Microsoft Surface Tablet announced

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border said:
The Xbox Live subsidy makes sense for the 360, because there is almost literally no point in connecting an Xbox to the internet unless you have a Gold subscription. You offer a huge discount on hardware, and you offer them an essential service at double the price. Similarly, cell companies sell you an essential service for an exorbitant monthly fee and subsidize the hardware.

The problem is that there aren't any essential services for a Surface. It isn't locked down like an Xbox, where you can hardly even use the internet without Microsoft's golden key. That's not to say that they can't offer a subsidy -- just that I don't see what there is to make the subsidy at all appealing. The appeal of a subsidy is usually that "Oh I'm going to pay for this subscription anyway, so I might as well sign a contract and get a discount!"

But if the subsidy comes with a contract for Xbox Music or SkyDrive or something, then its appeal is only as limited as the appeal of those services. I wouldn't take a $200 discount on my iPhone if I had to pay $25/month for Spotify, for example. Perhaps others would though.
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What if this was the only way the Surface was sold? Requiring a Microsoft Store subscription service of $30/mo that included Office Home Premium Subscription, Skype Premium, additional SkyDrive storage, Xbox Music and Xbox Live Gold service as well as free in-store support.

Surface is only being sold by Microsoft Stores and will likely be in very limited quantities at launch so Microsoft could choose to sell it however they want. They're not looking for or expecting iPad sales numbers.


tino said:
Then the Acer dude probably will laugh like a mad man.
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And Microsoft is really out to make Acer's CEO unhappy? This kind of deal reminds me of when a new console launches and retailers require you to buy 3 games and 2 accessories you don't want in order to buy the console. They can get away with it in the first 6 months because availability is so limited and demand greatly outstrips supply.

Why go this route?
Get to advertise "$199" pricepoint against iPad Mini, Kindle Fire 2, and Nexus 7.
Easier to control supply /maximize profit off of each unit sold
Get Surface buyers hooked on services they might otherwise ignore or not be aware of.
 
Penguins&PolarBears said:
What if this was the only way the Surface was sold? Requiring a Microsoft Store subscription service of $30/mo that included Office Home Premium Subscription, Skype Premium, additional SkyDrive storage, Xbox Music and Xbox Live Gold service as well as free in-store support.

Surface is only being sold by Microsoft Stores and will likely be in very limited quantities at launch so Microsoft could choose to sell it however they want. They're not looking for or expecting iPad sales numbers.
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Then the Acer dude probably will laugh like a mad man.
 
border said:
Do you really think that the practical difference between a tablet/ultrabook and a laptop is as huge as the difference between a laptop and a desktop? Ultrabooks are for people that will sacrifice money, storage, and processing power for the sake of portability, but most users don't mind a few extra pounds if it saves them hundreds of dollars.
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What are most users ?


I'm sure for people who never move their laptop from their desk then a desktop replacement laptop is better and cheaper. However at that point a desktop is better and cheaper than that laptop replacement or at least better.

For those who travel alot , an ultrabook vs a surface pro would be the same choice. The ultrabook would most likely be slightly faster and be better for typing . The surface would be more portable and would be better for play (sitting by the pool , on a couch , on the plane) .



The key thing about the surface is that an ultra portable costs $750. An ipad costs $500. Your looking at $1250 . The surface is going to be what $800-$1,000 . But now you have a single device that replaces two devices
 
eastmen said:
The surface is going to be what $800-$1,000 . But now you have a single device that replaces two devices
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You're still thinking that the min/max of Surface Pro is $800-$1000? Remember, your penis is on the line here.

There's already a $399 iPad and its looking like there will be a $200-$300 iPad in a month, by the way.
 
yn-neko hates a cat said:
Doesn't the Lenovo Tablet 2 come with a digitizer (though I doubt it will be as cheap as whatever the Surface RT ends up being)?

EDIT: nevermind... is x86
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Well the Acer w510 has a price range of 500-800. Lenovo's hardware is pretty similar. Going by the price difference of Acer and Lenovo's other laptops , I guesstimate the Atom Tablet 2 at $600 without the keyboard.
 
numble said:
You're still thinking that the min/max of Surface Pro is $800-$1000? Remember, your penis is on the line here.

There's already a $399 iPad and its looking like there will be a $200-$300 iPad in a month, by the way.
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The surface pro isn't an ipad , it has a much more expensive cpu and two digitilizers i also expect it will have 6-8 gigs of ram and we already know it will come with 64-128 gigs of of storage.


The $400 ipad 2 is 16 GB

The $500 ipad 3 is $500.

The $64 gig ipad 3 is $700
 
eastmen said:
The surface pro isn't an ipad , it has a much more expensive cpu and two digitilizers i also expect it will have 6-8 gigs of ram and we already know it will come with 64-128 gigs of of storage.


The $400 ipad 2 is 16 GB

The $500 ipad 3 is $500.

