Microsoft Surface 2 Live Blog

Exactly as the leaks stated. Haswell update for Pro, and faster ARM chip upgrade for Surface RT (which dropped RT, to further obfuscate that it doesn't run full windows).

This looks like it will only excite the same people that Surface 1 excited.
 
huh? So how do you differentiate between the ARM and x86 versions now?
 
Garbage.

450+ tax for a netbook
900+ tax for an ultrabook.

I think will stay with my 1 year old dell latitude e6230 ultrabook for another year or 2.
i5-3320m, 8GB DDR3, Samsung 256SSD for only 360+tax
 
wonderfield said:
They're also completely different colors, for starters.
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So everyone knows that Black = runs x86 software?

It was already confusing enough when RT device was actually labeled as such, now there is no real consumer friendly indication that some of these devices don't actually run traditional windows software.

It is almost like Microsoft assumes that is a completely irrelevant distinction.
 
Raidenfx said:
Garbage.

450+ tax for a netbook
900+ tax for an ultrabook.

I think will stay with my 1 year old dell latitude e6230 ultrabook for another year or 2.
i5-3320m, 8GB DDR3, Samsung 256SSD for only 360+tax
Click to expand...

What? These are tablets. They have touchscreens, friend. They're aimed at a completely different use case than your Dell Latitude.
 
Raidenfx said:
I think will stay with my 1 year old dell latitude e6230 ultrabook for another year or 2.
i5-3320m, 8GB DDR3, Samsung 256SSD for only 360+tax
Click to expand...
I'm assuming you bought that used, or Dell had a fire sale on that particular model, as the tray price of the i5-3320M alone is $225.
 
Raidenfx said:
Garbage.

450+ tax for a netbook
900+ tax for an ultrabook.

I think will stay with my 1 year old dell latitude e6230 ultrabook for another year or 2.
i5-3320m, 8GB DDR3, Samsung 256SSD for only 360+tax
Click to expand...

Your completely missing the point of these products, that does not make the "garbage" as you say.

I dont own a surface personally but I do own a windows 7 Asus eee slate. As I was going through engineering school it was absolutely invaluable to me. The combination of the EEE Slate, my Asus Transformer and my Note 2 i had access to all of my school material including all of my notes whenever i wanted it.

Especially in EE its impossible to use a standard laptop for notetaking, especially in classes like VLSI Design or Power Systems or anything that required note taking with tons and tons of diagrams and math formulas. With the EEE Slate and OneNote i could take ALL of my notes digitally, and have it synced across ALL of my machines.

The productivity capabilities of these (specifically the pro) are huge. Just because you dont get it, doesnt make it garbage
 
CEpeep said:
What? These are tablets. They have touchscreens, friend. They're aimed at a completely different use case than your Dell Latitude.
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Tablets with Wacom pens. While niche pens offer productivity scenarios for note taking and art that a conventional device can't offer.

Very evolutionary upgrade but the battery life issues of the Pro are mostly fixed in the Pro 2. And with the battery cover you get somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 hours.
 
VladDracule said:
Especially in EE its impossible to use a standard laptop for notetaking, especially in classes like VLSI Design or Power Systems or anything that required note taking with tons and tons of diagrams and math formulas. With the EEE Slate and OneNote i could take ALL of my notes digitally, and have it synced across ALL of my machines.
Click to expand...

The capability of OneNote on a device like the Surface Pro really is amazing.
 
I'm about to jump into the market for an ultra book. This looks like it might be a really compelling alternative.
 
Devices and services! Devices and services! Devices and services! Devices and services! Devices and services! Devices and services! Devices and services! Devices and services! Devices and services! Devices and services!
 
I would of liked some sort of LTE.
I like that my ipad is always connected.
I was really hoping for LTE to get away from the ipad and Surface 2 looked like a good deal until I saw it was Wifi only.
Oh Well.. maybe the Surface 3?
 
VladDracule said:
Especially in EE its impossible to use a standard laptop for notetaking, especially in classes like VLSI Design or Power Systems or anything that required note taking with tons and tons of diagrams and math formulas. With the EEE Slate and OneNote i could take ALL of my notes digitally, and have it synced across ALL of my machines.

The productivity capabilities of these (specifically the pro) are huge. Just because you dont get it, doesnt make it garbage
Click to expand...

Is Microsoft going to be able to run it's business on expensive niche devices for EE students and artists?

