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Microsoft Launches Site to Lure MacBook Switchers to Surface Pro 3

never seen that kind of discussion in the last 12 years

I have never seen that kind of discussion in the last 12 years - it is the first time Apple lost ground compared to MS in both hardware and software.
Nothing Apple can sell is near the Surface Pro 3.
 
RedCroissant said:
Why not get a newer 13" MBA for a lower price that will still outperform the Surface in every way except for the touchscreen aspect? Oh, and it will cost less and have the keyboard included along with more I/O ports?
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That is certainly an option if your statements were accurate.
 
maflynn said:
For my needs, I want something a bit more portable then my 15" rMBP, and I have an increased need to run windows. I searched and while I certainly can find a cheaper PC/Laptop, this has a lot to offer that I can take advantage.

I'm impressed with it and I'm looking forward to when I can pull the trigger on this bad boy.
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I think it’s a good choice. It’s a shame you can’t officially run OSX on it or it’s not as sexy but objectively it’s money well spent.
 
rowspaxe said:
To be fair, the ipad provides interaction with an ecosystem of apps and games--which the surface cannot match. Personally--i am not interested in games and apps. Both the ipad and surface are excellent browsers--although i find advantage in a non mobile browser (flash, you tube)
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There are definitely apps to be found on the iPad not available in Windows. However, there is not nearly as many as one might think. A large number of apps have web versions as well. Many that don't have competing apps for Windows (some better and some not).
 
H2SO4 said:
I think it’s a good choice. It’s a shame you can’t officially run OSX on it or it’s not as sexy but objectively it’s money well spent.
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Officially no, but unofficially yes ;)

I think may partition the drive and see about installing OS X. I've built hackintoshes before, I'm not sure I want to do that this time, but its on my radar
 
jase1125 said:
That is certainly an option if your statements were accurate.
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How's he wrong?

I'm not necessarily saying he's right that a rMPRO is a better product for his requirements, but his analytics of the comparison of rMPRO to SP3 is fairly accurate:

For comparison sakes Lowest end:
13" rMPRO - 1,399.99
2.6 Dual core i5 (Low Voltage)
8 GB Ram
128gb SSD
Iris Graphics
9 hour battery
Ports: SD, HDMI, 2 x USB3.0, 2x Firewire / Display port, Mag safe power
2560x1600 display

Similarly priced SP3
12" Display - 1,349.99
1.6ghz Dual core i5 (Ultra Low Voltage)
8GB Ram
256GB SSD
intel HD5000 GPU
9 hour battery
Ports: MicroSD, Display port, 1 x USB 3.0, Power, Keyboard dock port
2160x1440 Display w/ 10 point mulit touch
Active Digitizer with input pen.

At this price point it comes down to what you're looking for. The rMpro is going to be a more powerfull machine with more options for ports and expansion. But it still does not offer the touchscreen, the active digitizer and has more available disk space.

where the surface pro 3 wins out is in the sub-1300 (lowest end SP3 starts at 799) category. Where you have no options from Apple except the Macbook air, which when compared to the surface pro is grossly inferior in almost everything but keyboard.
 
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Renzatic said:
Photoshop? It can get pretty ram intensive depending on what you're doing, but even an old Core2Duo could run it without breaking a sweat. Same thing with Illustrator, as I'm finding out. An i3 might get a little chuggy once you start getting into incredibly high detailed images, but you'll have to push things pretty far to get to that point.
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I have a core duo 2010 macbook pro running windows 8.1. I use it for audio (ableton live) and it handles mostly everything i throw at it. A lot of perceived speed difference with i5's is due to solid state drives Obviously the i5 will dominate handbrake tests, etc.
 
jase1125 said:
There are definitely apps to be found on the iPad not available in Windows. However, there is not nearly as many as one might think. A large number of apps have web versions as well. Many that don't have competing apps for Windows (some better and some not).
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The problem is that web 'apps' don't have nearly the extensibility of a true app system. They have no tie in to any notification system. They are generally power hogs. They often can't do low power background activity at all. (On the Surface Pro 3 there is NO way (NONE) to make services like Pandora or Spotify play once the screen turns off.)

