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Microsoft Introduces Thinner Surface Pro 3 with 12" Display Starting at $799

pacalis said:
I think this device destroys all the Apple laptop devices with nearly no compromise.

It's lighter than a MBA, but also has performance that is comparable to the low and midrange rMBPs.

Plus touch/pen support. Plus a dock. I think MS has really hit it out of the park.
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I agree that Microsoft has a hit here, and that this is an amazing product.

As for performance, it uses the ultra-low voltage processors which are comparable to the ones in the MacBook Air, and not the Pro. Performance-wise, I don't think the Surface Pro 3 will beat the Pro.
 
Digital Skunk said:
That's hard, only because Garageband and it's big brother Logic have some really good alternatives, but it will always be up to the end user. I'd start by looking at Abelton, Audacity, CuBase, and other "higher end" solutions. They cost, but much better than any of the out lying apps.

p.s. I am not as well versed in audio apps as I am video and motion graphics.

And yes, there was a time we were heading down toward the "one device to rule them all" universe but now we are back up to loading 3-4 devices in our bags.

Two would be a good number at the very least.
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I still respect your opinion but my options are limited. I had a feeling it was outside of your experience but I still wanted to ask.

HenryDJP said:
I do not believe you asked for Windows software. :rolleyes:
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True, no hard feelings. :p

skaertus said:
Definitely.

I always felt this way about the iPad. The iPad is nice and convenient. However, it cannot replace neither my laptop nor my iPhone. The end result is that, as I don't want to carry all these devices with me, I leave the iPad in the drawer while I take the iPhone and the laptop with me every day. It would be nice if the laptop also had the functionality of the iPad. If it doesn't, well, it doesn't and I get by without it. But if it had, it would be better.
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This is why I'm looking at getting a larger Android phone to bridge the gap from losing the tablet. I hate traveling with 3 devices and want to take it down to 2. My laptop (thin/light) and my phone. I love how my tablet is just big enough to enjoy content but I find it lacking for anything being consumption. My current phone is tiny and still running Gingerbread. :eek:

Windows 8.1, Office 2013, and the front facing camera really seal the deal but then I run into some OS X legacy issues. Maybe I'll just pick up a refurbished Mac mini.
 
Eidorian said:
This is why I'm looking at getting a larger Android phone to bridge the gap from losing the tablet. I hate traveling with 3 devices and want to take it down to 2. My laptop (thin/light) and my phone. I love how my tablet is just big enough to enjoy content but I find it lacking for anything being consumption. My current phone is tiny and still running Gingerbread. :eek:

Windows 8.1, Office 2013, and the front facing camera really seal the deal but then I run into some OS X legacy issues. Maybe I'll just pick up a refurbished Mac mini.
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Sounds nice. Perhaps you should keep your current Mac as well for those legacy issues.
 
pacalis said:
I think this device destroys all the Apple laptop devices with nearly no compromise.

It's lighter than a MBA, but also has performance that is comparable to the low and midrange rMBPs.

Plus touch/pen support. Plus a dock. I think MS has really hit it out of the park.
Click to expand...
I guess the surface 2 was a hit also? Not!

You almost forgot it includes malware#
 
Microsoft may have a hit with power users but can't see general consumers flocking to this. If this is the future why are Windows OEMs building cheap Chromebooks? Seems to me the reason people flocked to tablets is because outside of work people were using their PC for mostly consumption purposes. The tablet was thinner, lighter, cheaper, less complex and served their basic needs. Microsoft like in the early 2000s is trying to turn the tablet into a full blown PC. Even through most people (outside of work) have gravitated away from the PC.

Microsoft's marketing is confusing too. They say Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that will replace your laptop but their marketing materials aren't comparing it to an iPad or Android tablet, but to the MacBook Air, a laptop. And if the iPad isn't suitable for productivity work, why did Microsoft release a touch version of Office for the iPad? As far as price points go they're clearly trying to compete with Apple, but do they really think this product will get Mac users to go Windows? I would imagine the percent who do would be quite small. And for non-Mac users is this product really going to entice people buying Acers or cheap Chromebooks? Go to Amazon.com and the best selling laptops excluding Macs have an average selling well under $800. I'm still trying to figure out the intended audience for this product.

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/21/5738560/what-microsoft-doesnt-get-about-the-tablet-revolution
 
skaertus said:
Sounds nice. Perhaps you should keep your current Mac as well for those legacy issues.
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My Macbook still works and I still edit our podcast on it. It's just nearly 7 years old any sort of load spins up the fans and it hits 196° F. It's just not fun to use for any length of time beyond the fact it's my only OS X machine.
 
