Microsoft sells out of Surface Pro, just like the Zune HD did in 2009 - Page 2

We sold 50% of our stock in the first 3 hours, now we only have one left.

 

Seriously though the Surface pro was dead in the water from the off. It's a completely new category of product and it's not one that people will want in any significant numbers. 

 

It is clearly a well made well designed quality piece of equipment and you have to give MS some kudos for that, however for those that want a tablet, it's far too clunky and as a laptop you'd be better off with a laptop. As for the people who want both and want them in the same unit, as I said that is a market that is not going to raise this product from the grave.

 

Might be a good investment for your museum collection of failed MS devices. It does make one wonder though if they can make a product this well then perhaps they could have made an insanely greate laptop and an insanely great tablet and become the Apple of Android devices. 

You act like no one else has told us this before. Using a troll's talking points from 2006 is not the way to do it, it just marks you as a lazy troll. It just takes coming up with something original to say than a woefully outdated and overused quip.


In one sense, I agree. However, using a full Adobe app on a 10" touch screen is more a prescription of suffering than doing anything useful.


You're right in a sense, iPad is very much not a Mac, but a 10" finger touch screen trying to run desktop apps meant for large screens and mice (or a stylus tablet) is really a prescription for frustration, you're best off waiting until the apps you want are at least ported or adapted to the interface. The mismatch between technologies and interfaces types are too great. Apple doesn't pretend that one UI fits all classes of devices. MS should have learned from their experience making Windows Phone look like the Windows Desktop, but it appears they haven't.

I really doubt you're Mac user, because MAC means something else entirely in the computer world. It's not that hard.

we know this device is DOA if MS does not then fire that person...its not the future.

 

At some point you'll want to come up with an actual argument.

 

This is the day when a person is a troll for believing it in the first place. Pretend you're "pointing things" out all you want. It's just funny.

 

7 billion people in the world; I guess it makes sense there's more than one completely clueless one.

not that i'm defending the Surface Pro but changing the headline to...

"Microsoft sells out of Surface Pro, just like the Xbox did in 2001"

totally changes the perspective. Just saying.

I'm sure that at some point we'll find out which version is closest to the mark.

If you have a point that stands on its own, it doesn't require exaggeration.

As much as I find your rants amusing, I'm more curious what they'll sell over the quarter, and if returns will factor heavily here. They may have expected soft demand. That would be somewhat more interesting.

I can't see it being super-popular, it's more like something an enthusiast would use, with it's convertible mode and attachable bits and pieces. That kind of thing is off-putting to the average punter. But time will tell.

Damn straight. Before the iPad was unveiled, I couldn't understand what the big fuss was about the rumored new Apple tablet. What I really wanted was a MacBook Air to complement my iMac. After I saw the iPad was running the same OS as an iPhone, it clicked for me, and I instantly wanted (and got) one. I haven't looked back since. If the iPad was running OSX (either full or watered down version) I would be typing this post on a MacBook Air instead.

If you have to degrade other posters in your comments, what does that say about the strength of your arguments? I have a dear friend that waited 3 hours to get one (not sure what size), and she is thrilled. I am thrilled for her. I have already made my purchase decisions, owning too many Apple products as it is. She's happy, I'm happy. Just because someone disagrees with you, doesn't mean they're wrong.......
 

I see it as a niche device not an as an all purpose computing device. Unfortunately what MS considers no compromise is just compromising everything I care about so it can lazily still use their Windows OS on a 10" tablet display. I'm sure there are people that this fits exactly their need but I doubt it's very big and I wonder if it's sustainable at that price point when there are convertible Ultrabooks that appear to be much better all around.

In other news: everyone at a local Best Buy inhaled at the same time; store out of oxygen for approximately 5 seconds.

So if you're holding your breath while waiting for the Surface "[variant of the week]" to become anything more than another tombstone at Redmond Memorial
Gardens... Well, good luck! That (lack of) battery life renders it DOA. I'd rather buy a real laptop, Mac OR (heaven help me) Windoze.

