Analyst: Surface 'Truck' Can't Compete With iPad 'Sports Car'

[Guest]

As striking as Microsoft's Surface has been at its presentation, it did not take much time for analysts to doubt Microsoft's motivation and opportunity.

Analyst: Surface 'Truck' Can't Compete With iPad 'Sports Car' : Read more

 

[The_Trutherizer]

Well the main problem is that the surface is priced like a sports car. If indeed it is a 'Truck' and it was priced like a truck then it would compete just fine.

 

[ojas]

I though IT managers steered clear of idevices.

Anyway, analysts say a lot of things. Will i a want a surface tablet? When the price is right, yes.

 

[joytech22]

Surface 'Truck' Can't Compete With iPad 'Sports Car'

What? Surface is the sports car here especially in the hardware department.
Built-in kick stand, quality materials, FULLY FLEDGED OS.

What the hell do they mean "truck"? Unless they mean its fully loaded. Hopefully the price doesn't reflect that.
Honestly, Surface will be my next tablet. You can get a touch typing keyboard and screen protector combo for it, you can have your entire office suite installed (VERY important to me), its portable and very powerful whilst supporting my Windows applications at the same time. (x86 version)

I'm just hoping battery life is competitive.

 

[joex444]

FULLY FLEDGED OS.

lol, complete with screen freezes and viruses. lol... Windows.

 

[monktongaz]

I am genuinely interested in the surface, but not if it tries to compete with the iPad with a similar price. I don't desire a tablet enough to pay iPad prices for one. I'd imagine I'm not alone on that.

 

[joytech22]

[citation][nom]joex444[/nom]lol, complete with screen freezes and viruses. lol... Windows.[/citation]
You must be new here, welcome to Tom's Hardware.

Here we have people who know what they are talking about, sadly you will NOT be joining their ranks.
Mac's are not immune to hanging and viruses you dork, my iMac freezes when I load a site with too many GIF's.

Oh, did you happen to miss the entire Flashback pandemic that affected over 500,000 Mac's?

 

[monktongaz]

[citation][nom]joex444[/nom]lol, complete with screen freezes and viruses. lol... Windows.[/citation]

What on earth are you talking about? My daily Windows machine hasn't frozen in over 3 years of constant use and my last virus was.. hell, about 10 years ago.

My 1 year old Macbook on the other hand, has no such luck.

 

[Guest]

Basically, business folks who NEED Full-fledged Office on their tablets will buy this. Nobody else will though.

 

[Guest]

As a happy iPad (consumer) user, I am not interested in the Surface (nor any Windows 8 systems). As an independent contractor, I get to make my own work IT decisions. The primary audience Microsoft would be interested in seeing deferring purchase decisions, and one that is less sensitive to price, is corporate IT governance types who seek greater centralized manageability and security in their deployments. Of course, MS did not say much about the latter either; while in the mean time use of other personal devices continues without the wait.

 

[Zingam_Duo]

[citation][nom]monktongaz[/nom]What on earth are you talking about? My daily Windows machine hasn't frozen in over 3 years of constant use and my last virus was.. hell, about 10 years ago.My 1 year old Macbook on the other hand, has no such luck.[/citation]
Lucky you!

On the same laptop Ubutu using Wubi (which means slow) loads in seconds, Windows 7 takes several minutes. Sometimes it cannot even wake the screen. Wow! And it become more and more corrupted each month. I guess I need to clean reinstall it after only 1.5 years.

Windows, dude, is a giant with clay legs. It was, it is and it will always be!

 

[olaf]

lets be honest large it infrastructures are going to want and get windows especially if they will be able to run a 5y old program on it even if it's ipad priced

 

[joytech22]

[citation][nom]Zingam_Duo[/nom]Lucky you!On the same laptop Ubutu using Wubi (which means slow) loads in seconds, Windows 7 takes several minutes. Sometimes it cannot even wake the screen. Wow! And it become more and more corrupted each month. I guess I need to clean reinstall it after only 1.5 years.Windows, dude, is a giant with clay legs. It was, it is and it will always be![/citation]

Alright, now load up steam, how about Visio or Project?
No?

Hmm. Oh! I know, Lets administrate our server back at the office and configure our switches firewall from home using the proprietary tools from Cisco.
What's that? It doesn't work? Sorry sir HOW MUCH does it cost to migrate?

Oh wait.. The extra time saved booting into Ubuntu would have been better served NOT looking for replacement methods needed to perform those tasks on Windows 7!

By the way.. If you need to do an OS installation so soon you don't know how to maintain your system very well.

