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Microsoft Surface tablet/Windows 8

Gmash

Gmash

Extreme Android User
Microsoft Surface tablet goes on sale for $499 - CNN.com

$500 is a bit pricey, and an extra $200 for 32 GB more memory is ridiculous given the price of flash memory these days, but Microsoft really needs this to succeed, since PC sales are in the tank and Windows Phone is still struggling. Apple is either worried or just being dicks by scheduling the announcement of iPad Mini to take all of the media air out of the room. If a touch screen OS can make a PC as intuitive as a tablet/smartphone interface, I'm thinking it will be a big hit after an adjustment period, especially since MS has so much riding on it. The tablet will have Office and the keyboard, (though I'm sure the keyboard will be copied soon), so will that be enough to make it stand out from iPad and Android? Apple and Microsoft are truly going head to head this time, with MS making their own hardware. MS isn't used to being the underdog, but they definitely are this go around. Do they have a chance?
 
I thought the surface would be priced less than it is. I guess MS wants to leave room for its OEM's? Don't underestimate MS's ability to throw huge $$$'s behind the Surface and Win8 in general at launch. Still, I think the iPad mini is more in reaction to the Kindle and N7 than MS's entries. Personally, I look forward to playing with Win 8 on a large screen touch device. I don't like it aesthetically wise on a phone (stack of blinking boxes is not my thing) and absolutely hated the preview on my non touch laptop. I could be converted with a convertible laptop/tablet design though. Straight touch based laptops OTH may not work out as well. I don't see the act of going from screen to keyboard being a convenient method of computing, not to mention the greasy fingerprints on the screen issue.
 
pastafarian said:
I thought the surface would be priced less than it is. I guess MS wants to leave room for its OEM's? Don't underestimate MS's ability to throw huge $$$'s behind the Surface and Win8 in general at launch. Still, I think the iPad mini is more in reaction to the Kindle and N7 than MS's entries. Personally, I look forward to playing with Win 8 on a large screen touch device. I don't like it aesthetically wise on a phone (stack of blinking boxes is not my thing) and absolutely hated the preview on my non touch laptop. I could be converted with a convertible laptop/tablet design though. Straight touch based laptops OTH may not work out as well. I don't see the act of going from screen to keyboard being a convenient method of computing, not to mention the greasy fingerprints on the screen issue.
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Agree about the fingerprints. I don't think the iPad Mini is a response to the Surface, just the timing of the announcement seems designed to steal their thunder. Touch based PC would seem odd, especially in the business world, but you can still do everything with a mouse and keyboard.
 
I really think the laptop market will gravitate towards tablet hybrids. True tablet aren't perfect replacements for laptops but they are getting better.

I am just wondering will OS fragment more than current use. Win8 is poised to alienate users in the short run and could lead to Android/Apple gaining market share.

Can Android/Apple take Windows productivity as needed by professionals and be adequate or improve?
 
MS is taking a huge gamble, but one they probably have to do at this point. Their gross mismanagement of the mobile side of things let Apple and to some extent Android grab up a whole lot of high ground. They were the first to try the whole ecosystem thing with the mobile (WinMo) and desktop having common interfaces, then they lost focus and all but stopped development. If they had continued WinMo development as opposed to stagnating and trying to hold on tightly to what they had, we would probably still be calling them M$. They lost hold of the more common and approachable ui elements they largely developed to Apple , Android and even RIM and now find themselves having to adopt radical change just to avoid being called a copycat If it works out, I see them maintaining market share or losing share at a much lower pace. If it fails, they're toast as a major tech company. The big winner in this will probably be Apple, who already has that complete working ecosystem in place.
 
Not much on the Windows 8 RT, but I believe the Surface Pro will be the one to be a big hit. Although yes the OEMs are given a 3month leeway to get their Surface Pro versions into the market. The Surface Pro is THE mobile tablet PC. A tablet running with digital ink compatibility for annotation, a full HD screen, and a full x86/x64 processor chip underneath with enough oomph to run full desktop versions of Photoshop, Lightroom and other full desktop applications.

