Microsoft Enters Laptop Market With Surface Book

[kewlguy239]

Microsoft took things to a whole new level with a brand-new device that the company has never produced before: a laptop, dubbed the Surface Book.

Microsoft Enters Laptop Market With Surface Book : Read more

 

[g-unit1111]

Nice device, but the $1499 starting price is a bit too rich for my blood. If I'm paying that much money for a laptop, it's not going to be a laptop / tablet hybrid. I'd go for an MSI GS60 at that price level.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Nice device, but the $1499 starting price is a bit too rich for my blood. If I'm paying that much money for a laptop, it's not going to be a laptop / tablet hybrid. I'd go for an MSI GS60 at that price level.

Agreed but again different strokes for different folks.

If anything this is more innovative than half the stuff out there. In fact this is reminiscent of old Apple, back when they would release something new no one else thought of. Guaranteed 100% Apple will copy the design. The ability to detach a discrete GPU or attach it for more power or better battery? That's a awesome idea.

 

[kawininjazx]

Microsoft should release a 13" ultrabook that is non-detachable and start with the i3 and make it affordable.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Nice device, but the $1499 starting price is a bit too rich for my blood. If I'm paying that much money for a laptop, it's not going to be a laptop / tablet hybrid. I'd go for an MSI GS60 at that price level.

Agreed. Microsoft is basically making a laptop with the same price point as a mac but with windows on it. I thought the advantage of windows was that it wasn't expensive.

 

[Bloob]

Nice device, but the $1499 starting price is a bit too rich for my blood. If I'm paying that much money for a laptop, it's not going to be a laptop / tablet hybrid. I'd go for an MSI GS60 at that price level.

Agreed. Microsoft is basically making a laptop with the same price point as a mac but with windows on it. I thought the advantage of windows was that it wasn't expensive.

There are plenty of laptops that are better and cheaper than a Macbook, but there is nothing else like the Surface Book out there, and that is why it is expensive.

 

[littleleo]

Why are they making a laptop when their Surface tablets are supposed to be better and be the "Notebook Killer"? How strange, and the price is a bit high who do they think they are Apple? That's right they want to be Apple I forgot. I don't get the detachable keyboard with the GPU in it. Why are you pay $200 more for the GPU if your not going to use it? Just buy the version w/o it if you don't need it and save $200. You can use the money you save to buy a keyboard for your Surface Tablet. No irritating click to let you know you've correctly connected your unit together, was it really that loud or irritating I've never heard that mentioned before. At least it isn't saddled with the horrible O/S Windows 8.x the cause the down fall of PC sales in our time. Since it's MS how are they spy on us with it and collecting our data?

 

[jaber2]

Nice device, but the $1499 starting price is a bit too rich for my blood. If I'm paying that much money for a laptop, it's not going to be a laptop / tablet hybrid. I'd go for an MSI GS60 at that price level.

Agreed. Microsoft is basically making a laptop with the same price point as a mac but with windows on it. I thought the advantage of windows was that it wasn't expensive.

There are plenty of laptops that are better and cheaper than a Macbook, but there is nothing else like the Surface Book out there, and that is why it is expensive.

You are correct, give it a few months, someone will come out with cheaper and better than MS, MS should learn not to get into the laptop market

 

[hobbsmeerkat]

Atrist's Perspective:

I'm actually more impressed with the Surface Book than the SP4. Personally, I won't need the Nvidia GPU, but the extra battery capacity built into the keyboard is a very welcomed feature.
The bigger screen will also be nice, and the 3:2 aspect ratio is a total godsend for drawing in portrait mode. (I own both the SP3 and the Wacom CC2)
Top it off with the new Surface Pro Pen which quadruples the pressure sensitivity to 1024 (from 246) which is backwards compatible with both the SP3 and comes with 4 alternative nibs for a different uses and feel.

So as an artist using the SP3 on the go, I'm definitely going to be considering the Surface Book and SP4 for my next mobile device. They offer everything I could ever ask for in a device, and in a form factor that is vastly superior to Wacom's offerings.

I've already pre-ordered the new pen to use with my Surface Pro 3 until I get to the point where I'm ready to upgrade to the SP4 or SB.

 

[yeticorn]

Nice device, but the $1499 starting price is a bit too rich for my blood. If I'm paying that much money for a laptop, it's not going to be a laptop / tablet hybrid. I'd go for an MSI GS60 at that price level.

