New Surface 3 starting at $499

mi7chy

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What does everyone think? Price point and usability is perfect for school districts like Los Angeles that dumped the limited iPad. Will also displace the overpriced and limited Macbook Air and new retina Macbook.

- super light 1.37 pounds and super thin 8.7mm in tablet mode
- 10.8" 1920x1280 3:2 ratio
- Atom x7 (fanless?)
- up to 10 hour battery
- 802.11ac capable
- built-in ports include full-size USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort, micro SD slot, micro USB charging port
- runs Windows 8.1 and upgradable to 10
- highest model includes 4GB DRAM, 128GB SSD and LTE
(pen and keyboard sold separately)

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Surface-3/productID.314885500
 
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Looks good. I'm interested to see benchmarks for the new Atom x7 series. If this Surface can trade blows with the Surface Pro 1/2 in graphics, count me in for the 4GB model.

I wish people would stop trying to compare the Surface to Apple's stuff though. Microsoft unsuccessfully marketed the Pro 1 and 2 as Macbook replacements. It wasn't until they stepped back from that with the redesign on the 3 that we actually got something worth using because it's a good product in its own right and not just "not Apple."
 
Waiting on the Surface Pro 4 before finally getting onboard.
 
Looks good. I'm interested to see benchmarks for the new Atom x7 series. If this Surface can trade blows with the Surface Pro 1/2 in graphics, count me in for the 4GB model.

Not sure if the x7 can do that even the power and thermal constraints but it will be interesting to see who well Cherry Trail performs. Bay Trail overall was an impressive improvement in the Atom line. I don't think CT will be a big of jump but it should allow for enough performance boost to smooth out the rough spots of BT.

I wish people would stop trying to compare the Surface to Apple's stuff though. Microsoft unsuccessfully marketed the Pro 1 and 2 as Macbook replacements. It wasn't until they stepped back from that with the redesign on the 3 that we actually got something worth using because it's a good product in its own right and not just "not Apple."

The SP 1 & 2 were too small to be marketed as the tablet that can replace a laptop. The SP3's size hits the sweet spot for a tablet/laptop hybrid I think. The Surface 3 is more like a tablet that can replace your netbook, though that's not really fair to the Atom x7 as it's no doubt blows away the stereotypical Atom in pre-Bay Trail device.

As to the device itself, the kickstand is only 3 positions and not variable like the SP3, the screen is 10.8" at 1920x1280 for the same 3:2 ratio as the SP3. The Type Cover has been slightly enhanced over the SP3 and it uses the same pens as the SP3 and the pens will now come in different colors. The pen isn't included as well the keyboard.

Briefly judging by the some of the comments out there, there are a lot of complaints about the price. But I can't think of any tablet with this kind of build quality and specs that any cheaper at this size. Plus I doubt that Microsoft is every really going to get into the low price tablet market and compete more directly with its OEMs in that space.
 
It looks like the base level Surface that Microsoft should have had all along. Expensive for an Atom-based tablet, but then it's not using low-end parts, either.

That said, fantasies of this competing with the MacBook Air and Pro... hah, no. Those systems are much more powerful. Whether or not this lures away iPad users is another matter. It has the pen, more base storage (even after factoring in Windows' bloat) and a desktop OS, but it's also hampered by a bulkier design and an inferior selection of tablet-native apps.
 
To expensive for my liking. It would be $650 for me to actually get what I want out of this tablet which is just to steep. I would be much more willing to part with that kind of cash if it had the same screen/dimensions as the SP3.
 
That said, fantasies of this competing with the MacBook Air and Pro... hah, no. Those systems are much more powerful. Whether or not this lures away iPad users is another matter. It has the pen, more base storage (even after factoring in Windows' bloat) and a desktop OS, but it's also hampered by a bulkier design and an inferior selection of tablet-native apps.

I really don't think that device is competing directly against anything outside of other Windows devices, at least not directly. I think Windows tablet hybrids are starting to come into their own where they can push several million devices per quarter. Not a lot of volume but there's good margins on these devices, way better than the typical cheap laptop or Chromebook.

