APlotdevice
macrumors 68040
Millions of desktop applications. The same desktop applications that have failed to push Windows tablets into the mainstream market for the last decade.
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Microsoft Announces New 'Surface' Tablet, New Hardware and Software Based on Windows 8
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Millions of desktop applications. The same desktop applications that have failed to push Windows tablets into the mainstream market for the last decade.
G51989
macrumors 68030
The attraction for me is, I can pretty much run any desktop appilication around. So, if I'm done working, I can play star trek armada 2 that I installed the other day via a usb dvd drive 😀
Yeah, I can do that on my laptop, but it weighs 11 pounds. This is a bit more portable.
And those desktop apps can be useful, because the surface has a proper keyboard and track pad
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APlotdevice
macrumors 68040
I won't argue that running desktop applications isn't going to be useful for some people. However hybrid designs has been tried before with tablet PCs. For instance several early ones could slide into a dock and become full desktop machines.
My point is what will make or break Windows 8 tablets for the mainstream market is the tablet-centric software.
G51989
macrumors 68030
I agree, I think a full desktop OS is going to be a huge draw for a good number of people. But your right, I think tablet based apps will also play a major role, I think microsoft realizes this.
Yeah, I had a few tablet pcs in my day, the main reasob they never got mainstream was because of how ungodly expensive the early models were.
We had some at work, it just turned into people drawing random space guns and silly pictures and sending them over msn messenger lol
Geckotek
macrumors G3
What Windows tablets? You mean those convertible laptops they called tablets? Now you're just talking nonsense. Only in the past 3 years has the hardware market reached a place where real tablets were a viable option. And unfortunately they require a processor that Windows has never been compiled for....until now.
Please use relevent arguments.
And based on the very strong and long-standing Windows developer community, I think you'll see plenty of Metro apps once we get closer to launch and a ton after. My understanding is that it's a bit easier to develop for than iOS and a lot easier than Android. (But I'm not a developer so I'm not going to stand by that if called out).
APlotdevice
macrumors 68040
You weren't paying enough attention if you think convertible laptops have been the only form of windows tablet.
linux2mac
macrumors 65816
This thread reminds of the talk when the Fire debuted back in November. Fast forward to now.
Kindle Fire Not Exactly Burning Up U.S. Tablet Market
http://allthingsd.com/20120605/kindle-fire-not-exactly-burning-up-u-s-tablet-market/
Does anyone also recall the Galaxy and Playbook debates? LOL!
In closing,
Why the Microsoft Surface Probably Won't Be an iPad Killer
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105...y-wont-be-an-ipad-killer/?tag=postrtcol;posts
"It doesn't "just work"
Kindle Fire Not Exactly Burning Up U.S. Tablet Market
http://allthingsd.com/20120605/kindle-fire-not-exactly-burning-up-u-s-tablet-market/
Does anyone also recall the Galaxy and Playbook debates? LOL!
In closing,
Why the Microsoft Surface Probably Won't Be an iPad Killer
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105...y-wont-be-an-ipad-killer/?tag=postrtcol;posts
"It doesn't "just work"
kdarling
Contributor
This is the kind of device that could attract corporate buyers, and pull them away from iOS and Android tablets.
IT will love it because they are already heavily invested in Windows management tools.
R&D will love it because they have tons of Windows and .NET developers.
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Not sure how well it'll do with consumers, but I wouldn't refuse a free one to use on vacation 🙂
IT will love it because they are already heavily invested in Windows management tools.
R&D will love it because they have tons of Windows and .NET developers.
--
Not sure how well it'll do with consumers, but I wouldn't refuse a free one to use on vacation 🙂
linux2mac
macrumors 65816
It will be interesting considering many "consumers" are also employees of many Microsoft shops.
iPhones, iPads Preferred to Android by Enterprise Users: Report
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Midmarket/...to-Android-by-Enterprise-Users-Report-117604/
G51989
macrumors 68030
That's android. Android tablets are just as limited as iPads, a very limited mobile os running on underpowered hardware.
Between android and an ipad? Ill take the ipad in a heartbeat.
But this isn't iOS, and its not andriod. This is running a full OS on much more powerful hardware, the keyboard and track pad isn't bad either.
BTW: guy in the office next to mine is already in love with the surface, he put this on his door. I DID NOT WRITE IT
`
" iDont have an i5 processor
iDont have a real operating system
iDont have a keyboard
iDont have a track pad
iDont run millions of apps
iDont have a kickstand
iCant be productive "
iDont have IO ports
iMelt your lap
iDont have a vapor layered magniseum case "
I thought it was kinda funny. He's in love with it, ill wait till launch to see.
