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iPad Nice try, Microsoft... (CNN election coverage)
- Thread starter arbogast777
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I think the Verge first reported it. Pretty stupid but funny. I really hate the talking heads on TV.
Because they were probably each wanted to use their personal iPads that they brought with them...
Who cares? It's not about "Device X and Y both have feature Z", it's about which device you would rather do feature Z with.
"What can iPads do that Surface Pro 3 can't do? So I'm forcing this awesome Surface Pro 3 down your throat and please don't use your inferior iPad anymore"
This subject of this thread is probably the funniest thing I've read all week, and this is probably the funniest comment.
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I really want to like the surface. The thin keyboard case is neat and I like that it has a pressure sensitive digitizer. But then I keep telling myself "It's Windows, stupid!" and I don't buy one. Then there are also other issues, such as price. At $999 the 128GB Surface Pro 3 with Core i5 isn't much faster than the iPad Air 2, according to Geekbench, but also costs $300 more. Then add $130 for the type cover. Reviews also show that it gets 7 hours of battery lifequite a bit less than the 11 hours in the iPad Air 2. Then you have to deal with heat and fan issues, which seems to be a problem with quite a few users. IMO, if your tablet has a fan, then it's not a real tablet. The coolest thing is that you can run full versions of Photoshop and other apps, but those app aren't touch optimized which kinda defeats the purpose of having a tablet in the first place. It's just not where it needs to be right now.
I think the iPad Pro will have a quad-core A8X (or A9X if it launches later next year), 4GB of RAM, a larger pressure sensitive display that supports split-screen multitasking (perhaps 16:10 which is better for multitasking and also reduces the size by 7% vs. 4:3), and come in 64/128/256GB sizes priced at $799/899/999. It won't only give the Surface a run for it's money, but it will also have comparable or slightly better performance than most models.
As for other software features, my hope is that it comes with better file management. Perhaps we could get a centralized iCloud Drive app that shows the contents of folders like on the Mac? Another neat feature would be PIP type multitasking for tasks like videos playback. It would be cool to have a box for Netflix that you could snap to different corners of the screen while working on other things or browsing the web, or for making a Face Time or Skype call.
Another point of speculation is Apple actually designing their own keyboard cover, which they have patents on. But I think they could take it a step further What I think would be neat, as I've described in other threads, would be a keyboard docking station that when snapped in, transforms the UI into OS X. Believe it or not, Apple actually has a patent for this which describes an iMac converting to a touch-based UI when lowered down to the ground on a new hinge mechanism. In my version of this, the keyboard dock could communicate with hidden contacts on the side of the device while attaching with magnets, and also provide an extra internal battery for powering the device while docked. It would close up just like a MacBook Air, and have a similar aesthetic. This component could also have a magsafe charging port, USB port, SD card slot, and a mini HDMI port. Limited driver support for USB devices could be provided through apps and utilized in other apps by using extensions. For instance, in Photoshop Touch you could import a scan from a connected scanner by going to new layer, then add photo, and select from a list of available apps that could provide that extension, such as a Canon scanning app. I think this is what Apple is working towards, especially as Yosemite and iOS 8 share so many similar design aesthetics. The rumors of a fanless 12" Retina MacBook Air and 12" iPad Pro seem too similar to ignore. It's of course possible that I'm wrong, but the evidence seems to be pointing towards a convergence device. If it doesn't happen now, it will happen eventually. Perhaps we might even just get an ARM MacBook Air out of it with no touch capabilities, just to get the ball rolling in that direction? A quad core A8X is probably much more energy efficient than any low powered Intel chips while still being fairly fast. Maybe they could even do a hex core? With ARM chips you never know. What I do know is that there's a reason Apple moved to 64-bit ARM chips, and so far they really haven't shown a convincing reason why you need a desktop-class chip in a phone or a tablet. It's all a part of the greater plan!
Surface Pro 3 is about the same weight and thickness as an iPad2 but with a 2" more of screen real estate and immensely more powerful and capable. Some even multiboot Mac OS X on it so it's like what everyone wants the iPad Pro 12.2 to be.
And yet, people don't want to use it. Even when it's placed in front of them. For free.
it's continual proof that specs on paper mean nothing if the whole experience is hobbled by a poor interface. And no matter how you look at it, it's painfully evident that Microsoft has gotten it wrong. People would rather pay for and use a "less-capable" and "less powerful" tablet because it still provides them a better overall experience.
Which further illustrates the problem.
Until Microsoft can understand the concept of "keep the overall experience simple", the surface will keep being an utter failure...IMO. The fact that they keep thinking the tablet is meant to replace something (computer or labtop) when it's supposed to be it's own entity....... is their main downfall.
What they need to do is stop trying to replace the desktop or the laptop. They instead need to build a tablet, that is based on superior touch, innovative software that no one's ever seen before, that appeals to advance users..... but be as simple as a child to use and a grandmother to enjoy. This is how you get mass appeal for your product. If they can do this better than the Ipad does then it may succeed.
You don't replace the kitchen knife, or a camping knife, or a work knife, with an all in one knife, to do everything in your household because it isn't a smart thing to do.
Keep a steak knife, a steak knife.......and a butter knife a butter knife.
What they need to do is stop trying to replace the desktop or the laptop. They instead need to build a tablet, that is based on superior touch, innovative software that no one's ever seen before, that appeals to advance users..... but be as simple as a child to use and a grandmother to enjoy. This is how you get mass appeal for your product. If they can do this better than the Ipad does then it may succeed.
You don't replace the kitchen knife, or a camping knife, or a work knife, with an all in one knife, to do everything in your household because it isn't a smart thing to do.
Keep a steak knife, a steak knife.......and a butter knife a butter knife.
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People are looking too deep into this. It just shows that news anchors prefer to use their personal device no matter if it's a consumption toy. Sometimes I use the iPad for surfing before Apple ruined it with iOS 8.x but to get work done and for creativity I use the Surface Pro 3.
Not sure why people are making such a big deal about this. I guess they just always want a reason to dump on something. I often use two devices at once. I may be watching a video on my Nexus 7 or Windows laptop while checking Facebook on my iPhone. There's no reason why these reporters couldn't be making use of both devices.
That in itself reiterates the point though. Surface tablets aren't new. And yet people (news anchors included) have chosen to use something else to be productive. Not only does that show the iPad is more than just a "consumption toy," but that people who want to use a tablet for a task aren't picking Surface, by and large.
And we now see the bias here.
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People are making a big deal about it because Microsoft wanted it to be a big deal, that their products were being used by prominent people on television. So when it turns out that no, these prominent people would rather not use these devices given to them for free as their primary device, and would prefer to bring their own, it's going to be a big deal. Just not in the way Microsoft had hoped.
You can't deny that if the tables had be turned, and it was Apple who couldn't give away their iPads, there would be people gloating just as loudly, if not louder.
Regardless of the platform or the company, product placement needs to be done carefully. You can't force or impose the product on the people who will ostensibly use them, like Bose has with the NFL or Microsoft has with both the NFL and CNN. You have to make sure the person is going to buy into the product and is on-board with using it and endorsing it favorably.
If not, you're going to get more attention for the forceful tactics you use, and that will instead hint to people that maybe you have to force people to use your product because it's not very good. Especially when they're trying, on the down-low, to use a competor's product. Even worse, when the competitor didn't ask for endorsement.