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Microsoft Announces New 'Surface' Tablet, New Hardware and Software Based on Windows 8

future shock

Does anyone really think keyboards are soon to be obsolete? Dream on. The real question is who will be the first to re-imagine the desktop computer with a repositionalble 20" touch screen and active digitizer? It sounds like the perfect win 8 product, but I guessing acer, hp, etc. aren't up to iit.
 
My Mom loves her iPad 2, but my Dad doesn't like it because there is no keyboard. The Microsoft Surface might make a good gift for him this Christmas. He likes Windows and I couldn't get him to move to Apple.
 
Here is my take in this long thread.

I am a PC convert. I actually love the Apple walled Garden and when I want to go out of it I use my iMac or Macbook Pro.

I do not think Microsoft rushed the press conference by doing a demo with glitches etc for the "Surface" products. I also understand that Microsoft does not have Apps either for these devices. But that is precisely what the press conference was all about. They need to drum up interest in the developer community so that there are Apps avail at the time of the launch.

Between this and the X-Box announcement several weeks ago, it is clear that Microsoft is laying out their vision and there intended ecosystem with Win8. Apple is doing the same with iOS6 and the further blurring of lines and consistency in Mountain Lion. MS knows that Mountain Lion will be released 1st and while those that have a mac will likely upgrade, the announcements/vision of MS might give pause to others into jumping on the apple computer bandwagon until the Fall when MS releases Win8. I'm sure the timing of the release will also be close to the release of iOS6 and the new iPhone as well. so at this point it will be a battle of the $ of who gets whose business.

Another difference this time with MS is that it appears that they developed the hardware for the surface devices and took the apple approach. This vs. licensing out the software to other computer/tablet makers . Not sure if they will be also allow other tablet makers to sell surface products or this will be a strict MS offering/sector. If the latter then it there is a much higher chance of success. It will be similar to Apple where you are coding for a strict subset of products and won't be plagued by the issues of OEM'ing Win Surface to thousands of hardware/config options which lead to bad customer experiences, etc.

I am still unsure if MS shoehorned this along with the screen sharing vision with the X-box, etc into the Win8 pipeline in the last 12 months or it was always the Win8 vision from the start.

However, my reservations are held until I can see it, play with it and touch it.
 
Piggie said:
I don't know.
How many specifically made ipad apps did the iPad have months before it's launch?
Click to expand...

They had a large built-in base of iPhone apps that were immediately available. That quantity was quickly overtaken by iPad specific apps and universal apps.

The point is, Microsoft doesn't even have that much at the moment.
 
Touch Cover

I'm really lovin' the Touch Cover. I'm also lovin' the competition. The more Apple, MS, and Google fight the lower I pay. :)
 
thejadedmonkey said:
Windows Phone apps?
Click to expand...

...won't work in Windows 8. Unlike the iPhone and iPad, current Windows Phones exist as an entirely separate, uncompatible platform. They won't merge together in an iPhone/iPad style unity until WP8 comes out.

crs.one said:
The point is, Microsoft doesn't even have that much at the moment.
Click to expand...

They've got a modest but solid start. Last time I checked, I'd say there were about 250-300 apps sitting in the (very simply and appropriately named) Store, with more showing up every day. It wouldn't be too big of a stretch of the imagination to think that by the time Win8 is released to the public, there will be around 1000 apps available for people to download.

No. It's not the half million or so the App Store is currently host to, but what else do you expect? It's a new platform.
 
Renzatic said:
They've got a modest but solid start. Last time I checked, I'd say there were about 250-300 apps sitting in the (very simply and appropriately named) Store, with more showing up every day. It wouldn't be too big of a stretch of the imagination to think that by the time Win8 is released to the public, there will be around 1000 apps available for people to download.

No. It's not the half million or so the App Store is currently host to, but what else do you expect? It's a new platform.
Click to expand...

Microsoft also has one thing going for them - tons of legacy apps. With decent keyboard and a touchpad new tablets may be very suitable for applicaions like Office etc. The touch interface-based apps will have to be created from scratch (or existing apps will have to be redesigned).
 
