Unfortunately this thing looks like a regular tablet, nearly identical to its $499 cousin. The price is going to get compared to a tablet by the layperson and features will be compared to a laptop by the initiated. I personally thing the pricing is fine, but there are just so many unknowns and variables to the average user, that they don't trust either an RT or Pro surface will provide them the experience they want. This isn't helped by stupid adverts of dancing idiots that only demonstrate that Microsoft REALLY don't want you to use this thing like a tablet and instead like a gimped laptop.
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Microsoft Details Surface Pro Pricing Amidst Reports of Poor Sales of RT Version
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Don't know for sure.
I definitely think the Surface Pro seems a great piece of hardware, and it will not be plagued by the limited functionality of Windows RT. At this point, the average user should not be so stupid as to take one for the other. But the ads are stupid. Oh, that doesn't help.
MacBook Air 11" compared to Surface at $1000:
MBA is 27% fatter (17 vs 13.5 mm)
19% heavier (2.38 v 2 lb)
Gets less battery life (~3-4 (Anandtech) vs ~4.5-5 hr (Speculation based on half Surface RT))
Doesnt have a touch screen
Doesnt have an active digitizer/stylus
Doesnt have a detachable keyboard (Pro or con...)
Doesnt have 1080p display (1366 x 768)
1 vs 2 cameras
It gets throws around a lot that Microsoft failed with the Pro, but to me it looks like they did pretty good for what it is. Sure, people expect stellar (8+ hr) battery life from tablets, but thats why there's always Clovertrail or ARM Windows tablets.
MBA is 27% fatter (17 vs 13.5 mm)
19% heavier (2.38 v 2 lb)
Gets less battery life (~3-4 (Anandtech) vs ~4.5-5 hr (Speculation based on half Surface RT))
Doesnt have a touch screen
Doesnt have an active digitizer/stylus
Doesnt have a detachable keyboard (Pro or con...)
Doesnt have 1080p display (1366 x 768)
1 vs 2 cameras
It gets throws around a lot that Microsoft failed with the Pro, but to me it looks like they did pretty good for what it is. Sure, people expect stellar (8+ hr) battery life from tablets, but thats why there's always Clovertrail or ARM Windows tablets.
Agree. Microsoft Surface Pro seems to be a very decent piece of hardware. If the battery life gets at least 5 hours, it will be just great.
So we should take the opinion of some random on the internet rather than the video interview of Steve Jobs saying Apple was 90 days from bankruptcy?
Is that honestly what you are saying? Or can you just not admit when you are wrong?
If you want to be hyper-sensitive about words, fine. But some of us will do it back.
So, now it's noticing that we need to define?
Hint: typing a response to a specific person and noticing are not the same thing. Nor is a statement either of those. The rules here don't care what goes on in your head, only what you type. Nor are you (or anyone) qualified to judge someone's education on any topic based on a (poor, too quick) reading of a sentence or two they type on the internet. Hell, based on that much, you can't even tell if the usual JAT typed it, maybe my kid or girlfriend did, or a monkey. (if I even have any of those creatures in my life)You completely ignored the fact that I made a comment about no one in particular, but yours was direct to me. Hence, attack. Or was that a stab at irony, using an ad hominem in a sentence decrying their use?
Also, mine was a joke, I made no arguments about OS issues as others have discussed whatsoever. If you can't handle people making jokes, honestly, I don't know what to say. And, quite frankly, you appear to have understood this joke, and agreed with it, leaving me to wonder why we are having this discussion. That analysis is based on your final sentence to me, quoted below. (that's my unqualified judgement of a sentence for today, feel free to tell me it is so)
I have no idea where you are going with this. Who are "those people"? (tip: if it doesn't refer to me, I don't care....aspergers)
Am I to follow your posts and congratulate each of them when I agree? I don't really have time for that. (btw, as a reminder, you responded to me first in this thread) My post apparently should have included the word instead to indicate that I was making a comparative valuation of "correcting people" vs "attacking me". Oh wait, it did. No doubt you can't do both at once. Unless, perhaps....if your name is Danny Boodman T. D. Lemon 1900.
I hope you are not suggesting I said anything otherwise.
Wow, how dishonest can the MS fans get? You mention the surface having a detachable keyboard and then don't factor the keyboard into your thickness and weight measurements.
The Type keyboard adds another 7mm to the thickness (making it thicker than the MBA). This doesnt even take into account the fact the MBA has an aggressive taper to it as well. Most of it is not 17mm thick.
The Type keyboard also adds another 0.55lbs to the weight (again, making it heavier than the MBA).
Lastly, youve estimated a low battery time for the MBA and a high one for the Surface pro. I used to easily get 4-4.5 hours from the MBA. i.e, the same as the Surface Pro estimates.
So we should take the opinion of some random on the internet rather than the video interview of Steve Jobs saying Apple was 90 days from bankruptcy?
Is that honestly what you are saying? Or can you just not admit when you are wrong?
I don't see where that story contradicts your SJ quote.
But also, you may want to allow for the possibility that SJ was using hyperbole. The very concept of saying 90 days and bankruptcy in the same breath is ridiculous.
Detachabale means it doesnt need to be attached which means it can be measured either way depending on if you want it as thin as possible or not. Type cover is 5mm BTW and Touch is 3mm.
Next even if you take the high battery life of the MBA and the low of the Surface, you're still only at equal. I took my values from Anandtechs benchmarks.
Finally I see nothing dishonest. Dont think I made up any values like you.
What assertions have I made?
Was Apple 90 days from SJ deciding to look into bankruptcy? Was it 90 days from a filing? It's a ridiculous notion to seriously discuss bankruptcy in such terms. Hyperbole, grandstanding for the press, whatever. I'm sure he had that thought as a worry in his head back in the 90s, but other means would have been tried first, in reality. 13 years later, his company rocketing to the top of Wall Street, his commentary is a bit different.