Windows actually is getting very good at storage efficiency . 8.1 Update cuts the base install of Windows down to about 4GB using WIM boot and Windows 10 has a much more efficient recovery mechanism that doesn't require a separate disk partition if I'm understanding correctly. Bulkier design is a bit of an overstatement. The device at over an 1" more screen is only about 6 ounces heavier than the latest iPad and only about .15 mm thicker. With the Type Cover it is still under two pounds. If the performance and battery life are what I'm expecting, it looks to be a very powerful device that easily gets 8 hours of battery life almost any mix of tasks and is under two pounds.
 
Lower the price on the keyboard and it's a decent deal for a good product. Otherwise everyone will just be waiting for it to go on sale. Heck, we'll see what these are going for when the Surface 4 comes out, I might pick one up!
 
Asus UX305 is $699. Surface 3 with Keyboard is $540.

That is putting a Core M, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM machine within spitting distance of a Atom, 64GB SSD, 2GB RAM machine.

The only thing the Surface 3 has going for it really in my mind is a slightly smaller frame, and pen input. This thing is overpriced. Like pretty much every surface before it. The price would be ok if it included the keyboard. Without the keyboard, it is overpriced.
 
I really don't think that device is competing directly against anything outside of other Windows devices, at least not directly. I think Windows tablet hybrids are starting to come into their own where they can push several million devices per quarter. Not a lot of volume but there's good margins on these devices, way better than the typical cheap laptop or Chromebook.

Windows actually is getting very good at storage efficiency . 8.1 Update cuts the base install of Windows down to about 4GB using WIM boot and Windows 10 has a much more efficient recovery mechanism that doesn't require a separate disk partition if I'm understanding correctly. Bulkier design is a bit of an overstatement. The device at over an 1" more screen is only about 6 ounces heavier than the latest iPad and only about .15 mm thicker. With the Type Cover it is still under two pounds. If the performance and battery life are what I'm expecting, it looks to be a very powerful device that easily gets 8 hours of battery life almost any mix of tasks and is under two pounds.

Agreed. They are their own segment. You either need that functionality or you don't.
 
Looks good. I'm interested to see benchmarks for the new Atom x7 series.

Haha, first thing I did was look up benchmarks for this one. Specs seem pretty high-end for an Atom CPU (4 cores and decent speeds). I bet the 4GB model will be very close to the new Macbook or even beating it (it crushes it on paper) at less than 50% of the price.
 
$500 should include a pen and the keyboard. Lets be real here MS probably gets the pens for $10 or less each and the keyboards are worth $20 or so. If they include those for the price suddenly you have a complete package for a nice round $500. You take them out and it drives this thing way up in price. Now days companies like asus are pushing out killer ultra books with real core i5/7 processors for around the same price as you can get this once you throw in the keyboard and dock.
 
$500 should include a pen and the keyboard. Lets be real here MS probably gets the pens for $10 or less each and the keyboards are worth $20 or so. If they include those for the price suddenly you have a complete package for a nice round $500. You take them out and it drives this thing way up in price. Now days companies like asus are pushing out killer ultra books with real core i5/7 processors for around the same price as you can get this once you throw in the keyboard and dock.

There are multiple factors at play here. I think Microsoft wants to create a distinctive premium PC device in the Surface line but also do it someone profitably. Obviously the Surface Windows RT devices weren't doing that so now they've done probably what they should have done and focused on x86 and full Windows devices. But they have to tread a bit carefully and not squeeze out their OEMs.

If Microsoft were willing to cut margins and create a bigger line of devices at lower prices they could probably be a top 5 tablet maker. If the Surface 3 and its successors continue to do well they might even get to that group anyway. But I think it makes more sense, at least at this time, to stick to higher end devices.

And when you look at what you get with the Surface 3 and Pro 3, the prices are very much in line with higher end devices. Sure you can get a cheaper laptop that's got more compute power and cheaper tablets, but cheaper tablets of this quality with similar specs that are also hybrids don't exist. So it is a niche market but if Microsoft can push a 2 or 3 million of these a quarter will good margins, that's not a bad business for them and it doesn't completely crowd out OEMs.
 
