all I care. I'll stick with my $300 iPad mini.
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Surface Pro, Sick!
- Thread starter spinedoc77
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lol, it is amazing when people like you miss the point.
Before i say anything, i would like to add that i agree it should be priced somewhat lower, may be $700 with cover included would be nice.
However it is not a tablet that runs a mobile OS. It runs a full blown Windows OS which is what many people will admire.
Sure the battery life is 4 hours, but how long until it jumps to 8, 16 etc after OEMs make advances in their models from this inspiration?
You ipad mini is a mobile OS tablet, this is an actual full use small computer which can turn into a tablet when needed. Learn the difference.
And you my friend missed the whole point of the surface pro. Congratulations.
I know what the Surface Pro is trying to do. I'm one of the least biased people on this site. The device is all compromise. It's not good enough as a laptop as it can't even really sit on your lap, and it's not portable enough to be a proper tablet. It's just a device that doesn't even need to exist really. The market for it is VERY niche, and pointless really. Enjoy your 3.5 hours of a battery life.
Well, if all you want is a low-resolution tablet to watch videos, surf the Internet and read e-mails, than go ahead. The iPad mini is cheaper, lighter and has better battery life.
But if you want to run Office, multitasking and want the power of a real PC in the form of a tablet, then Surface Pro is the way to go, as it trounces iPads and Android tablets on this. It's a completely different product, and don't expect it to behave like an iPad mini.
At the price point of the Pro I'd MUCH rather have a MacBook Air, which makes so much more sense for running Office, multitasking, and actually having the power of a real PC because it is one.
It's different for everybody. For me:
>128GB SSD
non-ULV Core i5
6-7+ hour battery life
Keyboard/mouse (Lenovo is the reference for keyboards)
Multiple I/O ports
One USB port, one SD card slot, one video out is pretty anemic for a power user. But your definition will be/is different than mine so this is pretty pointless to argue about.
According to my definition, I'm not a power user. My MBA has a ULV CPU.
Oh young one, for most users doing real work, they are not doing it on the go, they might pop it open on a train, or plane, or in a cafe for awhile, when the " real work " happens, its normally in an office, near a plug, so battery life isn't toatlly important.
I miss the days of 60mhz Laptops running Windows 95, with 2 hour battery life
Who are you to say where "real work" is done? Real work is done wherever you are. I don't let environment get in the way. Those were the old days, we have better technology now that enables us to work wherever we please.
I don't. I have an Air and I get 7+ hours in Starbucks without an outlet all the time. This is running a VM for coding, iTunes, Mail, Safari with 10+ tabs, Xcode, Terminal, Textedit and Preview with 5+ PDFs. But I'm hardly a power user. This is a normal work day for me (yes, on a Sunday at a Starbucks).
Keyboard/mouse is pretty pathetic on the Surface Pro. The type cover (not the touch one) is workable. The mouse is ... also workable. But why compromise that much? I can get a pretty nice Lenovo/Asus/Acer/HP/etc. ultrabook with a better keyboard and trackpad for far less than $899 (that's the 64GB model). But that is beside the point, I think Surface Pro 2 will be more enticing because costs will go down, hardware will be better/faster and battery life should improve.
I agree. I didn't get the first iPhone, nor the second, nor the third... I got the fourth one. The first iPhone was cool (Surface Pro looks really cool) but functionality was kind of anemic. I think it's a niche product right now given the compromises but maybe the second or third generation might be good enough for me personally.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I was one of its earlier critics, but after hearing your analysis, I think Microsoft might really be on to something here. It may not be perfect (the ipad1 wasn't either), but it gets the job done and the message across, and provides a blueprint for other manufacturers to follow.
This is what I was aiming at before everyone starting being all defensive when I'm not on the offensive.
Well people generally learn to walk before they run...
It may just be a template for Asus, Samsung etc to make a thinner, sleeker win8 pro tablet with a 10 hour battery life 3 months down the line. I know if that happens, I am buying that in a heartbeat, iPad doesn't even register as a potential choice in my mind.
I want a portable computer that runs everything I want, not a watered down version that still needs a desktop every now and then. The surface pro is showing this should be attempted. And that's just what it is about.
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If the air comes with a detachable keyboard, sure I would buy one then.
