Microsoft Surface tablet with Windows RT to start at $499 - Page 2

Nobody. They didn't change the color scheme of windows XP or Vista, why should they follow what Apple does when a lot of people are going to buy this anyway. Only a fraction of people buy Mac don't forget.

It will interesting to try, but it better do something so mind blowingly better than the iPad otherwise no reason not to stick with the Ipad because of its refinement and its developer support and build.

Emphasizing the keyboard thing so much bugs me because they only show it laid out on a table. Like great I have to go sit at a table to use the keyboard. That sort of defeats the purpose of what the ipad is about. The effect of this emphasis is advertising a more clumsy fragile version of a laptop with a cramped screen.

I don't really see it as great I can use a keyboard with it if I want to. Because it doesn't look like you can whip out the keyboard if you're on the couch unless the keyboard cover is much more rigid than what I perceive. And it looks like it will be a worse experience as laptop than ..... my cheap laptop.

The pricing seems attractive. They set it up at $500 so they can say 32gb is better than 16gb iPad 3. Of course the screen screams iPad 2 which is $400 for 16gb.

But the cover thing? The ipad seems to have some good keyboard covers if you need them especially if you are spending $100. And not sure about the little trackpad they built into it. That looks painful. I assume you can touch the screen still.

MS will probably be better at supporting the keyboard. And supporting input functionality outside of multi-touch.

btw, the rumors of 24 new ipad models coming in 2 weeks sound like this is where Cook is going to make his mark with Apple especially if they include a tweaked Ipad 3 and a low priced mini-Ipad. He'll be a little more competitive on price and having more regularly updated models than Jobs was although this is perhaps a byproduct on Apple's position in the tablet space. One as a leader and one where they way more iPads than Macs, but that is under assault by competition from all over because everyone thinks this space is going to grow gangbusters over the next 5-10 years.

MS will do some things better with RT Surface. IT will lack refinement though.

And I don't think Win8 Surface does well at all. I don't see the need for it. It seems like the worst of both worlds. Clumsy laptop. Big chunky tablet. AS much money as an Ipad and decent Windows laptop combined.

But oh you can have one device.

IN my experience I use my laptop and iPad for different things. And to make one better do what the other does better means making it worse at what it did do better in the first place.

Ultimately I think Apple recognizes there is a trade-off to be made. And that's why they aren't trying to merge the 2 devices and make an Intel-based tablet.
Edited by trip1ex - 10/16/12 at 9:50am

Lol and Apple just send the invitations.

 

this is being badass..BADass.. really.

 

awesome move.

 

File folder and USB ports = innovation?

 

So more "innovation" is to add eSata, 1394, SD card readers, Ethernet, HDMI, VGA, and parallel printer ports. Then we'll take it one step further: since everyone uses the keyboard and trackpad all the time, we'll just leave it attached to the display on a hinge! And since everyone is complaining about the fixed 22 degree angle of the kickstand, let's make the display panel adjustable to any angle with the hinge mechanism. This means you can use it on your lap, so we'll call it... a "laptop tablet with permanently attached keyboard and legacy ports" sounds better. Nah, too long...let's shorten it to "laptop". The logical conclusion of "innovation."

 

The metro interface has received some pretty positive reviews even from Apple fans in the media. Microsoft and its partners surely haven't shipped anywhere near as many phones as they would have liked, but I don't think that has anything to do with the interface. It has more to do with them getting into the market so late and losing so much ground on their biggest competitors.

 

I applaud Microsoft for at least trying to do something different with their UI, unlike Android.

 

Anyway I've just pre-ordered a Surface tablet. I'm willing to give this a chance. Since I held off upgrading the iPad 3 this year, this gives me the opportunity to try something different. 

 

 

The Real issue with the keyboard is at what point do people hate it once they realize their finger tips get snore from banging into the hard surface. Besides the tactile feedback the regular keyboard provided the keys allow your fingers to de-accelerate so you do not bottom out and hit hard. This had been the trade off for years on how small of a keystrock you can make and still make it usable.

 

This thin keyboard is not new, there have been membrane keyboards for a long time and they have not been successful, why because you can not type on them long. They are okay for short durations but if you type on these thin keyboard for a long time your finger hurt and your hand gets fatigue. Look at this way, if this was the way to go, Laptop would have done it a long time ago to make the thinner, bit they too still use a traditional keyboard, because it works well. 

I know the Internet is going to be alive with comparisons between the Surface and the iPad and no one really wants to hear it but .....

 

... technically, nothing Microsoft is offering is truly a 'tablet" or a "post PC" device. These are all, without exception, convertible or hybrid laptops.  

 

Even the RT ones with the keyboard cover contain essential system software and apps that in some cases, cannot be manipulated unless you attach a mouse.  They also only operate in landscape mode.  

 

These are hybrid laptops, not tablets.  Microsoft's answer to the "post PC device" is to create a portable PC that imitates certain 'Post PC' features.  

This is a perfectly valid strategy, but it ain't no tablet.  

Yeah at least they are doing their own thing to some degree.  I just don't see a reason right now to own one.  Not with the support behind the Ipad and the refinement Apple has put into the thing.  