This is what a lot of productivity oriented people are looking for, something to bring their work with them. While this may not immediately catch on with the more casual users, the more people see how much more productive they could get using a touch driven UI on a full PC in a 10inch slate, I feel that it would be very productive. We are probably looking at the future of "personal" computers right now.
 
i agree.. they have a lot riding on this..

it is theirs to grab or loose!
they miss the boat once.., there may not be a 3rd.
 
I'm not sure who MS is targeting with the RT version and the high price tag. But the Pro version is probably targeting towards the Enterprise crowd, along with the consumers.

But I believe the price tag is pretty steep. Although no one has really got their hands on one to fully see what it got under the hood!
 
saptech said:
I'm not sure who MS is targeting with the RT version and the high price tag. But the Pro version is probably targeting towards the Enterprise crowd, along with the consumers.

But I believe the price tag is pretty steep. Although no one has really got their hands on one to fully see what it got under the hood!
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Actually, CNET has had hands-on reports on the ASUS 808 (running Windows 8 Pro with an i5 processor) and the HP Envy X2 (running Windows 8 Pro on a dual core Atom). So yeah, they already saw what a Surface Pro would basically have.
 
chanchan05 said:
Actually, CNET has had hands-on reports on the ASUS 808 (running Windows 8 Pro with an i5 processor) and the HP Envy X2 (running Windows 8 Pro on a dual core Atom). So yeah, they already saw what a Surface Pro would basically have.
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But they are not a Surface tablet. That is what I was referring to.

Thnx.
 
It might be the end of the road for Windows competing with Google and Apple.

You are right, too many businesses do depend on certain criteria. MS is having a job trying to move these people from IE6 since the browser has been customized for use in the way the business wants.

MS might become a business niche computer system - if business wants a cloud, it would be their own and not shared.
 
Ability to use Office could be an incentive to buy the Surface or another Windows tablet when its time for a company to replace their take home company laptops.
 
saptech said:
I'm not sure who MS is targeting with the RT version and the high price tag. But the Pro version is probably targeting towards the Enterprise crowd, along with the consumers.

But I believe the price tag is pretty steep. Although no one has really got their hands on one to fully see what it got under the hood!
Click to expand...

They are certainly going after business. At least that is one segment MS considers important. They likely want to target Google and Apple as well. Actually, I think they are going after anyone with a spare five hundred bucks.

One thing I do wonder about is the version of Office shipped with the device. Apparently, it is the Home/Student version which will require upgrading due to the licensing restrictions. A business--unless MS changes something--cannot use the shipped version of Office for business.

Does the Pro version address this or am I mistaken?

If I had a Surface, I would use it to make a buck and the last thing I would want to do is have to turn around and spend extra cash to upgrade Office to remain legal. Someone kindly clarify; Google seems to have a problem divining the answer.

I know, I should read the TOS before I buy, but I have had my share of curious issues with software and hardware licensing and I know there is crap hidden in the fine print that does not make any sense. Like for example, I cannot legally use my cell phone for business.

When I bought it, I never thought to consider this curious provision in the TOS and reasonable people would not give any thought to the possibility that they buy a cell and cannot us it for business.

I can well imagine many smaller businesses and Mom and Pop type operations that will purchase the Surface and never delve into the "hidden" costs.
 
I kind of want a Surface Pro. I mean I like how it's a tablet sized but a actually computer. And it's very portable. I like that. Cause I hates carrying around my old laptop.

But I hear the Pro will be super expensive. I may just wait and see what other companies put out before buying. What do you guys think of PC Gaming/Animating on a Surface? Would you since it could run other windows programs?
 
PC Gaming on the surface (or a windows 8 tablet for that matter) probably wont happen. You need a lot of ram, and good processor. And a good GPU, which im not sure if the tablets will even have. And playing the game with touch will be impossible, you need a mouse and keyboard. If you do hook a mouse and keyboard and place it on the table, you might as well be using a laptop.

One thing i have hope for is Bluestacks on Windows Pro tablet, if it ends up working. I tried Bluestacks on my laptop and almost nothing works properly so i cant see it happening.

