Review roundup: Microsoft Surface hardware shines, but software is a letdown

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  • Reply 21 of 122
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Apple II wrote: »
    Oh, I'm pretty sure he or she is talking about the current 3-4 week time quoted by Apple to get an iPhone.

    With waldobushman ignoring that it was four months from Surface announcement to shipping.
  • Reply 22 of 122
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    "Apple wrote:
    [" url="/t/153726/review-roundup-microsoft-surface-hardware-shines-but-software-is-a-letdown#post_2218831"]Oh, I'm pretty sure he or she is talking about the current 3-4 week time quoted by Apple to get an iPhone.

    So MS will corner the market because Apple is selling out faster than Apple can make them? How is that suppose to make sense? I doubt MS has a production line that can produce 1/10th the speed Apple can, but more power to them if the can, and if they can sell out month after month.
  • Reply 23 of 122


  • Reply 24 of 122
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post





    With waldobushman ignoring that it was four months from Surface announcement to shipping.


    Yes, and I also read that it'll only be available in limited markets, so how they would have "free reign" is a mystery to me.


     


    MS is not going to sell a lot of these Surface Tablets, IMO.

  • Reply 24 of 122

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


     


    The really sad part is KIN ONE. It's so f'n obscure and forgotten, it's not even trotted out as a metaphor for FAIL any more.



    How kin one forget! /whacks side of head


    image

  • Reply 26 of 122


    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post

    Microsoft is trying to make the case that's ALL WINDOWS. It's part of their strategy to confuse consumers.




    It's going splendidly.


     


    Windows 8 Professional has four different designs for its retail boxes, for example.

  • Reply 27 of 122
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    So MS will corner the market because Apple is selling out faster than Apple can make them? How is that suppose to make sense? I doubt MS has a production line that can produce 1/10th the speed Apple can, but more power to them if the can, and if they can sell out.


    Yep, it makes no sense at all. 

  • Reply 28 of 122
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Sounds about right. Inside it's basically a slow iPad. Outside, it's ugly, and the software only serves to accentuate that.




    It's a real shame they can't get it together to make something better than Android. I'd really like to see its marketshare split between Apple and Windows Phone #. 



     


    Or, it's a shit laptop.

  • Reply 29 of 122
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    bobborries wrote: »
    <p style="font-size:10px;line-height:normal;font-family:'Lucida Grande';">SurfaceWait.gif</p>
    Good god that's fugly. :no:
  • Reply 30 of 122


    Windows RT is an epic fail on multiple levels. It also certainly leads to customer confusion. There's no ecosystem for it at all. The only one that will be mildly interesting is Surface Pro (January?) since that is at least x86 Windows 8 that will run everything and has a decent 1080 screen. 

  • Reply 31 of 122
    allenbfallenbf Posts: 993member


    What part of the hardware shines, exactly?  It's fugly to me, and bloated with windows. Pass.


     


    At least I know my 32 GB iPad has iOS that takes up what, 1 GB?  How much does windows take up on the Surface thing?

  • Reply 32 of 122
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    So MS will corner the market because Apple is selling out faster than Apple can make them? How is that suppose to make sense? I doubt MS has a production line that can produce 1/10th the speed Apple can, but more power to them if the can, and if they can sell out month after month.
    The way I see MS pitching this is that it's more capable than the iPad. And then Google and Amazon will come in on the other end and say our tablets are cheaper than iPad. I do find it interesting how Apple always gets knocked by the trolls for being designed focused yet with Surface so far MS has mostly focused on the design of the product. So now design is OK?
  • Reply 33 of 122

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Oh, I'm pretty sure he or she is talking about the current 3-4 week time quoted by Apple to get an iPhone.



     


    Might be talking about the late November delivery for LTE iPad 4's and some delay into November for WiFi's...not a big deal on the WiFi's, unfortunate with the LTE's.

  • Reply 34 of 122
    bugsnwbugsnw Posts: 717member


    Confusing to consumers.


     


    Which one should I buy...damn......see, I already forgot the names of the two models. I think one is an ARM product and the other can run Windows software, albeit underneath the touted Metro interface.


    __________


     


    Let's imagine a scenario where Apple was late to the party and Microsoft had sold 100 million iPads and had just released their 4th iteration of said iPad....


     


    Then Apple came late to the party with this bifurcated tablet idea with dual interfaces.