That completely depends on how the consumer looks at it and lets just say most consumers are not going to see it the way you do. A 10 inch ipad ($500 latest model) or galaxy tab pro ($400) (which comes with a pen for free) is the same price or less than the surface 3 as it is configured without pen or keyboard, on top of that they have much higher resolution screens which is a win int he consumers eyes. Most consumers have no clue or way to directly compare atom to ARM as such they will not realize or likely care about the advantages of atom. I don't really care if cheaper hybrids exist, MS needs to make them exist right now. That is how they can start seriously breaking into mobile devices with windows. If under cutting shit ass OEMs that don't give a rip about MS is what MS has to do than so be it. Who are they going to run to anyway? google with nexus whom they are already partnered with? Or apple that wont let them play?

I think most people here could agree that $500 surface 3+ pen and keyboard is a killer combo. At $630 for that combo you are getting into surface pro territory. This is how consumers are going to see it. MS can keep making money every time someone loses a pen. But right now at this point in history MS needs to think a lot harder about pushing surface for its advantages not making those advantages something that well just doesn't come with the base configuration.
 
Exchange rate changes and interesting pricing strategies have created a rather funny situation up here in Canada.

Surface 3 MSRP is $639 and $739 respectically. However the SP3 i3 MSRP is $849 as it was set when the rate was much better. The i3 has also been on sale just last month for $100 off.

So while my wait is paying off with better (or just more suitable) computer/electronic products, the exchange rate at the same time is killing off the real world benefits. :p
 
That completely depends on how the consumer looks at it and lets just say most consumers are not going to see it the way you do. A 10 inch ipad ($500 latest model) or galaxy tab pro ($400) (which comes with a pen for free) is the same price or less than the surface 3 as it is configured without pen or keyboard, on top of that they have much higher resolution screens which is a win int he consumers eyes. Most consumers have no clue or way to directly compare atom to ARM as such they will not realize or likely care about the advantages of atom.

The Galaxy Tab series doesn't have a pen digitizer, that's the difference between the Tab and Note lines. And the pen included with the Notes is just something that fits in the included silo which is nice but it's not something really comfortable to use for extended periods of time.

Unlike Surface RT devices the new Surface 3 really isn't a direct-competitor to iPads or Android tablets. I think Microsoft finally found its niche in the productivity tablet hybrid space. The marketing videos they released emphasize this point, with their tagline "The tablet that can replace your laptop." While many will debate the truthfulness of this statement I think something like a Surface 3 would be seen generally as a device tat can do that better than an iPad or Android tablet.


I don't really care if cheaper hybrids exist, MS needs to make them exist right now. That is how they can start seriously breaking into mobile devices with windows. If under cutting shit ass OEMs that don't give a rip about MS is what MS has to do than so be it. Who are they going to run to anyway? google with nexus whom they are already partnered with? Or apple that wont let them play?

I think most people here could agree that $500 surface 3+ pen and keyboard is a killer combo. At $630 for that combo you are getting into surface pro territory. This is how consumers are going to see it. MS can keep making money every time someone loses a pen. But right now at this point in history MS needs to think a lot harder about pushing surface for its advantages not making those advantages something that well just doesn't come with the base configuration.

Of course it would be great for consumers if both the Surface 3 and Pro 3 came with the Type Cover and pen, the Pro 3 does come the pen already. But Microsoft can't completely discount the economics nor implications to their OEMs. What I see for now will the Surface 3 is the next logical step in recovering from the Surface RT disaster. It might very well be that Microsoft will need to be more aggressive with pricing but with current projections of a flat tablet market, declining sales of the iPad and more interest in tablet hybrids than ever before I think the Surface 3 can push one to two million units per quarter at current pricing. Much of that will depend on how good these new Atoms are.
 
And when you look at what you get with the Surface 3 and Pro 3, the prices are very much in line with higher end devices. Sure you can get a cheaper laptop that's got more compute power and cheaper tablets, but cheaper tablets of this quality with similar specs that are also hybrids don't exist. So it is a niche market but if Microsoft can push a 2 or 3 million of these a quarter will good margins, that's not a bad business for them and it doesn't completely crowd out OEMs.