 

Surface will do a few things better though I'm sure.  MOstly because Apple doesn't have said feature.  But I mostly use mine casually for surfing and email checking.  The keyboard cover looks nice,  but they always show it sitting on a table.  It doesn't look like it will work on your lap.  I very rarely use the Ipad while seated at a table.

 

Anyway which Surface did you order? RT or Win8?

 

Roughly one out of four consumer purchases of a computer in the United States last year was a Mac.  World-wide (including business purchases), it's more like 10% Macs overall.  

 

Macs no longer occupy a "tiny fraction" of the computer landscape.  

If you include iDevices, the numbers are actually getting into the "huge" category really.  

 

RT. That's all you can buy atm. Pro version (Win 8) arrives in three months.

Let the Microsoft business partners alienation begin!

Here's what I predict:

 

Surface will release much to the delight of Microsoft fanatics everywhere. Everyone one of them will buy one touting it as the second coming...everyone else will be confused as to what it can and can't do and what it will run and won't run. This will probably turn into another Windows Vista style "Confusegate" where the general public didn't know the difference between "Vista Ready" and "Vista Capable". Obviously that wasn't the entire issue with Vista...but I'm sure that had a hand in its demise. Also, Surface ads will likely try to ape Apple ads or be completely campy and horrible to watch. Surface Launch Party anyone?! 

 

I would love to see this thing actually compete against the iPad, but I'm afraid Microsoft just doesn't have it in them to actually do anything successful anymore. I want to think that 16GB more over the iPad is going to be enough to trump it, but I have a feeling the UX and SW are going to down this thing. It will surprise me if this thing actually takes off. It just seems like MS wants to be like Apple so badly while poking fun at Apple like Apple is the old MS and MS is the old Apple and is the underdog now. They're the underdog now cause they can't do anything good/right anymore and anything they do correctly, just doesn't seem to help much.

 

I know it's a meme and all that with the "Apple is doom" crap, but really, if MS doesn't succeed with the Surface...it'll be 70-0 in the 4th quarter with MS's 4th Down at the MS 1yrd line with 1 second left on the clock. At that point, Balmer might as well just take a knee and step down. It will be clear that MS is doom at that point.

 

I'll wait until the firesale in January.

I think you have it backwards. You can buy a 16 GB iPad 3 for the same price as the 32 GB Surface. Granted, less capacity, but in exchange, the iPad gives you:

- massive ecosystem of apps
- Vastly superior customer satisfaction to anything Microsoft has ever done.
- Superior screen resolution
- If history is any guide and/or the Surface is comparable to other tablets, the iPad will also have huge advantages in quality of construction and performance.

Most of the advantages you list are either not real (for example, Microsoft has stated that they won't have full Office on the RT models) or are largely useless (Flash - if it even exists on Surface, which I doubt).

Or, you could spend $599 instead of $499 and even Surface's capacity advantage is lost.

Ho hmmm. Day late and dollar short.

I maybe wrong but Windows Phone 8 is incompatible with Windows RT which is incompatible with Windows 8! That's a mess and is going to be another barrier to Microsoft succeeding big time in the mobile space like Apple and Google have. But I wouldn't put it passed them pulling it off, its a good overall product/s with great potential.

I do really like Microsoft's Metro interface, its unlike anything else out there and I wish Apple had thought up something similar back when the original iPhone was released just 5 years ago! Amazing, the iPhone's only been around for just over 5 years! Feels like its been around forever. iPad/iOS/Metro interface, that would be a great product.

 

There is also the hundred bucks extra for the Surface keyboard, making even the 32GB RT one actually $600.  

They may have slightly undercut the iPad on price but paying a monthly fee for antivirus negates that. The bollywood style ad is pathetic too

Either you and many people don't understand or are still in denial... this isn't about Surface. Surface is just one small part of the bigger picture. This is about Windows (that is the bigger picture: all the devices, all the form factors). Good luck to iOS in the next 2 years in trying to surpass the 90%+ marketshare of Windows.

hahahaha...good one, buddy.

 

If people are cross-shopping this with the iPad, then you're comparing it to typing on the screen or buying a BT keyboard to carry along separately. Both you can (likely?) do with the Surface as well. This cover does add a new possibility that's not available from Apple. Haven't seen one from a 3rd party cover maker either

 

That's all the evidence we need to know it's not nearly ready for release.

OK so on Microsoft's surface site they offer the 32 and 64 GB models with black touch cover. Then they also offer the touch cover as a stand alone purchase in different colors at $120 and the type cover at $130. So does that mean if you want a touch cover in a color other than black it will cost you $20 more for the 32GB model and $120 more for the 64GB model (since they don't offer a 64GB model without the touch cover). That sucks.

Now you see it...

 

The making of Microsoft Surface

The basic philosophy of the post-PC revolution is to get the "PC" and all that technology out of the way, so there's little as possible between the user and the content, or between the user and the user experience.

