Here Is Microsoft's First Surface Pro 3 Commercial

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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Microsoft has rolled out the first commercial for its new Surface Pro 3, due to hit the shelves sometime later on this month. This is just the first of many commercials that will be comparing the Surface Pro 3 to the Macbook Air and as a replacement for your laptop.
 
Definitely getting one I only wish Microsoft included the type cover for free :rolleyes:
 
I agree.. I definitely think they made huge strides in finally appealing to the consumers out there... Still debating an i7 vs i5 but I will for sure have either or.
 
That's a much better commercial than having a bunch of people dancing without telling anyone what it is.
 
that's a really good commercial. A nice change from MS's past efforts.
 
MajorDomo said:
Microsoft has rolled out the first commercial for its new Surface Pro 3, due to hit the shelves sometime later on this month. This is just the first of many commercials that will be comparing the Surface Pro 3 to the Macbook Air and as a replacement for your laptop.
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I didn't see any comparison to a MacBook there.
 
ScottSwing said:
I didn't see any comparison to a MacBook there.
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Here's TC's comparison to the MBP:
http://mashable.com/2014/05/20/surface-pro-3-macbook-air-compared/

There's a pretty nice MS demo video of the internal construction on this page:
http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/04/is-the-surface-pro-3-the-perfect-microsoft-laptop/

Sadly, the keyboard isn't included, but there are 4 different versions offered, one of which has a battery pack built into it.

I'd like to be able to justify spending the money on one of these for my special needs child who actually needs both type and touch abilities, as well as portability. Then again, I am curious to see what the new budget friendly 8.1 tablets now coming out will have to offer.
 
Silverghost said:
That's a much better commercial than having a bunch of people dancing without telling anyone what it is.
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This is what I thought too. The commercial for the first Surface was pointless... This one is actually good.
 
I have the surface pro 2, this pro 3 looks much better, thinner, lighter, bigger screen. Going to see if I can give my pro 2 to someone and get a pro 3 :)
 
If they want to sell it as a laptop replacement, they really need to include the keyboard cover. Still, with each version the Surface Pro looks more like something I would be interested in. I'll probably get one when the 4 is released.

And that commercial was one of the best ones MS has done in a long time.
 
From the commercial: "How can a tablet replace your laptop?"

By having a big enough screen.

The earlier Surface Pros were great... but the 10.6" screen was kinda small for something that was supposed to be a laptop.

I think Microsoft finally nailed the laptop aspect with the Surface Pro 3.... but at 12" it might be too big for a tablet.

Maybe convergence devices don't always work?

Personally... my ideal setup would be a 14" traditional laptop and an 8" tablet. I don't even care if they are two devices. They are both well suited for their intended tasks.
 
Xrave said:
This is what I thought too. The commercial for the first Surface was pointless... This one is actually good.
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The Surface commercials got much better at actually showing what the product could do. Not sure if I want to wait for the i7 model or get the i5 one, but I think I'll hold out as I really do want all the horsepower I can get out the thing for the sake of Visual Studio.
 
MrE said:
Plus it needs discreet graphics. I want a laptop replacement that I can do some gaming on. :)
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What sort of gaming do you do? Hardcore pr0n that's PG-18G? Makes sense for you to play very discreetly if that's the case...

Enough with me being a pedant and a snark. I agree about the need for discrete graphic card through a dock. Personally, I feel a little hesitant about Surface Pro 3 since the Haswell is definitely getting long in the tooth by now, and I can feel Surface Pro 4 coming up like how Surface pro 2 came about.
 
Reimu said:
What sort of gaming do you do? Hardcore pr0n that's PG-18G? Makes sense for you to play very discreetly if that's the case...
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Har har. Swapped the "e" and get smart ass response. Awesome. And yes, hardcore Japanese porn games ;)
 
Not enough clicking and creepy office breakdancing
 
I love how 'gorilla arm' is now 'the freedom of touch' in marketing speak.

I think Microsoft needs to end the Surface experiment. Unless you're in a niche where good handwriting recognition/drawing is a useful feature you'd be better served by an ultralight laptop or Air. For content consumption there are good low-cost tablets, and most people in the target market already have touch smartphones. I just can't see Microsoft making a lot of money off of these expensive devices.

