Microsoft Surface Pro to Arrive January 26

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
75,399
Microsoft never could keep a secret for very long, not that they even try when introducing a new product. According to reports from various Microsoft Stores, you can expect to pick up the Surface as early as January 26 or as late as the 29th. Either way, it’s on its way toward the end of the month.

Calls to Microsoft stores around the country today invariably elicited a response of "end of the month." One store got very specific and said it expects the new tablet on January 26.
Click to expand...
 
Leave it to MS to bet it all on Metro and then miss the holiday sales window.
 
odditory said:
Leave it to MS to bet it all on Metro and then miss the holiday sales window.
Click to expand...

Even if they had made it for the holiday season. They priced the Pro out of the market imho. $1K + another $120 if you want the keyboard. I could easily buy a high end, 10"+ Android tablet, and a decent 15.4+ laptop and have change left over. The benefit of combining the two devices, is not worth the extra coin to me.
 
GORANKAR said:
Even if they had made it for the holiday season. They priced the Pro out of the market imho. $1K + another $120 if you want the keyboard. I could easily buy a high end, 10"+ Android tablet, and a decent 15.4+ laptop and have change left over. The benefit of combining the two devices, is not worth the extra coin to me.
Click to expand...

A laptop maybe but not and ultra book, which is in essence what this machine is.
 
They should at least be throwing in the damn keyboard free until they gain a foothold. Hope they find a market.
 
odditory said:
They should at least be throwing in the damn keyboard free until they gain a foothold. Hope they find a market.
Click to expand...

Ok agree, spec wise its awesome, but if they want pressure they need some freebies to go along with it.
 
Kor said:
A laptop maybe but not and ultra book, which is in essence what this machine is.
Click to expand...

Actually its worse. It lacks a keyboard.

I can pickup a touch laptop for 599 and andriod for 400.. Thats about how much surface pro goes for.
 
Wrench00 said:
Actually its worse. It lacks a keyboard.

I can pickup a touch laptop for 599 and andriod for 400.. Thats about how much surface pro goes for.
Click to expand...

It doesn't lack a keyboard, it's an option however. The Surface Pro is actually a much more conventional device than the Surface RT, x86 tablets are much older than ARM tablets. The Surface Pro is a niche device, it was never intended to sell in great numbers and I've not seen anyone that is thinking that it will. However those who will buy it like myself have no issue with the price.
 
Wrench00 said:
Actually its worse. It lacks a keyboard.

I can pickup a touch laptop for 599 and andriod for 400.. Thats about how much surface pro goes for.
Click to expand...

Today, I saw someone sitting on their porch with a desktop USB keyboard connected to their tablet. It was kinda funny looking, but I guess as long as there's a USB port on it, you can drag around a keyboard with you. Pretty much makes it more cumbersome than a laptop for the same functionality, but that's probably a less expensive way to get the ability to actually enter text versus buying the one Microsoft is selling.
 
heatlesssun said:
It doesn't lack a keyboard, it's an option however. The Surface Pro is actually a much more conventional device than the Surface RT, x86 tablets are much older than ARM tablets. The Surface Pro is a niche device, it was never intended to sell in great numbers and I've not seen anyone that is thinking that it will. However those who will buy it like myself have no issue with the price.
Click to expand...

What does the Surface Pro do that your other dozen tablets don't?
 
heatlesssun said:
The Surface Pro is a niche device, it was never intended to sell in great numbers and I've not seen anyone that is thinking that it will.
Click to expand...


Well that thinking will sure be a comfort to investors who get a front row seat to Zune 2.0

/And I'm a tablet and phablet user.
 
damicatz said:
What does the Surface Pro do that your other dozen tablets don't?
Click to expand...

I've pointed out a number of times that the digital pen in the Surface is optically based. That's different from any Windows tablet I've ever used.
 
Skripka said:
Well that thinking will sure be a comfort to investors who get a front row seat to Zune 2.0

/And I'm a tablet and phablet user.
Click to expand...

As I have pointed out, devices like the Surface Pro are exactly new and anyone investing in Microsoft thinking that a niche device like the Surface Pro will have any significant role in Microsoft's financial position is an idiot. Surely if I am ready and lined up to buy this device and you're not you can't disagree with what I'm saying.
 
heatlesssun said:
As I have pointed out, devices like the Surface Pro are exactly new and anyone investing in Microsoft thinking that a niche device like the Surface Pro will have any significant role in Microsoft's financial position is an idiot. Surely if I am ready and lined up to buy this device and you're not you can't disagree with what I'm saying.
Click to expand...

The problem I have with your position is that, if stats are to be believed people are snatching tablets up big time with over 25% of households buying into the devices (presuming stats are to be believed). And as such, the ONLY reason something like the Surface RT and Surface Pro are "niche" products is...well...because Microsoft priced them into that "niche" category.