 

I used to remember in the early 90s trying to map ports on a firewall so I could get webcam sessions to work between PCs running Microsoft NetMeeting, and I could never call my dad, but he could call me, so we'd get on the phone first to arrange a video chat session. And now there's FaceTime and it just works.

 

Microsoft doesn't get it. They think it's all about appearances. About marketing. Surface is aptly named, because that's how Microsoft sees all this iPad-driven tablet frenzy. They see the tablet as a PC (Ballmer said this in public), so the Surface tablet is nothing but a PC laptop reskinned to look like a tablet. And it's only skin deep. Windows 8 is a reskinned desktop OS: you'll spend most of your time on the desktop using Office or Visual Studio, but they never show the desktop UI in their advertising, just the Metro-y Start page. A PC wearing post-PC clothing.

 

Which is fine for the niche of "gadget geeks" who can tell the difference between eSata and HDMI on visual inspection alone, but Microsoft desperately wants Surface to win over the iPad loving masses, and that won't happen. Not with Surface, not with Windows 8/RT. Microsoft has to be willing to throw out the PC. And they can't do it.

Even bollywood style is better. This is worse than gangnam style.

I predict that the real Surface killer is going to be when Apple updates the iPad next week to have an A6 processor, which will give it lower heat and huge battery life.  If the iPad is a new product, it will sell like crazy this holiday season.  Does anyone else think this is the obvious (but not so obvious) move for Apple to make?  And they will be doing it at the end of October, which means no competitors will have time to respond before the holiday shopping season. MS Surface is going to be road kill.  

 

Here's how I see the mobile wars:  The tablet war is between Amazon and Apple (somewhat Android) and the phone war is between Android and Apple.  The ultrabook war is between Apple and HP.  

 

I don't know how the phone war comes out, but the outcome of the tablet war is obvious.  It is going to play out just like the board game "Risk."  The person that wins Risk is the one that gets a good position early on and then avoids the initial major battles.  If your competitors engage early on, their weakness will be exposed in second or third round of reinforcements.  Android, MS, and Amazon are all engaging in squabbles and price wars at the bottom end of the market while Apple is building a technology platform, a huge customer base, distribution channels, brand recognition, etc.  Keeping with the "Risk" analogy, Amazon, Google, and MS are fighting over Europe and Asia and Apple just locked up North America, South America, and Australia with very few casualties.  Just watch as those efforts give a huge return on investment this holiday season.  This will be the round of fighting where everyone realizes that Apple has built a fortress of sales and nobody has the fire power to stop them.

 

If Apple doesn't update the iPad with a new processor, they're fools.  A new iPad and a new iPad could be a decisive blow in this war.

LOL

“Surface is not a tablet, but it’s the best tablet I’ve ever used. It’s not a laptop, but it’s the best laptop I’ve ever used,” said Sinofsky

To answer your question, when you buy a Metro app on one Windows 8 / RT device it will work across all Win8 / RT devices.  The only exception being Windows Phone 8.  With Apple it's different.  They have universal apps for iPhone / iPad but you pay again for the Mac version.

 

Windows RT does NOT support Flash.  Who really cares about Office apps on a ARM based tablet....2% of the tablet buying market?  File browser...really?  Best of luck with your Cyan Blue tablet Ricky!

Yes you do.

Who cares about the price or if the keyboard is included?

 

The fact the RT tablets don't run x85 code is the biggest problem. Just wait until people buy a tablet that has "Windows" in the name and realize their existing Windows software WILL NOT RUN. Or that Office isn't quite the same as the full version on your PC. Or that there are hardly any programs available because of the major amount of work involved to re-write an existing x86 program to work on ARM.

 

That is the biggest reason these tablets are going to be a flop (or a very slow starter). No software.

 

That's not completely true. MS has it set up so if you write a program it's easy to target both PC and ARM versions. However, you can't easily take an EXISTING x86 program and move it over to Windows on ARM (RT). New Apps will be available on both, but don't expect developers of existing Apps to hand you a free version of an RT version just because you happen to own a PC version right now. More than likely they'll charge to to upgrade from the PC only version to the new "universal" version.

   So you WANT to use a cable to get video out???   

 

Sounds more like you want a laptop..   It comes with all those useless ports, and has a keyboard permanently attached..

Microsoft is probably one of the last companies that has not put up a serious challenge to the since the iPad came to the market, even thought they were in the Tablet software business with their partners making the hardware. Probably the best suited to put up a fight against Apple, will be interesting to see especially after the Apple announcement of the Oct 23 event.

"The keyboard cover accessory will be available with the Surface tablet for $599, while a top-of-the-line 64-gigabyte model with touch cover will run $699.

So to reproduce these cool clicking noises seen in the M$ ad, people have to spent at least 699$.

Well done M$!"

You've contradicted yourself in a 3-sentence comment.

Well done, moron!

"Leaked prices for Microsoft Surface reveal the tablet will not undercut Apple's iPad, as the entry-level 32-gigabyte model will cost $499."

Two inaccuracies in one sentence. Well done AI!

1)MATH FTW! $499 for 32GB model < $599 for 32GB iPad
2)It wasn't "leaked", it was officially disclosed and put on pre-order.