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Microsoft Releases Pricing on Surface Tablet, Ships October 26th

I don't get the responses to the price point. The Surface is trying to compete against the MacBook Air, not the iPad. And certainly not the Kindle Fire. At $700 it easily beats the Air on price. And it beats pretty much any other laptop on lightness and build quality.

I think the question is, once Surface comes out, does anyone except a power user buy another PC laptop? Why would you if you assume that (a) browsing is basically perfect on the Surface and (b) Microsoft Office Suite works perfect on Surface? I suspect both of these will be true, so Surface is going to satisfy all of my work requirements (except for large external screens) and a good chunk of my home computer activities (except for gaming).

Surface seems like a game changing device. If I were a PC maker (not Apple) I would be quaking in my boots.
 
DrStern said:
Yeah, I'm actually interested in the product for my office, but the commercial did nothing to move my interest level - except maybe down a little, since the ad does not depict the device as a serious tool.
Click to expand...

What computer commercials are you people watching that actually shows them being used in a serious fashion? You're all talking like MS has done something horrible here.

"Does not depict the device as a serious tool"

Yeah. Apparently I've been missing the iPad commercials shot in black and white, with a guy talking about doing spreadsheets on it in a monotone voice. NOW THAT'S A SERIOUS COMMERCIAL FOR A MATURE INDIVIDUAL. WHICH I AM!

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TallManNY said:
I don't get the responses to the price point. The Surface is trying to compete against the MacBook Air, not the iPad. And certainly not the Kindle Fire. At $700 it easily beats the Air on price. And it beats pretty much any other laptop on lightness and build quality.
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You're thinking of the Surface Pro, which is pretty much an ultrabook in a tablet form factor. The RT, which is what's being shown here, is more along the lines of the iPad. Same price, roughly the same capabilities.
 
Renzatic said:
You're thinking of the Surface Pro, which is pretty much an ultrabook in a tablet form factor. The RT, which is what's being shown here, is more along the lines of the iPad. Same price, roughly the same capabilities.
Click to expand...

Do we really know the break down of performance between the Pro and the RT? I mean if the RT runs office flawlessly, does the enterprise stuff, runs a good browser, and has a nice keyboard, then how much more does it have to do to be an ultrabook? There are a lot of "ifs" about performance and we have to see this thing in action with long term hands on reviews. But I think this is going to be something special.

Actually, I think I just talked myself into buying some more Microsoft stock. I bought Apple when the iPad came out because it seemed like a game changes (and the iPhone also seemed destined for continued growth). Maybe Windows 8 and this Surface stuff is going to be a legit hit.
 
TallManNY said:
Do we really know the break down of performance between the Pro and the RT? I mean if the RT runs office flawlessly, does the enterprise stuff, runs a good browser, and has a nice keyboard, then how much more does it have to do to be an ultrabook? There are a lot of "ifs" about performance and we have to see this thing in action with long term hands on reviews. But I think this is going to be something special.
Click to expand...

To get incredibly pedantic here, I think for it to be classified as an ultrabook, it has to be running an x86 processor, and using a full on desktop OS. The RT is running an ARM processor, which puts it in the same class as the iPad.

Though I do think most people underestimate what the iPad and other ARM tablets are capable of. No, they're not i7's. Hell, they're not even janky i3's, but they are still capable of doing quite a bit. On a random, not at all scientific guesstimation, I'd peg the iDevices out as being roughly equivalent to a P4 with middling memory bandwidth. If you were to stuff more ram into one, I bet a lot of people would be surprised what they're capable of.

And the RT? About the same. I think running Office on one will be great for light to moderate work. If you need to open a multi-gig spreadsheet, or a document stuffed with gigs and gigs of 20MP photos...yeah, it'll crash and burn. But that's what the Pro is for.
 
Oohara said:
That keyboard cover is such a massive gimmick. All those available so far are absolutely horrid to type on. This one won't be any different.
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So I'm assuming you've used one of these to say such a thing? I've never seen one of these before . . . got a link? (Serious question btw).

They keyboard cover (while over priced now IMO), I think could be a great thing. I'm saying this as an M$ hater.
 
TallManNY said:
Do we really know the break down of performance between the Pro and the RT? I mean if the RT runs office flawlessly, does the enterprise stuff, runs a good browser, and has a nice keyboard, then how much more does it have to do to be an ultrabook? There are a lot of "ifs" about performance and we have to see this thing in action with long term hands on reviews. But I think this is going to be something special.