Last edited:
Renzatic said:
...won't work in Windows 8. Unlike the iPhone and iPad, current Windows Phones exist as an entirely separate, uncompatible platform. They won't merge together in an iPhone/iPad style unity until WP8 comes out.



They've got a modest but solid start. Last time I checked, I'd say there were about 250-300 apps sitting in the (very simply and appropriately named) Store, with more showing up every day. It wouldn't be too big of a stretch of the imagination to think that by the time Win8 is released to the public, there will be around 1000 apps available for people to download.

No. It's not the half million or so the App Store is currently host to, but what else do you expect? It's a new platform.
Click to expand...

To be fair, I do really like Windows mobile, and I wish there were more applications on there. They will always have a difficult time competing as long it has developers do not value the marketplace they have.

But, unlike the original reply to which I was responding, they do not nearly have the installed base that iPad was able to take advantage of when it was launched. Or any, apparently, as you pointed out.
 
Kickstand

I'll give it a week at most with my 8 year old nephew before it's broken. Also the only way to use it (apparently) is in landscape. It's as though MS can't get over it's tendency to add "bloat": stuff that sounds cool but in use is a pita.
 
I.Love.Apple said:
Microsoft also has one thing going for them - tons of legacy apps. With decent keyboard and a touchpad new tablets may be very suitable for applicaions like Office etc. The touch interface-based apps will have to be created from scratch (or existing apps will have to be redesigned).
Click to expand...

And there's the problem. Legacy apps don't work on the Surface with Windows RT. It seems as if MS showed off one tablet with one ecosystem but it was really two different systems. Surface Pro is an extension of Windows Tablets and there already have been a number of Surface-like devices in the past few years just not with the same sleek keyboard cover but they had detachable keyboard docks.
 
crs.one said:
They had a large built-in base of iPhone apps that were immediately available. That quantity was quickly overtaken by iPad specific apps and universal apps.

The point is, Microsoft doesn't even have that much at the moment.
Click to expand...

oh so people bought the ipad to play around with small iphone apps that took up a fifth of the screen.

those iphone apps meant nothing to the draw of getting an ipad
 
crs.one said:
They had a large built-in base of iPhone apps that were immediately available. That quantity was quickly overtaken by iPad specific apps and universal apps.

The point is, Microsoft doesn't even have that much at the moment.
Click to expand...
Depends... are we talking RT or Pro?
Pro... there are millions of apps since pretty much any Windows based application should run just fine on it. Remember... it's a PC running Windows, not a stripped down OS. ;)

Some serious graphics heavy games and apps may have issues, but that is not what this platform is designed for.

As for RT... there are a few hundred and growing.

thejadedmonkey said:
Windows Phone apps?
Click to expand...
Wrong platform.

crs.one said:
...aaaaaand match
Click to expand...
It's Windows, not Windows Phone, so your comment is moot.
 
Whew!

Just getting around to posting... it took a day for the seizures to stop.

Is it me, or shouldn't they show it doing something in the video?
 
hondo77 said:
If you think Apple is hobbling the iPad to protect their laptops, then you just don't get Apple. Do you think they care that the iPhone is eating into sales of iPods (in a HUGE way)? Of course they don't.
Click to expand...

Sure buddy. Then why is the iPad purposefully designed to be dysfunctional as a PC? Do i have to list all the things that it could do, but can't do?

They can't protect their iPods with their iPhones because every other phone on the market has an mp3 player. Hence, there is nothing left to protect.

But there is no other iPad like device that runs OSX, so there is something to protect. It's kinda obvious.
 
I.Love.Apple said:
Microsoft also has one thing going for them - tons of legacy apps. With decent keyboard and a touchpad new tablets may be very suitable for applicaions like Office etc. The touch interface-based apps will have to be created from scratch (or existing apps will have to be redesigned).
Click to expand...

Not sure if any of those programs will run on the Surface. Maybe the Pro but more then likely not on the ARM version.