     


    Image the scorn. Too confusing. Too late. Crappy battery life. Form over substance. Where are the Apps. Too heavy. Hardware specs suck. Crappy camera.


     


    Instead, Microsoft went in with all of us deriding them the whole time. They had the benefit of their mediocre history. So yes, we are impressed, somewhat, by the build quality of their first effort. But consider the huge flaws. Isn't the screen one of the most important details of any tablet? It's 99% of the frontal area for a reason. It's what we see. It's what we interact with. Microsoft skimped on the most important detail of their product. Lousy resolution that everyone agrees looks crappy while surfing the web (compare to a retina display). For the #1 thing people are going to do with the thing, it looks crude when compared to the competition, let alone the iPad.


     


    I havne't typed on either keyboard but since Microsoft has a nearly identical store next to Apple's store in a nearby mall, I'll definitely be checking it out. It looks cool and the idea is cool. But I recently typed on the logitech keyboard for the iPad and was shocked at how tiny it was. It was different enough from a full size keyboard to screw me up and I'm a great typist (129 wpm, not to brag...)


     


    Their best idea might be that kickstand. Though it should be adjustable and work in either orientation. Maybe Apple can innovate in this area.....

  • Reply 35 of 122
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Oh c'mon. You know there are some 1337 ROOT HAX0RZZZ out there who will try to get Android or some other Linux flavor to run on one so they get can geek cred on /. for being the first to do it. And it will of course such a Linux port will have no practical commercial application because Microsoft will never sell Surfaces with Linux supported.

    Regardless, there are so many high quality laptops out there, and some really nice x86 ultrabooks. Why dick around with a Surface RT? I think the answer is that geeks have acute gadgetitis.

    Lol for those that don't know leet speak, "1337 ROOT HAX0RZZZ" is elite root hacker, and you're probably right, someone will probably get Android working on it.
  • Reply 36 of 122
    Meh. It's a compromised laptop and a compromised tablet.

    According to what I read in this article, it doesn't really make a great laptop, since the click on keyboard needs a flat surface.

    Oh now it just comes to me why this device is called surface!

    It needs a proper surface to work as intended. ;-)
  • Reply 37 of 122
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    j1h15233 wrote: »
    Ports an iPad owner could only dream of? Personally, I've never felt the need to plug anything into my iPad besides the charger or a set of headphones. I have a computer for real work.

    Then it wasn't you David was referring to. Surely there are plenty of people who would like to have those options.
  • Reply 38 of 122


    The contrarian view


     


    Both the iPod and the iPhone were considered underwhelming at first.  The iPad as a concept was considered a non-competitor, until the market searing price was announced.


     


    I see surface as the iPhone.  It will take a version 2 and a waft of apps to make it work, but it's on the same flight path.  MS will pitch ever evolving integration with Windows... YOUR windows... YOUR CORPORATION's windows.   AD, Outlook, Excel, Word.   Your investment is safe.   


     


    Note that Microsoft can succeed, and drive the WinTel and WinARM model closer to their suite spot, if not drive out all but Lenovo, Acer and Asus.   Dell and HP will feel the crunch from iOS on one side and Surface on the other.   Microsoft can develop it's channels and eventually move to a Win8 Desktop ala a Mac Mini.


     


    With this model, Microsoft can evolve Win8 into the Cloud, and still be able to get $200/seat in profits.  


     


    Microsoft doesn't have to be as good as Apple... Just better than Android systems, and good enough for Dell and HP to decide if they are in (improve quality) or out (cede to MS tablet vertical).  Either way,  Microsoft controls its success or failure.

  • Reply 39 of 122
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,198member


    Nobody here has likely seen, let alone touched, a Surface, but reviewers uniformly heaped high praise on the hardware, and the major software issues all appear resolvable. Looks like it just needs a few key apps, like the ones mentioned by reviewers, and Surface will be a great device for business customers. Go ahead and slam it for now. MS has resources.

  • Reply 40 of 122
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Sasparilla View Post


     


    Might be talking about the late November delivery for LTE iPad 4's and some delay into November for WiFi's...not a big deal on the WiFi's, unfortunate with the LTE's.



    Perhaps, but I don't really see that as any big issue. In one week, it'll already be November.


     


    Other companies announce what is basically vaporware products months and months in advance, sometimes even much longer than that.


     


    Apple's products are so popular now, that they have to make sure that they have a lot of stock to meet the initial demand, which means millions of units.

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