Check Out Microsoft's Surface 2 Commercial

[rokit]

@gnodeb
Your comperission is invalid. Surface is just a tablet with physical keyboard. There is no point to use it for work unless you masochist. Its better to spend money for something portable that you can work on and something for really portable and not bloated with cutdown diskspace options.
ARM Surface doesn't make sense because of Google who make it better. And x86 Surface doesn't make sense because you could buy something better for the same money.

 

[apache_lives]

Windows RT is superior to any Apple or Android equivalent - go try it for yourself, the other devices are toys compared to any Windows RT based tablet, and dont complain that it cant run any x86 applications - its competitors cant either, so stop your bitching

Seems like there are a lot of morons here who just complain and have no idea what there talking about or have never used or experienced what they are criticizing

I suggest to you the haters to actually pick up and use one of these Surface devices for your self and you will understand why there more expensive - there made from better components and materials to a higher standard.

If you want your cheap crappy unit go buy it - no one is stopping you, just dont complain that a premium product cost more

 

[wemakeourfuture]

This will flop hard just like first round of surface.
Pricing is way off for most people's marginal utility of this device.

Nice try MSFT, another monumental failure.
Add it to the list of: first round of tablets (10 years ago, your mobile offerings the last 10 years, zune, Surface RT, Surface Pro 1, and a bunch of other ventures you've had that have collectively lost your company 2-4 billion)

 

[burkhartmj]

Their marketing is totally off. For example they state:
"The new surface, the one device for everything in your life." "This lets you run your favorite apps, next to your favorite apps". "So you can do real work."

My understanding is that I will not be able to reformat the thing and install linux on it because they have disabled in the hardware the ability to load any other OS. So I won't be able to do real work, run my favorite apps, or be a device for anything in my life. To be fair I usually keep a copy of windows on a partition that I can boot up if I ever need windows. Which, well, might happen if I ever started playing games again. Not very likely since I would only want to try games that ran on Linux.

OK either you're applying computer standards to Surface 2 or just completely uninformed about Surface Pro 2. You can't run iOS on an Android tablet or Android on an iPad, why would you be able to run Linux on a Surface? And the Surface Pro 2 is just a computer. As long as the OS you're installing supports secure boot [which at least Ubuntu does], you can install whatever you want on it.

With that said, I think Windows RT needs to die a fiery death so MS stops bothering with it and just produces Baytrail tablets for their lower end instead of ARM. I'll be getting a Pro 2, but there's just no excuse anymore for MS trying to get Windows on ARM to sell, intel has seen to that with Haswell and Baytrail.

 

[gnodeb]

@gnodeb
Your comperission is invalid. Surface is just a tablet with physical keyboard. There is no point to use it for work unless you masochist. Its better to spend money for something portable that you can work on and something for really portable and not bloated with cutdown diskspace options.
ARM Surface doesn't make sense because of Google who make it better. And x86 Surface doesn't make sense because you could buy something better for the same money.

Yes, I like to exaggerate a bit... but you can say the same for every single ultrabook on the market. There is always a cheaper laptop with the same specs. Why should we bring that argument just for SurfacePro? And why stop with laptops, go buy desktop for even less money.

About RT... I see a trend of ignoring some unique features with "I don't need that" argument. You have to admit... Surface has some features that Adndroid and iOS tablets don't. And while there are cheaper tablets then Surface there are more expensive too. But there is no other tablet that can run real office on external monitor with real mouse & keyboard. Some people use desktops just for that... Maybe we don't need that, but at that price point it's a good option...

 

[grimtriad]

I understand that the Surface (Pro) is not for everyone but it is a really good piece of hardware.

Having owned an HP Envy 15 "gaming" laptop I can honestly say that was the worst experience I have ever had with hardware. The machine was basically worthless. This might be because I build my own gaming rigs and a full sized keyboard and mouse on a 23 inch 1920x1200 (not 1080) monitor just works better. But hunching over to play games on a 13 inch monitor hurt my back, hurt my eyes, and made me significantly worse at the games I tried to play.

I experimented to the tune of $1200 for that ultra book (and that was a good price on it at the time) and I actually regret giving it to someone else as it was just a miserable piece of non-functional hardware.

I ended up with a Surface RT for free, and it was a neat device. I don't like tablets in general and the Surface RT is a tablet. It had most of the same foibles that kept me from ever bothering with an iPad. It doesn't have a fully functioning browser (though the Windows RT browser was WAY better than any of it's competitors at the time) it wouldn't run my classic Windows programs, and "apps" is a bad word to me. It means a less functional program or website. Worse, it was fairly restrictive on Video codecs so I couldn't watch a lot of movies and TV I had previously encoded from my HTPC.

However, the touch keyboard works well, and with office I was able to read email and type in Word anywhere. It was light and the integrated kick stand meant I didn't have to get a special cover for it. I liked that so I bought a Pro when they came out because it would literally fix every issue I had with the Surface RT.

