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Microsoft Introduces Thinner Surface Pro 3 with 12" Display Starting at $799
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Yes. Exactly. The Apple magic does not work in the enterprise. The Apple approach of seducing people with its beautiful hardware and software that just works is well suited for consumers, but not for the enterprise. It is a difficult market to penetrate, and Apple is hardly making any effort at it.
Exactly. Hence a Macbook is not an option for someone looking for a device like this, so it does not matter if the Macbook is a better laptop or not. A Ferrari (yea, this thread is way overdue a flaky car analogy) might be the bee's knees when it comes to performance motoring, but if I'm looking for something to transport my family of six and two dogs, it is not in the competition.
And I do not think that MSFT is trying to push this as an alternative over the iPad for couch slouchers. In fact, I'm quite sure that anyone buying it for such use will be heavily disappointed.
I don't know. It is a showcase. In addition, it has been priced more agressively than the previous version.
According to Microsoft, 96% of the people who own a tablet also own a laptop. That's a huge market they have set their eyes on. Of course, some of these people will still want both a laptop and a tablet. But some may prefer to buy a product that combines both.
I wanted to get a MacBook Air to replace my existing Macbook and Nexus 7 for mobile use. Then I considered the 13" Retina Macbook Pro. Now I really want a Surface Pro 3. I plan on getting a phone with a larger screen to take care of what I'll lose ditching the Nexus 7. I love the tablet but it's too much to carry when it's 3 devices.
Sure, but if you look at a corporate setting, this will be used in a dock for the most part, then on the desk of a meeting room from time to time, and it's forté, in the hands of a salesman/consultant giving a presentation and taking notes/jotting down ideas and sketches, while having the ability to scan whiteboards etc. at the end of the presentation/meeting.
Or that is at least what I'm envisioning for it. Other people might see some other use cases, but I certainly wouldn't get one just for personal use around the house. I'll probably end up using it to display sheet music while playing piano and some random couch slouching when my kids hog the iPad, but other than that, I see this as a specialty tool for a rather specific purpose.
Does the MacBook have LTE?
Also, why weren't all the bloggers using iPads? Sounds like there is a market for a full PC laptop with tablet features.
Sure, but if you look at the numbers: Apple sells, what, 10-20 million Macs a year? If MSFT hits a quarter of that, they should by all means be rather happy, and make a nice profit as well.
its a tablet with a desktop OS. The keyboard is an option just like u can use one with a ipad
Conversely, Apple sells 50-60M iPads a year and that means a majority of them must use Windows laptops and not Macs, right?
This is a way for Microsoft to get that user to buy a S3 and maybe not buy the next iPad by giving them some tablet features for "free."
Maybe, and I'm sure that is what MSFT hopes as well. And maybe it actually will do that. I just have a hard time believing it.
Apple isn't trying to target the Macbook Air as a "Tablet" as Microsoft is with the Surface Pro 3. Thanks.
Apple has definitely succeeded in people putting off a laptop purchase with the iPad. But everyone still has two devices. I don't know anyone who has gone full iPad.
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Apple isn't trying to target the Macbook Air as a "Tablet" as Microsoft is with the Surface Pro 3. Thanks.
I don't see that Microsoft is doing that. Every comparison on price, weight, and features is with a laptop. The limited tablet features are included.
Having been in the computer room in the 90s when Apple mucked up its business side and we HAD to move to Windows boxes.... the resentment runs deep in that area for some people! LOL!! (AKA, my Dad will still talk about it!)
It was horrid, I kept my Mac, Pagemaker, Illustrator and Canvas for my graphics work, but then had to turn my chair around to do other stuff.
We were a small shop in the manpower side, family business, but ran VMS based software on a MicroVax cluster - and kept trying to migrate to NT based accounting stuff, but it was a lot of work and wasn't as customizable for our business either.
Oh well, water under the bridge now - business sold... although I do still think about how AWESOME something like the iPad would be in the field for what we did. My publications would be in eBook form... no radio-ing data entry... oh it would be everything we wished we could do easily 15+ years ago but wasn't available!!
No argument there, but the Surface Pro doesn't really have what it takes to go there. At least in my opinion. I mean, why would I get the $799 Surface Pro for couch sloaching, when a $200 Galaxy Tab does the same and is smaller, lighter and easier to handle.
Also, $799 - or rather $999 for the i5 with 128 GB - is quite a steep sum for an average PC-customer who is looking to spend maybe $500 or so on a basic Windows laptop.
Yes, five million should be fine. Especially considering that, according to Microsoft, the Surface Pro is not meant to compete with other Windows devices.
As a side note, it makes me wonder: is it aimed at competing with Macs instead. After all, Microsoft targeted Apple for all its criticism during the event.
Like many folks, I love the idea of having one device that can do it all. But, when I think about the compromises, I am not so sure.
The iPad air is an extremely light weight tablet, which has an OS optimized for touch-first. Tablets should be touch optimized, since you are presumably holding them when using them. I see the Surface as a compromised touch experience. It is relatively heavy and the OS is not really optimized for touch.
