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Microsoft Planning Low-Cost Surface Line to Compete With Apple's $329 iPad
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You're missing the point. If you NEED the full version of office but you don't have $400, something is wrong. Either your boss doesn't know what a decent computer costs or your business doesn't have enough capital.
If you don't have $400 but you want this Surface, maybe you should be focused on getting more money instead of buying more tech stuff.
Or how about you let them decide how to spend their money instead of trying to dictate your choices and priorities. If you don't like one, then don't buy one.
I have owned three surface laptops and I can easily say, they were all awful!!!!!
The thread isn't about Surface laptops, its about tablets.
And I have owned one Surface Pro and can easily say its fantastic... two folks that work for me have now bought them with their own funds based on seeing what I do with mine.
The article is about tablets and how MS is attempting to compete with Apple at the $329 price point. The iPad market may contract but there are still a substantial number of users and future users who find it has its place and it's still a sizable market. I replaced my original 4 year old iPad Air with the new entry level iPad. It meets my needs in some circumstances and the price tag makes it a no-brainer. Look, continue to create your narrative about MS hardware if it makes you feel better.
The three Surface devices I have owned were all 'Pro' models. All crap.
Just shouting 'garbage', 'crap' and 'awful' without circumstantiation does not contribute to the discussion very much. It is very undifferentiated, name calling and rabble-rousing. It only proves you are very biased. Everything is not all 'black' or 'white'. All these devices (be it from Apple or MS) have their pro's and cons, but none of them are 'crap' or 'garbage'.
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I think you're full of fertilizer dude. Prove it! I myself own two surface pros. 2nd gen, and the current 2017 version. Not a problem with either one, and the 2nd gen works as good today as the day I got it over 4 years ago. I have friends and family that own several surface products, over several generations....and get this, with no problems whatsoever. Thing is, you can go to any forum that represents any product or company, and you can find problems with said product or company....dare I say it, even Apple and its products. As my avatar shows, I like both Apple and Microsoft and have owned my fair share of both company's products over the years. I won't lie, I have had problems with Windows in the past....mostly due to self infliction. I also won't be an Ostrich sticking my head in the ground and deny having any problems with my Apple products...oh yes, I have had them. All I'm saying is, no product is perfect....EVER! So if you want to slam one company and its products, be fair and admit that your favorite company and its products aren't perfect either.
Let's add a little reality to this conversation...
http://bgr.com/2018/05/03/macbook-pro-keyboard-problems-dust-recall-petition/
https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac/macbook-pro-keyboard-problems-3653458/
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/24/apple-knew-about-bendgate-and-touch-disease/
https://9to5mac.com/2018/05/23/macbook-pro-keyboard-lawsuits/
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/common-mac-problems-how-to-fix/
https://gizmodo.com/apple-might-be-fixing-the-macbooks-most-annoying-proble-1823658348
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewansp...y-keyboard-class-action-lawsuit/#6fea44dc780c
https://www.lifewire.com/top-troubleshooting-tips-startup-problems-2259907
https://www.digitaltrends.com/apple/macbook-pro-ownes-recall-keyboard/
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/macbook-pro-keyboard-failure-rate-double-older-models/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordon...-iphone-6-plus-bend-touchscreen/#79815f25115c
https://nypost.com/2018/05/07/apple-confirms-theres-a-serious-problem-with-the-iphone-x/
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/04/apple-aware-of-iphone-7-mic-issue-ios-11-3/
https://www.macworld.co.uk/news/iphone/ios-11-problems-fixes-3675251/
http://www.knowyourmobile.com/mobil...one-x-problems-all-known-issues-logged-so-far
https://www.techradar.com/news/black-dot-bug-the-latest-ios-11-problem-that-can-crash-your-iphone
And that's just a summary search that took about two minutes...
