just another Steve Jobs post mortem victory (watch in particular the joint Bill Gates - Steve Jobs Digitimes interview, where they confronted their views about hardware -software integration)
It makes sense to make your own hardware in the tablet space, since the tablet is not an inherently modular thing like a PC, which is built around an expansion bus. There is still competition for components but Apple/MS deal with that and don't force the customer to be a systems integrator.
BTW Siri on the iPad is great fun, it feels like a whole new product and you quickly start trying to use it for lots of things just to see what works. It feels like the Knowledge Navigator concept video. MS have a long road to hoe.
Ballmer elected to not regularly used one because of public appearances? What does that have to do with anything? He can use one in his office, or at home. How do you know the thing is any good unless you use it every day? Then you can make any adjustments to things he doesn't like. What a complete moron. How does he keep his job. Monkey boy strikes again......
The keyboard in the case looks completely impractical, as has been noted in past posts. A touch pad? Really? Isn't the entire point of a tablet to use the entire screen as a touchpad? Now, if monkey boy was using one in his office every day, he might have discovered the impracticality of the cover.....
Great, a new Zune! The problem with MS is their poor timing. When you release a "new" product with features that looks like someone else has polished it, you really can't go claiming it's new can you???
Sarcasm aside, it doesn't look like bad hardware, we'll have to see what Windows 8 can do on it.
Microsoft has a long history of back stabbing their "partners". Nothing new here. The clone makers are too stupid and incompetent to realize this. Perhaps this will open their eyes.
You beat me to it. My thoughts exactly. They've reinvented the notebook as a device you can't use on your lap top.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big KC
I look at that thing and I think it looks pretty slick.
Then I think about it's practicality. To use it as a keyboarded device, it would appear that you'd need to have it on a hard, flat surface, like a desk. That ultra-thin keyboard can't possibly be rigid enough to actually use in your lap, can it? That takes away a TON of utility right off the bat. I can use my Macbook Air or an Ultrabook in my lap or anywhere I wan to use it. Same for a simple tablet like the iPad or any other. But this thing's keyboard is basically useless unless you want to/have the ability to park yourself at a desk or table of some type. And then even if you do, what do you have? A slightly thinner, slightly ligher, Ultrabook clone that will probably cost just as much, but not be as useful. So why on earth would I want this over an Ultrabook? I wouldn't. And that's not due to distaste for MS, just simple practicality.
Typical of MS (and so many others that have been coming out with panic responses to Apple products the past few years), the announcement is premature - no ship date, no pricing, no hands-on for the attendees. Yet another unfinished product, promised at some price at some future date. Which will probably turn out to be a long ways off, unless they rush it to market, which would be a BIG mistake (ask Palm/HP).
Prediction: moderate success at first, then sales tailing off sharply. Meanwhile iPad continues to kick ass and Macbook Air continues to sell like hotcakes, as if nothing ever happened. Time will tell.
MS is actually opening a retail store pin a mall in Cincinnati. I uses they are making a big bet. Apple's store in the same mall has been opened for over 5 years and is doubling its size.
Humm... Well, we'll see how they like the hardware biz in 6 months or so... They have ZERO capabilities to manage a hardware supply chain... This should be interesting to watch....
I wouldn't say ZERO, they do just fine building the Xbox. I'm sure they've learned a lot and have deals with chip makers.
When you're lying down on the couch surfing the net (which I typically do with my Ipad) and grab that MS's tablet+keyboard+kickstand, your belly would be the best support for it. MS calls this era the post PC BELLYTOP computing. Oh wait, what if you have a beer belly like Balmer?
Ballmer is fixated on the Keyboard. Apple is moving toward a voice-based future. The QWERTY keyboard was invented in the late 1800s. It's had a great run, but it's really not the best way to input into portable devices.
Speaking, of course, was introduced in October 2011
There are still plenty of uses for a keyboard other than texting. People use these devices in other places than in airplanes and on the commode. Unless the cover is the only keyboard input for the zunepad, I don't see what the problem is. This keyboard is a rare instance where someone has beaten Apple at it's own game. Hardly earth shattering (it is just a keyboard), but it's the kind of thing that would be promoted as an advantage if Apple had come up with it.