Asus UX305 mentioned above, if you want a 2-in-1 go with the Tranformer Book T300. Both start at $699, give you better specs and still very good build quality. HP Spectre is a pretty good option as well. Bottom line, you are wrong the MS products are overpriced. Microsoft is charging people an Apple tax, plain and simple.
 
Asus UX305 mentioned above, if you want a 2-in-1 go with the Tranformer Book T300. Both start at $699, give you better specs and still very good build quality. HP Spectre is a pretty good option as well. Bottom line, you are wrong the MS products are overpriced. Microsoft is charging people an Apple tax, plain and simple.

The UX305 isn't a tablet and the T300 starts at $200 more though with the keyboard the gap closes to only $70. But the Surface 3 and Type Cover are significantly lighter than the T300 around two pounds versus over 3 and I think the T300 uses Synaptics pen technology. I've not see any reviews of a pen on a T300 but that same technology is in other devices and none of them come close to the pen technology in the Surface Pro 3 and the Surface 3 uses the same tech.

Something the size, weight, quality, battery life and pen capabilities of the Surface 3 starting at $500 is very much inline with other devices on the market. Good pen enabled devices cost more no matter who makes them.
 
The UX305 isn't a tablet and the T300 starts at $200 more though with the keyboard the gap closes to only $70. But the Surface 3 and Type Cover are significantly lighter than the T300 around two pounds versus over 3 and I think the T300 uses Synaptics pen technology. I've not see any reviews of a pen on a T300 but that same technology is in other devices and none of them come close to the pen technology in the Surface Pro 3 and the Surface 3 uses the same tech.

Something the size, weight, quality, battery life and pen capabilities of the Surface 3 starting at $500 is very much inline with other devices on the market. Good pen enabled devices cost more no matter who makes them.

The T300 also starts at double the capacity, and it is a Core M not an Atom processor. Point being, you CAN get comparable 2-in-1 devices, or comparable laptops with higher or equal specs for pretty much the same price point. Something you said didn't exist.
 
The T300 also starts at double the capacity, and it is a Core M not an Atom processor. Point being, you CAN get comparable 2-in-1 devices, or comparable laptops with higher or equal specs for pretty much the same price point. Something you said didn't exist.

What I said was that taking all the factors into account, size, weight, battery life, screen, build quality and the pen, no there's not anything out there that's better priced.

The pen is kind of a big deal for the Surface. I love my Surface Pro 3 and am fine with the price but if one doesn't need the pen or the tablet form factor then it may not be the device for that person.
 
Having owned both Asus and Microsoft products Microsoft quality with the Surface series is on a much higher level. I wouldn't mind Asus if it's priced lower but if priced similarly there's no chance.
 
What I said was that taking all the factors into account, size, weight, battery life, screen, build quality and the pen, no there's not anything out there that's better priced.

The pen is kind of a big deal for the Surface. I love my Surface Pro 3 and am fine with the price but if one doesn't need the pen or the tablet form factor then it may not be the device for that person.

Sure, the Surface is the only device with its exact dimensions, that is offered in that exact shade of gray, that has that exact 22 degree chamfered edge, with that exact configuration of ports. :rolleyes:

Pen input is an extremely small factor in a wide consumer device for this segment. It just isn't something that drives demand and is not something that most people want/need/factor in to their buying decisions. It is great for you, but it is not the primary point of comparison when looking at its place in the market.
 
Sure, the Surface is the only device with its exact dimensions, that is offered in that exact shade of gray, that has that exact 22 degree chamfered edge, with that exact configuration of ports. :rolleyes:

The Surface 3 is 1.37 lbs., just under 2 lbs. with the Type Cover rated on paper at 10 hours of battery life with magnesium unibody casing with the latest Atom CPU that will should rival Core M fanless designs with better battery efficiency, good digital pen tech and a quality 3:2 1920x1280 10.8" screen.


Pen input is an extremely small factor in a wide consumer device for this segment. It just isn't something that drives demand and is not something that most people want/need/factor in to their buying decisions. It is great for you, but it is not the primary point of comparison when looking at its place in the market.