Legacy Windows programs use a lot of mouse-over and right-clicking, and in my case keyboard hotkeys, which i believe will be difficult on the W8 tablet without a mouse. Im not sure if W8 desktop uses the old "Accessibility" virtual keyboard or not, but that was not a fun keyboard to use.

As i stated before, ill probably just use my Windows 7 laptop + Android tablet. Possibly buy a Windows 8 RT tablet if it goes anywhere.
 
javasirc said:
PC Gaming on the surface (or a windows 8 tablet for that matter) probably wont happen. You need a lot of ram, and good processor. And a good GPU, which im not sure if the tablets will even have. And playing the game with touch will be impossible, you need a mouse and keyboard. If you do hook a mouse and keyboard and place it on the table, you might as well be using a laptop.
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The pro version I hear will have a i5 processor
 
javasirc said:
PC Gaming on the surface (or a windows 8 tablet for that matter) probably wont happen. You need a lot of ram, and good processor. And a good GPU, which im not sure if the tablets will even have. And playing the game with touch will be impossible, you need a mouse and keyboard. If you do hook a mouse and keyboard and place it on the table, you might as well be using a laptop.
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I have played a few games on my tablet. The games were designed for tablets, so you really cannot make a blanket statement. Some games is perhaps more accurate?

I do wonder why people want to add a mouse and keyboard to their tablets.

Perhaps they want to turn their tablet into a laptop. Sorta negates the benefits tablet offer in my view.
 
Bob Maxey said:
I have played a few games on my tablet. The games were designed for tablets, so you really cannot make a blanket statement. Some games is perhaps more accurate?

I do wonder why people want to add a mouse and keyboard to their tablets.

Perhaps they want to turn their tablet into a laptop. Sorta negates the benefits tablet offer in my view.
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Im referring to PC games, running 'legacy' on the Windows 8 Pro tablet. They are not (at least not most of them) designed for a tablet. Most use right-click for alternate commands or menus, and mouse-hover for information/message boxes. I am not referring to games that are programmed for Windows RT designed for touch, but games such as WoW, Diablo, CoD, or any other input-intense game, that may require keyboard and mouse.

The reason i prefer mouse is because its fast and accurate, compared to moving my arm to tap a location. I also prefer a keyboard because keys and combination of keys simplify my input. With a mouse + keyboard, input can be extremely fast. Using my fingers is not. Plus my hand blocks the screen.
 
I own the Asus Transformer Infinity along with the keyboard dock (which also comes with a touchpad). I got the keyboard dock mainly to use as a fancy screen protector. It has some other benefits, like extended battery life, USB host port, full SD card slot, etc. But really I just wanted the clamshell to hide the screen while I traveled.

After a lot of use, it turns out that I really like using combination touch and keyboard for interacting with the device. And I hated the touchpad, but I hate touchpads in general. Thankfully, there's a button on the keyboard that can enable/disable it. I turn it on rarely if I need precision clicking. In most cases, I don't.

I'm not a fan of glossy screens on laptops. A matte finish can certainly mask fingerprints. I think touch+keyboard has a lot of potential over mouse+keyboard. Mouse still kicks ass in some usage though, so the touchpad/nipple/external mouse option needs to remain for future laptops.

But I think many people will enjoy the convenience of the added touch capability, particularly as more software is written with touch in mind.
 
javasirc said:
Im referring to PC games, running 'legacy' on the Windows 8 Pro tablet. They are not (at least not most of them) designed for a tablet. Most use right-click for alternate commands or menus, and mouse-hover for information/message boxes. I am not referring to games that are programmed for Windows RT designed for touch, but games such as WoW, Diablo, CoD, or any other input-intense game, that may require keyboard and mouse.

The reason i prefer mouse is because its fast and accurate, compared to moving my arm to tap a location. I also prefer a keyboard because keys and combination of keys simplify my input. With a mouse + keyboard, input can be extremely fast. Using my fingers is not. Plus my hand blocks the screen.
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Well if they need a mouse they can get a bluetooth one no?

Also the Verge says it will have 4GBs of RAM. But the graphics will be Intel Graphics HD 4000. Not sure how good that graphics card will be. I will wait till one is made with a NVidia graphics card

http://www.theverge.com/products/surface-for-windows-8-pro/5800
 
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