For the same money as the HP gaming laptop (keyboard was $100, got an extra pen, and I got the 128gb version) I ended up with a device that I force on everyone I meet because I really do think it's an amazing piece of hardware. I have a company issued Win 8 convertible as well (little dell thing) and it's no where near as nice. The weight of the Surface Pro is a huge factor in portability and I really don't mind carrying it (even without a shoulder strap bag) for a couple of hours. It lasts most of the day and it does everything my desktops can because it's a full PC.

I will admit I don't do much gaming on it because 10.6 inches is crap for gaming, but I do have Marvel Heroes installed and it runs well with video settings at High. With the mini-display out I do hook it up to my TV regularly and stream movies and play games on it (the USB port means I can use my xbox controllers on it as well).

I'm sold on X86 tablets, I think they're great and I'm considering an upgrade for more ram and a larger SSD. Might wait for the Surface Pro 3 though as $1300 (256gb version) is just a bit much for some quality of life issues, but I haven't seen any other device I like as much.

Of note: the pen functionality of the Surface Pro is fantastic. I have Sketchbook Pro for it and I've started drawing again. A lot of people forget the Surface can do that, and it really is important when you figure a new Cintique is $1000 for a 13 inch screen that you need another computer just to use.

_WAter_

 

[RedJaron]

"Apps"...I hate this word.

Same, with a passion. But like other terms such as "blog" and "podcast" they have been assimilated into the vernacular and at this point are unlikely to be rooted out.

The only real problem is Windows RT. People just won't buy it because it does not run full Windows apps.

Same reason people don't like iOS because it's not full MacOS? It comes down to consumer preference and what they want out of their mobile devices. WinRT is a lot closer to Win8 than iOS is to MacOS, and I believe that's a good thing.

Why buy the surface pro 2 when for less money, you can buy a laptop with better specs, and still have enough money left over for for a nexus 10 tablet (16GB)?

No, no you can't ( at least right now. ) Find me a 10.6" laptop with a Haswell i5, 1080p touch display, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, that weighs less than 2 lbs, for under $1000. Lenovo's Yoga comes in 11" and 13" flavors ( neither with 1080 displays, ) are still using Ivy Bridge, and are over 3 lbs. Asus' Zenbook and Toshiba's Portégé come close, but they still use Ivy brdige, are bigger, and more expensive ( unless you find clearance items. ) So no, if you want a premium touchscreen laptop under 10" with this kind of performance, the Surface is the only game that I can find right now.

@gnodeb
Your comperission is invalid. Surface is just a tablet with physical keyboard. There is no point to use it for work unless you masochist. Its better to spend money for something portable that you can work on and something for really portable and not bloated with cutdown diskspace options.
ARM Surface doesn't make sense because of Google who make it better. And x86 Surface doesn't make sense because you could buy something better for the same money.

The only thing masochistic is trying to do actual work on a virtual keyboard. If a physical keyboard on a tablet is such a difficult thing to use, why do I see Zagg Folios on iPads everywhere? Because that actual keyboard suddenly gives you back the entire screen to look at. You have near instant access to numbers, special characters, and the like without having to toggle keyboard modes. Taking notes, composing emails, drafting documents, and much more becomes exponentially easier and faster to do with said keyboard.

You may think Android is superior to WinRT, but that's hardly concrete fact. And you're dead wrong that you can get a similarly equipped laptop for the price of a Surface Pro.

 

[rokit]

@gnodeb
You can have office on Android too. RT doesn't have the same software so its not a win on the front. People don't work on tablets, just view some files, largely internet and video/music, its a toy in my eyes and Android made it better already, even Apple can't get as much people to use their.
We're talking about portable devices so comaring with PC is wrong.

@RedJaron
Masochist would be the one 'working' on a tablet. If you have money to burn on MS Pro you CAN buy laptop much faster for the same money, thats a fact.

 

[RedJaron]

@RedJaron
Masochist would be the one 'working' on a tablet. If you have money to burn on MS Pro you CAN buy laptop much faster for the same money, thats a fact.

Oh, so transcribing notes in a meeting isn't real work? Drafting product documentation isn't real work? Reading through and replying to a lot of emails isn't real work? Yes, tablets can have a lot of productivity restrictions, but slapping a physical keyboard on one solves all the basic ones. No, you likely shouldn't expect to compile tons of code, transcribe hours of video, or render complex CAD models on a Surface, iPad, Galaxy, or other portable devices. But even the most powerful laptops struggle with such demanding tasks when compared to a full desktop rig, so I'm not sure why you're complaining about that.

I've never argued you can't get a laptop cheaper than a Surface Pro, even a faster, better performing one. But you'll have to compromise somewhere. You either get a bigger device, ditch the touchscreen, or lower the screen resolution. You're not going to get as much performance in as small a form factor for less than a Surface Pro ( at least last I checked a few weeks ago. )