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Microsoft Launches Three New Surface Pro 3 Ads Targeting the MacBook Air

kildjean said:
It's an interesting turn of events when Microsoft promotes their new product, which is obviously geared to beat the iPad but takes on a different opponent, this time the Mac Book Air.

We have Surface Pro 3's where I work, and like many have pointed they do a half assed job. They hare mediocre laptops and mediocre Windows Tablet. They are not terrible and awful.

Objectively I like the concept, I thought the first time I saw the Surface's keyboard that it was a brilliant peripheral. But even with the iPad being the tablet it is, I rarely use mine with a keyboard. I go gung ho and use the soft-keyboard on mine...

Coming from an industry where we have a ton of artists on our company, (I work for a huge TV network), that not even the most expert of them would want to use Photoshop on a Tablet to do their work. You dont really use Photoshop on a Tablet not even to retouch, because the color palette doesnt translate that well on such screens. But then again, the MacBook Air runs Photoshop better than most machines do.

I think as usual, Microsoft is going for the dumb sucker customer who doesnt really know anything about the real benefits of having a certain type of computer or tablet for that matter.

The Surface Pro 3 is far from replacing my tablet in any case, even my unused Nexus 7 is more useful than the Surface Pro 3 as a tablet. I think the more we visualize the Surface Pro 3 as the evolution of the laptop we are all fine. Other laptop manufacturers (apple included) need to pay attention to it, because even if it does a half assed job as a laptop, its modularity is in the right direction...

Now if it only ran OSX.
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I don't think they're targeting pros similar to guys you mentioned - PS is used here as a placeholder for a power hungry app - it's like a message "if PS works on it anything will"

I personally like the idea of Surface and I'm considering switching from my Macbook Pro - I started working in the Windows environment, need to use the Office on daily basis along with all the windows software but don't want to use a regular (boring) laptop. Want to watch movies on a tablet-like flat device without huge keyboard sticking on the bottom. Ipad is too small for this - 12 inches device with a USB port sounds just perfect.
 
Don't Microsoft realise that the simple fact that they're even making these cringe attacking Apple ads will deter Apple users from switching
 
But one thing has me wondering... They always bash the low market share of the Mac - is it of fear the don't attack the PC, but attack the MBA instead? if they sell a million Macs they sell 9 million PCs - why not attack them? Fear of pissing off partners?
 
TimWillz said:
Don't Microsoft realise that the simple fact that they're even making these cringe attacking Apple ads will deter Apple users from switching
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Can you elaborate? How an ad can deter anyone from switching? Thought you choose hardware based on features/functionality not ads...
 
Piggie said:
Once the tech evolves so that the larger engine car can be as fuel efficient, and quiet as the smaller engine car, there is no reason to own two cars as the one car can do it all.
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This is where I disagree. Steve Jobs said, even though trucks are a tiny percentage of all vehicles, they'll always be needed. This was in response to should desktops still exist in a world that's pushing to go ever so more mobile. And I think it applies to what I quoted from you too.

Using your example, for every day tasks the all in one car would work perfectly. But when you need the grunt of the larger engine, the small engine just won't do. Even if both are just as fuel efficient and just as quiet. Different engines for different jobs. And same deal with the iPad vs the MBP. You can make both quiet, cool, 24 hour battery etc etc but both still are designed for different things. A mobile workhorse vs a content consumption device (that can also do limited work).

The form is also an issue. Some people want a large sized car and some want/need a smaller one. Same deal with the iPad vs the MBP. best example here is the keyboard. MBP needs it and iPad for the most part works best without (ie virtual keyboard). The Surface Pro does not really get this and tries to be everything in one. And sure it's specs are impressive but from it's advertising it's hard to tell if it's being sold as a pro tablet or a notebook.

Piggie said:
It's not like we are saying a car should be a boat (as we know that's been tried and is never good)
Or a car should be a plane (as we know that's been tried and is never good)
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It's more like a truck vs a car. A truck can haul haul a massive load and to the hard work whereas a car gets you from point A to point B in relative comfort when you don't have to do all the hard work (like moving half a ton of product).
Same deal with high end notebooks vs tablets.

