Microsoft Surface Tablet announced

Status
Not open for further replies.
Petrichor said:
The Ipad isn't quite as established as the ipod / google were when zune/bing were introduced. It's getting there, sure - but the surface really does make the ipad just look like an oversized ipod touch, it could disrupt the market.
Click to expand...

You mean the Surface Pro, because the Surface RT... the one that´s actually able to compete with the Ipad in terms of price is in most ways vastly inferior to the Ipad (except for a yet to be detailed version of Office).

I´m not saying that these are bad machines, but i wouldn´t be expecting much of an impact outside of the enterprise market. The average consumer doesn´t want office productivity out of his/her tablet. They want a beautiful screen (Prime/Ipad Retina), they want a simple Operating system and above all... they want a stupid amount of apps they can throw money at.

Oh, and convenience, something a tablet with a hyperactive loud fan is not very good at.
 
I don't think this device is really about sales. It's about having a flagship device that shows customers what's really possible and showing manufacturers how to differentiate without slapping an ugly ass skin on top of the OS.
 
Hoo-doo said:
But I don't really see how the business sector benefits from a tablet form factor at the sacrifice of power and usability yet.
The touch interface is pretty and easy to use, but for any "real work" you'll probably still have to attach a keyboard and mouse.
And at that point, I just think it'll be too underpowered and expensive to really set the market on fire.
Click to expand...

people in business do use tablets and these are better in every way i can think of.

did you see the touchpad/keyboard accessory? you could get as much work done with that as with most laptops.
 
While RT is bleh, the Pro version is everything I hoped Win 8 would be.

Dunno about the cover keyboard though. I already have a little trouble adapting to the pretty flat mac keyboard, and even flatter one might be just plain uncomfortable.
 
Antiwhippy said:
While RT is bleh, the Pro version is everything I hoped Win 8 would be.

Dunno about the keyboard though. I already have a little trouble adapting to the pretty flat mac keyboard, and even flatter one might be just plain uncomfortable.
Click to expand...

There are two versions of the keyboard. One with touch sensors and another one with tactile keys.
 
Darryl said:
did you see the touchpad/keyboard accessory? you could get as much work done with that as with most laptops.
Click to expand...

So just get a laptop?

This is the thing with the presentation, they were making a big deal about having a keyboard, trackpad and mouse buttons attached to the device...

So why not just get a laptop?

Their messaging is very confusing. It's like they know Win8 won't work well with the touchscreen so they're offering you this trackpad with mouse buttons as a get out of jail free card.
 
Petrichor said:
The Ipad isn't quite as established as the ipod / google were when zune/bing were introduced. It's getting there, sure - but the surface really does make the ipad just look like an oversized ipod touch, it could disrupt the market.
Click to expand...

But why don't the other tablets like the Slate 7 disrupt the market? It also runs W7 and W8 just fine. I don't see it lighting the world on fire just yet.

And even the Slate comes with massive issues that I think Surface will also suffer from.
Extremely poor battery life (3.5 hours), a whopping 1300$ pricetag, loud fans, etcetera.
Those are hurdles microsoft will have to get past, and i'm not sure that's even really possible with a Core i5 chip in such a tiny enclosure tasked with running a demanding desktop OS.
 
brotkasten said:
There are two versions of the keyboard. One with touch sensors and another one with tactile keys.
Click to expand...

It's not about touch vs tactile. I'm talking about the ergnomic of the keyboard. How much "give" is there i.e. how much can you push down before it stops? Does it require softer touch? Is there an article on how comfortable it is?
 
yogloo said:
Hooo boy. You won't like where everyone is heading to.
Click to expand...

I would have agreed with you if most people who bought an iPad gave up on their PCs or laptops. They didn't, the iPad is still an accessory. The Surface an the reactions to it shows that people are ready to replaces their laptops and PCs with tablets - But they don't want to lose the freedom and abilities they had.
Maybe I'm wrong, we'll have to see the reaction to this from the consumers, Apple and other PC manufectorers.
 
Thinking about getting the RT and remoting to my desktop for any productivity needs. SkyDrive integration should help me keep everything synced nicely between the devices.

Granted I've never done anything productive while remoting, it might could work.
 
Interested to see how the launch goes, I'm "interested".
Price & applications at launch are what will decide it for me.

Even if I don't buy one this year, it's between this and an iPad for my parents for Christmas.
Assuming they do a European launch this year. Which if they don't, fuck 'em.
 
cjelly said:
So just get a laptop?

This is the thing with the presentation, they were making a big deal about having a keyboard, trackpad and mouse buttons attached to the device...

So why not just get a laptop?

Their messaging is very confusing. It's like they know Win8 won't work well with the touchscreen so they're offering you this trackpad with mouse buttons as a get out of jail free card.
Click to expand...

tablets and laptops can have different uses and some people need both of those.
 
cjelly said:
So just get a laptop?