Actually, I think I just talked myself into buying some more Microsoft stock. I bought Apple when the iPad came out because it seemed like a game changes (and the iPhone also seemed destined for continued growth). Maybe Windows 8 and this Surface stuff is going to be a legit hit.
Click to expand...
Are you being serious or shilling? The RT cannot run existing X86 windows apps and the only third party apps that it can run have to be Metro which mean no accessing the win32 api. You can only access the WinRT (Windows Runtime).

Microsoft office will be the only non-Metro app that can run on it because it is from Microsoft.

Windows RT cannot join an Active directory domain.

So to answer your question in a nutshell, no it cannot run all of the enterprise stuff.

You are probably better off with an iPad with a keyboard and Citrix Receiver if your company has a Citrix infrastructure. Or alternatively, you could get an Apple Macbook Air and either install windows dual booting through Bootcamp or run windows in Parallels or VMware and have that machine instance joined to the domain.

The version of surface that will run all of your enterprise stuff is likely to cost more than a Macbook air.
 
Delete

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Can someone explain why Microsoft doesn't offer the colored touch covers with the $599 and 699 models? So if you want a colored touch cover its costing you $20 more for the 32GB model and $120 more for the 64GB model. I'm assuming they had to offer a model without the cover because someone in marketing or finance said said 'you have to hit the $499 price point' but it seems a bit of a rip off. Especially not offering a 64GB model for $599 and allowing you to pick out your own cover. I noticed the $499 model sold out. I'd be curious to know if people are buying colored covers or buying it without the cover. I know on some of the tech sites posters were complaining that $120/$130 was too expensive.

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IJ Reilly said:
Really. Not only are tablets eroding sales of desktops and laptops, the OEMs will be competing directly with Microsoft in this market, something they did not have to do before, ever. I am not the only person to identify this issue. Even Microsoft acknowledges that this new approach could create friction with the OEMs. I think the only way it could avoid causing friction is if the Surface flops.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-5...y-yes-our-surface-tablet-could-tick-off-oems/

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/21/acer-is-skeptical-of-surface-tablets/
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It seems the biggest advantage for Surface is the enterprise but I wonder how it will fare there. Especially if corporations get big fat discounts from the likes of HP and Dell, laptops will be cheaper than Surface Pro. Plus with most Fortune 500 companies just starting to upgrade to Windows 7 I can't imagine they'll be in a hurry to purchase Surface tablets. I know where I work we're still using C
XP and many employees are still using office 2003/7. Also our hardware upgrade cycle is 3-4 years. And we have BYOD policies so a lot of employees use iPads in the workplace. I just don't see massive adoption of Surface in the workplace. Unless its a big hit with consumers and they're bringing it into the workplace on a BYOD basis.
 
tech4all said:
So I'm assuming you've used one of these to say such a thing? I've never seen one of these before . . . got a link? (Serious question btw).

They keyboard cover (while over priced now IMO), I think could be a great thing. I'm saying this as an M$ hater.
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No, I'm talking about keyboard covers in general. But my point is that the Surface keyboard cover cannot possibly offer anything better than the best of the iPad keyboard covers available - and those are already too poor for any kind of serious use.

This one for instance, go try it out and see if you can do any useful typing on it beyond what you can by just typing on the screen itself. Then look at the pictures of the Surface keyboard cover, see how thin it is, and imagine that same typing experience but with perhaps 1/5 of the key travel and almost no distance between the keys (this much is evident just from the pictures).

There's just no way it'll be anything but crap to type on, for anything more than very short e-mails, notes or URLs - which you might as well just do directly on the screen. Unless you're a freak of nature and actually can comfortably write longer texts directly on screens or with no tactile feedback at all, in which case I guess this keyboard cover might be useful for you :D But for the majority, I think it'll be little more than a good looking but ultimately pretty useless product.
 
wikus said:
False.

Or at least mostly false. You need to realize that many people, like myself, bought an Android device because I have zero tolerance for closed and forced systems like iTunes.
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Anti- means against. Don't insult our intelligence.
 
This is the third commercial from MS that feels like they're trying to imitate an Apple ad, and the third to reinforce the idea they have no idea how to market themselves these days.