This all depends on how well it works, of course.
The kickstand is a total bust, however. If it doesn't break, it won't stay flush with the pad when not in use. Not a good idea.
Microsoft HAS to try to keep the PC and it's keyboard and mouse controls moving forward. Others have already noted, but that keyboard simply makes this tablet a laptop. If I wanted a laptop, I'd use a laptop. Tablets, or really the iPad, don't necessarily need a keyboard because how you use it is just different. That's what Apple created with the iPhone/iPod/iPad - a new way to use a computer. Microsoft is simply changing the form factor, living with the existing way of using a computer.
Thanks but no thanks. I'll keep using my MBA, which I think is one of the best computers I've ever owned.
Wonder what Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Sony, etc. are thinking right now. Is this an Android killer or does it push some of these OEM's into Android's arms? Or does Samsung fork Android and do their own thing ala Amazon?
I'm expecting Microsoft products tablets to end up being something like Google Nexus phones - more of a tech showcases than bestsellers. After all, consumers are more likely to go for brand they know well (and is more related to hardware in their minds) than for OS developer.
Re Android tablets, yah I think they will suffer most. In my mind, problem with Android tablets is lack of ecosystem. I'm expecting that Windows tablets will integrate with SkyDrive/Hotmail, Xbox Live, Barns & Noble bookstore, and in general be friendlier with both home and corporate Windows networks in terms of apps compatibility and connectivity. It is not that Androids cannot achieve most of those things, but it just doesn't feel to be on the same level.
For example, having full control over whole system, it shouldn't be a problem for MS to release (or make a part of Windows 8) simple to use software that will act as print server for their ARM tablets and phones, enabling Windows RT and Apollo to print to any home or office printer regardless of if there is actual printer driver for Windows RT... or even Windows Phone... since whole document-to-printer conversion will be made on host desktop PC (or server).
I look at that thing and I think it looks pretty slick.
Then I think about it's practicality. To use it as a keyboarded device, it would appear that you'd need to have it on a hard, flat surface, like a desk. That ultra-thin keyboard can't possibly be rigid enough to actually use in your lap, can it? That takes away a TON of utility right off the bat. I can use my Macbook Air or an Ultrabook in my lap or anywhere I wan to use it. Same for a simple tablet like the iPad or any other. But this thing's keyboard is basically useless unless you want to/have the ability to park yourself at a desk or table of some type. And then even if you do, what do you have? A slightly thinner, slightly ligher, Ultrabook clone that will probably cost just as much, but not be as useful. So why on earth would I want this over an Ultrabook? I wouldn't. And that's not due to distaste for MS, just simple practicality.
Typical of MS (and so many others that have been coming out with panic responses to Apple products the past few years), the announcement is premature - no ship date, no pricing, no hands-on for the attendees. Yet another unfinished product, promised at some price at some future date. Which will probably turn out to be a long ways off, unless they rush it to market, which would be a BIG mistake (ask Palm/HP).
Prediction: moderate success at first, then sales tailing off sharply. Meanwhile iPad continues to kick ass and Macbook Air continues to sell like hotcakes, as if nothing ever happened. Time will tell.
I believe there is 3mm thick flat keyboard cover and 5mm thick mechanical keyboard cover... second one might just be rigid enough, but the thing with tablets in general is that they are really made to be used keyboard-less on lap. These tablet will have on-screen keyboards, these "smart-covers" are detachable, optional.
Personally I am leaning toward Air/Ultrabook, but for some sorts of media consumption (books, comics, even movies) slate form factor is nicer, for me at least. Using laptop in portrait mode is cumbersome to impossible, and even in landscape, I'm finding keyboard in a way on occasion.
Microsoft has a long history of back stabbing their "partners". Nothing new here. The clone makers are too stupid and incompetent to realize this. Perhaps this will open their eyes.
