Microsoft Surface Tablets

[Racheya]

I'm interested in people's opinions on the recently announced Surface Tablets, made by Microsoft themselves, running Windows 8. Both the tablets, the RT and the Pro have good specs, though prices & battery life haven't been announced yet. What really makes them special though, in my opinion, is the included kickstand and the cases which double as full keyboards, the TypeCover being a proper multitouch keyboard.

 

With Windows 8 giving you an actual Windows desktop to work from and the ability to transform from traditional tablet to a fully-functioning netbook, this could actually be a good product.

 

I'm excited to see how these do, and also to see the OEM's reaction to Microsoft basically telling them they aren't good enough. I don't have much use for a tablet, I've got a HP Touchpad that I haven't touched in 6 months, and I was considering an ultrabook or possibly the Windows 8 Asus Transformer, but the Microsoft Surface has stole my heart - though it does depend on pricing of course.

 

So, what does everyone think? :)

[Cheat]

I still don't understand the whole tablet hype. I've used friends iPad's a couple of times and there fun enough but I can't imagine having any use for one apart from various niche uses in a working environment. As to the Microsoft update I think it's quite interesting to see Microsoft moving into actually making products now rather than just software (I know the Xbox but that was about it) anyway I hope it does extremely well and wipes evil Apple of the face of the earth.

[Drazhor]

The announcement of it stole my heart too; I think they look sleek and stylin' and if the pricing of them is good, then they'll go very far indeed!

[Racheya]

I still don't understand the whole tablet hype. I've used friends iPad's a couple of times and there fun enough but I can't imagine having any use for one apart from various niche uses in a working environment. As to the Microsoft update I think it's quite interesting to see Microsoft moving into actually making products now rather than just software (I know the Xbox but that was about it) anyway I hope it does extremely well and wipes evil Apple of the face of the earth.

I don't understand the *tablet* need ever. I've never wanted an iPad and I only got a Touchpad because it was cheap and I thought I might be able to take uni notes on it (no). The reason the Surface has caught my eye, and why it might do well, is that it does actually have uses as a proper working laptop with all the benefits that a touch screen can bring.

[Sy_Accursed]

I don't see the tablet hype particularly for the consumer market.

 

In terms of portably doing work a netbook or laptop can do it all better due to physical keyboard etc.

In terms of bits like web browsing on the go, messagin, email etc. smart phones more than cover it.

 

Sure perhaps the games are a bit nicer, but it's a rather niche use when they games run perfectly fine on a good smartphone.

 

Only place I've seen them excel is like events co-ordinators, guest lists, questionnaires etc. as they become a sort of hi-tech clipboard and can sync changes to all parties as needed and allows them to carry all the rules and guidelines to access on the fly if anything comes up.

 

So I don't really think much at all about these, more interested in chromebooks

[Mercifull]

I think it looks nice but I'm not sure what to make of it yet. The screen size is going to make it awkward to hold like a tablet and the flip stand/touch cover means that you cant use it on your lap like a laptop.

 

I have an iPad which i use as a media consumption device, I use it every day. I also have a HP Touchpad running CyanogenMod9 (ICS).

[The Dark Lord]

I recently purchased iPad 3, and to be honest I don't see the usefulness of it apart from a few things. If you need something for school, I'd suggest purchasing a laptop that is good enough for accessing the Internet and word processing. All iPads are good for is Youtube, daily planner, games, and educational apps. Other than those things, I wouldn't bother with them unless you really wanted one and had money to blow. I bought mine with the idea that it would be useful for school, and to be honest I'm a bit disappointed. I couldn't get any e-books to work on it (e-books that were accessible via browser), so I was a tad bit pissed that I couldn't even read textbooks on it in order to not have to bring all of my books with me everyday and thus take all of that weight off of my back... The people who say that tablets are amazing for everyday use are full of shit.

[Mercifull]

We are considering replacing the presenter studio computer at FromeFM with an iPad or tablet because all it gets used for is reading emails, texts and checking facebook, twitter etc. We can also put all the jingles and soundbites on there. The benefits of this are instant on and no fan vibrating the desk and fuzzing the microphone. Tablets DO have a use.

[Platinum_Myr]

I think the surface with the touch keyboard cover is a wonderful idea. It is the size of a tablet and easy to carry, but has a keyboard for those times you *really* need one.

 

@The Dark Lord; I would have loved a tablet in college. Access to slides, a touch screen for notes and quick drawings, and the small form factor, plus the potential for e-book text books is incredibly useful in my opinion. Laptops were bulky and heavy, and most didn't come with the ability to use in tablet position.