Like the Surface Pro 3, the Surface 3 isn't a mass market device though it is mass marketed. It's a productivity tablet and is a niche market. A pen is an important element in a productivity tablet. You wouldn't by a Surface to do short emails and simple web browsing and causal gaming which is the bulk of the mass consumer tablet market.

I think Microsoft finally got this when it did the Surface Pro 3. Remember they were supposed to have announced a Windows RT Surface Mini but scrapped that at the last minute. They started to focus on a great productivity tablet and pricy as it is that seems to be working. The Surface 3 is just extending the same idea to a lower price point.
 
The Type Cover is about the worst keyboard I've ever used, and certainly the worst keyboard I've ever seen for upwards of $100. It's bad enough that I found it an active incentive NOT to use a Surface device all on its own.

For the kind of things I'd be willing to suffer that keyboard for, I could handle on a phone with a keyboard, never mind a tablet.

The pen is niche at best.

It's desktop Windows with all the compromises and issues that entails without enough power to do the really interesting stuff that, with dedicated apps, works perfectly fluidly on both iOS and Android devices.

Unless your life revolves around inking and OneNote, it's too little, too late and over priced.
 
The Surface 3 is 1.37 lbs., just under 2 lbs. with the Type Cover rated on paper at 10 hours of battery life with magnesium unibody casing with the latest Atom CPU that will should rival Core M fanless designs with better battery efficiency, good digital pen tech and a quality 3:2 1920x1280 10.8" screen.

I doubt the Atom will perform as well as the Core M. We will see but it would be pretty dumb for Intel to destroy their product differentiation like that.
 
The Type Cover is about the worst keyboard I've ever used, and certainly the worst keyboard I've ever seen for upwards of $100. It's bad enough that I found it an active incentive NOT to use a Surface device all on its own.

I've been very pleased with the Surface Pro 3 Type Cover both keyboard and track pad. I wish the keys were chiclet style, the lack of spacing is the biggest issue for me. The track pad is actually one of the better ones on a PC when enhanced precision is turned on.


The pen is niche at best.

It's desktop Windows with all the compromises and issues that entails without enough power to do the really interesting stuff that, with dedicated apps, works perfectly fluidly on both iOS and Android devices.

Unless your life revolves around inking and OneNote, it's too little, too late and over priced.

The thing is that whatever interest there is in Windows tablets and hybrids, that market seems to want full Windows. Windows RT the OS failed in large part because if you can have it all, both the full desktop and touch/tablet apps, why spend the same amount of money on something that only offered one of these options?

Devices like the Surface 3 represent the lightest, thinnest and most battery efficient PCs ever created. Thin, light and battery efficient are things the market is willing to pay a premium for, that's just how it works. The Surface 3 is just extending the idea of the apparently successful Surface Pro 3 into a bit smaller and cheaper package.

And yes the pen is niche, but so are devices like the Surface 3 and Pro 3. Again, they are mass marketed niche devices. Much like Macs. And that's fine. We have tons of cheap junk in the PC world already and I think that's one of the reasons why Microsoft got into the PC device business. Build something that's not trying to cut every single corner to squeeze out a meager margin.
 
I doubt the Atom will perform as well as the Core M. We will see but it would be pretty dumb for Intel to destroy their product differentiation like that.

The question is though how much differentiation is there really between the lowest end Core M fanless designs and higher end Cherry Trail devices? Sure the Core M has more top end performance, which kills the battery faster and generates a lot more heat. In typical operations the difference between the two will probably be hard to see while getting better battery life.

I'm sure there will be tons of benchmarking of the Surface 3 against the new Macbook and other Core M devices. Should be interesting.
 
Devices like the Surface 3 represent the lightest, thinnest and most battery efficient PCs ever created. Thin, light and battery efficient are things the market is willing to pay a premium for, that's just how it works. The Surface 3 is just extending the idea of the apparently successful Surface Pro 3 into a bit smaller and cheaper package.

