Microsoft Surface Tablet announced

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I think there were two Windows RT devices from OEMs at Computex. One tegra tablet from Asus and a Qualcomm note-net-ultra-whateverbook from Toshiba.

No one wants to touch RT.

They were probably let it on MS's plans for devices.

They also don't all have experience building ARM devices.

Some of them do, but they also might have been let it on MS's plans.. and figured only the x86 market was worth it.
 
That.. is an odd question.

Are you actually suggesting that large portions of the consumer public aren't highly influenced by branding and brand recognition?

I misread the conversation, I thought venne was speaking of a personal preference, not the market as a whole. So I didn't know why Gary was suggesting venne should care about brand recognition.
 
I don't know what he's talking about here. It might not have been for long, but people did touch it, and the screen worked fine.

I think his point was that nobody really got hands on time to really play with the device -- not that LITERALLY nobody was able to lay a finger on the device. If you selected an item out of the menu and swiped your finger over the screen a couple times, it would be an exaggeration to say you got real "hands-on" time.
 
What I really want to know is what kind of connectivity Surface will have with the Xbox 360 or future Xbox console? As it is I'm more interested in the Lenevo Yoga and the Asus TaiChi for power and functionality.

Yoga
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6jnrRRAcZc

Taichi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DNQc9rgV9A&feature=plcp

Gaming on a Windows tablet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIjbtnOGdRI&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP-OZNIY9d0&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbMlb9MvKy0&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VdcZobsEKA&feature=plcp
 
Never thought before this thread that the Air is anything more than a niche product, maybe a popular Mac, but didn't think MS would ever react to it.
 
I think his point was that nobody really got hands on time to really play with the device -- not that LITERALLY nobody was able to lay a finger on the device. If you selected an item out of the menu and swiped your finger over the screen a couple times, it would be an exaggeration to say you got real "hands-on" time.

I agree. But he specifically called the devices "dead pieces of hardware without a working screen". Which, based on that video, simply isn't true.
 
just watched Yoga and Taichi videos linked above....

so what are the nicest looking announced Windows 8 notebooks that also have Pen support? Or is the Surface the first of it's kind?
 
Never thought before this thread that the Air is anything more than a niche product, maybe a popular Mac, but didn't think MS would ever react to it.

Seriously? Isn't it one of the best selling laptops right now, and by a fairly large margin? You realize it's Apple's baseline laptop and has been for a couple of years, right?
 
What does this have to do with what I see as the best on the market?

I don't doubt the Air will sell better, but my money would go towards dat screen and almost double the pixels.
Yeah I get that's your individual preference, I thought we were having a conversation about the market as a whole. Sorry I misinterpreted.
 
Thurrott is so butthurt that MS doesn't treat him like Apple treats Mossberg that it's hilarious.

I always wondered by Mossberg of all people in the tech journalism field always got special access from Apple above all else, and pretty much only him. I mean he had endless one on one interviews with Steve Jobs. Nobody else got that kind of access. And it is continuing to be the case under Tim Cook. I mean All Things D is a pretty boring site to be honest.
 
I always wondered by Mossberg of all people in the tech journalism field always got special access from Apple above all else, and pretty much only him. I mean he had endless one on one interviews with Steve Jobs. Nobody else got that kind of access.
Maybe Jobs liked him?
 
He bitches and whines too much to be treated like Mossberg.

Thurrott is just odd to follow. It's good he's not beholden to MS, but at the same time he often acts out like he's frustrated that he doesn't get the same access the Apple evangelicals get to Apple. He needs to chill the hell out.
 
TDIL people think it's ludicrous to value performance over branding.
TDIL there are people who seriously don't understand that mass-market consumers who are not as tech savvy as message board enthusiasts are more likely to go with a reputable brand they feel comfortable with than looking at specs they barely understand. Especially when that brand also has the product universally accepted as the category leader.
 
The ULV Ivy Bridge in the Pro alone probably costs $200 more than the Tegra in the RT, and that's before factoring in the memory, SSD, 1080p screen and digitizer, so that rumor is false.