How about a smaller, low cost Surface RT device with a touch-friendly version of office? Something to actually compete with Apple and Google's touch products? What was the point in spending all that money developing RT if they aren't going to use it?
 
DeathFromBelow said:
I love how 'gorilla arm' is now 'the freedom of touch' in marketing speak.
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Not sure how 'gorilla arm' applies to a hybrid device like the SP3. The whole point of hybrid design is to use the device in the way that best suits the need. Use the Type Cover when needing to do lots of text entry. Use the touchscreen if you're in bed wanting to read or watch a movie. Use then pen for drawing and note taking.

DeathFromBelow said:
I think Microsoft needs to end the Surface experiment. Unless you're in a niche where good handwriting recognition/drawing is a useful feature you'd be better served by an ultralight laptop or Air.
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One problem I think the PC industry has had for a long time is that it's a sea of high-volume, cheap and poorly constructed devices. Macs have that iconic design and premium connotation and there's really been nothing of any name recognition on the PC side until Surface came along. I'm not entirely sure that the original long term plans were why Microsoft launched Surface two years ago but today I think the plan is for Surface to be niche and higher end and to not be a big direct competitor to Microsoft's OEM devices. Nadella said at the SP3 launch event that Microsoft wasn't interested in competing with its partners.

DeathFromBelow said:
For content consumption there are good low-cost tablets, and most people in the target market already have touch smartphones. I just can't see Microsoft making a lot of money off of these expensive devices.
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And for now the lower end stuff is left to the OEMs and indeed Microsoft has made a lot progress on the lower end with free Windows licenese for smaller screens and the announcement of $100 Windows 8.1 x86 tablets at Computex this past week.

DeathFromBelow said:
How about a smaller, low cost Surface RT device with a touch-friendly version of office? Something to actually compete with Apple and Google's touch products? What was the point in spending all that money developing RT if they aren't going to use it?
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Again, products in this price ranges are already covered by OEMs. The touch version of Office is coming though Microsoft is taking is being slow about it for some reason.
 
heatlesssun said:
Not sure how 'gorilla arm' applies to a hybrid device like the SP3. The whole point of hybrid design is to use the device in the way that best suits the need. Use the Type Cover when needing to do lots of text entry. Use the touchscreen if you're in bed wanting to read or watch a movie. Use then pen for drawing and note taking.
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How long do you think it would be comfortable to hold that thing up above your face like he is in the beginning of the commercial? Or later when he's using the USB port to show somebody pictures or whatever? How many people actually use tablets like that in the real world?

This ad is an improvement over their previous efforts, but I can't help but feel like it highlights the problems with Microsoft's strategy and how overblown 'touch' is in general. I thought tablets were going to be cool until I bought one. The reality is that touch is gimmicky on larger devices like this unless you're using the handwriting recognition, and that's a niche use-case. Most of the target market already have touch-screen phones that make more sense in bed/on the go/wherever. Tablets do have a niche for reading, video, and kids games, but the Surface is too expensive to compete in that space and the Windows app store is stagnant. It's been ages and Microsoft still doesn't have anything to compete with low-cost Android devices.

One problem I think the PC industry has had for a long time is that it's a sea of high-volume, cheap and poorly constructed devices. Macs have that iconic design and premium connotation and there's really been nothing of any name recognition on the PC side until Surface came along. I'm not entirely sure that the original long term plans were why Microsoft launched Surface two years ago but today I think the plan is for Surface to be niche and higher end and to not be a big direct competitor to Microsoft's OEM devices. Nadella said at the SP3 launch event that Microsoft wasn't interested in competing with its partners.
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Those cheap devices are the reason why PC's dominated the desktop.

As an investor I'm wondering why Microsoft spent so much money developing Windows for ARM if they aren't going to do anything with it. Their partners obviously aren't rolling out decent cheap devices, so why doesn't Microsoft have something that can compete with the various Android tablets? I want the company to compete and make cool products, not spend huge amounts of money on expensive devices that end up sitting in warehouses. Even if they sold them all they aren't going to significantly improve their position in touch devices with the Surface Pro. Apple isn't gaining market share in touch, so why on Earth are they trying to compete with Apple?