What a disappointment. I really don't understand what Microsoft is doing, they've completely missed the boat on tablets. Right now they need great phones and a cheap content consumption tablet to compete with Android and encourage software development. These expensive niche devices are just going to cost them money and leech resources from Windows Phone OS development.

Maybe Ballmer's retirement package is warehouses full of unsold Surfaces?
 
Yeah, the Surface 2 is proof that Microsoft still does not understand what makes an attractive tablet.

High price combined with tiny, locked-in software library = fail.

Oh, but you get a fancy new 1080p screen and a fancy new Tegra 4, not that the obviously targeted audience of small business (or self-employed) users are likely to care about the cutting-edge gaming capabilities when there are so few games worth playing. Those who are truly looking for a portable gaming experience would be better served by the Shield, which is cheaper and has real controls.

Call me back when Microsoft gets a clue and prices these things at $350 with BayTrail inside.
 
Another thought I just had:

With Microsoft discounting the cost of all versions of Windows 8.1, and bundling Office free, what remaining reason does anyone have to purchase products from them?

They can't compete with a lower price since they've already extended that to all OEMs, and the Office bundle is no-longer an RT-exclusive, so what else does Microsoft have to offer over any other ORMA?

I guess some people might like the touch covers, but there's really nothing Microsoft has on-offer now that can't be copied at a lower price point (including the fancy Wacom digitizer on the Pro). How do they indent to become a device builder from the ground-up when they have no enticing designs? Their OEM competitors have much longer established mind-share in the device market, and in the end of the day they can access the exact same Windows Store.
 
Can't wait for the Surface 3. Let's see if MS is insane enough.

No one is going to buy this esp considering the apps are lacking. MS needs to bring back x86 compatibility.
I've said it before- if netbooks started at $199 in the past, adding a touchscreen should not make this exceed $299 with a Windows 'starter' version.

New ipads are coming out soon, and there might even be a gold ipad. MS is a non starter, and will be forgotten next month. I mean tomorrow, after all other current news comes to the surface and buries it.
 
If Samsung has a way to put a penabled tablet at $500 ish (Note) then MS should be trying for that with the "RT". If they want to gain a foothold whilst offering uniqueness they need to offer a decent penabled tablet not a ridiculous price. $900 is nice for the device (to me) but it isn't enough to help what MS is trying to do. What a poorly managed company.
 
dr.kevin said:
Can't wait for the Surface 3. Let's see if MS is insane enough.

No one is going to buy this esp considering the apps are lacking. MS needs to bring back x86 compatibility.
I've said it before- if netbooks started at $199 in the past, adding a touchscreen should not make this exceed $299 with a Windows 'starter' version.

New ipads are coming out soon, and there might even be a gold ipad. MS is a non starter, and will be forgotten next month. I mean tomorrow, after all other current news comes to the surface and buries it.
Click to expand...

Im curious if you can name an app on either Android of Apple that is necessary for you, and Windows RT cant support. Numbers are garbage, they dont filter worthless apps that just about nobody uses.

Netbooks are also much easier to design, and typically have hardware that is below what many of these tablets offer. Netbooks are cheap sure, but their cheap POS's with very little capability. A Touchscreen adds a significant cost in terms of not only the panel itself, but the software to back it. the Tegra chips are much more expensive than the crap ass atoms in netbooks as well
 
Seriously, you all are haters. I have a Surface RT and I simply love it. Before that I had a Kindle fire and both did what I needed them to do.

Surface: Office 2013, Games, Emulators, Internet Explorer. Oh yeah, and it has a USB port for my gamepad!

Do you know how many people are simply amazed that I have Office 2013 on my tablet.

It's not a laptop, it's a tablet. And a much nicer one in my opinion then the iPad.
 
defaultluser said:
Call me back when Microsoft gets a clue and prices these things at $350 with BayTrail inside.
Click to expand...


A number of Microsoft's OEMs are making devices like this. If Microsoft were to launch a Bay Trail Surface in this price range, like a lot of OEMs are, you'd have to imagine they wouldn't be very happy.
 
heatlesssun said:
A number of Microsoft's OEMs are making devices like this. If Microsoft were to launch a Bay Trail Surface in this price range, like a lot of OEMs are, you'd have to imagine they wouldn't be very happy.
Click to expand...

A lot of manufactures have ~$900 haswell convertibles. That hasn't stopped Microsoft.