I think you understand now.

I'm not sure if you were having a go at me or not with your last post. But I get your points. Well said again. I just disagree on a few of them.
 
lol... these commercials look like those home shopping ads where users act like retards trying to do tasks, and then suddenly get competent when using the advertised product.
 
Piggie said:
You will have to agree, a laptop and a tablet are far far nearer to each other physically than the devices put together into a mobile phone.
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They are. But the use-cases are different. Clear separation of usage and purpose is a requirement for some people.

OTOH, consolidating hardware is a valid requirement for others.

They're both legitimate requirements. I have no argument with you there.
 
Even tho Apple kind of deserves this after their very long set of commercials called "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC", they still look so childish when they bash on each other.

Here the other day I also saw a commercial for headphones which said "You don't have to be a Doctor to make good headphones" with a Beats by Dr. Dre in the background bashing on Beats.

Commercial wars between successfull companies is more stupid than flamewars between fans. I like to find my favorite brand for a certain type of tech but still have respect for other brands with the same tech and not tell everyone I know "Apple is best because I like it and think so".

We all find our own personal preference and these silly and stupid commercials does not make any difference.
 
the8thark said:
This is where I disagree. Steve Jobs said, even though trucks are a tiny percentage of all vehicles, they'll always be needed. This was in response to should desktops still exist in a world that's pushing to go ever so more mobile. And I think it applies to what I quoted from you too.

Using your example, for every day tasks the all in one car would work perfectly. But when you need the grunt of the larger engine, the small engine just won't do. Even if both are just as fuel efficient and just as quiet. Different engines for different jobs. And same deal with the iPad vs the MBP. You can make both quiet, cool, 24 hour battery etc etc but both still are designed for different things. A mobile workhorse vs a content consumption device (that can also do limited work).

The form is also an issue. Some people want a large sized car and some want/need a smaller one. Same deal with the iPad vs the MBP. best example here is the keyboard. MBP needs it and iPad for the most part works best without (ie virtual keyboard). The Surface Pro does not really get this and tries to be everything in one. And sure it's specs are impressive but from it's advertising it's hard to tell if it's being sold as a pro tablet or a notebook.


It's more like a truck vs a car. A truck can haul haul a massive load and to the hard work whereas a car gets you from point A to point B in relative comfort when you don't have to do all the hard work (like moving half a ton of product).
Same deal with high end notebooks vs tablets.

I think you understand now.

I'm not sure if you were having a go at me or not with your last post. But I get your points. Well said again. I just disagree on a few of them.
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Thank you. I didn't have the time to type all that - but it needed saying.

You explain it all nicely and respectfully.
 
I might one of the one around here that actually owned a SP3 and Macbook Air 13 (2013), 11 (2013), and Macbook Pro 13 (2014) (my current machine).

I will say that I actually really like the SP3 and think it's a solid machine but not executed properly and obviously rushed.

Rated battery life on the Sp3 isn't as good as they like to make you believe, whereas Macbooks go beyond rated. I got around 5-6 hours average on the SP3 and I get consistently 8-9+ hours on my MBP13.

CPU and GPU throttles at the drop of a hat on SP3 (literally within 10-15 seconds) and the Macbooks tend to throttle but it takes a bit of time (minutes) and don't throttle back very much though (maybe a few hundred hz).

Build quality is pretty bad on the SP3.. My particular model had a warped back panel and the kick stand was uneven a a result and would wobble. Lots of people reporting the same issue.

Not really a downside but the speakers are pretty meh on the Sp3, but I suppose that is to be expected since it's quite thin. Speakers on a Mac are usually best in class for their size when comparing to equally sized notebooks.

Wifi issues out of the box, bad ones.. like complete disconnects. But I heard this was finally resolved through an update on the SP3.

Things I feel where the SP3 are equaled with a Mac would be the following:

SP3 Fan (not audible, just like a Mac, until both are loaded then they both can be heard)

LCD Panel, equally as beautiful as Retina, just less resolution but at least is far better than the Macbook Air offerings.

Things that could be deemed major pluses over a Mac:

Weight
Footprint
Versatility as a tablet

Bottom line is that..