That is a rather bold and completely unsubstantiated claim. History has shown that Apple MacBooks are typically far and away the most battery efficient PC's. On a runtime per Watt/hour basis very few Windows machines have been able to come close. The Surface devices while good in battery life, still aren't even the tops of the Windows machines when it comes to efficiency. Currently that title belongs to the Dell XPS 13 FHD.

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Surface Pro 3 is decidedly in a third tier of machines in power efficiency. Behind the FHD XPS 13, Macbook, and Sony Vaio Pro.
 
That is a rather bold and completely unsubstantiated claim.

It's not an unsubstantiated claim but simple fact. I said like the Surface 3, not Surface Pro 3. These Atom powered devices are the thinnest, lightest and most battery efficient PCs ever. The only device on the list you referenced that's a tablet is the Surface Pro 3. Some of the devices on this list are twice the weight of the Surface 3 even with the Type Cover.
 
Look at the weight difference. Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3 in their lightest form are 1.37# and 1.76# which are about half of others. For someone who wants a modern transformable device with touch/pen input, tablet mode, light weight and the best build quality the others don't quality.
 
Oh, brother. Who the fuck is arguing against a Surface these days. These devices have already proven themselves.

Though I am still waiting for an 8-inch version with OLED display.
 
The problem with most of these arguments is that surface is NOT a niche device to MS, it is supposed to be the thing that gets them back into mobile. They are priced in what we would call premium tablet territory. Both the ipad and galaxy note 10 and galaxy tab have higher resolutions screens, are thinner devices and have a mobile app library that is better as well as currently being well accepted devices, the first things people look to and are familiar with. MS needs something to drive sales and $500 with a pen at least and even a touch keyboard could do that. Sitting where they are now just isn't gong to turn many heads.
 
The problem with most of these arguments is that surface is NOT a niche device to MS, it is supposed to be the thing that gets them back into mobile. They are priced in what we would call premium tablet territory. Both the ipad and galaxy note 10 and galaxy tab have higher resolutions screens, are thinner devices and have a mobile app library that is better as well as currently being well accepted devices, the first things people look to and are familiar with. MS needs something to drive sales and $500 with a pen at least and even a touch keyboard could do that. Sitting where they are now just isn't gong to turn many heads.

The point of the Surface line has changed since its introduction now almost three years ago. But it's always been marketed, even Surface RT, as a productivity tablet, the tablet that can replace your laptop.

While I'm sure Microsoft would have loved to have sold more of them, particularly Surface RT devices, I don't think Microsoft wanted to own the Windows tablet market and squeeze out its OEMs. Most Windows tablets sold aren't the Surface, i.e. they are made by OEMs generally at much lower price points. Maybe it will come to pass but for now I don't see Microsoft wanting to get into the sub-$500 x86 tablet market. For all of the troubles of Surface and Windows 8.x, most industry projections show Windows tablets experiencing some major growth through the end of the decade even while the overall tablet market remains flat.

So for now, while Microsoft is struggling mightily in phones, tis tablet strategy seems to be working pretty well. I imagine that Microsoft could sell a lot more tablets if they wanted to sell at lower price points but that would come at the expense of OEMs and long term I don't see how that benefits Microsoft, pissing off OEMs to push low margin tablets for minimal gain.

I think Microsoft's productivity tablet strategy is the right one for now. As you point out iOS and Android have much larger tablet app stores. But the iPad suffered a nearly 15% drop off in sales and the tablet market has cooled considerably since the Surface launched. Concentrating on the area of growth and margins makes sense.
 
The point of the Surface line has changed since its introduction now almost three years ago. But it's always been marketed, even Surface RT, as a productivity tablet, the tablet that can replace your laptop.

While I'm sure Microsoft would have loved to have sold more of them, particularly Surface RT devices, I don't think Microsoft wanted to own the Windows tablet market and squeeze out its OEMs. Most Windows tablets sold aren't the Surface, i.e. they are made by OEMs generally at much lower price points. Maybe it will come to pass but for now I don't see Microsoft wanting to get into the sub-$500 x86 tablet market. For all of the troubles of Surface and Windows 8.x, most industry projections show Windows tablets experiencing some major growth through the end of the decade even while the overall tablet market remains flat.