Now THIS makes sense. The Surface Pro as it is now is just not good enough. Hopefully in the coming years the concept gets manifested properly, but until then I like my iMac and iPad mini combo.
Not necessarily. The Surface Pro is also a real PC, and has the same processor as a MacBook Air, and the same amount of RAM.
In addition, the Surface Pro has a much higher resolution than the MacBook Air, and a better screen overall. It also runs Windows 8, and Office 2013 for Windows is way better than Office 2011 for Mac. Of course you can always run Windows on BootCamp or on a virtual machine, but then you have to pay for an extra Windows license.
The Surface Pro has the same processing power of the MacBook air so I don't get your point...
Not to mention the surface pro has the added benefits of a touch screen, higher screen resolution, sd card expandable, pressure sensitive pen etc.
You say the Surface pro fails because it cant be used in your lap and I can say the MacBook air fails because I cant un-snap the keyboard and use it as a couch surfing tablet...get my point?
Said it in the other thread, but I'll bring it in here too. I am planning on picking up one of these for testing purposes at work. I got some hands on time with the demo model and I think it is a device that has some potential. That said, what a cluster of a launch. Our local BB and Staples got a total of ONE 64 gig model between them. Can't order online, and can't back order. Awesome launch strategy.
The big issues I see still missing are Win 8's inability to scale smoothly at this pixel density, and how badly it handles switching from an external monitor to a stand-alone device. They really should have solved the scaling issues and released this with an option of a quality docking station capable of driving two monitors while still being capable of being undocked at a moments notice.
Still hopeful to get my hands on one sooner than later.
The big issues I see still missing are Win 8's inability to scale smoothly at this pixel density, and how badly it handles switching from an external monitor to a stand-alone device. They really should have solved the scaling issues and released this with an option of a quality docking station capable of driving two monitors while still being capable of being undocked at a moments notice.
Still hopeful to get my hands on one sooner than later.
Different strokes, you know? For the price point I'd MUCH rather have a surface Pro than a MacBook air. Same battery life, but I get my Wacom digitizer, better screen/resolution and the option to use it as a tablet. I don't get what makes the MacBook air have "the power of a real PC" because the surface Pro has a similar CPU/RAM/HD space, etc.
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Ouch, way to miss the point.
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Definitely!! Some of us are just early adopters, I couldn't resist buying the Pro as it will replace my MacBook air, overall specs are the same so it will just function as a laptop mainly for me. 3 months is not reasonable though, Haswell should be in tablets by next holiday season and I'd rather not wait a year.
You've kind of just posted the specs that you think a "power user" would require but i'm more interested in your actual definition of what or who a power user is and what tasks they would be performing.
I would argue that tasks being performed is more representative of a power user.
Yep, it all boils down to an individual users needs. I try not to generalize and project MY needs onto other people (although I'm only human and am sure I fail at it sometimes). That's precisely the reason I sold my MacBook Air, it had no option to make it into a tablet.
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I don't have any usb 3.0 peripherals
Yes a BT kb and mouse can be used, anything that you can use on a regular Bluetooth enabled PC you can do here. The power connector is VERY strong, that would be the last of my concerns.
I don't have any usb 3.0 peripherals
Thanks; now I only have weeks to wait until they start international sales. I'm kind of really interested in a Surface Pro.
Enjoy !
the surface pro is made to be a real business device and has the option to be a tablet. ipads are just made to consume data... video, surf, etc. if you want to conduct business on an ipad, good luck. wake me up when you can attach office docs to that email you're composing.
macbook air is a laptop but doesn't have the option to be a tablet to casually consume data.
i think you're missing the point of a device that provides two functions in one. i rather have one device than carrying a macbook and an ipad.
How are you expecting tablets running windows and intel processors to exceed 5 hours of battery life, baring putting in a bigger battery? The ipad is able to manage 10 hours because it uses a mobile OS and arm processors.
The laptops I have experience with average 4-5 hours max on light usage.
The laptops I have experience with average 4-5 hours max on light usage.
And yet again Microsoft read the market. Have you seen the Surface Pro ad? MS's whole marketing is incompetent to say the least.
I think you're missing the point.
Many people in this thread are making the argument that the Surface Pro is compromising both the tablet experience and laptop experience to such a point that they would prefer these functions be handled by two different devices.