And for now the lower end stuff is left to the OEMs and indeed Microsoft has made a lot progress on the lower end with free Windows licenese for smaller screens and the announcement of $100 Windows 8.1 x86 tablets at Computex this past week.
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Show me the products. They've had years to do this.

Again, products in this price ranges are already covered by OEMs. The touch version of Office is coming though Microsoft is taking is being slow about it for some reason.
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Microsoft has been putting money into touch since the early 90s (if not earlier) and yet they've completely missed the boat on tablets. There's no excuse for spending so much time and resources on Windows 8/RT and the associated hardware and not having real market share to show for it. They don't have a product to compete and drive app development. I've been saying for a long time that backwards compatibility with x86 software would not allow Microsoft's expensive products to compete in the tablet market. That's not how people use touch devices. Microsoft isn't going to make money selling high-end niche super tablets.

Office is their one real selling point over the competition. If Microsoft is serious about touch products they need low-cost content consumption devices for the masses that also support a touch-friendly Office product. If they aren't gaining market share then there's nothing to support niche products like the Surface other than the egos of the executives behind this disaster.
 
DeathFromBelow said:
How long do you think it would be comfortable to hold that thing up above your face like he is in the beginning of the commercial? Or later when he's using the USB port to show somebody pictures or whatever? How many people actually use tablets like that in the real world?
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I actually hold my larger tablets like this often but not for long periods of time.

DeathFromBelow said:
The reality is that touch is gimmicky on larger devices like this unless you're using the handwriting recognition, and that's a niche use-case.
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It may be a niche use-case but one that people do actually have a big need for when they need it. I'm not saying that the SP3 is a mainstream device, but it can be used in mainstream ways in addition to more niche scenarios.

DeathFromBelow said:
Those cheap devices are the reason why PC's dominated the desktop.
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I agree. But another great thing about the PC hardware market is its diversity. There's room for more premium devices as well.

DeathFromBelow said:
As an investor I'm wondering why Microsoft spent so much money developing Windows for ARM if they aren't going to do anything with it. Their partners obviously aren't rolling out decent cheap devices, so why doesn't Microsoft have something that can compete with the various Android tablets? I want the company to compete and make cool products, not spend huge amounts of money on expensive devices that end up sitting in warehouses. Even if they sold them all they aren't going to significantly improve their position in touch devices with the Surface Pro. Apple isn't gaining market share in touch, so why on Earth are they trying to compete with Apple?
Click to expand...

DeathFromBelow said:
Show me the products. They've had years to do this.
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Cheaper 8" devices from Dell, Toshiba, Acer and Asus have been on the markets for months and those prices have come down. Toshiba just launched their cheaper second generation of products in 7", 8" and 10" sizes. And there was a lot of buzz about a Chinese OEM Emdoor launching an 8" $100 tablet. And OEMs have not had years of opportunity to launch these devices. Bay Trail just came on line at the end of last year which is really the first Atom SoC that's had the performance AND battery life to make interesting Windows 8 tablets. And it was only a few months ago that Microsoft made Windows free. Just less than a year ago the neither the business model for Windows nor the hardware to make these cheaper tablets existed.


DeathFromBelow said:
Microsoft has been putting money into touch since the early 90s (if not earlier) and yet they've completely missed the boat on tablets. There's no excuse for spending so much time and resources on Windows 8/RT and the associated hardware and not having real market share to show for it. They don't have a product to compete and drive app development. I've been saying for a long time that backwards compatibility with x86 software would not allow Microsoft's expensive products to compete in the tablet market. That's not how people use touch devices. Microsoft isn't going to make money selling high-end niche super tablets.
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But Microsoft really didn't have a serious multi-touch device until Window Phone 7 in 2010. Yeah they were slow to get to market and that was a mistake but I don't think they can simply ignore it.

DeathFromBelow said:
Office is their one real selling point over the competition. If Microsoft is serious about touch products they need low-cost content consumption devices for the masses that also support a touch-friendly Office product. If they aren't gaining market share then there's nothing to support niche products like the Surface other than the egos of the executives behind this disaster.
Click to expand...

Windows tablets are cheaper than ever and getting cheaper and they are going to have a touch optimized version of Office probably sometime this year and Windows x86 device will also still have the ability to run full Office.
 
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