And then Apple would have a similar product on the market a year later and claim that Microsoft copied them.
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First Reviews of Microsoft Surface Pro: Good Display, Full Windows 8, Compromised Experience
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And then Apple would have a similar product on the market a year later and claim that Microsoft copied them.
Although the 64gb iPad still has more actual storage than the 128gb surface
Why the hell are people +1 this comment? AllThingsD said: "On the $999 model, 90 GB of the 128 GB total is available for the user."...so how does the 64GB iPad have more storage than the 128GB Surface? Do you folks not read even the basic post (let alone the actual articles) anymore?!
RT is not the Pro, RT seems to have double the battery life of the Pro, is smaller, has no noisy vent etc. Actually, the RT seems like a way better tablet then the Pro. Too bad there is barely any useful software for it.
The point is that the Pro has to compete with other Win 8 Pro tablets like the HP Elitepad 900. Compared to the HP tablet, the Surface Pro falls short on nearly all aspects. So even if one wants/needs a windows based business tablet, the Surface Pro seems like the worst choice.
That much for haveing a market. I don't actually see one.
The reason people are comparing Zune and Surface is simple: They both suffer from the same problem. It doesn't matter how good your product is if you show up years late to the market with it.
You can also say Zune was better, but once MS released a product that bricked itself en mass on a random day/time, its fate was sealed.
Everyone doesn't like or want a MBA, hence the 10's of millions of sales of Windows based computers.
Because we bring our senses of humor to a message board. And marketing something as 128 GB but only having 90 GB of available space should be grounds for lawsuit.
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That and the whole "4 hours of battery life". 4. hours. That's reaching the usability basement for a real tablet. I don't want to have to plug in a Tablet when I'm using it.
As expected this is the worst of the both world - a laptop that isn't as good as dedicated laptops and a tablet that isn't as good as dedicated tablets.
But why is that a surprise after years of Windows tablet PC? Many of them already have an active stylus as well. I have one such tablet PC and even the excellent Onenote doesn't entice me to use it.
Most of them will buy Windows laptops not the Surface or another Windows tablet.
But why is that a surprise after years of Windows tablet PC? Many of them already have an active stylus as well. I have one such tablet PC and even the excellent Onenote doesn't entice me to use it.
Most of them will buy Windows laptops not the Surface or another Windows tablet.
The nature of converged devices is they initially suck in comparison to dedicated devices they're trying to disrupt. The first smartphones were crappy PDA's, crappy phones, and crappy cameras with crappy battery life. But people bought them anyway because the convergence outweighed the faults. Though in this case, I think the Surface is actually good at something and that's mobile software. The x86 chip and the ability to run desktop software on a tablet form factor is a counterpoint to what's been done on tablets for the last couple years, which is to run cheap companion apps or flagship sw clones that cost less than a pizza.
There are a lot of Office substitutes and because of commoditization and the low standard pricepoint on mobile, there would be downward pressure applied on Office's pricepoint. Add the 30% cut and MS might have a monetization problem because they need to maximize software profits.
I actually think what they're doing is pretty bold. Implementation has been clumsy but they're trying to turn the tablet into a small PC while other companies are trying to turn the tablet into a large phone. Doing that involves merging tablet and desktop OS's, which they're trying to do with Windows 8.
Far as being reactive, I think reactive is suddenly dumping a storage option on consumers in anticipation of a competitor's product release like Apple just did. Considering the Pro is geared toward productivity and enterprise, that whole 128GB press memo emphasizing productivity and enterprise is pretty reactive too.
I would say, given the reports of poor battery life, that we're really only hardware issues away from this being a massive success. And these hardware issues would most likely be solved in the second and third iterations of the device.
I understand the negative reaction to it from people on here given that this is a Mac-centric site but honestly, this device has the potential to kick ass.
Firstly, evaluating it as a tablet: The screen is gorgeous, the OS can handle anything thrown at it and the ecosystem, given the fact that it can run legacy applications, is better than anything out there. W8 can function equally well in tablet mode as iOS. For normal usage, for reading, watching movies, web browsing, this is very competitive with an iPad, even the price. The only issue is battery life and weight, which as I mentioned, is a hardware issue that is likely solved by the third iteration.
Secondly evaluating it as an ultrabook: the price is similar to when you include the Type Cover, which is essential in comparing it to an ultrabook or a MBA. The hardware inside is top notch; a powerful CPU and GPU that can run games at normal ultrabook levels. The AnandTech review really illustrates this. It is basically a high end ultrabook.