[Mercifull]

To bring this discussion back to the Surface. Does anyone else think that MS will only create this as a kind of Nexus device to step up the game of their hardware partners. Unlike in the games console market they are competing with themselves in the tablet space...

[Makoto_the_Phoenix]

My thoughts on the device: Apple pioneered this, Asus improved it (even more so with the Asus Padfone), and Windows wants a slice of the action.

 

First - it's true that none of us really need a tablet. They're expensive, difficult to get work done on, and they're yet another device that we have the option of using. I saw some pluses to having a tablet in college, but that was for books and note taking; outside of that, I have a pretty decent tower and laptop if I really need to get some work done. The only positive thing that I see is the ARM adoption; myself being a bit of a technophile, if ARM usage takes off, we can finally see them used in enthusiast-grade PCs and laptops.

 

Second - the tablet doesn't offer anything different than what other tablets do. It's a Windows OS, but what does that really do for us nowadays? I'm not sure it's familiarity, because Windows 8 is a huge departure from the norm. It's not a wider selection of programs either, since programs that are written for Windows 8 won't work out-of-the-box on RT. In terms of productivity alone, cloud office services offer a desirable flexibility for a reasonable price - $0. If Microsoft want this to succeed, they'll have to offer more than pretty colors, and give consumers something that's usable and practical.

 

Third - it's entering into an already crowded market, but it can stand a chance if the price is right. A good Android tablet runs anywhere between $400-$700, and typically require some sort of cellular carrier service. The Nook and Kindle Fire are on the low end of things, less than $200 a piece, and only rely on Wi-Fi. Apple's offerings are $399 on the low end sans 3G, and upwards of $829 on the high end with mobile tower connectivity.

 

Microsoft would have to really put a good price on these for them to be considered - probably $399 baseline, $699 max.

 

To bring this discussion back to the Surface. Does anyone else think that MS will only create this as a kind of Nexus device to step up the game of their hardware partners. Unlike in the games console market they are competing with themselves in the tablet space...

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "Nexus" device, but I'll chip in anyway.

 

The Nexus devices offered by Android phone makers are pretty...open with their platform. I don't just mean the OS - you can do as you see fit to your device, and the manufacturers pledge, by virtue of it being a Nexus device, to stay out of your way.

 

Windows RT is quite the opposite. It's only coming out in OEM fashion, and it has something on it called "SecureBoot", which forbids any other device from loading on it, if they don't have a signed certificate from some third party. In my opinion, it's creating more of an Apple-like device, in which Microsoft has the absolute say over what goes on their platform. I'm not sure I see that strategy working for them.

[Mercifull]

What I meant by a "Nexus device" is a high spec, almost demonstrator, unit to get other hardware partners to up their own game a bit.

[Sbrideau]

My thoughts on the device: Apple pioneered this, Asus improved it (even more so with the Asus Padfone), and Windows wants a slice of the action.

 

 

Microsoft tried getting out with a tablet in 2002, so the ipad is yet another stolen idea that Apple came out with.

 

 

Anyway my thoughts on the tablet hype, I personally don't see the need for a tablet anytime soon, although it is fun. I was thinking of getting the Asus Transformer tablet just for the sake of having one and seeing what the hype is about (and also mostly for road trips) but anyway.

[Mercifull]

Moses came out with a tablet in 1440BC, so the 2002 Microsoft tablet is yet another stolen idea that MS came out with.

 

You are a fool if you are seriously suggesting that the Microsoft tablet from 2002 is is any way similar to the iPad.

Here is a comparison image.

One uses ARM processors, systems on a chip and flash memory with a capacative touch screen in a form factor less than a centemetre in thickness. The other is pretty much a full pc squeezed into a thick tablet with a non-touch optimised interface and a price tag of around $2,299 (in 2002). Yeah... very similar.

 

If you are going to bang on about how the iPad copies from history then why not mention the tablets in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968):

 

Or the 1973 childrens tv program 'The Tomorrow People'. Look the leader even wears a turtleneck jumper. STEVE JOBS COPIED!

 

But fine, go ahead and bash apple for no reason. You are just as much a sheep as the people who buy into everything they sell.

[Sbrideau]

Moses came out with a tablet in 1440BC, so the 2002 Microsoft tablet is yet another stolen idea that MS came out with.

 

You are a fool if you are seriously suggesting that the Microsoft tablet from 2002 is is any way similar to the iPad.

Here is a comparison image.

One uses ARM processors, systems on a chip and flash memory with a capacative touch screen in a form factor less than a centemetre in thickness. The other is pretty much a full pc squeezed into a thick tablet with a non-touch optimised interface and a price tag of around $2,299 (in 2002). Yeah... very similar.