As an ultra book, Surface might be ok, but I don't think it will really balance on your lap. So, you need a desk. Which can be a hassle at airports and when mobile.
I have just evolved to an iPad (mobile OS when mobile) plus Desktop (mac mini for heavy lifting). The combined cost is about the same as a laptop or fully equipped Surface. I use iCloud and One Drive, so I have access to all of my documents and content regardless of the device in use.
Of course, this requires some compromise as well. Whilst away from my desktop, I can be very productive on my iPad, and I have no problem creating rough drafts of documents and editing/reviewing documents. However, there is a point when it can be a pain, and I must wait to get to my desktop to handle certain tasks. Honestly, this compromise has not been a frequent issue for me, and I can seamlessly fit it into my workflow. Others might not be able to do it.
Perhaps the Surface is intend for these people. But, if you are frequently creating large documents whilst away from your office computer, why not get a good ultra book (Macbook Air) with a solid keyboard and trackpad that actually works on your lap? Honestly, if you are doing a large amount of keyboard input, you probably aren't using the gummy metro touch interface anyway.
The iPad air is an extremely light weight tablet, which has an OS optimized for touch-first. Tablets should be touch optimized, since you are presumably holding them when using them. I see the Surface as a compromised touch experience. It is relatively heavy and the OS is not really optimized for touch.
As an ultra book, Surface might be ok, but I don't think it will really balance on your lap. So, you need a desk. Which can be a hassle at airports and when mobile.
I have just evolved to an iPad (mobile OS when mobile) plus Desktop (mac mini for heavy lifting). The combined cost is about the same as a laptop or fully equipped Surface. I use iCloud and One Drive, so I have access to all of my documents and content regardless of the device in use.
Of course, this requires some compromise as well. Whilst away from my desktop, I can be very productive on my iPad, and I have no problem creating rough drafts of documents and editing/reviewing documents. However, there is a point when it can be a pain, and I must wait to get to my desktop to handle certain tasks. Honestly, this compromise has not been a frequent issue for me, and I can seamlessly fit it into my workflow. Others might not be able to do it.
Perhaps the Surface is intend for these people. But, if you are frequently creating large documents whilst away from your office computer, why not get a good ultra book (Macbook Air) with a solid keyboard and trackpad that actually works on your lap? Honestly, if you are doing a large amount of keyboard input, you probably aren't using the gummy metro touch interface anyway.
Then you've got vision problems. They were showing it yesterday as a Tablet primary and and as a notebook computer as the secondary. Did you actually watch the keynote? Doesn't seem like it.
Exactly! I was really being generous to the Surface.
You also left out the part where the Surface user forgets what he's doing for a few steps because he gets distracted and secretly jealous when he notices some of the other people at the table have Macbook Airs and iPad Airs.
I think the whole lap thing is overblown. The SP isn't perfect in a lap but it's usable and personally the only time I've actually had to keep the thing on my lap is waiting for my flight at airports. Most of the heavy lifting has been done on desks in hotel rooms, airplane tray tables, or desks at conferences where I have a flat surface.
The type cover's keyboard has always been great. The drawback has always been the trackpad and hopefully they fixed it this go around.
And after integrating my workflow into OneNote in 2013, that stylus is a must. If I need to draw a schematic, or do a markup, or take notes at a conference, no way am I using my finger. I'm taking the keyboard off and treating the device like a clipboard.
Thank you.
So you know how ideal this changed Surface Pro is to use on a lap without having actually used it? Nice.
You missed the point . . . . .entirely.
Same here. It's actually a tablet that I would find a lot of use in. I could essentially render the need for the Macbook Pro and the Dell Venue 8 Pro useless, and just go to work with the Surface Pro 3 and a Galaxy Note.
I've launched and used the lightweight Adobe CC apps just fine on the Venue, having a Surface (which I should have gotten to begin with) would make editing offline footage a breeze AND it'd be lighter than a MBP.
Can't argue with that. Aren't most banks still using 20-30 year old solutions as the basis for their systems, if not older, precisely because they don't dare to lose compatibility with ancient legacy implementations used when they first went the digital route? Because what would happen if all that magical data that is our monetary system today went up in a puff of lost data smoke, right? That's a totally separate discussion so I don't think we should get into it here, but I totally get that actual financial institutions are basically stuck in the past held hostage by this stuff. I am talking about doing business, not effectively holding the entire world's economy in the balance by trying to develop OSX solutions for it. That would just be silly.
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Also agreed, and this is what I hope Tim Cook gets.
All of the Apple products are nice, wicked nice, but I can't load my daily bag with a 15" rMBP, iPad Mini, iPod Touch, iPhone, and a host of 3rd party products and devices to get those 4 devices to do what I need.
On the other hand, I have a drop in two devices that cross over much of what i need to do and my bag becomes a lot lighter.
Maybe Cook will swallow his pride and come to terms with MS actually trying to usher in the "post-PC" era and start putting all of the missing functionality into the tablet and smartphone devices.