So what are the remaining issues? Weight and battery life. It is too heavy to be used in certain tablet situations and the battery life is too poor for it function like a normal tablet does these days.
But if Microsoft can solve these two issues - which will be really aided by Haswell - how is this not the best device on the market for normal laptop/tablet usage? How is this not the perfect device for college kids, soccer moms, kids, business travelers etc.? You name a demographic and I'm sure they'll benefit more from this than from an iPad alone or a MBA alone.
Would you not like to be able to type efficiently and comfortably on a keyboard, reply to long emails and create content that you would normally do in your office, only to be able to have the option of lifting this device into your bed, watch a movie/read a book and comfortably navigate using the touch screen? Would you not like to play Steam games on this, torrent series that you normally watch p then lie down on the couch watching them?
Microsoft aren't so far away from achieving massive success with this device. It might even be perfected by another OEM in the next 18 months because the possibility is there with the W8 OS. Imagine you could get 7-9 hours out of it and it's light enough to hold in one hand. How is this not the first and only device that you would have for normal usage?
I understand the negative reaction to it from people on here given that this is a Mac-centric site but honestly, this device has the potential to kick ass.
Firstly, evaluating it as a tablet: The screen is gorgeous, the OS can handle anything thrown at it and the ecosystem, given the fact that it can run legacy applications, is better than anything out there. W8 can function equally well in tablet mode as iOS. For normal usage, for reading, watching movies, web browsing, this is very competitive with an iPad, even the price. The only issue is battery life and weight, which as I mentioned, is a hardware issue that is likely solved by the third iteration.
Secondly evaluating it as an ultrabook: the price is similar to when you include the Type Cover, which is essential in comparing it to an ultrabook or a MBA. The hardware inside is top notch; a powerful CPU and GPU that can run games at normal ultrabook levels. The AnandTech review really illustrates this. It is basically a high end ultrabook.
So what are the remaining issues? Weight and battery life. It is too heavy to be used in certain tablet situations and the battery life is too poor for it function like a normal tablet does these days.
But if Microsoft can solve these two issues - which will be really aided by Haswell - how is this not the best device on the market for normal laptop/tablet usage? How is this not the perfect device for college kids, soccer moms, kids, business travelers etc.? You name a demographic and I'm sure they'll benefit more from this than from an iPad alone or a MBA alone.
Would you not like to be able to type efficiently and comfortably on a keyboard, reply to long emails and create content that you would normally do in your office, only to be able to have the option of lifting this device into your bed, watch a movie/read a book and comfortably navigate using the touch screen? Would you not like to play Steam games on this, torrent series that you normally watch p then lie down on the couch watching them?
Microsoft aren't so far away from achieving massive success with this device. It might even be perfected by another OEM in the next 18 months because the possibility is there with the W8 OS. Imagine you could get 7-9 hours out of it and it's light enough to hold in one hand. How is this not the first and only device that you would have for normal usage?
Two spheres.
Apple hit the nail on the head when they conceived the iPad. It started off life, with a very parred down but optimised processor. Apple did not try to give us everything on a plate with the iPad, the iPad does 90% of what I use a laptop for; and this is just fine!
Apple have stated a number of times, if you try to give the customer everything, it will fail. Rather than getting the best of one world, you fall short and deliver a poor product. Windows 8 is just that; It tries to marry to philosophies and delivers poorly. I agree that the time may be ripening to have screen gestures in OS-X, but as Windows 8 is proving, if you are not careful you tend to get anomalies like mouse movement being confused with swipe gestures, result = very annoying sudden screen changes to small mouse actuated curser movement! This basic problem is a fundamental problem of marrying mouse based and gesture based user input.
With my iPad, It is true that I can't really do full word processing; but hey the battery goes all day long... and for most situations this is fine, I would rather have long battery life over power word-processing. If I am going to be working on full documentation, I will put my MacBook Pro laptop in my bag!
Hey, sometimes I put both in my bag! typing into my MacBook, while reading and annotating PDF's on the iPad in a Cafe! gets you some sunny looks!
Apple hit the nail on the head when they conceived the iPad. It started off life, with a very parred down but optimised processor. Apple did not try to give us everything on a plate with the iPad, the iPad does 90% of what I use a laptop for; and this is just fine!