No clue as to amount of RAM, video card, batter life, etc. so while Surface Pro may run pro software like photoshop, not sure if you will want to. The devil is in the details and none were provided. The more I read other tech sites and the re-watch the presentation, the more it seems MS is desperate and throwing a hail Mary. What did they show. Seems like allot of smoke and mirrors but no real substance.
 
k995 said:
Surface for Windows RT tablet
•Processor: 1,4GHz- NVIDIA Tegra III-based ARM chip
•Weight: 676 grams
•Thickness: 9.3 millimeters
•Display: 720p 10.6-inch ClearType HD capactive touchpanel
•Battery: 31.5Wh
•I/O: microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2x2 MIMO antennae
•Software: Windows RT + Office Home & Student 2013 RT
•Accessories: Touch Cover, Type Cover, VaporMg Case & Stand
•Capacity: 32GB / 64GB
•Availability: "Around" the Windows 8 launch (fall 2012)
•Pricing: To be determined


Surface for Windows 8 Pro tablet
•Processor: Intel Core i5 (Ivy Bridge)
•Weight: 903 grams
•Thickness: 13.5 millimeters
•Display: 1080p 10.6-inch ClearType Full HD (1080p) capactive touchpanel
•Battery: 42Wh
•I/O: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort, 2x2 MIMO antennae
•Software: Windows 8 Pro
•Accessories: Touch Cover, Type Cover, VaporMg Case & Stand, Pen with Palm Block
•Capacity: 64GB / 128GB
•Availability: "Three months after" the Windows 8 launch this fall
•Pricing: To be determined


Yes we know nothing :lol:
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info. I stand corrected.
 
Yesterday I was really excited about this new tablets, so today I downloaded Windows 8 to try it out and I must admit now Im really disappointed.

The windows 8 store is really bad. I know its too early, but the apps in there were just awful. In total there were like 100 or 150 tops, and just 10 were useful.

I don't really like either to open a Windows Live ID account. Hated hotmail back in the days. I know I can use my Gmail, but I don't want to have a Windows Live ID ever again.

The UI was nice but not that intuitive, like iOS. And the apps were no that great either. Music is much worse than on iOS, and so is Maps (horrible Bing maps), calendar (ugly UI for me), Mail (I prefer much more Mail in iOS), internet explorer is meh, etc.

Overall I expected something else maybe. Im glad I got to try it out today. Now Im almost sure my next tablet will be the iPad 3 or 4.

Maybe next year the Windows 8 tablets will be worth it, when they get some thousand quality apps. Without apps theres not much to it really. iPad wins in apps. specially quality wise.

I really wanted to buy the ARM version.
 
geniusj said:
I agree that the iPad is a good media consumption device, but it seems like the void the iPad fills is just so small compared to either a smartphone or a laptop/ultrabook. It's obviously selling well enough, but I'd be curious to see how often people use their iPads versus how often they use their desktop/laptop or smartphone.
Click to expand...
Most (and I simply don't know about the others) of the people I know with an iPad use it far and away more than computers they own. One has basically stopped physically using her desktop (Dell) and laptop (MBP), even though her business is run on them. The iPad interfaces in various ways and she does much of the work on it, now. The Dell has basically become a file server that doesn't even need a display 99+% of the time.

But the reason the iPad can take over is that they don't actually need to do 'big, bad computer work'. The iPad covers everything they need for a huge percentage of their electronics time, not counting phone calls. Some have even replaced their TV with it.

Anyway, I don't know if this is what Steve (or someone) figured out years back or what, but it seems like it. Most people don't actually DO that much on computers. Not at home, anyway. Hence, the tablet.

No doubt the Microsoft offerings will cater more towards business people that currently do still need computers. At least those using Office all day. I spent a couple hours working with just my phone the other day. Pretty impressive what I could get done, and that was without Office (or anything compatible). I've come close to getting an iPad for specific uses around the office. This could actually sway me to buy a Microsoft product, depending on its capabilities.
 
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