 

[Guest]

I loved iPad and the Android tablets but wanted a real, business OS. And some kind of a keyboard that didn't take a backpack to carry. Yeah, I'll get a wifi Surface -- I've pre-ordered the S III so I get the cute total gesturing and wide communication out of my system.

All great devices, the best of what we have today.

 

[memadmax]

If the speculations of the price of Surface are wrong and the thing is significantly cheaper than has been speculated, and at least cheaper than the iCrap, then they may have a winner... The issues with Win8(for tablet, not desktop) will resolve themselves...

 

[Guest]

perhaps it's your hardware that's causing the freezing as I too have windows 7 and never had any of the problems you described

 

[molo9000]

Isn't the Intel i5 Surface like Tesla Roadster?
expensive, fast but out of battery in 5-6hours.

 

[Dan_H]

Maybe the Surface is a truck to the iPad sports car...but last I checked sports cars don't sell in anywhere near the numbers of trucks or SUVs. Besides, isn't it a little premature to be comparing a fully fledged product in its 3rd generation to a early prototype of a product that wont be out for 6 months?

 

[830hobbes]

I'd like to point out how horrible this metaphor is. They're saying a Ford F-150 would never outsell the Tesla Roadster? Hmm:

F-150 - sold about 580,000 trucks last year
Roadster - sold about 2500 cars total

Don't get me wrong, there's no car I want more than a Tesla Roadster, but to compare an iPad to the Roadster and say it'll outsell a "truck" is moronic.

 

[AricB]

As a typical knowledgeable consumer, after watching the Surface demo, i saw major problems with the product. First it crashed badly, and I'm tired of the crashing problems windows always has. Secondly, it looks like a laptop, not a tablet. Any product with a physical keyboard and no on-screen keyboard will require its users to use it like a laptop, not on the go like a tablet. So it is already limited use. In fact, this product is even worse than a laptop because it has no hand supports like a laptop, nor does it have the screen attached to the base. I can quickly see people trying to use this as a laptop on a plane and the screen constantly falling off their laps. What a totally embarrassing situation! Nobody wants to look like a fool.

 

[Guest]

The Surface is not designed to compete directly with the iPad. It is designed to take advantage of Microsoft's utter domination of office computing and capture that market. The iPad is generally used as a recreation device. It used almost entirely for media consumption, browsing, and the like. Microsoft is going to capture the office market. Apple has never penetrated that market.

 

[ShouldntHave]

plz excuse if double post -- the commenting software was far from intuitive and i think it ate my original submission. (yeah, I know ... that actually deserves some recongnition, to screw up something so simple, but ... i typed username and password, got authenticated, and ... where is my post?!)

anyway...

Metro UI is garbage, and by extension, Windows 8 is probably too. iOS is garbage, iPad is garbage. Surface is surely going to be garbage (and at $1,000, not cheap garbage either). touch-screen interfaces and tablet computing in general, are garbage.

btw not saying they aren't "neat-o!" for very niche and trivial applications but ... niche and trivial. (and certainly noncritical.) even so, even the lightweight form factor and overall portability factors are myths, because you have to protect this screen constantly. i have enough "mobile" friends trying to get work done (OK, not real work, but what THEY think is work -- i.e. facebook) on smartphones, laptops, and soon, I'm sure, tablets, with broken, bleeding LCDs.

just my $.02. now, off to some actual productivity -- the kind u can only achieve on a desktop; only approximate on a laptop; and only play/pretend at on a tablet.

I do feel strongly about it, though. The only way to get companies like MS to stop selling garbage is ... to get people to stop buying the garbage they try to sell.

 

[silverblue]

When I think of "well designed, but traditional sports utility vehicle that can haul boats and climb a hill of rocks.", what immediately springs to mind is a Land or Range Rover. You see them everywhere now, and they're far sturdier and more practical than most sports cars. Same with trucks and utes.

I wonder if this particular analyst firm felt a bit (more) dumb after making their comments?

 

[Guest]

Tesla Roadsters Sales 2008-2012: 2250.
2011 Ford F-Series: 528,349 (#1 vehicle sold.)

I think Microsoft would much rather sell pickup trucks than Tesla Roadsters.

 

[daglesj]

[citation][nom]Zingam_Duo[/nom]Lucky you!On the same laptop Ubutu using Wubi (which means slow) loads in seconds, Windows 7 takes several minutes. Sometimes it cannot even wake the screen. Wow! And it become more and more corrupted each month. I guess I need to clean reinstall it after only 1.5 years.Windows, dude, is a giant with clay legs. It was, it is and it will always be![/citation]

Hmm then I suggest you ask someone (maybe an adult) that can properly build you a laptop that works as it should because it seems you are struggling. It doesnt hurt to admit when you are out f your depth.