I have no clue how much money Microsoft has dumped into TV advertising alone of the Surface prime time and otherwise...but it ain't cheap by any means. Hell, no one wastes that kind of money on something they intend to be "niche" and that they don;t want to sell sell sell and be trendy. And given the incredibly shitty nature of the aforesaid commercials in demonstrating the utility of the device (all they show are people dancing to upbeat music with choreographed flipping of tablets in the air en masse) which is terrible from a marketing perspective...and then the laughable price they attach to the devices given said shitty PR....they're setting themselves up for Zune 2.0

They *could* sell Surface RT and Pro like hotcakes....Microsoft has set themselves up for failure.
 
Surface Pro is some slick gear...I just have a issue with the price and how that sits exactly. I can get an older (and yes, I know, slower) convertible laptop or tablet PC with a Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, digitizer, etc for like $300 on eBay...something that serves the exact same purpose and can do the exact same thing for a 3rd of the price.

I don't know, just never understood these $1000-ish price tags myself. I highly doubt it costs anywhere near that for something like this.
 
JoeUser said:
Surface Pro is some slick gear...I just have a issue with the price and how that sits exactly. I can get an older (and yes, I know, slower) convertible laptop or tablet PC with a Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, digitizer, etc for like $300 on eBay...something that serves the exact same purpose and can do the exact same thing for a 3rd of the price.

I don't know, just never understood these $1000-ish price tags myself. I highly doubt it costs anywhere near that for something like this.
Click to expand...

The thing is, the Surface and other $1000-ish price tagged ultra books and laptops aren't competing with the second hand markets such as eBay. The Surface Pro specifically is competing with both ultrabooks (power) and laptops (portability). Given that a laptop with similar specs that isn't heavy as a rock or large enough to be unwieldy costs more than $1000 -- i'd say that the price point for Surface Pro is not wrong. Surface RT is a separate topic, I think it should be slightly less, but it is meant to compete with the iPad which is a higher quality product than 2-300 dollar tablets like Nexus/Kindle Fires, etc.

Also -- and only because I actually looked -- On eBay, you may find older laptops with a core2 duo and digitizer for around $300 -- but these are very lacking. Specifically, they do not have 4GB of RAM, at best 2GB. Their CPU clock speeds are very low, like 1.06Ghz. And here is the kicker -- not to mention other accessory and functionality sacrifices -- the screens. You're definitely not getting 1920x1080. I won't even talk about SSDs, although one can argue about the HDD speed's importance. The closest laptop with reasonable specs that has all these things? Guess what...its over $900. So even second hand you'll have trouble finding something with the same functionality for a lesser price.

Wrench00 said:
Actually its worse. It lacks a keyboard.

I can pickup a touch laptop for 599 and andriod for 400.. Thats about how much surface pro goes for.
Click to expand...

And then you'll have exactly 2 devices of size to carry around. And you spent $1000. Does it not make more sense to have something that can fill both roles? Frankly I don't think people buying the Surface Pro have in mind so much the emphasis placed on the normal, popular view of what a tablet is used for, but rather the tablet's form factor, portability, and the fact that with those benefits they have a fully functioning laptop. Its an innovation for convenience really.
 
g-money said:
The thing is, the Surface and other $1000-ish price tagged ultra books and laptops aren't competing with the second hand markets such as eBay. The Surface Pro specifically is competing with both ultrabooks (power) and laptops (portability). Given that a laptop with similar specs that isn't heavy as a rock or large enough to be unwieldy costs more than $1000 -- i'd say that the price point for Surface Pro is not wrong. Surface RT is a separate topic, I think it should be slightly less, but it is meant to compete with the iPad which is a higher quality product than 2-300 dollar tablets like Nexus/Kindle Fires, etc.

Also -- and only because I actually looked -- On eBay, you may find older laptops with a core2 duo and digitizer for around $300 -- but these are very lacking. Specifically, they do not have 4GB of RAM, at best 2GB. Their CPU clock speeds are very low, like 1.06Ghz. And here is the kicker -- not to mention other accessory and functionality sacrifices -- the screens. You're definitely not getting 1920x1080. I won't even talk about SSDs, although one can argue about the HDD speed's importance. The closest laptop with reasonable specs that has all these things? Guess what...its over $900. So even second hand you'll have trouble finding something with the same functionality for a lesser price.



And then you'll have exactly 2 devices of size to carry around. And you spent $1000. Does it not make more sense to have something that can fill both roles? Frankly I don't think people buying the Surface Pro have in mind so much the emphasis placed on the normal, popular view of what a tablet is used for, but rather the tablet's form factor, portability, and the fact that with those benefits they have a fully functioning laptop. Its an innovation for convenience really.
Click to expand...