This is the thing with the presentation, they were making a big deal about having a keyboard, trackpad and mouse buttons attached to the device...

So why not just get a laptop?

Their messaging is very confusing. It's like they know Win8 won't work well with the touchscreen so they're offering you this trackpad with mouse buttons as a get out of jail free card.
Click to expand...

Because people want to have one single device. So it's a laptop when you put it on the table and tablet when you walk around/lay on your couch. I for one think having only 1 mobile device in addition to my phone is a great thing. The reason why i sold my ipad was that i couldn't do everything i needed to do on it so i still had to drag my laptop with me. With this (the pro model) i'm hoping the get the best of both worlds.
 
the keyboard is one of those simple idea's that should have been obvious but hadn't been done yet. Unfortunately, they just showed it off at least 9 months from when they are going to launch. Everyone is going to knock that off in the meantime.

Windows RT is a base tablet but the home and pro versions are very interesting. I'm not sure how the tablet/laptop hybrids will be received. At first thought, it's amazing, but it's going to come with a ton of downsides compared to a traditional tablet.
 
SyNapSe said:
the keyboard is one of those simple idea's that should have been obvious but hadn't been done yet. Unfortunately, they just showed it off at least 9 months from when they are going to launch. Everyone is going to knock that off in the meantime.

Windows RT is a base tablet but the home and pro versions are very interesting. I'm not sure how the tablet/laptop hybrids will be received. At first thought, it's amazing, but it's going to come with a ton of downsides compared to a traditional tablet.
Click to expand...

Don't they have a patent on that keyboard? I really hope they do.
 
I'm going to say they price this aggressively to compete with the iPad.

$499/$599 for the RT

$899/$999 for the Pro

They won't go over $1000.
 
SyNapSe said:
the keyboard is one of those simple idea's that should have been obvious but hadn't been done yet. Unfortunately, they just showed it off at least 9 months from when they are going to launch. Everyone is going to knock that off in the meantime.

Windows RT is a base tablet but the home and pro versions are very interesting. I'm not sure how the tablet/laptop hybrids will be received. At first thought, it's amazing, but it's going to come with a ton of downsides compared to a traditional tablet.
Click to expand...

3 months from RT release.
 
SyNapSe said:
the keyboard is one of those simple idea's that should have been obvious but hadn't been done yet. Unfortunately, they just showed it off at least 9 months from when they are going to launch. Everyone is going to knock that off in the meantime.
Click to expand...

Logitech and various other companies have made keyboard covers for the iPad for quite some time now.
 
That's one badass trailer.

I'm not really into tablets, but I've come to like metro a lot. I don't own a smartphone yet but checked out a few yesterday. I have to say that WP7 seemed much nicer to navigate - and looked better, too - than android and iOS. It's a cool OS.
 
Good Job Bob said:
What's so good about that keyboard? Did anyone actually get to use it?
Click to expand...
It allows you to type when the tablet is standing without having to bring any extra hardware. It's only slightly better than the touch keyboard in regards to speed.


Hoo-doo said:
Logitech and various other companies have made keyboard covers for the iPad for quite some time now.
Click to expand...
It's not really the same thing:
gallery3.png

gallery2.png

gallery5.png
 
DoctorWho said:
I'm going to say they price this aggressively to compete with the iPad.

$499/$599 for the RT

$899/$999 for the Pro

They won't go over $1000.
Click to expand...


Yeah I'm hoping that's the case, especially for the pro, if they come in cheaper than the Air then they win my money I think.
 
brotkasten said:
There are two versions of the keyboard. One with touch sensors and another one with tactile keys.
Click to expand...

Not exactly. Both of them are pressure sensitive. The Touch cover is simply thinner and less tactile than the Type cover, but none of them react to touch as you might expect from a capacitive screen.
 
Tablet makes both my Cintiq and Thinkpad Tablet w/pen obsolete in one fell swoop.

I'd like to know if that's a pressure sensitive pen though. If so, I may just use this as my future art pad/portfolio/wifu.
 
Hoo-doo said:
Logitech and various other companies have made keyboard covers for the iPad for quite some time now.
Click to expand...

I know and have one but I've never seen anything like this.. it's basically a smart cover + keyboard. I guess it's sleeker and more elegant than most of the others. It looks like it would be a lot lighter than most of the other solutions but I suppose we'll see.
 
Kem0sabe said:
You mean the Surface Pro, because the Surface RT... the one that´s actually able to compete with the Ipad in terms of price is in most ways vastly inferior to the Ipad (except for a yet to be detailed version of Office).

I´m not saying that these are bad machines, but i wouldn´t be expecting much of an impact outside of the enterprise market. The average consumer doesn´t want office productivity out of his/her tablet. They want a beautiful screen (Prime/Ipad Retina), they want a simple Operating system and above all... they want a stupid amount of apps they can throw money at.

