I don't think that's such a big deal. Besides not taking a gamble on both types right now and keeping the cost low and attractive (cellular tech doesn't cost 38¢ in HW like some think) I'm sure that most Android users will already have tethering as an option from their phones, which they will likely still have on their person even if they are using an tablet.
This thing isn't a threat to Apple or Microsoft. For a start its a 7" device. People wanting a 7" device sent going to by an iPad or surface and people wanting a 10" device arn't going to by this.
Second, just look at the thing. It looks like a £150 tablet, you certainly wouldn't want to pay more than that.
Apple will undoubtedly not be effected by either this or the surface. Microsoft on the other hand have a great chance of capturing all the people who are on the road a lot and want smaller and lighter laptops.
A gimmick notebook with Windows 8 that can't run Windows 8 phone apps plus no price or ship date. The biggest threat to the Surface isn't Android or iOS - it's Ballmer.
Why on earth would you want to run wp7 apps on a tablet. Apple only made iPhone apps on the iPad to make it seem like there were loads of apps for it. In reality though iPhone apps are awful on an iPad. You don't hold a tablet and a phone in the same way so they need completely different ui's
If I had to choose between the two....I would choose the Google 7" tablet over the MS "conglomeration" tablet. The MS product just looks too large, too clunky and too clumsy to use.
But I prefer my iPad, iP4s and MBA...I would buy an Apple 7" if they introduce one.
Don't want to sound rude but that doesn't make sense. You think the surface looks to big so you would go for the google tablet. But prefer your iPad, even though it's .1 mm bigger than the surface, which you think is to big.
I'm not picking on you personally, but I keep seeing this sentiment expressed and it makes no sense at all to me.
The Surface pro is a convertible laptop more than it is a tablet and it does therefore have a (detachable, bluetooth) keyboard. The way people keep describing this as (paraphrased) "finally a tablet with a keyboard!" is just crazy IMO in that the Surface Pro "has a keyboard" in exactly the same sense that the iPad "has a keyboard" or any other tablet "has a keyboard."
One can argue about inclusion in the box or price, but practically every tablet, and certainly every convertible laptop, "has a keyboard" in this same sense.
We don't know how good the Surface Pro's keyboard is (or even if it really exists in fact), and everything we know about it seems to indicate it will actually be one of the worst keyboards out there.
In that light, it's really extra-specially ironic that the keyboard is being touted as the central feature of this POS.
I seriously doubt that keyboard is going to be in the box. It will be sold separately the same as apple sell the smart cover separately.
Also I think your wrong about it being the same as a laptop or an iPad with a keyboard. I have a laptop and an iPad. They are completely different sizes and in no way similar. A surface is a device the same size as an iPad with a smart cover the same size as the iPad smart cover, but you can type on it. Would I like my iPad to be exactly the same size but transform into a laptop when I'm at a table, but also function the way it does now on a sofa. Hell yeah!!!
One of Apple's greatest strengths has been their devotion to their customers, something I believe to be the primary tenet in their actions, improving what they offer to those they already service--through their OS and hardware lines. I look at the evolution of OS X, the iMac as a demonstrative example of this. Not since the advent of the iPod did I see Apple excercise an aggressive advertising ideology, Mac users have in my experience done most of their campaigning, as they do today. I am not suggesting this is their only philosophy but one held dear, something that Mircosoft, Google and others could learn a lot from; so intent they are at switching people back they are slowly losing the customer base at hand, one that is both avid and outspoken of both their mobil and desktop platforms. I want, as I hope many other iOS and OS X users do, that an alternative to iOS and OS X comes to fruitition for PC users; a great and functional OS platform and devices to run them but frankly, of late it seems a more and more unlikely.
The benchmarks are pretty decent. I think it's good value when you consider the price.
I ordered one for a simple reason: I find the iPad too cumbersome to read with in bed.
It will put off my iPad purchase for a bit....till the next iPad likely. One reason I held off this year was my disappointment in the front-facing VGA camera. Retina display.....and then gimped it with a VGA cam for video-conferencing. I also expect we'll see some substantial hardware changes next year or a slightly different look.
You bring up some excellent points, and I agree that the Nexus 7 is better hardware than the Kindle Fire. However, I believe you are underestimating the brand power that Amazon possesses.