Not exactly in this case. Several of the major PC makers tried to go the tablet route after the debut of the iPad, suffered utter catastrophes, withdrew completely, and essentially have been sitting on their hands ever since. They should be the last people to take offense that Microsoft is giving tablets another shot.
Comments
Windows partners, PlayedForSure™.
It makes sense to make your own hardware in the tablet space, since the tablet is not an inherently modular thing like a PC, which is built around an expansion bus. There is still competition for components but Apple/MS deal with that and don't force the customer to be a systems integrator.
BTW Siri on the iPad is great fun, it feels like a whole new product and you quickly start trying to use it for lots of things just to see what works. It feels like the Knowledge Navigator concept video. MS have a long road to hoe.
The keyboard in the case looks completely impractical, as has been noted in past posts. A touch pad? Really? Isn't the entire point of a tablet to use the entire screen as a touchpad? Now, if monkey boy was using one in his office every day, he might have discovered the impracticality of the cover.....
Great, a new Zune! The problem with MS is their poor timing. When you release a "new" product with features that looks like someone else has polished it, you really can't go claiming it's new can you???
Sarcasm aside, it doesn't look like bad hardware, we'll have to see what Windows 8 can do on it.
Microsoft has a long history of back stabbing their "partners". Nothing new here. The clone makers are too stupid and incompetent to realize this. Perhaps this will open their eyes.
You beat me to it. My thoughts exactly. They've reinvented the notebook as a device you can't use on your lap top.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big KC
I look at that thing and I think it looks pretty slick.
Then I think about it's practicality. To use it as a keyboarded device, it would appear that you'd need to have it on a hard, flat surface, like a desk. That ultra-thin keyboard can't possibly be rigid enough to actually use in your lap, can it? That takes away a TON of utility right off the bat. I can use my Macbook Air or an Ultrabook in my lap or anywhere I wan to use it. Same for a simple tablet like the iPad or any other. But this thing's keyboard is basically useless unless you want to/have the ability to park yourself at a desk or table of some type. And then even if you do, what do you have? A slightly thinner, slightly ligher, Ultrabook clone that will probably cost just as much, but not be as useful. So why on earth would I want this over an Ultrabook? I wouldn't. And that's not due to distaste for MS, just simple practicality.
Typical of MS (and so many others that have been coming out with panic responses to Apple products the past few years), the announcement is premature - no ship date, no pricing, no hands-on for the attendees. Yet another unfinished product, promised at some price at some future date. Which will probably turn out to be a long ways off, unless they rush it to market, which would be a BIG mistake (ask Palm/HP).
Prediction: moderate success at first, then sales tailing off sharply. Meanwhile iPad continues to kick ass and Macbook Air continues to sell like hotcakes, as if nothing ever happened. Time will tell.
I didn't notice. Does it have a stylus?
It will live or die based on the App developers acceptance
MS is actually opening a retail store pin a mall in Cincinnati. I uses they are making a big bet. Apple's store in the same mall has been opened for over 5 years and is doubling its size.
I wouldn't say ZERO, they do just fine building the Xbox. I'm sure they've learned a lot and have deals with chip makers.
When you're lying down on the couch surfing the net (which I typically do with my Ipad) and grab that MS's tablet+keyboard+kickstand, your belly would be the best support for it. MS calls this era the post PC BELLYTOP computing. Oh wait, what if you have a beer belly like Balmer?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Macky the Macky
Ballmer is fixated on the Keyboard. Apple is moving toward a voice-based future. The QWERTY keyboard was invented in the late 1800s. It's had a great run, but it's really not the best way to input into portable devices.
Speaking, of course, was introduced in October 2011
There are still plenty of uses for a keyboard other than texting. People use these devices in other places than in airplanes and on the commode. Unless the cover is the only keyboard input for the zunepad, I don't see what the problem is. This keyboard is a rare instance where someone has beaten Apple at it's own game. Hardly earth shattering (it is just a keyboard), but it's the kind of thing that would be promoted as an advantage if Apple had come up with it.
This all depends on how well it works, of course.