http://bgr.com/2018/05/03/macbook-pro-keyboard-problems-dust-recall-petition/
https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac/macbook-pro-keyboard-problems-3653458/
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/24/apple-knew-about-bendgate-and-touch-disease/
https://9to5mac.com/2018/05/23/macbook-pro-keyboard-lawsuits/
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/common-mac-problems-how-to-fix/
https://gizmodo.com/apple-might-be-fixing-the-macbooks-most-annoying-proble-1823658348
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewansp...y-keyboard-class-action-lawsuit/#6fea44dc780c
https://www.lifewire.com/top-troubleshooting-tips-startup-problems-2259907
https://www.digitaltrends.com/apple/macbook-pro-ownes-recall-keyboard/
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/macbook-pro-keyboard-failure-rate-double-older-models/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordon...-iphone-6-plus-bend-touchscreen/#79815f25115c
https://nypost.com/2018/05/07/apple-confirms-theres-a-serious-problem-with-the-iphone-x/
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/04/apple-aware-of-iphone-7-mic-issue-ios-11-3/
https://www.macworld.co.uk/news/iphone/ios-11-problems-fixes-3675251/
http://www.knowyourmobile.com/mobil...one-x-problems-all-known-issues-logged-so-far
https://www.techradar.com/news/black-dot-bug-the-latest-ios-11-problem-that-can-crash-your-iphone
And that's just a summary search that took about two minutes...
Hahahahahaha, trying to equate these issues to Surface Pro? What does one have to do with the other? Half of those aren’t even macbook issues.
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What we really need is some good honest bug-fixing no-new-feature OS releases from both Apple and MS. I should be able to have a good experience with either device.
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Well, I have had an SP2, SP3, SP4 and only the 2 ran well. The others had sleep/wake/hibernate issues constantly. I didn’t even know what a hotbag was until my SPs. Not good. I do agree that all is not good in Apple land, but the SP line has been crap for a while. Go to the ghost town that is surfaceforums.net and look at the recent posts. Driver issues, sleep/wake/hibernate issues. Nothing has changed. I am glad that yours are working, but that doesn’t mean that others did.
What we really need is some good honest bug-fixing no-new-feature OS releases from both Apple and MS. I should be able to have a good experience with either device.
My point exactly. As I said, that was just a summary search of just two of Apple's products. A full, inclusive search on all of Apple's products over the generations surely wouldn't fit here. Neither would Microsoft's, ASUS, Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo's, etc. for that matter. My point is, no company has a history without product problems.....Not even Apple! So if you want to hang out the laundry on MS, just remember that Apple has its own full washer load of dirty laundry too.
Not sure what "narrative" you are talking about. I'm just discussing the article.
If Apple wins a race to the bottom in a segment that is shrinking, then good for them. By your own admission, you bought a device for 1/3 the cost of the original iPad that is just as good. The rest of the world is seeing the hybrid market, which is growing, and Apple is stuck in their dogmatic position that you will buy 3 devices (laptop, tablet, phone) instead of two. That is one big reason I parted ways with Apple.
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I guess you are just unlucky. Too bad... because you are missing out since Apple will never give you a similar device.
I can't even give you a good argument because your "crap" comment lacks anything to back it up. My experience with Surface Pro has been incredible and opened up new ways of doing things in my workflow, new use cases, etc.. For one, I travel with a colleague that hauls with him a Dell laptop, iPad, Macbook, and iPhone... along with the back of chargers and other peripherals. Between flights he's got quite a lot of stuff to recharge. Not to mention needing to whip out a different device for different purposes. I have my Surface Pro and my Note 8. I have pretty much everything covered in my work and personal life and can use them both through takeoff and landing. I sometimes feel bad for this guy, and others I see with a gaggle of equipment they need to do what I can do much more easily. By the way, he is one of the folks I mentioned is now thinking about buying a Surface Pro because he's just observed my success.
I wish that I had your success with Surface Pros. I don’t understand needing all that crap though. I do well with a desktop, iPad, and iPhone. What’s the big deal?
Whether its a big deal or not depends on what your use cases are. Perhaps you don't travel a lot. In the case of my colleague. He must use a Windows based work laptop. He uses a Mac for home/personal use (I used to as well). He wants a tablet, so has an iPad. And he has to have a phone. So if he's traveling, then he's got 4 devices, along with all the chargers, dongles, etc.. That's the thing that is a big deal. I have the same basic needs, but I collapsed a windows laptop, home computer, and tablet, into a single Surface Pro device.
While I agree that generalizations aren't helpful, it doesn't necessarily prove bias. Sometimes it's just lack of desire to get into specifics.
I have extensive experience with the Surface tablet line. (everything from the first RT to the Pro 4) As a product line of devices that are significantly more troublesome than other tablets in my experience. Failing to go into sleep (so that the battery drains unexpectedly), failing to recognize that the TypeCover is attached, Windows updates that cause issues with device support, build quality issues, driver issues that were finally resolved get broken with a subsequent update, etc. the list goes on. I would classify them as "garbage" based on my experiences. It would be foolish of me to do otherwise.
