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Surface Pricing Announced - $499 USD

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Re: Surface Pricing Announced - $499 USD

#61

So will this be able to run standard Window's programs or just tablet versions of software? If it could run Windows applications then this could be a great alternative to ultrabooks, with the added perk of the flexibility of a tablet.

The Surface is running Windows RT, so the tablet versions of software. The Surface Pro (which doesn't have pricing info yet) will be x86 and therefore run standard Windows programs.

Re: Surface Pricing Announced - $499 USD

#64
If it was a little less, I'd probably buy this. I'm a huge fan of Windows 8 (don't get me wrong: it's going to be horrendous for regular users, but as a techie, I think it's a really nice UI). $500 though is just too much for something that is so easily dismissed. I'd pay that much for an iPad or a Macbook because I know they will be well built and work well. Surface has to prove itself to me and as of yet, it hasn't shown me why I should spend that much on it.

Re: Surface Pricing Announced - $499 USD

#65
It appears they are using Vapor deposition of Magnesium to make the body. I hope it is just a texture on the outside. If anything could escalate the problem of a combusting battery, it would be a metal that ignites at 480°C and burns at up to 3000°C.

Edit: this reminds me of the NeXTCube. http://simson.net/hacks/cubefire.html

Re: Surface Pricing Announced - $499 USD

#66
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The gaming market would seem to be out, since Windows RT devices can only run apps distributed through the Windows App Store, and the Windows App Store refuses to carry any games rated as containing mature content ( http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/10/11/windows-8-marketp... ). In other words, no matter how easy they would be to port, you couldn't make versions of Skyrim , Borderlands 2 , XCOM: Enemy Unknown , or…

You have a good point, but I've been assuming that Microsoft would drop their refusal to allow mature content, at least for big-title games, if any of the game studios expressed serious interest in porting to Windows RT to begin with. We'll have to see. If I'm wrong, then I'm with you: Windows RT will never be the gamer's mobile platform. But I assume that they'll yield as soon as there's a real reason to do so. Wher…

I'm sure this project is going to get a lot of use; As a supported of free software, I would have been much happier if this was GPLd or at least LGPLd. Alas, it's BSD license, which means that it's going to help the Win8RT echosystem tremendously :(

https://code.google.com/p/angleproject/

ANGLE: Almost Native Graphics Layer Engine. The goal of ANGLE is to allow Windows users to seamlessly run WebGL and other OpenGL ES 2.0 content by translating OpenGL ES 2.0 API calls to DirectX 9 API calls.

Re: Surface Pricing Announced - $499 USD

#67
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct, it's $529: http://store.apple.com/us/buy/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad/ipa...

Note: I haven't kept up the specs etc. That's the iPad 2. If it's comparable to the Surface, then your point is valid. The cheapest iPad 3 with 3G costs $629. And while YMMV, I don't require 3G on my tablet. I already have 3G on my phone, which is always in my pocket, and I can create a personal hotspot if reqd.

My point was that it's comparable to Surface: similar HW specs, no Retina display. iPad 3 offers more hence it's pricier. I simply don't see why anyone except Microsoft Office users (in 2013;-) would prefer Surface to iPad 3.

Re: Surface Pricing Announced - $499 USD

#69
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Corporate road warriors that need to access the same Office systems the rest of the home-base grunts use.

Let's see if it's actually the same Office. The versions of Office that I got to play with on WinMobile * and WinPhone7 were not on par with Word on windows, or even OpenOffice of the time. (For all I know, it might still be the best available word processor for tablets; I have never used Apple's "Pages"; but previous versions were ... lacking)

The Office apps that come with the Surface are the real deal. It's the Home and Student version according to the web site.

Re: Surface Pricing Announced - $499 USD

#70
post #3

I applaud Microsoft for doing something new-- the new windows UI is very original. Further, they have managed to meet Apple in terms of pricing for a comparable iPad, something others have struggled with. But the big take-away innovation here, and the center of their marketing campaign, is that it has a keyboard cover. This seems to be about 5 years out of sync. 5 years ago, everyone expected the iPhone to fail becau…

As I posted in the other story that got flagged off front page, the new TV ad is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mSckyoAMHg The good thing about the keyboard covers is that Windows RT supports mouse input unlike the iPad and a track pad is included in the keyboard covers. This will help alleviate some of the gorilla arm issues if you're trying to get work done. Native remote desktop with RemoteFX[1] support is g…

You should get upvotes because you made a counter argument with specifics. (And that TV ad is the one I was referring to.)

The funny thing is, and this is totally in the realm of personal opinion-- I think all of the advantages you mention are actually detractions. Mouse input on a tablet? Seems like a big mistake (but I know, MSFT chose to go with a "windows mode" rather than port their office apps to touch) MicroSD slot? I'd rather that space went to more battery capacity or something more useful. "Full" USB port? If I could plug a mouse into the iPad I still wouldn't.

The snap out stand is something that I forgot about, but might use if the iPad had it. Finding a good case that supports all the different usage modes for the iPad is a pain. But still when I saw the stand shown off, it felt like a gimmick that makes the Surface feel cheap. That might be a marketing misfire, since this is actually a feature I might wish the iPad had, maybe if presented better.

Anyway, all just our opinions based on our preferences. If you buy a surface, I hope you love it!

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