The $64 gig ipad 3 is $700
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How much is the 128GB, 8GB RAM, Surface Pro?
 
Raistlin said:
That wasn't my point.

Bringing up iPad when talking about Pro pricing was my point.
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What? He was talking about the iPad price in the post I responded to.

The key thing about the surface is that an ultra portable costs $750. An ipad costs $500. Your looking at $1250 . The surface is going to be what $800-$1,000 . But now you have a single device that replaces two devices
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He frames it as a cost comparison with an iPad + ultrabook. Why can't I mention that there are cheaper iPad options now, and there will be even cheaper iPad options when the Pro is released?
 
numble said:
What? He was talking about the iPad price in the post I responded to.



He frames it as a cost comparison with an iPad + ultrabook. Why can't I mention that there are cheaper iPad options now, and there will be even cheaper iPad options when the Pro is released?
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Even still its $100 cheaper and we don't know if there will be cheaper ipad options. Nor should we compare a 10 inch device with a 7 inch device.
 
HollovVpo1nt said:
I want that Picture in Picture or Side by Side stuff from the Note 10.1 in W8RT. The productivity stuff on the note is really amazing.
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Hopefully it does it better than the note. The verge review says the feature is awfully implemented and basically unusable on the note 10.1.
 
Cheebo said:
Hopefully it does it better than the note. The verge review says the feature is awfully implemented and basically unusable on the note 10.1.
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I've had hands-on time with the Note 10.1 myself and the multitasking features are obviously not as responsive as in the PR videos, but The Verge exagerated awfully in their review. It's usable and responsive.
 
HollovVpo1nt said:
I've had hands-on time with the Note 10.1 myself and the multitasking features are obviously not as responsive as in the PR videos, but The Verge exagerated awfully in their review. It's usable and responsive.
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They also said that the writing with the pen was laggy - your thoughts?
It looks like the verge got a defective unit.
 
HP Slaps Acer in the face, and talks a bit about their Windows 8 Tablet...

Solomon also backed Microsoft's need to produce the Surface tablets, saying that the move isn’t a competitive threat. "I believe Microsoft was basically making a leadership statement and showing what's possible in the tablet space," Solomon added. "Our relationship has not changed at all due to Microsoft's announcement. In fact, I applaud it -- I think it's great that they are getting out in front and [showing] what's possible."
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"We will be very focused on the commercial tablet opportunity, which is completely under penetrated. And, we have some unique intellectual property that we're going to apply," Solomon told CRN
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More here
 
numble said:
What? He was talking about the iPad price in the post I responded to.



He frames it as a cost comparison with an iPad + ultrabook. Why can't I mention that there are cheaper iPad options now, and there will be even cheaper iPad options when the Pro is released?
Click to expand...

That's what I get for reading/posting from my phone. Somehow I missed the context.
 
eastmen said:
Even still its $100 cheaper and we don't know if there will be cheaper ipad options. Nor should we compare a 10 inch device with a 7 inch device.
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But you are comparing 12" ultrabooks with the 10" Surface Pro.
An 8" iPad and 12" ultrabook may reach cost parity with the 10" Surface Pro.
 
numble said:
But you are comparing 12" ultrabooks with the 10" Surface Pro.
An 8" iPad and 12" ultrabook may reach cost parity with the 10" Surface Pro.
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And ? There is no 8 inch ipad , i can only compare to a 9.7 inch ipad. A mythical 7 inch ipad which is what the rumors point would be way to small for productivity .
 
Lenovo says $300 RT tablets could be possible.

“RT will play in consumer and retail at very aggressive price points,” said David Schmoock, head of Lenovo’s North America operations. “It will do well but it’s going to be more of a consumer price point play to begin with,” he said, in an interview today.

Windows 8 has more compatibility with other Windows software, making it more attractive to corporations, while Windows RT will “be a very good consumer box,” Schmoock said. Windows 8 tablets will cost $600 to $700, he said.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-16/lenovo-s-says-rt-tablets-up-to-300-cheaper-than-win-8.html

Putting more pressure on Microsoft and their Surface?
 
eastmen said:
And ? There is no 8 inch ipad , i can only compare to a 9.7 inch ipad. A mythical 7 inch ipad which is what the rumors point would be way to small for productivity .
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The rumors are all about a device closer to 8 inches. If you can call a 9.7" iPad 10 inches, why can't you call a 7.85" iPad 8 inches?
 
Based on what Leveno, Acer And Asus has released when it comes to their Android products....these cheap tablets will have serious built quality issues. Hell they've released $500 Android tablets that are badly built.
 
Magic Ovaries said:
Based on what Leveno, Acer And Asus has released when it comes to their Android products....these cheap tablets will have serious built quality issues. Hell they've released $500 Android tablets that are badly built.
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What's wrong with the Asus Transformers' build quality?
 
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