For a tablet the battery life sucks but if you compare it to the 11" MBA it does well. It's a schizophrenic device at best but when you look at the battery as a component I think you also need to look at the other components which puts it squarely up against the 11" MBA.

 

They probably thought it was the Surface RT, now thicker, heavier, and with a shorter battery life. I mean, at first glance.

 

...which is probably all they'll get.

Are you so insecure that you need to keep repeating the same BS?

The Surface Pro is a different class of device.  The Surface RT was also a different type of device.

Didn’t Apple have an Ad campaign called “Think Different”?

 

I have a iPad gen 1, a iPad gen 3, a Samsung Series 7 Slate, Nooks, Kindles, and a Surface RT.

Ever since getting my Surface RT, I have used my iPad less and less each week.  The letterbox aspect ratio, Flash Player and kickstand make it the best device to watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Watch, and etc…  Having a memory expansion slot to put a 64GB memory card into, a USB port to add a better keyboard\mouse into, and a HDMI port make it a great travel device… And it has Office built in!

Can my iPad do that? No.

 

 

Now the Surface Pro is another “different” device.

Microsoft uses the Surface Pro’s hard drive to store it “recovery disk”.  If you remove the “recovery disk”, the Surface Pro has more free disk space than a MacBook Air 11” 64GB or 128GB model.  The Surface Pro has a better screen than the MacBook Air 11”.  The Surface Pro has the battery life that is similar to a MacBook Air 11”.  It has a display port adapter, a USB 3 port, a MicroSD slot, and a mysterious adapter that could allow an external battery or more…

But the Surface Pro also has a digitized Pen with several levels of pressure sensitivity.  So Creative people can load their favorite Wacom driven tool on the Surface Pro and have tons of creative fun…

Come on people think different.. 

The only way the Surface has more free space than a comparably sized MBA is if you remove partitions from the Surface but do nothing with the MBA which comes with many GBs of included apps that are not part of the OS. Surface Pro doesn't even come with MS Office. Bottom line is OS X is much, much smaller than Windows 8.



PS: Watch this video to see what Steve Jobs has to say about being different. I'd recommend in the future you don't use ad campaigns as models for governing your life. Instead of think different you may want to start with think for yourself.]

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnO7D5UaDig&t=12m17s (may have to enable CC to see hear what the guy asks)

Edited by SolipsismX - 2/9/13 at 11:02pm

 

I have a real Intuos 5 Touch for that, along with a Mac Pro that can handle the large RAW DSLR files from my camera. I edit on a 30" monitor. In the field, a 13" MBA, but only in Lightroom 4. My iPad 4 has several drawing programs that are pressure sensitive using my Pogo Sketch pen. I think I have creative fun covered...

Windows 8 is smaller... And has more... Do your homework... Surface Pro has Hyper-V....  and all of the other Win8 Pro features...  Yes.. a Surface Pro does not come with Office... But a MBA 11" does not come with Office...  During the last 5+ years Windows has been modernized and optimized more than OS X.  Win8 is smaller than Win7 which is smaller than Vista.  Is Mt Lion smaller than Lion? Or Snow Leopard?  Yes the Surface Pro has a recovery partition to allow a user to easily reset their device... Does the MBA 11" come with a recovery USB drive or does it require a phone home download?  My friend's $$$ MBP 15" did not come with a recovery partition or a recovery USB...  Think Different....

1) Again, OS X is smaller than Windows 8 Pro. This is not debatable.

2) Parrotting the marketing term Think Different is anything but thinking different. You might want to start with just the word Think before you pos again.

I always wondered about the anti comments aimed at the iPad, it's a toy it can't run Office, etc.
I didn't know the definition of a power user was a nerdy accountant type that loves playing with his rows and columns in Excel. Yippee now I know.

Uh oh. You catalogued your iThings in your criticism to appear balanced. Clearly a troll.