Sounds like a regular laptop, although the laptop will have a better keyboard and trackpad and more ports and expansion possibilities. In a way the surface is the "worst of both worlds".
G51989
macrumors 68030
The difference is, you can undock your surface from the keyboard and then it just behaves like a normal tablet. Its also smaller and more portable.
Plus if rumors are true, its only a grand.
Its not *like a regular laptop*... its a slate pc.
A regular laptop is vastly less convenient. No touch screen. A "clam shell" with a stiff hinge... one that you can't flip even back out of the way. No integrated pen.
A tablet format is in another league when it comes to usage convenience... its not a close thing.
The only advantage of the laptop USED to be that you could use it with a physical keyboard, some expandability and a genuine OS.
Now there is a slate PC coming with decent battery (20% more than a macbook air,) all the input sensors you could ever want (and them not being in your face when you don't,) and the same mobile processor with almost as much expansion capacity.
Its not the same as a laptop. And that's a good thing.
linux2mac
macrumors 65816
I see. I guess I missed the part where you mentioned you were conducting hands on testing.
Right, but if you had bothered to read my comment in context you would have realized that I actually agree, it's not a regular laptop. The use case I read and the description I quoted sure sounded like one though.
What is convenient or not depends on what you need, a touch screen, pen and detachable keyboard is not by them selves definitions of convenience.
I know, I own a tablet myself. Although, one that does not think it's a laptop.
G51989
macrumors 68030
I never said I used it. I meant having a real keyboard and a track pad at all is a good.
I would hate to be so limited by only having a touch screen. And a mobile os
That's the amazing thing about it... If someone described what it can do, one would say "it sounds like a laptop" simply because of all the capabilities... Then you realize all these capabilities are packed into a tablet. Anyone who says they don't want the ipad to have some or all of these abilities while still being a tablet (which is exactly what the surface is) is quite frankly, full of ****.
Renzatic
Suspended
Think of it as a Macbook Air with a touchscreen and a detachable keyboard, and you're 99% of the way towards understanding what the Surface is.
Have you used it? Does it have a real keyboard? Why is detaching the keyboard a "feature"? Why does a "touch" OS need a track pad? I'm not saying that people who like W8 and want a tablet will not like it, but it's not really a full laptop. Viewed as a laptop, it's one of compromises.
APlotdevice
macrumors 68040
To be honest there are times when I wish I could use a trackpad or mouse with my iPad. Namely when I am using an external keyboard, so I wouldn't have to reach up constantly.
I'm not so sure what the implications of "less focused" are in this case. Particularly when comparing it to a tablet as long as it's just as functional and in this case, more so.
Renzatic
Suspended
Nope. I haven't. Everything is pretty subjective at this point.
Metro is a fully touch environment, and Windows 8 already has a pop up keyboard much like iOS. If you want to use the Surface as an iPad style tablet, nothing is stopping you from doing so. Just fold the keyboard behind the screen or take it off, and go read a bunch of Kindle books in bed or something.
BUT
What if you want to write up a document in Office. Make a spreadsheet? Model. Play games? That's what the Windows desktop is for. Pop the keyboard on, use the touchpad, and have a blast doing your thing. You can even use a stylus to write mash notes to yourself if you want.
It's not so much that it's trying to find a happy medium between two different form factors, so much as the OS has two environments you can switch between at will and has the tools to support both. You want a tablet, you've got a tablet. A proper laptop? It does that too.
How well does it work? Well, that's the big question. Is the keyboard comfortable to use? Does having a desktop behind the scenes eat too much battery life, even when you're running in Metro exclusively? It could be great, or it could be an awkward mess that doesn't leverage the strengths of either platform. We don't know, and we won't know until it's released sometime early next year.
But I do see the potential of it. Done right, it could be an excellent, incredibly flexible little machine. For me, it's not the concept so much as the execution that's the biggest question here.
What would you call an optional, detachable keyboard if not a "feature"? It also doesn't "need" a trackpad.
Your understanding of the quoted words differ from my own.
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I have... I thought a keyboard would be nice to use with the ipad until I experience the frustration of having to reach up to touch the screen. Made using the keyboard more cumbersome than it was worth. A touch pad for those circumstances would have been ideal.