Some interesting decisions here. No RT version. Home button on the short edge not the long edge. Clear marketing message: "The Tablet that Can Replace Your Laptop" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t7rSZT_77E
I think they might finally be figuring out what they've got here.
Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3
131–140 of 330 posts
Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3
#132I'm starting to see more and more Surface devices in my area. It seems to be getting popular with the Starbuck's salesguy crowd who need something as compact as a tablet, but they can use real applications on. I know that's kind of cliche, but you don't really "get" that meaning until you walk into a coffee shop and see 2 or 3 people sitting around with tablets sticking up on the tables. The Android and iPad guys are…
In my experience I'm the iPad guy hacking away at code over SFTP or using my iPad for server admin over SSH and most Surface users I spot at coffee shops are using the keyboard as a stand and streaming video. Most iPad users are doing the same thing, or surfing, but I never see a Surface user not using a table-top to hold their tablet. I've seen people walking-and-laptop, walk-and-iPad, walk-and-Nexus, but never walk…
> I've seen people walking-and-laptop, walk-and-iPad, walk-and-Nexus, but never walk-and-surface as they move down the street either.
That's an interesting observation. I think it's because with a traditional tablet, it's all one hard device that's easy to carry around, with a laptop, it's less easy to carry, but you kind of know where all the bits will go. With a flexible keyboard/case like the surface, you kind of want the keyboard out like a laptop, but it'll flop all over the place and isn't as usable in that sense. You could just fold it back and use it as a tablet, but that may not be a mode Surface users are used to.
Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
Image link that prove it: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BoF3_u-IgAE2WBh.jpg
After seeing that photo, "this other device with a significantly larger screen weighs more" isn't so impressive.
Macbook Airs have 11.6" or 13.3" screens. So it's about 1 inch difference in either direction.
Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3
#134The only downside to this is the HD 4400 graphics unit. [1] I'm worried about it running everything smoothly at 2k. The HD 5000 is much better suited to run at that resolution. [1] http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/download/presskits/surfa...
After talking to people in the know, the reason they didn't upgrade to the Haswell with HD 5000 is they didn't want the increase in power related to having the extra graphics units.
Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3
#135I'm starting to see more and more Surface devices in my area. It seems to be getting popular with the Starbuck's salesguy crowd who need something as compact as a tablet, but they can use real applications on. I know that's kind of cliche, but you don't really "get" that meaning until you walk into a coffee shop and see 2 or 3 people sitting around with tablets sticking up on the tables. The Android and iPad guys are…
I completely agree about the keyboard cover. That accessory is critical to the experience of using the device. Without it the Surface is an oversized tablet with a diminutive app store (yes, I know that it is a lot better than it used to be). The ability to switch it into "laptop-mode" is the key selling point, and has appeared in every demonstration of the device I've ever seen. It should be included, and they need to figure out a way to do it for less than the effective price of $930. If, as you say, you could get it bundled with the device for $799, the Surface starts to look more compelling.
Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3
#136Really impressed by this, especially the 3:2 ratio screen which will be great for writing and for browsing, and amazing for photos. The pen looks great. I've recently been given an iPad by work as part of a trial. It's great for quick e-mails, but really seems hard for me to get 'proper' work done. This might be the thing - shame I have to pay for it.
It's really irritating that Lenovo won't source these for the X-series laptops.
Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3
#137That's a really nice piece of hardware. I've used MacBook Airs since 2010, but the Surface 3 looks to be strictly dominating in the hardware department. Unfortunately, I don't think Microsoft will convert many OS X devs unless they make some changes to their software. One of the advantages of OS X is that it's a Unix, and lots of Unix software runs on it. It's not hard to compile tools such as nmap, Vim, or steam loc…
Microsoft is running a very confusing strategy here. Google understood that with Motorola and it's why they sold it off. Microsoft hopes to keep its monopoly in the PC space with its multi-OEM operating system, yet still try to get every PC consumer to buy its own devices. Something's got to give. I expect Microsoft's partners will increasingly continue to push other operating systems into the market on their devices…
Some speculation here.
There could be a multi-part strategy. Both Google & Microsoft probably covet the revenue and margins Apple received from selling their own devices. Those margins, in terms of phones and tablets are probably un-repeatable. Some next iteration of device however could contain offer big margins. That is something that could double Google's market capitalization. At the least Microsoft and Google understand that they need something to give them hardware experience.
Second, it allows Google & Microsoft to lead in hardware. Even if the Surface 3 flops, the OEMs have a guide pointing what is possible and which direction to go (or not to.) I imagined this was part of the reason why Google has had different manufacturers built their Nexus products.
The Surface buys Microsoft some time. The number of people who need Office and legacy systems is going to continue to shrink as special use case stuff is built -- whether from the analytical side like Tableau to something like FarmLogs. The operating system itself may very vanish in to the background, leaving us with some unix-based combination of Android and Chrome OS.
Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3
#138$799. Impressive. I think this is a big moment for Microsoft.
Looks like the specs / pricing might be as follows. Core i3, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage - $799 Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage - $999 Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage - $1,299 Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage - $1,549 Core i7, 8GB RAM, 512GB storage - $1,949 http://www.zdnet.com/surface-pro-3-price-and-spec-leak-70000...
Why not let me choose how much of each component I want? I'd be interested in having 64GB storage, with 8GB+ RAM and at least an i5. I personally don't need so much disk space on a portable device.
Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think that really speaks to Microsoft's new direction though. It's funny, because it used to be that everything Microsoft did was in furtherance of the 'Windows über alles' philosophy, that Microsoft can only win if everyone else loses. Within that philosophy, though, there was no direction. You drank the kool-aid, and then your team just did whatever; see the famous example of the Office manager hating the idea of…
Well, the iPad owns the tablet app world, Microsoft didn't have much choice. When [/if] Office is released for many of the differing O/S and hardware versions of Android, I'll agree your description have a point. Edit: Close enough, dragonwriter. I yield the point. (I should have known about this. Also, why is there such a lack of optimized pad sized apps for Android? The phone ones I've seen weren't exactly using th…
> When [/if] Office is released for many of the differing O/S and hardware versions of Android, I'll agree your description have a point.
There's a phone version for Android 4.0+, but not yet a tablet version.
Re: Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 3
#140That's a really nice piece of hardware. I've used MacBook Airs since 2010, but the Surface 3 looks to be strictly dominating in the hardware department. Unfortunately, I don't think Microsoft will convert many OS X devs unless they make some changes to their software. One of the advantages of OS X is that it's a Unix, and lots of Unix software runs on it. It's not hard to compile tools such as nmap, Vim, or steam loc…
OSX is less unix than it can get. No X. Crazy apple-only-standards... Heck you can't even use vim!
i will eat my hat if you open vim in OSX and be able to copy/paste. The + register just goes to nowhere. OS X is broken unix.
windows sucks in many regards, but it always had million more devs than OSX... i know implementing fixes on top of windows goes against the free software philosophy, but there are already too many. I can run remote X apps from another box easier on windows than OS X.
The only leverage apple ever had was IOS. you are forbidden by law to emulate IOS or OSX on any non-apple hardware. so people started to be forced to use macs. it wasn't natural adoption. And IOS is only relevant while we have dumbed down smart phones. Now that this became a standard tabled (a full computer, that you can run windows or even install linux) IOS will lose appeal, and apple will be sidelined to the history of computer history as it always manages to get it self into.
downvote with all the hate you want. you know it to be true :)