Oh, and convenience, something a tablet with a hyperactive loud fan is not very good at.
Click to expand...

The RT model will be cheaper than the iPad, bank on it. The average consumer WILL welcome Office productivity software built in, RT Outlook built in would be good too.

People are flat out mental if they don't think people will develop for the broadest possible range of devices available... Microsoft are going to be shipping Windows 8 PCs and Windows RT tablets that will all use the same Windows Runtime (WinRT) for Metro styled apps. Porting to WinRT is easy too. If their projections are right thats hundreds of millions of devices shipping in 2013 alone replacing older desktops, laptops and tablets.

It's only the x86/64 desktop apps that people will miss, and there'll be very few casual-use applications that won't see WinRT versions. I'd go for the pro version of this myself, purely for the stylus and because I use development applications -- but I think people are underestimating the appeal of the RT model. It is totally going to disrupt the tablet scene, mostly at the expense of Android I expect, but it'll probably poach a few iPad sales too. The Surface is the kind of leadership WinRT needed... people aren't against Win 8 tablets, they just haven't seen ones this good yet.
 
SyNapSe said:
I know and have one but I've never seen anything like this.. it's basically a smart cover + keyboard + multitouch trackpad. I guess it's sleeker and more elegant than most of the others. It looks like it would be a lot lighter than most of the other solutions but I suppose we'll see.
Click to expand...
.
 
just watched the video, really enjoyed that part by Panos Panay, he talked really well unlike the other guys, you could see the pride and passion he had in his work, totally sells you on the product. as an engineer myself, I wish I could be confident on stage like that xD

The way he talked about the product, it sure sounds like you have to really try it first to feel the difference between this and any other win8 tablets, sounds like they really put so much into this than meet the eyes, it's mostly about the 'good feel'. if MS wants this to pick up they better put this up for public hands on somewhere.
 
so with Office seemingly being the primary selling point, is it fair to assume that MS will never release their own version of Office on iOS? I know they have a working version in their labs...but will it ever see the light of day? I'm guessing not anymore, if it were ever a serious consideration anyway.

Sure there are ways to use Office on iOS, but a version made by Microsoft would provide the superior experience.


AdrianWerner said:
Surface Pro can be a real laptop replacement. iPad? Not fully.
Click to expand...
Better said: Surface Pro can be a real laptop replacement to more people than an iPad is.

Surface pro can't replace everyone's laptop. It depends on your needs. Surface can potentially cover more of those needs and thus replace a greater portion of your average person's computers. Both can replace a laptop, depending.
 
Hoo-doo said:
Tons of different models out there.



Hardly a new concept. It's well executed by MS though.
Click to expand...

None of those hinge in the same way as Microsoft's. Correct me if I'm wrong but patents are for how things are executed and applied, not just ideas

That keyboard is just mindblowing. Also, that thing they showed in the presentation where you can't miss the magnetic snap when connecting the keyboard cover to the Surface, just awesome
 
cjelly said:
So just get a laptop?

This is the thing with the presentation, they were making a big deal about having a keyboard, trackpad and mouse buttons attached to the device...

So why not just get a laptop?

.
Click to expand...

I like the idea of having the luxury of a keyboard when I need it, but being able to disconnect it and read a magazine in portrait format when I'm finished.
 
AdrianWerner said:
Surface Pro can be a real laptop replacement. iPad? Not fully.
Click to expand...

Nonsense. It depends on what a user does with their laptop. For the majority, I'd suggest an iPad has replaced their laptop functionality. How many users do more than email/browse/casual games, even on desktops?


Exactly.
 
Korey said:
None of those hinge in the same way as Microsoft's. Correct me if I'm wrong but patents are for how things are executed and applied, not just ideas

That keyboard is just mindblowing. Also, that thing they showed in the presentation where you can't miss the magnetic snap when connecting the keyboard cover to the Surface, just awesome
Click to expand...

Again, there are hundreds of different models by various companies.

Microsoft's iteration is a smart blend between the Apple Smartcover and Logitech cases.
It does look great, but i'm just not really seeing the innovation here. :)
 
Fusebox said:
I like the idea of having the luxury of a keyboard when I need it, but being able to disconnect it and read a magazine in portrait format when I'm finished.
Click to expand...

keep in mind there will be lots of convertible Windows 8 tablets (that detatch from a keyboard). they'll probably be sturdier and stable in your lap, where these thin keyboards on the Windows branded tablet may not be.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Recommendations for tablet controller attachments
0
231
The Infectious Paradox replied
Should Bethesda or Microsoft do something about NateTheHate ?
27
522
MMaRsu replied
Jojo Steel Ball Run Announced
News 
44
2K
near replied
Avengers Doomsday Cast Announced
News Event  2 3 4
153
7K
Doom85 replied
Microsoft is finally shutting down Skype in May
41
2K
MakeMudosGreatAgain replied
Top Bottom