 

If you are going to bang on about how the iPad copies from history then why not mention the tablets in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968):

 

Or the 1973 childrens tv program 'The Tomorrow People'. Look the leader even wears a turtleneck jumper. STEVE JOBS COPIED!

 

But fine, go ahead and bash apple for no reason. You are just as much a sheep as the people who buy into everything they sell.

 

Overreacting much? With your answer, pretty much just means that you're a mac fanboy and a sheep. People want to pay more for it than the equivalent with another brand (such as the Asus tablets), they can go for it, but I hope they don't complain when they see better tablets for less. I wasn't bashing apple, but after doing some research and seeing some stuff, they're not better than other brands, especially not M$.

[Mercifull]

I'm a sheep because I have proved your arguments as utter rubbish? The Windows Tablet PC is nothing like an iPad, it's also nothing like a Surface really. The iPad and most Android tablets are merely content consumption machines. The Surface running Windows 8 Pro is probably the closest to the Gates dream in 2002 but goes far beyond it. The 2002 Win Tablets were a joke. My post was meant to be quite funny by posting the tomorrow people photo etc because you appear to claim Apple stole the tablet idea from MS in 2002 when that's clearly bollocks.

 

It makes me cross when people bash Apple and use the same tired old arguments. Why not some up with something a bit more funny and original. Here's a Samsung digital photoframe from 2006:

 

If I was being a Mac fanboy I'd have posted the 1993 Newton as pripr art to the Windows Tablets ;)

 

OR... I could have described the Knowledge Navigator 1987 concept of a tablet based computer that can "access a large networked database of hypertext information" (the internet) running a "a gesture based interface" (multi touch) and being able to "converse with the system via an animated butler" (siri).

 

Surface looks GREAT! But it's in an odd position because it really IS a computer in tablet form and a tablet isn't the best thing to do proper work on.

 

Disclosure:

 

I have:

iPad 2

HP Touchpad (dual boot ICS/WebOS)

HTC Desire (running CyanogenMod7)

Windows7 Laptop

 

I do not have:

iPhone

Any type of Mac

[Mercifull]

Because I don't want to start a flamewar (I'm only messing about in the post above) I want to bring it back to earth a little. Sbrideau mentioned the Asus Transformer, this is probably the closest thing on the market to what the Surface describes but still falls short on being a full desktop OS even in laptop (dock) mode. Is the price jump between the Transformer and what the Surface tablets will be going to be worth it for that?

[Askthedude]

For the price it's going to be released at (ultrabook prices) i'd prefer to buy an ultrabook for more versatile use.

On a side note perhaps the topic should be changed to tablets in general seeing as how the nexus 7 was just anounced. Wondering what people's thoughts on it are as the price range is around the only price i'd pay for a tablet seeing as how it has such a lmited use.

[Randox]

I remember reading about this, and they seem interesting to me. They sort of bring tablets into the actually useful spectrum (I have one, but its just a toy. I actually use my phone as its keyboard when doing any amount of typing on it).

 

Also, Kudos to Microsoft for doing something first. This seems to be a continuation of their previous tabletish computer, except this time its functional and hopefully much cheeper.

[Mercifull]

Balmer: "Everything you could do before, you can still do in Windows 8"

 

This means that precisely nothing has changed. The concept that made the iPad stand out wasn't the fact that it had a touch screen. Microsoft has tried that for at over a decade (Windows Tablet PC) without success.

 

The iPad, and to a lesser extent Android tablets, are popular because it isn't a computer/PC (at least in the eyes of the public). It's an appliance that provides communication, entertainment, media consumption, and many other functions in a form where you simply push a button with your fat fingers and it just works. While iOS (and Android) is an operating system, it's practically invisible. And, like any appliance, the user is protected from accidental harm. There isnt a need for the OS to keep asking, "are you sure you want to click/download/run/open that?", or telling them, "you're unprotected, please install firewall/antivirus/etc", or "there is an important security update to install" seemingly every week. There are no drivers (visible), no techno-geek speak, no expertise required whatsoever. It's intuitive enough to simply pick up and play.

 

But Microsoft seem fixated with the idea that "everything is a PC running Windows". Windows 8 has disastrously contradictory goals. To compete with the iPad (which is an appliance) and to do everything Windows 7 did (which is for a general purpose computer). The net result is that it can't do either of these very well. It's only tolerable on a desktop to the extent that you can make all the 'features' of Windows 8 disappear, and it isn't a tablet operating system - it's a PC in a tablet form, just like all the other slate/tablet PCs Windows has supported over the last decade. In other words, an expensive PC in a less usable form. Yesterday the Nexus7 arrived and it'll do most of what people need it to do. Surface is going to have to be REALLY cheap to compete with the tablets and ultrabooks, and I just don't think it can.