I predict $499/$999 like everyone else.

I think your way off.

Intel has alot to prove as ARM is taking over their markets while they still don't have a good chip to move into arm's markets with. This is a chance for intel to show off what they can do.

Intel will most likely be supplying the cpu / mobo and ssd for the system.


SSD prices have dropped like a rock and have reached about $1 per GB to the consumer. You can currently get 64 gig ssds for $60 and 128 gig drives for $100-$120 while 256 gig drives have hit the sub $200 price point . Flash foward another 9 months and you will see even lower prices.



I'm going to predict the 64 gig PRO model will retail at $700 .

I bet they will charge $100 more for the ssd and if they have diffrent processor speeds we will see another $100 on each sku t oget the fastest chip.

I bet they will come with 4 gigs although i hope 6 gigs is an option .
 
The Asus Transformer Book looks awful to use, but the Macbook Air doesnt?
Air is made out of one piece of aluminum metal and feels like it was carved out of a solid block of aluminum (of course it isn't), and no consumer PC notebook comes close to beating the Apple keyboard and touchpad.

It just looks better to use than its competitors, and that's why it sells.
 
TDIL there are people who seriously don't understand that mass-market consumers who are not as tech savvy as message board enthusiasts are more likely to go with a reputable brand they feel comfortable with than looking at specs they barely understand. Especially when that brand also has the product universally accepted as the category leader.

Again, my preference. I said that the Air would sell better.

Here's the thing. Microsoft has to match both its OEMs and Apple.

Apple can limp out a 768 pixel TN panel and it will sell because it's that or nothing at the pricepoint. There is no need to compare WiFis, GBs, or anything. It stands alone.

Microsoft doesn't have that luxury. If the Surface Pro came out with the same specs as the Air it would get laughed out of the building. Devices at Computex already matched the specs of the Surface in a similar form factor.
 
I think your way off.

Intel has alot to prove as ARM is taking over their markets while they still don't have a good chip to move into arm's markets with. This is a chance for intel to show off what they can do.
IVB is not that chip (Intel's ARM competition is Pine Trail, Medfield, etc), and you bet they're charging a good price for it, as the case is with any 22nm chip they sell. The differentiator between Intel and ARM is already there on the pro: full blown Windows. You are also completely discounting the cost of a good IPS screen + added wacom digitizer.

Apple can keep costs down because they sell tens of millions units of hardware every year. MS doesn't, the most mass produced MS hardware, Xbox 360, is about 10-15M units a year and it's definitely not high quality hardware since it does not include precision crafted parts like a quality LCD screen or metal chassis. MS has no experience mass producing quality hardware by the millions. Since the pro is not going to sell in the tens of millions like the iPad, it's definitely going to be in the $999+ range.
 
Microsoft has to undercut iPad though. iPad is far too popular and desire to sell it at the same price. It isn't even a fair fight.

Plus whatever price it is, add another 100 for the keyboard cover.

I still think people are mostly underestimating the price of the Surface Pro. It could end up being more underpowered in terms of specs and more pricey than most people expected.
 
I always wondered by Mossberg of all people in the tech journalism field always got special access from Apple above all else, and pretty much only him. I mean he had endless one on one interviews with Steve Jobs. Nobody else got that kind of access. And it is continuing to be the case under Tim Cook. I mean All Things D is a pretty boring site to be honest.

Maybe Jobs liked him?

I think it is because Mossberg/WSJ gave Jobs and Apple 2.0 a chance when few would/did. You've got to remember that after Apple spent its last nickel on NeXT with a completely unproven in the consumer market OS, massive amounts of debt, no CEO, and being ran by a loser interim CEO -Keep in mind that the view of Jobs at the time was that he was a one hit wonder (Apple II), Pixar had barely made a name for itself, and NeXT had no direction, market, or consumers, etc. By Mossberg agreeing to review Apple products, Apple was able to rebuild itself, and so I think Jobs always kept that in mind and treated Walt extra-special.
 
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