These ads, beginning with the horrendous (screaming) "I was born to love you" one, seem to be made to appeal not to Microsoft users, but Apple users, but do it in such a way that's so absurdly heavy-handed it's beyond pandering...

Microsoft would be better served identifying the positive aspects of their brand association, and going with those. Provide a clear, concise description of what your product is and does, and keep it simple. Show it working. Leave the "we're cool", or "we're artsy" ads on the table. Nobody's buying that MS is some artsy fartsy youth-oriented brand.
 
JAT said:
Anti- means against. Don't insult our intelligence.
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Its ignorant and insulting to the macrumors community making blanket statements speaking on behalf of unknown individuals.

Your response is also condescending which is frequent in nature of the apple community (unfortunately). I know very well what anti- means, your attitude isnt needed, find another forum if you feel the need otherwise.
 
i don't see the competition here.

Didn't Steve do a deal with the (devil), I mean Bill, that they would not go against each other ? or am I dreaming :)

Consumers will see a win here...... Businesses... not a chance..... no one wants to carry a tabet round as the only device in a business (even in addition).

They sit at their desks all day.
 
Last edited:
Anyone else notice this?

iPad 3
Display
Retina display
9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
2048-by-1536-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Surface with Windows RT
Display
10.6" ClearType HD Display
1366x768 pixels
16:9 (widescreen)
5-point multi-touch

Surface with Windows 8 Pro
Display
10.6" ClearType Full HD Display
1920x1080 pixels
16:9 (widescreen)
10-point multi-touch


Neither Surface with Windows RT or Surface with Windows 8 Pro even come close to the iPad 3. Maybe if Microsoft released these 3 years ago, but in 2012???? This is just another example of how Apple uses the best parts available to create some of the most amazing products around.
 
IJ Reilly said:
Really. Not only are tablets eroding sales of desktops and laptops, the OEMs will be competing directly with Microsoft in this market, something they did not have to do before, ever. I am not the only person to identify this issue. Even Microsoft acknowledges that this new approach could create friction with the OEMs. I think the only way it could avoid causing friction is if the Surface flops.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-5...y-yes-our-surface-tablet-could-tick-off-oems/

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/21/acer-is-skeptical-of-surface-tablets/
Click to expand...

Again you never bothered to read what I said

1 : None of the biggest OEM MS customers have any significant market share in tablets. Neither are they planning on that.

2 : The companies that DO have significant market share barely sell anything from MS.

3 : Tablets now are the biggest concern for MS as they dont have anything in that market.

4 : This is no different then what google is doing with its nexus line.

So this is not a mayor issue for MS, its actually steps to get into a market that is draining MS sales.

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Titanium81 said:
Anyone else notice this?

iPad 3
Display
Retina display
9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
2048-by-1536-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)
Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Surface with Windows RT
Display
10.6" ClearType HD Display
1366x768 pixels
16:9 (widescreen)
5-point multi-touch

Surface with Windows 8 Pro
Display
10.6" ClearType Full HD Display
1920x1080 pixels
16:9 (widescreen)
10-point multi-touch


Neither Surface with Windows RT or Surface with Windows 8 Pro even come close to the iPad 3. Maybe if Microsoft released these 3 years ago, but in 2012???? This is just another example of how Apple uses the best parts available to create some of the most amazing products around.
Click to expand...

Yes, the screen is all that matters, the iphone 5 is obsolete tech because it has a lower resolution then just about any other flagship smartphone out there?
 
Like many folks, I find the concept of a hybrid tablet notebook interesting. However, when I try to imagine how it will work in practice, I get kinda confused. The problem is that a tablet works best with touch, and a laptop works best with a keyboard and mouse. How do you make an OS that works well with both? More importantly, how do make apps that work well with both UIs? On a tablet, the OS is pushed to the background and the Apps are really front and center. So, a robust App Store will be critical to the Surface's success.

I look forward to seeing the Surface when it comes out. Perhaps, the transition between UIs will be seamless, and it will create a new type of device for others to emulate. We will see.........
 
k995 said:
Yes, the screen is all that matters, the iphone 5 is obsolete tech because it has a lower resolution then just about any other flagship smartphone out there?
Click to expand...

Then you must also include all previous models.