I suspect Amazon has more potential buyers for the Kindle Fire than Google does with the Nexus 7. While the Nexus 7 will appeal to the more computer savvy crowd, the Amazon fan groups (ex. Kindle, 1-click shopping, Amazon Prime) will appeal to a wider swath of the public. Yes, you can read your Kindle books on the Nexus 7, but Google is really going to need to educate the public to that fact. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime members get Amazon Instant free as part of the membership, meaning access to over 10,000 free movies and television shows.
The Kindle Fire is Amazon playing to its strengths while the Nexus 7 is Google, again, walking the tightrope with its hardware partners.
Fact: Osborne Computer died a miserable death after announcing it's new computer products with multiple month lead time.
Fact: Apple releases new iPads typically in the Jan-March timeframe... Same release cycle as the Surface Pro. Apple has always skated to where the Puck is going to be.
Fact:
Fact: The category defined by the Pro (part laptop (os), part tablet (HW)), has existed for 15 years. It's a crossover category that never succeeded... I've been using/seeing/complaining about Windows Tablets since 1995 (Electronic Medical Records).
Fact: As advertised, Surface Pro is about marrying an SW Franchise (Win8+Office) to under $1000 hardware that works well as both a Laptop and mobile tablet... And the only way to do that and make a profit is to eliminate the OEM from the financial equation.
Fact: The only Microsoft HW successes occur when the division making the hardware makes the software (Xbox). And that took 5 years of pouring money at the problem for that division to become profitable.
Fact: I hold stock in Apple. I own mutual funds that own Microsoft. I tend to look at the business reasons of a product launch.
Time will tell if Microsoft succeeds... but those are the facts in front of this court of reason. I'm not buying based on these.
I disagree with some of your statements.
One of the reasons - and major, I think - for tablets with desktop OS failure so far is that desktop OS was never really optimized for touch interface. I like Windows 7 on my home PC (and every other PC I use), but I find it cumbersome on convertible HP laptop/tablet we are using in the office for some tasks... so I end up using that unit as laptop almost exclusively. Older versions of Windows OS were even worst in touch-usage scenarios. But Windows 8 might be right - we'll see.
In addition, level of tech did not allow for acceptably slim yet powerful enough - and decent battery life - x86 tablet. Ivy Bridge is capable of changing that.
In addition, even if MS is not paying anyone else for software licenses, they still have to cover R&D of that software, so OS and Office for tablet price will be included in Surface price. Plus, MS has to pay someone to produce their tablets. For companies like Samsung, it might be that software price will be higher than for MS, but then Samsung has their own production facilities, so price of manufacturing per device should be lower than for MS. On average, one is paying less for software license but - likely - more for hardware assembly, while the other is paying more for licensing but less for manufacturing. I think there is enough of balance there for OEMs to compete with MS without cannibalizing their margins.
I think that major reason for MS to release tablet was not to compete with OEMs, but to set guidelines - basically to prevent OEMs to try selling lower quality for higher price. Or call it a challenge - this is what we do, can you better us? If you cannot, don't bother.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
What Android users should love most about the Nexus 7 is the USB file storage, Adobe Flash, and user-removable battery¡
Don't forget the lack of 3G/4G service. . .
I don't think that's such a big deal. Besides not taking a gamble on both types right now and keeping the cost low and attractive (cellular tech doesn't cost 38¢ in HW like some think) I'm sure that most Android users will already have tethering as an option from their phones, which they will likely still have on their person even if they are using an tablet.
This thing isn't a threat to Apple or Microsoft. For a start its a 7" device. People wanting a 7" device sent going to by an iPad or surface and people wanting a 10" device arn't going to by this.
Second, just look at the thing. It looks like a £150 tablet, you certainly wouldn't want to pay more than that.
Apple will undoubtedly not be effected by either this or the surface. Microsoft on the other hand have a great chance of capturing all the people who are on the road a lot and want smaller and lighter laptops.
Don't want to sound rude but that doesn't make sense. You think the surface looks to big so you would go for the google tablet. But prefer your iPad, even though it's .1 mm bigger than the surface, which you think is to big.