Based on my experiences, I conclude that Microsoft will not be able to offer a competent competitor to the 2018 iPad. Of course, if someone has had excellent experiences with the Surface tablets, they'd draw a different conclusion, as they should.
Every problem you described has happened to me. It was very annoying. When you troubleshoot stuff during the day, you don’t want to have to do more of it in the evening. By far the worst, though, was the hotbag wake issue that would lead to an overheated Surface Pro 3/4 with a dead battery. Usually right when I wanted to take notes.
Man, it was such a let down, because as terrible a tablet as they were (and they were) the laptop experience was so good.
Ah well, on to the iPad Pro and a decent desktop. Works out of the bag everytime. Instant on, grab the pencil and go.
Indeed 'based on your experiences'. You are not generalizing and you are describing your personal anecdotal experiences with your Surface device. Lot's of people (including myself) have no problems at all with those devices and even like them.
I once had a bad experience with an iPad. Would it be reasonable for me to call Apple 'crap' or 'garbage' or call all iPads 'crap' or 'garbage', based on that experience? No, of course not, that would be biased against Apple. So why wouldn't it be biased to call all Surface products 'garbage'? In my opinion it proves bias very well.
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Did you read the last sentence of his post? Let me requote it here for you: "Of course, if someone has had excellent experiences with the Surface tablets, they'd draw a different conclusion, as they should."
Real work
Serious work
Consumption device
I always love the way people label things. /s
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I think the word you’re looking for is actually irrelevance. You’re adding irrelevance to the conversation.
As Apple's iPad and Microsoft's Surface continue to compete in the tablet market, a new report out today by Bloomberg claims that Microsoft is planning its next tablet line to be lower-cost in an effort to attract people to Surface products who aren't interested in the more expensive Surface Pro. The move is directly aimed at competing with Apple's recently launched $329 iPad, and could see Microsoft debut the devices as soon as the second half of 2018.
According to people familiar with the company's plans, the tablets will be priced at around $400, so they would still be more expensive than Apple's cheapest options. They will be the first Surface devices to adopt USB-C and rounded edges "like an iPad," instead of the square corners of the current devices. Storage tiers will include 64GB and 128GB, as well as LTE options, and the devices will feature 10-inch screens.
The Surface Pro
In an effort to make the tablets 20 percent lighter than the high-end $799 Surface Pro, Microsoft is believed to sacrifice battery life by as much as "four hours fewer" than the current generation (13.5 hours for Surface Pro). Not much is known about the insides of the upcoming tablets, but the people said that Intel will supply the main processor and graphics chips.
The devices will continue to have the kickstand for upright typing and video watching seen in current Surface models, and they will run Windows 10 Pro. Ultimately, the company is trying to enter the low-cost market again after previous attempts with the Surface RT in 2012 and the Surface 3 in 2015, which both started at $499 and performed poorly in comparison to the growing Surface Pro line.
Microsoft is believed to be looking at Apple's education-focused iPad launch from earlier in 2018, and the new Surface models "could likewise appeal to students and teachers," as well as schools that look into buying cheap tablets in bulk. With the cheaper Surface, the company is planning low-cost updates to its keyboard cover, stylus, and mouse. Prices haven't yet been pinpointed, but as a comparison the current keyboard cover runs for $160.
Apple's low-cost iPad includes Apple Pencil support, an A10 Fusion chip with 64-bit desktop-class architecture, a Retina display, enhanced cameras, and advanced sensors with a gyroscope and accelerometer, which fuel powerful augmented reality apps through ARKit. Although the iPad is normally $329 for consumers when not on sale, Apple sells it at $299 to schools and says that the tablet was built for mobility and durability for students, sporting an aluminum unibody construction.
Article Link: Microsoft Planning Low-Cost Surface Line to Compete With Apple's $329 iPad
So, Microsoft is going to copy cat once more?
Yes I did read the last sentence. But I was answering the first sentence: 'While I agree that generalizations aren't helpful, it doesn't necessarily prove bias. Sometimes it's just lack of desire to get into specifics.' This all had to do with the answer of PhoneI and had nothing to do with the further answer of SRacer.
Don't want to offend you, but it only gets confusing when other people step in and try to explain the context of yet another person.
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