MS announces the Surface Tablet

[jwitalka]

This is a beautiful machine. Now someone has to convince me why I should buy an iPad over one of these when I can still run run my desktop apps?

I don't believe this is true with the RT Arm based machines. It May be posssible the Intel based machine but the srticle I read indicated this would be priced around $1000 to compete with the thin Ultrabooks. Running a version of Office tweaked to run on RT doesn't equate to running your desktop apps like Quicken.

Jerry

[Doc Brown]

I don't believe this is true with the RT Arm based machines. It May be posssible the Intel based machine but the srticle I read indicated this would be priced around $1000 to compete with the thin Ultrabooks. Running a version of Office tweaked to run on RT doesn't equate to running your desktop apps like Quicken.

Jerry

I didn't say it was true. Its an option if you choose NOT to buy a tablet with an Arm processor. I'll pop a grand on a machine that can be used as a tablet AND can be used as a laptop. Its the flexibility that Apple can't offer.

[Medico]

In the reviews and articles I have read, the Surface Pro will use Win 8 Pro and be able to work equally as well on the Metro UI and the Desktop UI, just as any conventional PC (my laptop spends most of it's time on the Desktop UI now)

This is the tablet that MS is gearing toward business and power users as a mobile replacement for conventional desktop and laptop PC's, IMHO. It could very well be successful in that endeavor, more so than the iPad, again IMHO.

[jwitalka]

It still remains to be seen if the Intel based tablets support legacy desktop apps. If it is priced at $1000, it will eliminate a lot of buyers. I think Asus already makes a convertible laptop with a detachable screen that can function as both a laptop and a tablet for considerably less.

Jerry

[CLiNT]

And yet that's the same argument that many made for OSx and the control Apple has over its hardware in that computing space also. It was supposed to be superior because of their control. Yet they've never been able make much more than a dent in desktop sales against MS. Personally I'm not convinced that MS will overtake Apple in the tablet market. But they will make a dent. How big of a dent though is anyone's guess.

The one that opened up the market first will almost always be dominant, unless the new comer can beat them on price and features. I can think of many cases where either senario has happened. Sony dominated portable music for many years even though competitors made far superior devices. Vizio walked into a heavily saturated flat screen TV market dominated by Samsung. They made an inferior, but much cheaper product and today enjoy a very high rate of sales. My point to this is that a lot depends on consumer perception, and a lot depends on how advertisers mold consumer perception.

Yes, exactly, they [Apple] have not made much of an impact on the marketplace as far as desktop computers go. And it would be suicide for MS to do the same, that is, in the desktop and laptop market. Tablets are an entirely different creature. Microsoft should be making their own and NOT allowing companies like HP or Dell to have anything whatsoever to do with putting Windows 8 on a tablet. This is one area were MS needs to get back into hardware.

[ruirib]

It still remains to be seen if the Intel based tablets support legacy desktop apps. If it is priced at $1000, it will eliminate a lot of buyers. I think Asus already makes a convertible laptop with a detachable screen that can function as both a laptop and a tablet for considerably less.

Jerry

Remains to be seen? Why do you say that. It's a full x86/x64 machine, why wouldn't it run legacy desktop apps?! If Windows 8 Pro did not run legacy apps, Windows 8 would be dead right from the beginning.

[Medico]

More detail about the Surface models are given by CNet. The article is very enlightening.

"The Pro will offer the full Windows 8 OS running on an Intel Ivy Bridge CPU (the same chips found in ultrabooks and other laptops). The Pro version will also be slightly thicker, offer a more robust battery, and boast better peripheral support (USB 3.0 versus 2.0, DisplayPort, and an SDXC expansion slot) and twice the storage capacity of the RT version."

Since the full version of Win 8 Pro offers support for legacy desktop apps, then the supposition is the Surface Pro would as well.

The Surface RT will only support the Metro version of Win 8. No Desktop support.

"While it won't have the full desktop version of Windows 8, running only the Metro apps available through the Windows app store, it will include a version of Microsoft Office at no additional charge."

[handcuff36]

Ted, still out in the boonies, me, not you, but I keep reading this forum. Did you see any price quoted on Surface, 16 or 32 G ?

[ruirib]

There is a price prediction, here: http://microsoft-news.com/digitimes-...rface-pro-799/

[Medico]

Just the predictions Rui has provided. No pricing announced at this time. May be closer to Win 8 release. Heck, we do not have pricing for Win 8 yet either. Oh well, all in good time.

[Doc Brown]

Here's an interesting analasys. Makes sense given that MS lost money on the XBox for for several years. Anyway the article pretty much covers a lot of what we've been discussing here.

http://www.wired.com/business/2012/0...-may-not-care/

[Medico]

Nice article. I also suspect MS will not cut the throats of the manufacturer's who install their OS onto their products, be them conventional desktops, laptops or tablets. What you might see is some more powerful tablets being developed by the other manufacturers to get in on that market that MS is looking at, "More expensive products sold to a smaller but discerning set of consumers attracted by features over cost."

Competition is good for all consumers!