I seriously doubt that keyboard is going to be in the box. It will be sold separately the same as apple sell the smart cover separately.
Also I think your wrong about it being the same as a laptop or an iPad with a keyboard. I have a laptop and an iPad. They are completely different sizes and in no way similar. A surface is a device the same size as an iPad with a smart cover the same size as the iPad smart cover, but you can type on it. Would I like my iPad to be exactly the same size but transform into a laptop when I'm at a table, but also function the way it does now on a sofa. Hell yeah!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jetz
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6054/google-nexus-7-mini-review
The benchmarks are pretty decent. I think it's good value when you consider the price.
I ordered one for a simple reason: I find the iPad too cumbersome to read with in bed.
It will put off my iPad purchase for a bit....till the next iPad likely. One reason I held off this year was my disappointment in the front-facing VGA camera. Retina display.....and then gimped it with a VGA cam for video-conferencing. I also expect we'll see some substantial hardware changes next year or a slightly different look.
You bring up some excellent points, and I agree that the Nexus 7 is better hardware than the Kindle Fire. However, I believe you are underestimating the brand power that Amazon possesses.
I suspect Amazon has more potential buyers for the Kindle Fire than Google does with the Nexus 7. While the Nexus 7 will appeal to the more computer savvy crowd, the Amazon fan groups (ex. Kindle, 1-click shopping, Amazon Prime) will appeal to a wider swath of the public. Yes, you can read your Kindle books on the Nexus 7, but Google is really going to need to educate the public to that fact. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime members get Amazon Instant free as part of the membership, meaning access to over 10,000 free movies and television shows.
The Kindle Fire is Amazon playing to its strengths while the Nexus 7 is Google, again, walking the tightrope with its hardware partners.
P.S. Enjoy your new device.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff
Fact: Osborne Computer died a miserable death after announcing it's new computer products with multiple month lead time.
Fact: Apple releases new iPads typically in the Jan-March timeframe... Same release cycle as the Surface Pro. Apple has always skated to where the Puck is going to be.
Fact:
Fact: The category defined by the Pro (part laptop (os), part tablet (HW)), has existed for 15 years. It's a crossover category that never succeeded... I've been using/seeing/complaining about Windows Tablets since 1995 (Electronic Medical Records).
Fact: As advertised, Surface Pro is about marrying an SW Franchise (Win8+Office) to under $1000 hardware that works well as both a Laptop and mobile tablet... And the only way to do that and make a profit is to eliminate the OEM from the financial equation.
Fact: The only Microsoft HW successes occur when the division making the hardware makes the software (Xbox). And that took 5 years of pouring money at the problem for that division to become profitable.
Fact: I hold stock in Apple. I own mutual funds that own Microsoft. I tend to look at the business reasons of a product launch.
Time will tell if Microsoft succeeds... but those are the facts in front of this court of reason. I'm not buying based on these.
I disagree with some of your statements.
One of the reasons - and major, I think - for tablets with desktop OS failure so far is that desktop OS was never really optimized for touch interface. I like Windows 7 on my home PC (and every other PC I use), but I find it cumbersome on convertible HP laptop/tablet we are using in the office for some tasks... so I end up using that unit as laptop almost exclusively. Older versions of Windows OS were even worst in touch-usage scenarios. But Windows 8 might be right - we'll see.
In addition, level of tech did not allow for acceptably slim yet powerful enough - and decent battery life - x86 tablet. Ivy Bridge is capable of changing that.
In addition, even if MS is not paying anyone else for software licenses, they still have to cover R&D of that software, so OS and Office for tablet price will be included in Surface price. Plus, MS has to pay someone to produce their tablets. For companies like Samsung, it might be that software price will be higher than for MS, but then Samsung has their own production facilities, so price of manufacturing per device should be lower than for MS. On average, one is paying less for software license but - likely - more for hardware assembly, while the other is paying more for licensing but less for manufacturing. I think there is enough of balance there for OEMs to compete with MS without cannibalizing their margins.
I think that major reason for MS to release tablet was not to compete with OEMs, but to set guidelines - basically to prevent OEMs to try selling lower quality for higher price. Or call it a challenge - this is what we do, can you better us? If you cannot, don't bother.