The kickstand is a total bust, however. If it doesn't break, it won't stay flush with the pad when not in use. Not a good idea.
Microsoft HAS to try to keep the PC and it's keyboard and mouse controls moving forward. Others have already noted, but that keyboard simply makes this tablet a laptop. If I wanted a laptop, I'd use a laptop. Tablets, or really the iPad, don't necessarily need a keyboard because how you use it is just different. That's what Apple created with the iPhone/iPod/iPad - a new way to use a computer. Microsoft is simply changing the form factor, living with the existing way of using a computer.
Thanks but no thanks. I'll keep using my MBA, which I think is one of the best computers I've ever owned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogifan
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/surface-microsoft-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you/20599
Wonder what Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Sony, etc. are thinking right now. Is this an Android killer or does it push some of these OEM's into Android's arms? Or does Samsung fork Android and do their own thing ala Amazon?
I'm expecting Microsoft products tablets to end up being something like Google Nexus phones - more of a tech showcases than bestsellers. After all, consumers are more likely to go for brand they know well (and is more related to hardware in their minds) than for OS developer.
Re Android tablets, yah I think they will suffer most. In my mind, problem with Android tablets is lack of ecosystem. I'm expecting that Windows tablets will integrate with SkyDrive/Hotmail, Xbox Live, Barns & Noble bookstore, and in general be friendlier with both home and corporate Windows networks in terms of apps compatibility and connectivity. It is not that Androids cannot achieve most of those things, but it just doesn't feel to be on the same level.
For example, having full control over whole system, it shouldn't be a problem for MS to release (or make a part of Windows 8) simple to use software that will act as print server for their ARM tablets and phones, enabling Windows RT and Apollo to print to any home or office printer regardless of if there is actual printer driver for Windows RT... or even Windows Phone... since whole document-to-printer conversion will be made on host desktop PC (or server).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Big KC
I look at that thing and I think it looks pretty slick.
Then I think about it's practicality. To use it as a keyboarded device, it would appear that you'd need to have it on a hard, flat surface, like a desk. That ultra-thin keyboard can't possibly be rigid enough to actually use in your lap, can it? That takes away a TON of utility right off the bat. I can use my Macbook Air or an Ultrabook in my lap or anywhere I wan to use it. Same for a simple tablet like the iPad or any other. But this thing's keyboard is basically useless unless you want to/have the ability to park yourself at a desk or table of some type. And then even if you do, what do you have? A slightly thinner, slightly ligher, Ultrabook clone that will probably cost just as much, but not be as useful. So why on earth would I want this over an Ultrabook? I wouldn't. And that's not due to distaste for MS, just simple practicality.
Typical of MS (and so many others that have been coming out with panic responses to Apple products the past few years), the announcement is premature - no ship date, no pricing, no hands-on for the attendees. Yet another unfinished product, promised at some price at some future date. Which will probably turn out to be a long ways off, unless they rush it to market, which would be a BIG mistake (ask Palm/HP).
Prediction: moderate success at first, then sales tailing off sharply. Meanwhile iPad continues to kick ass and Macbook Air continues to sell like hotcakes, as if nothing ever happened. Time will tell.
I believe there is 3mm thick flat keyboard cover and 5mm thick mechanical keyboard cover... second one might just be rigid enough, but the thing with tablets in general is that they are really made to be used keyboard-less on lap. These tablet will have on-screen keyboards, these "smart-covers" are detachable, optional.
Personally I am leaning toward Air/Ultrabook, but for some sorts of media consumption (books, comics, even movies) slate form factor is nicer, for me at least. Using laptop in portrait mode is cumbersome to impossible, and even in landscape, I'm finding keyboard in a way on occasion.
Not exactly in this case. Several of the major PC makers tried to go the tablet route after the debut of the iPad, suffered utter catastrophes, withdrew completely, and essentially have been sitting on their hands ever since. They should be the last people to take offense that Microsoft is giving tablets another shot.
Ok the computer is set up as per the top picture. A message comes through. You touch the screen to see the message. Wham the thing falls over.