Current sale prices:

A Sp3 with i5, 8gb ram, 256ssd + keyboard costs $1679.98 before tax.
A Macbook Pro 13 with much faster i5 and graphics, 8gb ram, 512gb SSD costs $1709.99 before tax.

I don't think I need to explain what MSFT is thinking on pricing, what would make more sense is the keyboard type cover being INCLUDED with the SP3 to be more competitive.
 
That's a fine laptop / tablet devise from Microsoft. But not enough for me. You see, for working on full photoshop I really need a larger size screen, a 13inch Macbook surface is to small for me as well.

The new Microsoft tablet does looks impressive, especially that you're able to use photoshop native on it, but when it comes for professional work, for me that is, 13 inch isn't sufficient enough. Even if the surface from Microsoft would have 32 gig ram storage and would be twice as fast as the Macbook 13 inch laptop I wouldn't buy it. It's not because I'm an Apple fanboy but because I need a larger screen to begin with.
 
None of it matters. MS will kill the Surface. They were also patient with the Zune.

The CEO said MS is NOT a devices and services company anymore.

The Surface is a legacy device from the Balmer years and it is about to bite the dust. They can't afford to carry a failed product anymore.

Nadella clearly stated MS is a productivity and platform company for the mobile-first cloud-first world.

It is clear he is trimming Microsoft. Massive layoffs are just the beginning. Next will be the death of projects that are bleeding money, such as the Surface which has lost them nearly $2 billion dollars. That's Billion with a B.
 
Ha! The cheapskate marketing is back!

Let's compare our brand new tabletop (tablet/laptop) to a 4 year-old computer design that has dominated the market since its release without the need of any design changes or significant internal upgrades, including now (market share of MacBook Air about 93% to the surface...)! Ya! That'll get em'!
 
TimWillz said:
Don't Microsoft realise that the simple fact that they're even making these cringe attacking Apple ads will deter Apple users from switching
Click to expand...

They're not trying to get people to switch, they're trying to stop prospective laptop consumers from choosing a MacBook over the Surface. Unlike Apple, Microsoft doesn't need to claw customers from their rivals when it comes to laptops and PCs - Windows is the dominant OS.
 
farewelwilliams said:
to be fair, Apple bashed windows with the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads.
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Apple used these ads when it was in trouble. Companies who have (or believe they have) strong sales and market presence should never be referencing a competitor in their ads. It's essentially conceding that you are not the leader in your product - Something which Mac was free to concede during the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ad era.

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Jayomat said:
while, to be frank, most people don't use their laptop on their lap at all.
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Most people? Do you have a case study here?

I can make up stuff too:
Enterprise-issued laptops are only used on laps 3.4% of the time.
Laptops purchased for self-use by professionals who work on a computer are used on laps 12.9% of time.
Consumer purchased laptops for home use are used on laps 82.3% of the time.

But, seriously, my Mac is on my lap probably 90% of the time that I use it. My fiance's is the same way. My roommates in college, same thing.
 
I actually think the ads were tasteful and there was no overt basing of the products, ie what Samsung is doing. Microsoft was just playing up the advantages of their product, not unlike what Apple does themselves.

The surface is an interesting piece of tech and is going to have it's place. Look for enterprises to pick these up if dell or another OEM does not have a strong answer. Where I work they are strongly being looked at for employees and executives.
 
The only way they will move a Surface is if they tell people they can take their MacBook Air and MS will give you a Surface for free.

And even if they give them away for free I think they won't be able to get rid of the mountain of Surfaces they have stuck in their warehouse.
 
Jayomat said:
Oh the hate.:rolleyes: Many people want to have one device instead of lugging around multiple devices. It's as simple as that, they are catering to the people who want ONE device to do it all, not multiple.

and please don't give me the "an ipad is so light, I have no trouble putting it i my bag", because it's really not the point.
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But, it kind of is. If you are going to put it in a bag anyway, and iPad + MacBook Air < Surface + keyboard in both weight and thickness, is having the surface as "one" (even though it comes apart) piece really better?
 
My MBA works great so I have no reason to replace it. If I was in the market, I would consider an i5 Surface Pro 3.
 
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