Well maybe it's just my luck with these things then. Just picked up a Lenovo convertible with a 1280x800 IPS, 4GB RAM, Intel SL9400 (1.86ghz), and 64GB SSD for $300 on Craigslist. Looks and feels brand new! Again, just my luck I guess.
 
Im onboard with those that are not liking the prices. Entice people in and cutthroat a bit to get the product out there. Throw in freebies, and lower the cost, Get those in peoples hands to start them talking.
 
g-money said:
And then you'll have exactly 2 devices of size to carry around. And you spent $1000. Does it not make more sense to have something that can fill both roles? Frankly I don't think people buying the Surface Pro have in mind so much the emphasis placed on the normal, popular view of what a tablet is used for, but rather the tablet's form factor, portability, and the fact that with those benefits they have a fully functioning laptop. Its an innovation for convenience really.
Click to expand...

No it does not make sense to have one device instead of two, because that one device compromises the utility of both functions of the separate devices. That is the central failing of the convertible mindset.

Nothing says you have to carry both devices all the time, you can carry the one you need depending on what you want to do, or both when the situation warrants. As for cost, if you have a real laptop for heavy lifting you can simply get a Nexus 7 for tablet duties and have devices much better suited for tablet use and much better suited for laptop use.

Something like a surface is really dismal for tablet consumption duties. It weights 2lbs vs a nexus 7 at 12 oz. More than double the weight, and less than half the battery life of the dedicated tablet.

When you look at it as a laptop it is similarly mediocre. Sure it has adequate processor power, but it really doesn't have adequate size with a netbooks size screen/keyboard.

You end up paying >$1000 for an experience that is mediocre all around, just so you can have those mediocre experiences in one device, that doesn't make more sense to me.
 
Many Windows 8 opponents talk of this compromise but what's actually interesting about Windows 8 to me is just how little compromise has been made. The desktop applications that I've used for years continue to work just fine and behave just as they did in Windows 7 compared to Windows 8. Web browsing, watching video, reading a Kindle or Nook book, playing Angry Birds, not that different on a Windows 8 tablet than an iPad or Android tablet. And I paid much less for my first Windows 8 tablet than $1000, in fact is was cheaper than a 64GB iPad 4.
 
Snowdog said:
No it does not make sense to have one device instead of two, because that one device compromises the utility of both functions of the separate devices. That is the central failing of the convertible mindset.

Nothing says you have to carry both devices all the time, you can carry the one you need depending on what you want to do, or both when the situation warrants. As for cost, if you have a real laptop for heavy lifting you can simply get a Nexus 7 for tablet duties and have devices much better suited for tablet use and much better suited for laptop use.

Something like a surface is really dismal for tablet consumption duties. It weights 2lbs vs a nexus 7 at 12 oz. More than double the weight, and less than half the battery life of the dedicated tablet.

When you look at it as a laptop it is similarly mediocre. Sure it has adequate processor power, but it really doesn't have adequate size with a netbooks size screen/keyboard.

You end up paying >$1000 for an experience that is mediocre all around, just so you can have those mediocre experiences in one device, that doesn't make more sense to me.
Click to expand...

Look, lets agree on one thing - the target audience for the Surface Pro device is not the same audience that seeks to use tablets in the now accepted meaning of what a 'tablet' is popularly used for (E.G. iPad, Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD, etc.). Those are mainly toys that do a good amount of basics with a fairly limited amount of advanced use of utility, tools, and functionality for business. I will caveat that last line with saying that I understand and accept that not all businesses and users use Microsoft products, but anyone who is interested in a Surface Pro (the target audience) is using Microsoft business products and x86 compatibility is their driving force.

So can someone buy a Nexus 7 for popular 'tablet' functionality and then another laptop for 'business' & 'work' functionality? Absolutely. Can you buy a Surface Pro which will do your business & work functionality in a tablet form, do both of these things? Yes, now you can do that too. The innovation partially lies with the popular tablet-type form, interaction (touch/digitizer), and interface. But what you really get is a full blown copy of Windows in a compact form that makes it appealing for workers who are on their feet a lot, who travel, and move around even inside their office all day long.

Can a full laptop do these things better? No doubt. But the whole point is that now you can do it all and your mobility is improved. I personally carry two laptops around for work and I will tell you that its heavy, bulky, and annoying. Using them on an airplane, bus, or metro is directly painful. Perhaps my next step should be an ultrabook, but given cost considerations, I think the Surface Pro is also a competitive option.

