Those prices are... delusional.
Agreed. It'd be a lot more competitive if they sold the Surface Pro tablet for the same as the iPad. And have options to pay more for keyboard/3g/disk space - just like the iPad
Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
131–140 of 255 posts
Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple actually just made each executable have the binaries for both platforms. It's a good trick.
Even if you do that, you still can't run your desktop apps on the ARM model. I really don't want to explain to luddite relatives why they can't run a game unless they buy the more expensive model. Either ban desktop apps on both models, or neither.
Rosetta worked pretty well.
Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
OneNote (+ digitizer) is indeed amazing ... I don't have a surface, but I do have a series 7 slate, and I have to say that the writing/drawing experience on win8 is really really nice. Considering upgrading it to the pro 2 now.
You won't regret the upgrade my friend! I'm actually thinking about buying the docking station for my Surface. I think once I get 8.1 on there and the screen scaling issues are fixed, I'll do that.
Downvoted you because this looks like astroturfing. New account, seemingly random nickname, a persona matching the target audience of this site and several postings with purely positive content and a style that doesn't look right on HN.
That said, the Surface Pro 2 looks really appealing.
Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because you can get a much more powerful laptop for much less, if you need a "real PC". If you need a tablet, you can get one for far less too. Heck, you can get a great laptop + a great tablet for less! This is a delusional move from a company that's so far behind in this area that it's no longer funny.
That is not a good comparison. That is like asking someone, why do they need a smart phone when they can get a regular phone + a netbook for half the price. Believe it or not there is a niche market for Tablet+PC forms. It was one of the main reason and the best decision I made when purchasing the Surface Pro. For travelling, I no longer need to carry my Laptop + Tablet. I just take the Surface Pro (It is setup to us…
If this is aimed at a niche market, I suppose it makes more sense. I was just under the impression that Microsoft has hopes of remaining a major player in the computer business; if it's content with marginalizing itself into a niche, so be it.
Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even if you do that, you still can't run your desktop apps on the ARM model. I really don't want to explain to luddite relatives why they can't run a game unless they buy the more expensive model. Either ban desktop apps on both models, or neither.
Rosetta worked pretty well.
I agree with you that this is technically a solved problem. It's not difficult to develop a system that lets apps run on both architectures without users having to think about this.
I'm talking about the management decision that only Metro apps can run on RT, which is such a stupid limitation that even Microsoft sees the need to bypass it to get Office on an RT tablet.
Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
#136Why is there a photo of an external monitor with 3840x2160 and nothing is mentioned about it? Is it because it's just a hypothetical display that could be connected via the Mini DisplayPort, had it existed?
I was really hoping they'd announce that they are releasing such a display, to go along with the new Surfaces. I'd have bought one, along with a Surface Pro 2 and a docking station.
That's what I assumed was happening when I first saw that photo, hence my disappointment.
Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
#137Why, oh why is there no version with 3G/LTE? That is by far the biggest bummer, imho. For people that are on the road a lot that makes such a difference, and pretty much all other tablets offer that option, so it seems really lame to not have that. Also, if I spent $1800 for a Surface Pro in the best configuration, I really would expect it to have the same connectivity as a iPad mini... Other than that, this seems li…
Because a small fraction of people buy it, and a smaller fraction of purchasers turn it on. I've bought (and given away) four iPads with Verizon LTE. Exactly 0 people activated it. This is old data, but in line with newer data I've seen WRT iPad activation rates: http://tabletquest.com/2011/02/disappointing-apple-ipad-3g-a...
Well, sure, for a consumer device that I use on my couch in the evenings, I certainly don't need LTE. But the Pro seems pretty geared towards business, right? For business travelers this makes a huge, huge difference, though. And it seems to me that the high end Pro version is probably exclusively targeted at business users, at its price.
Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why? Did you even look at the specs? They are far in advance of the capabilities of an iPad. It's a full blown "PC as a Tablet". Even having a DisplayPort output and single USB port on a tablet device immediately makes it worth $200 more than any iPad.
Because you can get a much more powerful laptop for much less, if you need a "real PC". If you need a tablet, you can get one for far less too. Heck, you can get a great laptop + a great tablet for less! This is a delusional move from a company that's so far behind in this area that it's no longer funny.
I don't think there is a laptop/convertible/tablet that you can buy with better specs for the price they are offering. Honestly, I think you are just uninformed.
Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why? Did you even look at the specs? They are far in advance of the capabilities of an iPad. It's a full blown "PC as a Tablet". Even having a DisplayPort output and single USB port on a tablet device immediately makes it worth $200 more than any iPad.
Because you can get a much more powerful laptop for much less, if you need a "real PC". If you need a tablet, you can get one for far less too. Heck, you can get a great laptop + a great tablet for less! This is a delusional move from a company that's so far behind in this area that it's no longer funny.
There are a few things this has that a "much more powerful laptop" lacks at this price and size:
* high-quality wacom digitizer
* high resolution screen (1920x1080 @ 10.6")
* touch screen
It's a very compelling, cheaper alternative for digital artists and programmers who want to develop for the Windows 8+ native UI. I didn't buy the first one because I wanted an 8GB+ option at a minimum and I thought the storage options were anemic as well. But the newly announced model is rather tempting.
However, the prices on the different options are still somewhat discouraging: "You can get Surface Pro 2 with a 64GB ($899) or 128GB SSD ($999) and 4GB of RAM, or if you want 8GB of RAM there are 256GB ($1299) and 512GB ($1799) versions as well. Surface Pro 2 retains the old front and rear cameras."
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7362/microsoft-announces-surfa...
$1299 for 8GB of ram and a 256GB SSD? Really? Holy profit margins Batman!
Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2
#140Why, oh why is there no version with 3G/LTE? That is by far the biggest bummer, imho. For people that are on the road a lot that makes such a difference, and pretty much all other tablets offer that option, so it seems really lame to not have that. Also, if I spent $1800 for a Surface Pro in the best configuration, I really would expect it to have the same connectivity as a iPad mini... Other than that, this seems li…
1) The hardware would cost more 2) It would cost money to add the device to your Mobile account 3) You can just use the mobile hotspot feature on your phone and connect through that. Its easy on my Nokia 928. Hell, half the time I have my wife's iphone connected to my phone via WIFI because she has AT&T (for work reasons) and they suck most places we go.
The top edition already is $1700, the cost of adding LTE must be a pretty small fraction of total cost at that point.
For business people your arguments 2 and 3 are actually incorrect: I don't want to use my personal data plan for my work. If the device has its separate LTE, it can just all go to my company and I'm done with the costs.