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Microsoft Announces New 'Surface' Tablet, New Hardware and Software Based on Windows 8
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Typical Microsoft concept vaporware.
I like the concept, but price? Conveniently left out. Battery life? Conveniently left out. Release date? Conveniently left out. The heck with our hardware partners postcard? Conveniently left out. If they weren't afraid to reveal these, they would have already. But even Ballmer got scared when he got the cost sheet the day before the presentation.
I like the concept, but price? Conveniently left out. Battery life? Conveniently left out. Release date? Conveniently left out. The heck with our hardware partners postcard? Conveniently left out. If they weren't afraid to reveal these, they would have already. But even Ballmer got scared when he got the cost sheet the day before the presentation.
So you can't tell me what about it looks like the ipad... That's what I thought too. Thanks for playing.
Well other than us Page 1 regulars and people that live on tech blog sites, who knew about Surface?
You're trying too hard. If you think millions of iPad owners give a hoot about this, you just made yourself look ignorant. Features like this is cool for about 3 seconds. Then it's a forgotten and unused thing of the past.
What apple and android have right now is fine.
How can actual work be done on it? If I want a lightweight laptop, I'll get one with a real keyboard.
Surface is an interesting experiment; after numerous software and hardware updates, and a compelling marketplace, it might be ready to buy.
But today - no way in hell.
But really; an integrated kickstand is a feature? Seems like something that will break quite easily.
App availability will be better on the Pro than the iPad, in the sense that it runs Windows 8, which is backwards compatible even with DOS programs.
They want you to choose between a moped (RT) and a golf cart (Pro).
The only thing an iPad user may miss is a USB port with both Read/Write capability. I'm sure Apple will make it happen sooner or later; in the meantime a Jailbreak solves that issue.
Having a solid and reliable mobile OS is priceless; for me, it's the most important feature for a device I depend so much to do my everyday work. I have yet to find another vendor's device that inspires such level of confidence, to know it will just work whenever you need it, and will not crash in the middle of a presentation, or simply corrupt the data stored in it.
All of those keyboards suck and make an iPad roughly as big as a MacBook air 11 which begs the question why buy an iPad if the travel foot print is the same as a real computer (for those needing to do text entry on the road). The keyboard cover the surface has is something else entirely assuming it works well.
Also potentially the usage is different. Windows 8 in theory is a "real os" (particularly on the Pro) while the iPad runs a much simpler phone OS. An iPad doesn't really need a keyboard because it kind of sucks at the things that require a keyboard anyhow so the onscreen keyboard is't that much of an imposition. I typed this on my iPad fwiw.
It really isn't a big deal. If surface is a hit apple could tweak iOS on iPad to be more "real os-ish" which would be nice anyhow and apple or a third party is likely to copy that keyboard if it works out.
Yep. The iPad works for Apple because they have no laptops anywhere close to the price of the iPads. There are Windows netbooks and laptops for $300. Why would anyone pay MORE for a tablet with a smaller screen, phony keyboard and way less features?
Three friends in 3 different Microsoft divisions where given notice last week. The story sound the same everywhere. 3 rounds of layoffs in the works, 1st one a couple weeks away.
Seriously? The thing is basically a tablet oriented Macbook Air. I don't know if I'll ever buy one or not, but I'm having a hard time denying that it is a rather snazzy little device with tons of potential.
And "greatly inspired" by the iPad? It's hard to make a tablet that looks like anything BUT an iPad. After all, it's nothing more a screen you hold in your hands. The only thing they could do to differentiate themselves from it was choose a different color for the bezel, or square out the corners a little more. A tablet will always look like a tablet, which is a screen you hold in your hand.
Wow... just wow.
Do even know what the term "vaporware" means?
Nicely done MS... now show us the specs and how much they will cost.
I'd take an iPad over a Windows netbook for its superior quality. It can also do more than a netbook, believe it or not. Still, it at least needs a portable keyboard or I won't consider it.
Yeah, I would rather have one app running 100% right than two running half-assed simultaneously.
I don't believe this to be true. If anything they might have let a lot of contractors (whom they lean on extremely heavily by the way) go or not renewed their contracts...but I don't believe that they've had massive direct-hire layoffs. Now should they have some layoffs? That's a debate we could have...as I think that they likely could use a good house cleaning as it might actually make them leaner and meaner in the long run.
Even if the Microsoft keyboard is good, it will be reverse engineered and offered for the iPad. Heck, unless the magnets are placed I different spots, this surface keyboard might sync with an iPad and work okay.
Tablet + bluetooth keyboard =/= laptop, as I have found.
What's really ironic is that we all try to get away from the typical laptop and migrate over to a tablet (ever since the intro of the iPad 1). Now we figure ways to attach the tablet to a damn dock and a keyboard. If people can, they would probably attach a mouse too. So what does that look like?
Let me guess, a frickin' small laptop. Stop trying to make it a laptop.
For one, you could have a clamshell-style keyboard on it. It may seem hard to make anything that doesn't look like an iPad, but that's because all we've been used to is the iPad. Apple has always found a way to make their designs unique, even their monitors (which are also mostly screens that sit on your desk).