Rogifan said:
I'm still trying to figure out the intended audience for this product.
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its really not that complicated: target audience are people that dont want to decide whether to use a tablet or a pc. just take the best of 2 worlds in 1.
 
Rogifan said:
Microsoft may have a hit with power users but can't see general consumers flocking to this. If this is the future why are Windows OEMs building cheap Chromebooks? Seems to me the reason people flocked to tablets is because outside of work people were using their PC for mostly consumption purposes. The tablet was thinner, lighter, cheaper, less complex and served their basic needs. Microsoft like in the early 2000s is trying to turn the tablet into a full blown PC. Even through most people (outside of work) have gravitated away from the PC.

Microsoft's marketing is confusing too. They say Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that will replace your laptop but their marketing materials aren't comparing it to an iPad or Android tablet, but to the MacBook Air, a laptop. And if the iPad isn't suitable for productivity work, why did Microsoft release a touch version of Office for the iPad? As far as price points go they're clearly trying to compete with Apple, but do they really think this product will get Mac users to go Windows? I would imagine the percent who do would be quite small. And for non-Mac users is this product really going to entice people buying Acers or cheap Chromebooks? Go to Amazon.com and the best selling laptops excluding Macs have an average selling well under $800. I'm still trying to figure out the intended audience for this product.

http://www.vox.com/2014/5/21/5738560/what-microsoft-doesnt-get-about-the-tablet-revolution
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They are marketing it, IMO, to ipad owners who ALSO have a laptop. the statistic is 96% of ipad owners have a laptop, and noting how many windows versus apple PC's are sold it's a fair assumption to say the vast majority of those 50-60million ipad owners have a windows laptop. So it doesn't become a question of the surface versus a cheap laptop, but rather a surface versus a cheap laptop AND an ipad.

Obviously the ipad did not bring about the Post PC era, people still seem to need a PC in there lives. But they also want to take it along with them, and laptops are not as portable as tablets. Why not combine the 2? I'm not taking sides in my response to you, just giving my opinion of MS strategy. There are many variables, the keyboards are different with pluses and minuses on each side, the ipad is smaller and lighter than the SP3 which may be a plus or a minus, etc etc. It's a strategy, one that they hope will yield profits but that remains to be seen.
 
spinedoc77 said:
I think it's awesome. Apple is very complacent, releasing the same rehashed product over and over again. Microsoft is trying very hard to innovate.
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Yes and as Apple was criticized for their innovation, even with the nMP, MS has no shortage of haters. I find the Surface utterly fascinating and hope it catches on in key areas that Apple would want to compete in. An OSX Surface killer would be nice.
 
osofast240sx said:
That may be the case for you but the numbers don't lie. Millions of windows devices are infected daily.
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If ten million windows computers are infected by malware, that'd be roughly 1 out of every 1500.

You're going to have to be more specific there.

Also, when do we throw human error in there? Or talk about the version?
 
Digital Skunk said:
Yes and as Apple was criticized for their innovation, even with the nMP, MS has no shortage of haters. I find the Surface utterly fascinating and hope it catches on in key areas that Apple would want to compete in. An OSX Surface killer would be nice.
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An OSx tablet would be awesome, but it won't happen anytime soon. Apple banks on consumers buying both a tablet and a laptop from them. This whole "simplicity" of the ipad to me is marketing junk invented by a company that knew they could double dip into consumers pockets. I've always said Apple are marketing geniuses, the pinnacle of marketing was convincing consumers how stupid they were and that they needed such a dumbed down device.
 
Michael Goff said:
If ten million windows computers are infected by malware, that'd be roughly 1 out of every 1500.

You're going to have to be more specific there.

Also, when do we throw human error in there? Or talk about the version?
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Didn't Symantec recently say that the AV business is dead? OS's are pretty good at preventing virus and malware attacks now. Most attacks come in through port 80 now which is browser specific and platform independent.
 
infection-rate.jpeg
 
Dmunjal said:
Didn't Symantec recently say that the AV business is dead? OS's are pretty good at preventing virus and malware attacks now. Most attacks come in through port 80 now which is browser specific and platform independent.
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I'm not aware of this.
 
I really like how Microsoft made this about Apple only. There are plenty of people using Windows laptops and Android tablets....but I guess Microsoft felt that if they attacked Apple during the keynote the way they did that nobody would think about Windows customers with Android tablets.
 
HenryDJP said:
I really like how Microsoft made this about Apple only. There are plenty of people using Windows laptops and Android tablets....but I guess Microsoft felt that if they attacked Apple during the keynote the way they did that nobody would think about Windows customers with Android tablets.
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Well, high scale laptops are Apple's territory.
 
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