So for now, while Microsoft is struggling mightily in phones, tis tablet strategy seems to be working pretty well. I imagine that Microsoft could sell a lot more tablets if they wanted to sell at lower price points but that would come at the expense of OEMs and long term I don't see how that benefits Microsoft, pissing off OEMs to push low margin tablets for minimal gain.

I think Microsoft's productivity tablet strategy is the right one for now. As you point out iOS and Android have much larger tablet app stores. But the iPad suffered a nearly 15% drop off in sales and the tablet market has cooled considerably since the Surface launched. Concentrating on the area of growth and margins makes sense.

Yeah, Microsoft has long pitched the Surface line as a guiding star for vendors: here's a good example of what you can do with Windows.

The question to me is whether it's really serving well in that role. There are definitely a few inspired Windows designs (Lenovo's Yoga series, for example), but a lot of companies are still stuck in that cycle of ever cheaper, ever crappier PCs that let Apple and Google steamroll Microsoft in the first place.
 
Yeah, Microsoft has long pitched the Surface line as a guiding star for vendors: here's a good example of what you can do with Windows.

The question to me is whether it's really serving well in that role.

I think so. I'm a long time Tablet PC fan and user. I understood the point of RT but never figured it made it a lot of sense. The Pro line I totally understood but the first two Pros just weren't solid Tablet PCs, the biggest issue being size. The Surface Pro 3 is the best Tablet PC ever sold. It's not a perfect device and it has it's flaws but I think it gets much more right than wrong.
 
Yeah, Microsoft has long pitched the Surface line as a guiding star for vendors: here's a good example of what you can do with Windows.

The question to me is whether it's really serving well in that role.

It's doing that job amazing in that role. As long as it's profitable (and the pro line appears to have been profitable the whole time) it's a shining example of "see Windows doesn't suck it's all those shitty OEMs".
 
The point of the Surface line has changed since its introduction now almost three years ago. But it's always been marketed, even Surface RT, as a productivity tablet, the tablet that can replace your laptop.

While I'm sure Microsoft would have loved to have sold more of them, particularly Surface RT devices, I don't think Microsoft wanted to own the Windows tablet market and squeeze out its OEMs. Most Windows tablets sold aren't the Surface, i.e. they are made by OEMs generally at much lower price points. Maybe it will come to pass but for now I don't see Microsoft wanting to get into the sub-$500 x86 tablet market. For all of the troubles of Surface and Windows 8.x, most industry projections show Windows tablets experiencing some major growth through the end of the decade even while the overall tablet market remains flat.

So for now, while Microsoft is struggling mightily in phones, tis tablet strategy seems to be working pretty well. I imagine that Microsoft could sell a lot more tablets if they wanted to sell at lower price points but that would come at the expense of OEMs and long term I don't see how that benefits Microsoft, pissing off OEMs to push low margin tablets for minimal gain.

I think Microsoft's productivity tablet strategy is the right one for now. As you point out iOS and Android have much larger tablet app stores. But the iPad suffered a nearly 15% drop off in sales and the tablet market has cooled considerably since the Surface launched. Concentrating on the area of growth and margins makes sense.

Long term it benefits MS by actually having a play in the game, the OEMs don't care cause they can switch to android in 1 quarter. The best bet MS has is to simply do whatever it takes to get into mobile and worry about the fallout later. Honestly what exactly are OEMs bringing to the table? Not much, we have the dell venue 8 and that's about it, ironically brought to us by a company that has a large stake in MS since the buy back. MS should first take market share back, when they have market share the OEMs will come back whether they want to or not.
 
It's not an unsubstantiated claim but simple fact. I said like the Surface 3, not Surface Pro 3. These Atom powered devices are the thinnest, lightest and most battery efficient PCs ever. The only device on the list you referenced that's a tablet is the Surface Pro 3. Some of the devices on this list are twice the weight of the Surface 3 even with the Type Cover.

Again, a completely unsubstantiated claim. Show me one test of the Atom x7 battery efficiency. Don't mind me if I am not holding my breath.
 
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