Agreed. Microsoft is basically making a laptop with the same price point as a mac but with windows on it. I thought the advantage of windows was that it wasn't expensive.

There are plenty of laptops that are better and cheaper than a Macbook, but there is nothing else like the Surface Book out there, and that is why it is expensive.

You are correct, give it a few months, someone will come out with cheaper and better than MS, MS should learn not to get into the laptop market

Because innovation and tapping into potential markets is bad right?

 

[philipemaciel]

*Lumia

 

[RedJaron]

Nice device, but the $1499 starting price is a bit too rich for my blood. If I'm paying that much money for a laptop, it's not going to be a laptop / tablet hybrid. I'd go for an MSI GS60 at that price level.

Agreed. Microsoft is basically making a laptop with the same price point as a mac but with windows on it. I thought the advantage of windows was that it wasn't expensive.

Except that GS60 isn't as light and portable as a Surface Book, it doesn't have a touchscreen, pen input, or a detachable screen. Smitty has it right about strokes and folks. The two items are designed for completely different primary uses.

The "cheapness" of Windows is due to competing products with similar attributes. Mac doesn't have that and can charge what they want. And right now, the SB doesn't have a direct competitor either, if you consider the computing power the SB has, the form factor, and the overall fit and finish. Compare it to the MBP. The SB is $200 more than the closest spec MBP because the MBP doesn't have a touchscreen, the Pen, or the tablet aspect. The smallest MBP with an i7 and/or dGPU is 15" as well. the SB does that in 13.5".

Why are they making a laptop when their Surface tablets are supposed to be better and be the "Notebook Killer"?

Ummm, perhaps you missed the part about the dGPU? Or that this is 13.5" instead of 12"?

How strange, and the price is a bit high who do they think they are Apple? That's right they want to be Apple I forgot.

Find me another product available right now that has all the features of the SB in the same size and weight and quality of chassis that sells for less. It's ok, I'll wait.

I don't get the detachable keyboard with the GPU in it. Why are you pay $200 more for the GPU if your not going to use it? Just buy the version w/o it if you don't need it and save $200.

Oh, I guess you didn't miss the dGPU. But, then, why would you ask how this is different than the SP4? No matter. Because even though you have a laptop and dGPU doesn't mean you always need to use it as such. Take the tablet with you if you want to walk around and show something to a coworker. Then go back to your desk and clip in when you need the GPU to accelerate your Premiere and AutoCAD. It's called "options" and the vast majority of people like the idea of something that can fulfill more than one role.

At least it isn't saddled with the horrible O/S Windows 8.x the cause the down fall of PC sales in our time. Since it's MS how are they spy on us with it and collecting our data?

We get it. You hate MS. That's fine. I and many others have been using Windows 8 and 8.1 for years without complaint. It had nothing to do with declining PC sales. I do find it hilarious that someone is complaining about a company spying on them while on an internet forum. The irony is quite delicious.

 

[surphninja]

Let's see if this version of the Surface will actually stay connected to the wifi.

 

[realnoize]

Nice device, but the $1499 starting price is a bit too rich for my blood. If I'm paying that much money for a laptop, it's not going to be a laptop / tablet hybrid. I'd go for an MSI GS60 at that price level.

The price is bonkers. Up here in Canada, the ENTRY model is listed at near $2000 ($1979 I think).Which is insane for such a device, especially with entry-level specs. Really, $2000 for an hybrid with 8Gb, a Core i5 and 128gb SSD? Ouch. Nobody got any raise up here to compensate for our lower CDN $. So really, a $1000 hybrid from two years ago was as good as this new one costing $2000? Again, ouch.

 

[game junky]

I like the design - I see them setting their sites on the MBP which is a loft goal. If I get a graphic designer to test the product, I will enjoy setting it up and putting it through it's paces. For me, it doesn't make sense unless the graphics card is comparable to a 960M or higher because I would want to game on the device while traveling for work and I don't see that being the case considering the battery life. Coming from using a Yoga 2 Pro, this looks like a great contender as more of a transitional laptop than as a tablet. It will be interesting to see how much of a draw there is for that product - it's expensive, but it's a great looking machine and it looks on the spec sheet although I want to know what GPU is in there.

 

[littleleo]

Red thank you for protecting poor little MS from us skeptics out here. After years of drinking the MS kool-aide MS is a little untrust worthy for a lot of us.