Since it seems Microsoft can't convince anyone else to build RT machines, Microsoft either has to build them or admit it is a failure.

Until they admit defeat on RT, we probably won't see an Atom Surface from Microsoft as it would make an RT Surface machine pointless.
 
defaultluser said:
Yeah, the Surface 2 is proof that Microsoft still does not understand what makes an attractive tablet.

High price combined with tiny, locked-in software library = fail.

Oh, but you get a fancy new 1080p screen and a fancy new Tegra 4, not that the obviously targeted audience of small business (or self-employed) users are likely to care about the cutting-edge gaming capabilities when there are so few games worth playing. Those who are truly looking for a portable gaming experience would be better served by the Shield, which is cheaper and has real controls.

Call me back when Microsoft gets a clue and prices these things at $350 with BayTrail inside.
Click to expand...

Asus has one coming and it includes a keyboard and office for $350.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7320/asus-transformer-book-t100-atom-z3740-inside
 
Gotta love how Surface news brings all the idiots out of the woodwork.

So, uh, name one device that is even comparable to the Surface Pro 2.
 
Pro 2 looks interesting, the power improvements in Haswell will be welcome and the beefier IGP should let it run something like Diablo comfortably.

I actually believe the proper end game for these things is Skylake with DDR4 and Thunderbolt 2. Take this thing anywhere with you then when you get home hook up a proper GPU via an external thunderbolt 2 caddy/dock.
 
Megalith said:
Gotta love how Surface news brings all the idiots out of the woodwork.

So, uh, name one device that is even comparable to the Surface Pro 2.
Click to expand...

I don't recall ever insulting the Surface Pro.

It's a competitive convertible with a good feature set. I simply observed that MS will have difficulty gaining market share against entrenched OEMs that can copy their every move, possibly at a lower price.

This is the very reason Apple ditched the idea of licensing their OS after one massive failure. When everyone can make a Windows convertible, people may quickly forget Surface.
 
I'll be all over a Surface pro, if I can get the 8gb RAM model for a reasonable price.
 
I will be getting the surface pro 2. My only choice really since I want Wacom digitizer with Haswell.
 
heatlesssun said:
A number of Microsoft's OEMs are making devices like this. If Microsoft were to launch a Bay Trail Surface in this price range, like a lot of OEMs are, you'd have to imagine they wouldn't be very happy.
Click to expand...

I say fuck the OEMs. MS should build it all themselves like apple builds its ipads. The last generation oem RT tabs didn't sell shit either, and didn't asus say it wasn't playing anymore?

MS should build it cheaply and cut out all the oems.

I have dozens of programs I regularly use on my laptop, which cost less than $500. If I wanted internet on the go, I'd buy a cheap tablet. If you want to stop me from buying that cheap tablet, make a $300 tablet that I can run my regular programs on. I don't care if it's underpowered.

When we're talking about a $1000 x86 tablet, I just say Naaaah, I'd rather lug around my slightly heavier $500 laptop. The extra convenience of the tablet isn't worth the extra $500 to me.
 
NeoZer0 said:
Seriously, you all are haters. I have a Surface RT and I simply love it.
Click to expand...

No, we're realists. The Surface RT and 2 were/are vastly overpriced at launch. They should be priced at $299 or $349 with the keyboard. $499 for gen 1 and $449 for gen 2??? Get real.

BTW.....the general market agrees with us "haters", seeing that MS took close to a billion dollars in write-down due to the utter failure of the RT.
 
dr.kevin said:
When we're talking about a $1000 x86 tablet, I just say Naaaah, I'd rather lug around my slightly heavier $500 laptop. The extra convenience of the tablet isn't worth the extra $500 to me.
Click to expand...

And again, there are plenty of OEMs building x86 tablets and hybrids well under $1000. I don't think it is in Microsoft's or customers best interests for Microsoft to take away all of the Windows tablet market. We'll see what the OEMs come up with when these devices get out into the market but there seem to be a lot of well priced Bay Trail devices coming that should perform very well, and with Intel now going full throttle with their x86 designs these things should get even a little cheaper and better pretty quickly.
 
dr.kevin said:
I say fuck the OEMs..
Click to expand...

I'm sure that'll work out well. Seeing as it was precisely OEMs that carried MS to their desktop OS dominance in the first place.

The more they try to be Apple the more they'll hemorrhage..
 
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