Apple have stated a number of times, if you try to give the customer everything, it will fail. Rather than getting the best of one world, you fall short and deliver a poor product. Windows 8 is just that; It tries to marry to philosophies and delivers poorly. I agree that the time may be ripening to have screen gestures in OS-X, but as Windows 8 is proving, if you are not careful you tend to get anomalies like mouse movement being confused with swipe gestures, result = very annoying sudden screen changes to small mouse actuated curser movement! This basic problem is a fundamental problem of marrying mouse based and gesture based user input.
With my iPad, It is true that I can't really do full word processing; but hey the battery goes all day long... and for most situations this is fine, I would rather have long battery life over power word-processing. If I am going to be working on full documentation, I will put my MacBook Pro laptop in my bag!
Hey, sometimes I put both in my bag! typing into my MacBook, while reading and annotating PDF's on the iPad in a Cafe! gets you some sunny looks!
U can plug an iPad to a external monitor wired or wireless.Surface Pro more expensive than laptop? Really? I don't think there are any SSD laptops (Apple or PCs) that are cheaper or even the same prices.
64gb iPad has 90Gb of storage free??
At least unlike iPad with Surface you can actually plug an external monitor.
Tell that to users of Galaxy Note...
That's what they said about the iPhone in comparison to just about every other smartphone that came before it. The times are changing, is it really a surprise that WinXP has stuck around so long? The adoption rate of Windows 7 in the corporate world is good, but Windows 8 is not. I'm not saying the iPad is replacing the Windows machine, but the way MS is going with Windows it's no surprise that there's been such a decline in PC sales. Windows 8 is the new Vista.
If it were an Apple product the media would be gushing praise all over it and it would be on the tv nightly news as people slept in line to buy one.
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That's the beauty of choice.
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The iPad is the first tablet that sold well. Other tablets did work.
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Careful, you're going to burst the bubble.
When that 10W Haswell with specialized sleep states comes out in less than a year, battery is not going to be an issue. But iOS not being able to mesh with the x86 ecosystem will be
The same could be said for those who bought the first generation MBA. Extremely high priced for mediocre performance.
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But they're pretty icons, all in a row.
First you compare the Surface to the iPad... now you drag the iPhone into this discussion. Why?
Maybe... just maybe (I'm guessing here) but... could this be because Version 7 has been available longer than version 8?
Windows 8 is the new Vista.
Uh-boy.
I played with it yesterday and it was beautiful. I've been a die hard Apple fan for YEARS but I admit, there is finally good competition from Redmond. The screen is drop dead gorgeous and the stylus is incredibly useful and accurate ( not to mention, pressure sensitive). I'm buying and selling my 256gb air. Any takers?
I really don't get the Windows 8 bashing. I wonder of those bashing it have spent the 5 minutes it takes to learn the entire OS. This is the firs Windows OS I have EVER liked...and it is awesome in its abilities.
I really don't get the Windows 8 bashing. I wonder of those bashing it have spent the 5 minutes it takes to learn the entire OS. This is the firs Windows OS I have EVER liked...and it is awesome in its abilities.
If there was a 32gb version then thered only be 2gb left for the user
Less. The 64GB version apparently has 23GB left available after Windows & Office. So the 32GB version would have -9GB available. As I understand it, Office is ~8GB, so *without* Office it would have about -1GB available. (Though that may be Office for RT, 'real' Office may be bigger.)
Obviously that wouldn't work very well.
Less. The 64GB version apparently has 23GB left available after Windows & Office. So the 32GB version would have -9GB available. As I understand it, Office is ~8GB, so *without* Office it would have about -1GB available. (Though that may be Office for RT, 'real' Office may be bigger.)
Obviously that wouldn't work very well.
I think you need about 3GB of free space for an Office install.
But it's still an iPad. This doesn't change what's inside or what it can do. It just makes the useless crap the device does bigger.
My goal is to get my tech life down to 2 devices... one being the phone of course. By the next iteration of the Surface, I might consider it. My tablet/ultrabook running anything I want for business and pleasure on the go and when deskbound, I'm docked to a 27" monitor and bluetooth keyboard.
Is there an Apple equivalent to this scenario? Yes, but it's still crippled iOS mixed with consumer-driven OSX.
Defender on Windows 8 is now an anti virus along with anti malware program. If you install another security suite, Defender automatically disables.