Window surface, it's the best tablet I have used while not being a laptop, also the best laptop I have used but its not a tablet.
This abomination will soon sink. It doesn't know what it is, it has a keyboard (have to pay extra although advertised sneakily as its major advantage), a track pad (most probably awful), a mouse, a stylus, and you can even use your fingers, although the Office apps are not very touch-friendly. Why not include a punch-card reader.
In laptop mode it can't be used on your lap, so it's not really a laptop is it?
You have to put it on a flat surface and then position yourself at the required distance as the kick stand sits at only one angle. It can only be used in landscape mode when using the keyboard.
Does it switch effortlessly between landscape to portrait and back again, I heard it doesn't.
It has a fan to help cool it down, but you may still get burnt if you somehow managed to get it on our Lap.
It's thick, ugly and weighs a ton. This is fail on so many levels.
But it does run Office, so please ignore everything I just wrote. It's truly a fantastic machine.

 

Ignoring for a minute that your gushing praise reads like advertising, you do realize that "Think Different" is an expression of Apple's corporate philosophy, right? Microsoft's philosophy is "Who do you want to destroycopy today?" hmm... 

 

It's laughable that you think Microsoft deserves to wear the "Think Different" mantle. For what? Surface Pro? Ha! Thanks for the lulz. You think this is different? Surface Pro is the same old song and dance from Microsoft, going back to the 1990s. It's Tablet PC version what--4.0? 5.0? Tablet PC, now with more Metros? Do you think a garish Start screen full of animated clip art will hide the ancient Windows desktop UI that Microsoft feels is appropriate for a tablet experience?

 

It's pretending that Office matters to all of the people who bought an iPad anyway, because why else would anyone buy a tablet?

 

^^^^ This. Doesn't even know what he's talking about...

I guess if they are all sold out, I'll have to pop next door and buy me an iPad..;-)

Simplest explanation is usually the best and the simplest explanation is MS fans are running to buy and try one, but come tomorrow it will be a day as usual.

It makes it so great... for what? You cannot run Photoshop on it. You cannot run Illustrator on it. You cannot run Aperture on it. Aren't these popular tools for creative talented professional people?

It is great for what you can do on it, but everything certainly you cannot.

Out of curiosity. What is your definition of power user, in terms of common software tools.

I would expect that you can also plug SP to, say, 24" or larger desktop screen and use built in screen as digitiser only... and still be able to take it with you away and use it without external screen, with a bit of claustrophobia, but nevertheless.

There are some new usage scenarios that such device opens, and I agree that is it actually new class. Some people will laugh. Some always do. Heck, I grinned when iPad was released. Oversized iPod Touch? Same functionality, bigger screen? For what? And look at it now. So I took my humility pills and got one for my mom two years ago. She'll get new one this year.

My problem with SP is lack of proper dock connection. You know the scenario: bring SP to work, put it on dock, and you suddenly have keyboard, mouse, network connectivity, large screen and charging. Take it off and you are free. That USB3 port might be able to help with decent USB dock - you can get display-over-USB, lan-over-USB, and kbd/mouse are USB... but I'm yet to see such decent USB dock. Those I had experience with were all fiddly and a bit buggy - could not wake up screen from sleep, things like that.

However, this is first generation Surface Pro and I think that start is encouraging. I wouldn't expect iPhone lines, but some lines appear to have happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqbUKMUB2pY

Two separate things that occasionally cross my mind:

Next generation of Intel CPUs is expected to improve power consumption dramatically - Intel themselves have hinted so many times. Updated SP (SP2? The new SP?) will have this tech, and dock could appear as an option as well. Most business-grade Windows PCs do have dock option, it is not like MS is not aware of that. In short, major hardware shortcomings of SP can be sorted within 2013.