The problem with the Windows App Store is that it is so full of 3rd rate apps that it's hard to take the few decent ones seriously. When you have piles of apps that are using hacks to make the services people want available, it just leaves a bad taste in users mouths. Microsoft needs to dump resources into the app store immediately and get every major developer on board. This was a problem two years ago, and hasn't really improved since then.
 
rowspaxe said:
I have a core duo 2010 macbook pro running windows 8.1. I use it for audio (ableton live) and it handles mostly everything i throw at it. A lot of perceived speed difference with i5's is due to solid state drives Obviously the i5 will dominate handbrake tests, etc.
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I think the biggest problem is that most people don't seem to realize how ridiculously good this current generation of processors are. You'll see a ton of people saying stuff like "oh, you need an i7 to do anything", which is completely and totally wrong. A Haswell i3, the itty bitty budget processor option that some people will tell you isn't good for anything except web browsing, is more powerful than the Core2Duo in the 2009 Macbook Pro.

It's not like pro level applications have gotten so much more resource intensive over the last 5 years that you have to have the highest end of the high end to use them well. I'm sure there are a number of people here who'll tell you that a 2009 MBP is still viable even today.

edit: found a cool website. It's not the most indepth thing, but it gives you a basic idea of how processors compare in power.

The Surface Pro 3 i3 vs. the 2010 2.2Ghz C2D Macbook Pro.

...it's actually a smidge more powerful. And that's a low end Y processor.

And people are saying these things are useless?
 
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Much improved

I can see the SP3 being very appealing to professionals & students who commute / travel with a PC on a daily basis. However, considering you can buy an iPad AND decent windows notebook for the same price, I don't see it making much of a dent in the consumer market until the price comes down. Any bets on how long until the Type Cover is included in the base price?
 
SirCheese said:
899 starts at 899, SP3 starts at 799.....

So....
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And the $899 Air ships with an i5 while the $799 Surface ships with an i3. Then you add $129 for the keyboard (sold separately) and now the Air is $899 and the Surface is $928...

So...
 
Windlasher said:
Completely satisfied where I am now - but thanks for the offer.

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I walk by the one in the Mall of America all the time. Its like PRIMO space by a HUGE entrance and it is still empty.
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Yuppppp. And then walk across the path and Apple Store is packedddd
 
H2SO4 said:
You sound like someone that either doesn’t or never has used Windows.
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Actually, I use Windows more than I use my Mac because my employer only supports Windows machines at the moment. I'm just stating the fact that they are trying to show the benefit of Windows/Surface Pro over the Macbook and they are only making the process look more difficult than Mac OS. That's all I'm saying.
 
The surface is simply a joke. Neither a good laptop nor a good tablet. Leave it to $M to misunderstand both devices. They should stick with cloud services.

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radus said:
I have never seen that kind of discussion in the last 12 years - it is the first time Apple lost ground compared to MS in both hardware and software.
Nothing Apple can sell is near the Surface Pro 3.
Click to expand...
surely you jest.
 
Surface Pro > iPad
Macbook Air or Pro > Surface Pro

Just how I see it, unless they do something great with the upcoming iPad Pro.
 
I still love my 2012 mba.. and I will use this till it dies.. but and then, I will have to see.. I mean.. Apple has to do something.. they cannot just continue to troll out same looking laptop over and over and over and over again..

Again, I still prefer apple laptop but I hope they do something awesome.. (I don't know.. like 20 hour battery life? or this fanless 13 inch laptop w/ small bezel.. why 12 inch??? I sometimes work only on mba for all day on remote location.. 12 inch does not cut it.. Even some form of laptop/tablet is awesome as well) .. just do something.. hopefully this 12 inch fanless laptop coming next year is not the only thing they have in their bag


I would love to use pen on my laptop screen.. that would be awesome
 
raccoontail said:
I can see the SP3 being very appealing to professionals & students who commute / travel with a PC on a daily basis. However, considering you can buy an iPad AND decent windows notebook for the same price, I don't see it making much of a dent in the consumer market until the price comes down. Any bets on how long until the Type Cover is included in the base price?
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Forever? Go price some pc ultrabooks and get back to me.
 
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