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Microsoft Offers MacBook Air Owners $650 Trade-In Value Towards Surface Pro 3
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Let me get this straight
They want me to trade in my 13" i7 MBA for an i3 SP3 paying them a minimum of $150 and not be able to sit in my recliner and easily use it as a laptop (w/o a backlit keyboard)? I know MJ is legal in a lot of states but I'm not partaking. They took a bite out of my Apple but not my brain. When you trade in your old car you just don't take what the dealer offers unless you had it towed to the lot, you check out KBB.COM or AutoTrader.com to find its true value. The sites already listed are just like the car dealers they lowball you so they can turn around and make a good profit even if they take your car to auction. To know your MBAs true value check out Apple resellers (a link below) or go to eBay and check out MBAs completed sales.
http://www.powermax.com/parts/code/PM_CU_MA
They want me to trade in my 13" i7 MBA for an i3 SP3 paying them a minimum of $150 and not be able to sit in my recliner and easily use it as a laptop (w/o a backlit keyboard)? I know MJ is legal in a lot of states but I'm not partaking. They took a bite out of my Apple but not my brain. When you trade in your old car you just don't take what the dealer offers unless you had it towed to the lot, you check out KBB.COM or AutoTrader.com to find its true value. The sites already listed are just like the car dealers they lowball you so they can turn around and make a good profit even if they take your car to auction. To know your MBAs true value check out Apple resellers (a link below) or go to eBay and check out MBAs completed sales.
http://www.powermax.com/parts/code/PM_CU_MA
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I find it an interesting coincidence that Microsoft is making this trade-in offer of $650 for an MBA when Best Buy's sale on MBA's just ended. (for those with an .edu email address, it was $650).
This really isn't a bad idea but $650 for a perfect current gen is pretty dumb. What they should do is a straight trade for current and last gen MBA to the equivalent SP3. Then a gift card of declining value as your MacBook Air gets old. Then also have a trade in of a decent value for older MBPs and MBs, that way people with old machines that are thinking of upgrading might be more likely to consider a SP3. Or those with an old MB sitting around might be willing to trade it in for a SP3 or something (XB1?).
I admit I'm going off the title alone and will read the full article, but this seems ridiculous. Trade-in an Apple netbook/laptop for a clumsy, plastic tablet and detachable keyboard and power cord that's a nightmare running an "ok" OS with one of the worst selections of app's?
Yeah, maybe if you let me keep my laptop and gave me $650 plus a Surface Pro 3; even then, no.
Yeah, maybe if you let me keep my laptop and gave me $650 plus a Surface Pro 3; even then, no.
I just wouldn't do a trade-in. Sell on craigslist or ebay and you will get a lot more...Microsoft's deal is "up-to" $650...meaning the only way you get that is if you go to an Apple store, buy a $1499 specced air and bring it into the Microsoft store.
I have used a Surface (the very first ones released) and it was a horrible experience. So many issues such as wireless networking constantly crashing and not connecting to my network , lots of buggies with modern ui apps (even in Windows 8.1).
No matter what Microsoft does, I would never trade in my MacBook for a Surface Pro 3. Why would you? Surface Pro's don't speak much to me. And I could easily selly my MacBook double the amount if I wanted to (which I am not).
In other words - you basically don't win in this. Microsoft won't you to trade in a premium beautiful and nicely designed and efficient product for a lame excuse duck medallion plasticised machine that is running a jarred nightmare version of Windows 8.1? Sorry, no thanks.
I would end up loosing out big time if I traded this in for that!
No matter what Microsoft does, I would never trade in my MacBook for a Surface Pro 3. Why would you? Surface Pro's don't speak much to me. And I could easily selly my MacBook double the amount if I wanted to (which I am not).
In other words - you basically don't win in this. Microsoft won't you to trade in a premium beautiful and nicely designed and efficient product for a lame excuse duck medallion plasticised machine that is running a jarred nightmare version of Windows 8.1? Sorry, no thanks.