As for performance, I'll wait for actual reviews before decreeing mediocrity on an unreleased product.
 
g-money said:
Look, lets agree on one thing - the target audience for the Surface Pro device is not the same audience that seeks to use tablets in the now accepted meaning of what a 'tablet' is popularly used for (E.G. iPad, Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD, etc.).
Click to expand...

So it is nothing like the tablets that large numbers have actually demonstrated real desire to own. Got it. But this pretty much my first point.

Can a full laptop do these things better? No doubt.
Click to expand...

My second point exactly.

As for performance, I'll wait for actual reviews before decreeing mediocrity on an unreleased product.
Click to expand...

I wasn't questioning performance, just form factor mismatch to both the main use cases. That is evident before reviews.

This keeps coming around to the same choice:

A) 1 device, combining 2 mediocre experiences,
B) 2 devices, delivering 2 optimized experiences.

A) just doesnt' wash, you have to be totally obsessed with reducing travel weight (but not usage weight where it matters), while also being convinced you need the function of both devices. That is a stretch IMO.
 
SkribbelKat said:
Shhhh! It's a tablet fetish. It'd be like explaining away a closet full of shoes.
Click to expand...

Yeah, why do you have so many shoes? Also whyare none of them over 5" for the heels...:eek:

About the tablet/keyboard on porch thing, it was probably one of those people that think the model M was the best thing EVAR (spoiler: they suck).
 
Snowdog said:
So it is nothing like the tablets that large numbers have actually demonstrated real desire to own. Got it. But this pretty much my first point.

My second point exactly.

I wasn't questioning performance, just form factor mismatch to both the main use cases. That is evident before reviews.

This keeps coming around to the same choice:

A) 1 device, combining 2 mediocre experiences,
B) 2 devices, delivering 2 optimized experiences.

A) just doesnt' wash, you have to be totally obsessed with reducing travel weight (but not usage weight where it matters), while also being convinced you need the function of both devices. That is a stretch IMO.
Click to expand...

I misinterpreted your original comment, it wasn't about performance, so point taken. I do think however that in your comparison of mediocre vs optimized experiences, performance is a factor.

For your choice list, the obvious answer is choice C) 1 device, combining 2 optimized experiences. However, this may not be that device - but it is a foothold, a start, to getting there. Your assessment of A) is also a bit harsh. If you select B) you've already proven that you are 'convinced you need the function of both devices'. Therefore that leaves being obsessed with reducing travel weight which may be slightly strange, but I doubt anyone would disagree if you asked if they'd like to reduce their laptop's weight be 1 or 2 lbs.

As far as the market and what people have displayed desire to own, I make these two comments:
  • We just agreed that the target audience is not people desiring to own popular 'tablets' for the fun factor, as toys, or otherwise average user. Therefore the target audience is a niche with specific needs. That market's uptake remains to be seen, but it certainly exists, and may be successful (Caveat: success doesn't necessarily mean profitable if the goal is penetration of a new device-type).
  • Look back at how tablets evolved to their prominence today -- in general. When they first came out everyone said 'who would need this form factor? i'll just use my laptop'. Now we have a market with laptops, ultrabooks, netbooks (on the way out), smartphones, and tablets.

Just like Apple placed the iPad-mini -- between a smartphone and a full-size tablet/iPad, the convertible's placement should be exciting because it bridges a gap between devices -- and not just in size.
 
DeathPrincess said:
Yeah, why do you have so many shoes? Also whyare none of them over 5" for the heels...:eek:
Click to expand...

I don't wanna tip over! Computer nerds are not known for their graceful movement, you know.

About the tablet/keyboard on porch thing, it was probably one of those people that think the model M was the best thing EVAR (spoiler: they suck).
Click to expand...

Hehe, well it was a ZOMG moment for me. Then it turned into an LOL moment. Admittedly, the person doing it looked really old. Probably at least 30 and maybe 35. :eek: People start doing strange stuff when they get up there in years.
 
Dirtnap said:
Im onboard with those that are not liking the prices. Entice people in and cutthroat a bit to get the product out there. Throw in freebies, and lower the cost, Get those in peoples hands to start them talking.
Click to expand...
I think they should at least include the Touch Cover. It's a cheaply-made throwaway (see reports of Touch Covers essentially unraveling within the first days of ownership), so just include the thing, or at least offer a good value on Type Cover/Surface Pro bundles.

Surface Pro pricing seems reasonable enough (that's a $200+ i5, not a $20 Tegra 3, so price premiums are expected), but I'm still very annoyed with the keyboard pricing in general.
 
g-money said:
But what you really get is a full blown copy of Windows in a compact form that makes it appealing for workers who are on their feet a lot, who travel, and move around even inside their office all day long.
Click to expand...

It's fascinating that it took this long in this thread for someone to mention this part. The beauty of the Surface Pro is that it runs a full blown version of W8.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top