Well. Then allot of people must like 'obselete' tech, since 90% of people use iphones.
 
aristotle said:
Are you being serious or shilling? The RT cannot run existing X86 windows apps and the only third party apps that it can run have to be Metro which mean no accessing the win32 api. You can only access the WinRT (Windows Runtime).
Click to expand...
So? large companies using this wont have any problems programming for it, rest can by pro version.

Windows RT cannot join an Active directory domain.
Click to expand...
Net yet

So to answer your question in a nutshell, no it cannot run all of the enterprise stuff.
Click to expand...
AD has nothing to do with running enterprise stuff, its an easy way of managing, and you forget the pro tablet.

You are probably better off with an iPad with a keyboard and Citrix Receiver if your company has a Citrix infrastructure. Or alternatively, you could get an Apple Macbook Air and either install windows dual booting through Bootcamp or run windows in Parallels or VMware and have that machine instance joined to the domain.
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yes, those are a real blessing to use [/sarcasm]

No you are not better of, you are actually a lot worse of in a lot of cases, but yes it does work in some way. But I highly doubt its a better experience (doubt as the surface still has to be released and people talk as they have been using it for months) then either of the surface tablets.
 
Retrostarscream said:
Does anyone know if the surface will be able to run apps side by side as opposed to having separate screens for each ? If so it will be able differentiate itself just enough from the iPad & justify its price points. True multitasking is what productivity bound consumers are waiting for in these tablets.
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Replying again. I dunno why I didn't think of this before, but I'm running W8, and I can show you exactly what it looks like.

Running the desktop and Xbox Music side by side.

The Metro stuff is weird as hell at first since it's not at all like a normal desktop environment, but it's pretty easy to use once you spend a little time with it. Contrary to popular belief, it's not a horrible pain in the ass to use with a mouse, though I will admit it probably is a better fit on a touch device.
 
Retrostarscream said:
Does anyone know if the surface will be able to run apps side by side as opposed to having separate screens for each ? If so it will be able differentiate itself just enough from the iPad & justify its price points. True multitasking is what productivity bound consumers are waiting for in these tablets.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't be much of a tablet if it didn't.
 
The only hope the Surface has is in the enterprise where they don't embrace BYOD and want to standardize on an issued tablet. It remains to be seen how much application development there will be for voice, video, and security outside the MS realm (Skype/Lync). I estimate the consumer world will reject it, it's only hope is in enterprise and education.

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lorkkrue said:
My "company", where the CTO has a close tie to MS has sent out mass emails last year -NOT to buy iPad due to "uncertainty in the tablet market". And all requests will be denied. We are to wait for a more "certain" tablet to hit the market. I didn't understand the email then. NOW I do. He wanted us to wait for this "surface tablet" -
Click to expand...

This is MS's only hope, there are a lot of MS bigots who buy into the MS methodology, and MS will get some wins out of this. Just like Lync, they say it's free, until you go to deploy and find out you need 500k in CALs. It is possible if WAVE, Windows 8, and Lync get some traction that companies who don't embrace BYOD will go with the Surface, but the consumer world will reject it, and that will hurt 3rd party application development.
 
Titanium81 said:
Neither Surface with Windows RT or Surface with Windows 8 Pro even come close to the iPad 3. Maybe if Microsoft released these 3 years ago, but in 2012???? This is just another example of how Apple uses the best parts available to create some of the most amazing products around.
Click to expand...

But, with the larger native resolution both of these will fit more usable content on the screen to start with.

The extra width on the RT allows you to actually multi-task.

Regardless of the Retina display, most apps are designed for 1024x768, so might look clearer but show less content (without zooming).

Also the MS tablet screen is optically bonded, which will bring the quality closer to the Ipads without amping the resolution.

Being able to truly multi-task is huge.
 
lorkkrue said:
My "company", where the CTO has a close tie to MS has sent out mass emails last year -NOT to buy iPad due to "uncertainty in the tablet market". And all requests will be denied. We are to wait for a more "certain" tablet to hit the market. I didn't understand the email then. NOW I do. He wanted us to wait for this "surface tablet" -
Click to expand...

FUD is back!!!

I think your "company" should look for a different CTO.

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Winni said:
I think it's quite the opposite. There are not many business scenarios where tablet computers make ANY sense - electronic data capture, for example in clinical trials, are an area where tablets can do great. But where else can they replace a notebook?
Click to expand...

It's quite simple actually. Anywhere you can sit down, the notebook is superior. Anywhere you can't sit, the tablet is superior.
 
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