I would end up loosing out big time if I traded this in for that!
if they wanted to trade in my 2010 MBA that i don't use anymore, then sure.
obviously it seems silly they would do that, but it gets the device in people's hands and that's what they really want. like how apple gave iPhones to every employee when they first came out. that got the device out in the wild.
i'd give it a go... but the offer isn't really enticing to anyone who wasn't wanting one already.
obviously it seems silly they would do that, but it gets the device in people's hands and that's what they really want. like how apple gave iPhones to every employee when they first came out. that got the device out in the wild.
i'd give it a go... but the offer isn't really enticing to anyone who wasn't wanting one already.
Let's compare specs, rather than a couple of cheesed cheated angle shots.
iPad 3 and Air Thickness Per Apple
iPad 3
Depth: 0.37 inch (9.4 mm)
iPad Air
Depth: 0.29 inch (7.5 mm)
Surface Pro 3 Thickness Per MS
SP3
Depth: 0.36 in (9.1 mm)
It's a tiny bit thinner than the iPad 3, and only slightly larger than the iPad Air. Your pictures mean nothing.
Yup. The biggest advantage the iPad has is weight. The Air is less than a pound, the iPad 2/3/4 is about 1.5, while the SP 1.75. Here, Apple has the advantage.
...but even on the high end, none of them are exactly arm-breakingly heavy. It weighs just as much as the iPad 1, and I don't remember anyone talking about how those were a burden to carry around. And for the weight difference, you are getting a much more capable machine.
Eh, not really. It's just a trade deal.
Though you are kinda right about MS maybe not quite knowing how to present the machine. It never will sell as much as the iPad. I'll get that out of the way right now. It's too high priced to compete with it head on.
The MBA? It does a better job there, but it does have one big disadvantage. It's not a good machine at everything. Like I said down in iOS Alternatives, the tablet form factor means it'll be spectacularly great at some things, but pretty weak in others. The tradition laptop are a good fit for anything you throw at them.
So what is the SP3 good at? It's a great artists and designers machine. Hell, it might even be decent at lower end CAD/Solidworks jobs. That's what it's made for, and that's how it should be marketed. Journalists and authors on the go won't like it that much. No matter how well MS designs their keyboard, it'll never be as good in the lap as an MBA. But for photographers or artists, it trumps the MBA all around. It's light enough and thin enough to carry around without breaking your arm, and being able to interact with the screen directly with either your finger or a fine point stylus gives you a bunch of advantages you don't get on the MBA.
That's how MS should be selling the Surface Pro Line. They should market to its strengths, not it's closest competition.
Okay...
Great, so movies will look good on it?
Seems like a lot to pay for a portable video player.
Resolution doesn't matter a TON when the screen is so small.
Wouldn't someone rather trade in an MBA for an iPad?
Great, so movies will look good on it?
Seems like a lot to pay for a portable video player.
Resolution doesn't matter a TON when the screen is so small.
Wouldn't someone rather trade in an MBA for an iPad?
Why would somebody trade a MBA for an iPad? At least with a SP 3 (not that this is a good deal), you can still run a lot of programs you might have been running on your MBA.
They never mentioned using it as a video player.
Edit: Misread that; mixed up with the iPad.
Readability would be much better at the SP3's resolution than the MBA's (except for differences in font smoothig). The resolution is a HUGE difference, even on a tiny screen.
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HUh?
I'd go with the sharper screen, regardless of resolution, and I'm betting a lot of poor-eyesight-having people will do the same.
I'd go with the sharper screen, regardless of resolution, and I'm betting a lot of poor-eyesight-having people will do the same.
Then why did the buy a MBA in the first place? If they didn't need a full portable computer, then they shouldn't have bought one. Seriously, the comparison between a SP 3 and an iPad Air is a hilarious one that ends with the iPad looking bad.
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The sharper screen for text would be, theoretically, the SP3. >_>;