But I'm still not convinced MS really wants to be major player in hardware field. Yet. I said, back in SRT release days, that my opinion was: MS is setting a template for OEMs to follow, both in RT and Pro tablet market. A quality you get for the price. If your junk is made of cheap plastic, it will have to be cheaper than THIS. If your product is well made, you still will not be able to overprice THIS, unless you put in some creativity and add some extra features. It also gives MS tool to control that segment. Look, Surface Pro went down $150. What will OEMs do with their products? Adjust their price, of course.

I still think that is, in this moment of time, main MS goal. After all, this is first REAL computer hardware from MS (keyboards and mice are peripherals). Sure, if it turns to be runaway success, appetites might grow. But for now, I see it as guideline for all Acers, Asuses, Lenovos and Dells of the world. A message. This is what we expect from you to offer. If you cannot or do not, don't bother.

Thus I am not convinced that right now, number of released/sold SPs really is the most important. This is only one device from emerging number of x86 tablets. I think that already every major player has one at least. Sony with that weird slider. HP with Envy X2 (or whatever they call it). Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2. I am pretty sure Acer, Asus and Samsung have some as well. Don't know about Dell. But then, I didn't really look for them - above mentioned caught my attention. There likely are more that didn't. But my point is - this is make-it-or-break it for x86 tablets and fully blown OS in tablet form. SP is only one piece on the board.

And here's the downside of being a cheerleader like DED. When your team is doing well, that success rubs off on you. You can bask in the glory of backing the right team.

The problem is that you don't actually have any effect on the game. When your team starts losing, your desperate attempts at cheer-leading just come across as pathetic.

Heavens knows how DED is going to cope when it's more than just Apple's stock price that's doing badly.

The moment Paul Thurrott opens his mouth is the moment I stop believing any such statements...

Any body that does not use Office. That is my definition. Is that good enough for ya?

Lets not forget the Surface RT sold out too.  Of course Microsoft never provided sales figures.  And lets see, when Apple has a hard time meeting demand we're told it's because they purposely constrained supply, to artificially create demand.  Let me guess, the pro MS tech sites won't be doing that.  They'll write stories about how Apple and iPad are doomed. 

Reading some of the comments on Engadget, people who called Best Buy and Staples stores were told they had at most 3 128GB in stock.  Some places had less than that.  Not hard to sell out in that case.

I'm waiting for the Surface Pro+ Triple-Platinum "Badlands" edition. That one's gonna ROCK!!

Ballmer's RDF doesn't work so well, no?

Well, MS didn't want to set up a bad situation, so they shipped their only pickup truck load of Surfaces to the Redmond campus and ...

Well he did write this about the iPad mini and iPod touch:

 

http://winsupersite.com/mobile-devices/compete-report-apple-ipod-touch-ipad-mini

"While some Apple products lend themselves to easy criticism, the new iPod touch and iPad mini are pretty incredible. Yes, the same pricing complaints arise, and of course both are based on the out of date iOS system, which, if I’m reading the tea leaves right, is about to change in hopefully remarkable ways. But the quality of these devices leaves me speechless. Both are beautiful, thin, light, and remarkably well-made. Both are market leaders. And yes, both are highly recommended. If Microsoft, Amazon, or Google intends to take on Apple in the markets in which these products compete, they’re going to need to step it up."

MS is simply rehashing a tired old unsuccessful formula with the SP. Sure, it's smaller and lighter than their previous attempts at convertible laptops, but that's about it. They still think you can just use a touch screen device running software that was not designed for touch input. Oh, wait you say? It's not a laptop it's a tablet? Then why is the only real selling point the "fact" that you can run legacy desktop applications on it? Which of course demand the use of legacy input methods, such as a mouse? Pretty handy to have to carry around your keyboard, mouse, external storage device and of course your charger given the measly run time, which will go down when driving a mouse, keyboard and external drive.

Wait again, you say. It's got a Wacom digitizer, so it will be perfect for photo and design professionals, because working on a 10" ultra high definition screen is such an ideal workspace. Sure. I can't wait to read how design and photo professionals start dumping their workstations as they convert exclusively to SP devices.