Financial assertion:
Any company with a D-E ratio of .80 (oops, .46 was prior FYE) and cash of over $1b combined with LT debt of $.95b (1.29 cash to LT debt) is not about to file bankruptcy. Not to mention that debt was virtually the same from prior year end. (not great finances, but certainly not "abandon ship") Pulled from 8/11/97 10-Q (6/30/97, 3rd qtr). http://investor.apple.com/sec.cfm?D... Ascending&Year=&Pagenum=3&FormatFilter=&CIK=
Now you may comment on my assertions, since I've made some.
I do note that we are discussing 1997, he may have meant a different time period, he doesn't really say in that video.
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Just saw this. Too funny.
http://evangotlib.tumblr.com/post/36854561360/evan-buys-a-microsoft-surface
http://evangotlib.tumblr.com/post/36854561360/evan-buys-a-microsoft-surface
I have Win 7 on three laptops at home.....I will be sticking with Win 7 for awhile. I do not like the tile view of Win 8. Plus for what I use a laptop for it wouldn't make sense to upgrade. There would be no benefit.
No, I was just pointing out that if you had nothing better to do than call people asking for "Full blown OSes" win geeks, that you shouldn't bother to reply. For one, as I've pointed out, most of those people asking for it are not "Windows" people, they are Mac people.
You made an assumption and an insult and I just felt like I needed to ask you to tone it down.
There are ways to explain properly why iOS already is a full blown OS, running on a full blown computer without resorting to calling people "Win geeks" when they probably aren't even Windows users or geeks to begin with.
heh heh, is the debate even meaningful at this point? Look like Surface RT sales is "modest" according to Ballmer. Consumers already voted with their money in this shopping session and Surface RT is not in the race. Corporation does not seems to be anxious to move to Window 8 either. So who are the Surface Pro target audience? If consumer does not like it and corporation are not eager, Surface Pro, at best, will have a "modest" launch as well. I have a Window 7 desktop, a Window 7 laptop, an Ipad 3, and a Samsung infuse smartphone and I am no eager for any window 8 mobile device. The surface RT and surface pro is a mobile device solution looking for a problem but unfortunately the lack of a ecosystem will kill it.
Just saw this. Too funny.
http://evangotlib.tumblr.com/post/36854561360/evan-buys-a-microsoft-surface
It's very strange how annoying they are about the demo's. I was down in San Diego and went to the Microsoft Store in Fashion Valley and I was playing with a Surface RT. I told the employee I was playing and didn't need any help but she forced me to watch her demo it.
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Yeah, and for 100-200 more (and I'm including hte price of the keyboard for the MS tablet because with the mac computer you get a keyboard) you can get a Mac laptop. Hell.. I'm just thinking the regular MBP. I think you can get an Air for the same price that has much longer battery life too! And I'd much rather have a full laptop with a real keyboard and an OS that's more tailored to what it is than a tablet with an OS that's trying to be too many things at once.
Yeah, and for a couple hundred more, you can get a Dell XPS 12 Convertible, Windows 8 laptop/tablet hybrid. I am not too impressed by Microsoft's offering for Windows 8 hardware, but the stuff from other manufacturers is interesting.
I'm thinking the battery on the Surface Pro will last about as long as it does on the Air. It's about the same battery, pushing about the same hardware, with about the same power requirements.
The only place most of you are getting the 4 hour battery life thing is from some guy at MS saying it lasts "about half as long" as the RT.
The only place most of you are getting the 4 hour battery life thing is from some guy at MS saying it lasts "about half as long" as the RT.
This is an less than compelling start to the Surface line, but MS and it's partners won't be releasing one model every year and keeping the cost consistent. They'll be releasing closer to hundreds of variants. It' won't be long before we see lower priced versions of these.
All that said, I am stunned that they didn't start lower. They are charging close to super premium (i.e. Apple) prices and while on spec they exceed Apple, they don't have the lock in to demand these extra premiums.
What's also stunning is that they launched RT at all. It is bound to fail. MS's advantage is in premium aps, not rinky dink app store apps - and ARM still isn't close to what is promised by Intel's platform. Win 8 is going to be big, but RT doesn't have a hope and dumping it on early adopters is going to create a lot of badwill.
All that said, I am stunned that they didn't start lower. They are charging close to super premium (i.e. Apple) prices and while on spec they exceed Apple, they don't have the lock in to demand these extra premiums.
What's also stunning is that they launched RT at all. It is bound to fail. MS's advantage is in premium aps, not rinky dink app store apps - and ARM still isn't close to what is promised by Intel's platform. Win 8 is going to be big, but RT doesn't have a hope and dumping it on early adopters is going to create a lot of badwill.
I demoed a Windows RT tablet at Best Buy, and I was surprised that Office was pretty much the same as Home Edition for desktops. The Office apps run just the same as a desktop. You even get access to Windows file explorer and tools like Computer Management. i didn't know that Windows RT was going to have any of the same features as the desktop version. So for people that just want Office, as well as the apps common to mobile devices, a Windows RT tablet may do the job. A tablet stand, USB/Bluetooth keyboard and mouse may come in handy though for Word and Excel.
Played around with the MSFT tablet at their Apple copied store. This thing was nothing but lag. Spell check was horrible as it would only correct common spellings - not the ones you would expect on a touch screen. Many apps like Mail and Messenger would take 20+ seconds to open and when I asked the guy about why it's so slow and expensive, he said "you should probably go to Apple since you anyways have an iPhone." I find this whole thing to be a joke
really.