The reason for my post perhaps you missed it or I didn't explain myself well. Is after all this time of MS telling us the Notebook is dead and the SP is the notebook killer they come out with a notebook. To me that is just hilarious.

Yes I did see the dGPU.and I was totally wowed by the 1GB GPU that was to be named later for $200. For $200 I could buy a GTX 960 do you think that it is a GPU of a similar level of performance? Remember we are talking about MS here.

And yes I saw the notebook is 1.5" larger (Diagonally) I'm sure that is a great reason to make a notebook. Oh Yeah!

If your excited with the "all the features of the SB in the same size and weight and quality of chassis" I think you should buy one of these for everyone in your family. Do you get a company discount?

I'm sure the dGPU for $200 must run a badass version of AutoCad I still think it's pointless to have a removeable keyboard cutting off the GPU. If you just want the detachable tablet get the cheaper on and put the AutoCad on your desktop. Of course I'm assuming a power user running AutoCad has a desktop. Wasn't that one of your options?

No I don't hate MS they make me lots of money, I actually sell lots of Microsoft products. I just enjoy pointing out the irony of this product I'm sorry if it hits your funny bone wrong.

And yes as some one that has been working in the channel since the mid 80s I can tell you for a fact that YES it play a big part in declining PC sales.

I'm glad you find it tasty that MS and the NSA are spying on you. Be sure to smile while you play on your XBox, Bill is watching, lol.

 

[g-unit1111]

Because innovation and tapping into potential markets is bad right?

Well hey the new Lumia phone looks *AWESOME* (if it comes to Sprint, I would get one ASAP), and the new Surface Pro 4 specs are pretty solid. I'm not entirely sure where this device fits into the spectrum - or who can afford it / would have a use for it. But you know - different strokes for different folks.

 

[littleleo]

So true, and Google isn't the solution to everything.

 

[g-unit1111]

So true, and Google isn't the solution to everything.

That's actually a running joke among the moderator team. :lol:

 

[littleleo]

So true, and Google isn't the solution to everything.

That's actually a running joke among the moderator team. :lol:

I like it!

 

[hst101rox]

So, the only difference between the Surface 4 Pro and the Surface Book is a GPU in the dock? Yay... Why not put in a hard drive bay in there too. I think the Asus Zenbook UX501 laptop that weighs 4.5 pounds, 960m graphics, full power laptop CPU is way cooler. Battery, RAM, SSD easily replaceable by removing the bottom cover. Cooling system is impressive to handle a 60W GPU and 45w CPU for such a thin laptop! EDIT: though, a glossy screen instead of matte.
The Surface Book is 3.48 pounds according to Anand but smaller screen at 13.5" vs 15.6" touchscreen of the Asus and I'm sure not as beefy of a video card.
Then the price, probably about $1000 more than the Asus.
But I like the innovation this brings.

 

[Mboettcher]

Like every device ever manufactured, this one isn't perfect either. However, I give the highest possible praise to Microsoft for the effort and risk of innovation and for expanding the market. If this class of hybrids works, hopefully we'll see enterprise class GPU options in the near future. Would be amazing if Premiere or AutoCad could run on tablets with FirePro or Quadro GPUs. Imagine the possibilities of on site corrections for artists. One of the best product categories ever developed. Great looking device, I will definitely be purchasing one. Cheers

 

[drchemist]

Everyone is forgetting why Microsoft made the surface pro in the first place. The company stated they want to push the boundary of what devices should be with windows 8 and now with win 10. They want companies like Lenovo, dell, hp, and Sony to copy them. They still keep selling copies of windows and office in doing so. This was also the same with the band which was just a showcase of what the health apps they have can do and companies can make there own device and tap into that power. The surface book is again a push the boundaries of what laptops are and can do. The large laptop companies are slow and sometimes unwilling to take risk. Microsoft is taking the risk and now you see hp, Sony, dell, and apple making their own surface pro 3 years later after seeing the money and market it generated.

 

[gnodeb]

Red thank you for protecting poor little MS from us skeptics out here. After years of drinking the MS kool-aide MS is a little untrust worthy for a lot of us.

The reason for my post perhaps you missed it or I didn't explain myself well. Is after all this time of MS telling us the Notebook is dead and the SP is the notebook killer they come out with a notebook. To me that is just hilarious.

Yes I did see the dGPU.and I was totally wowed by the 1GB GPU that was to be named later for $200. For $200 I could buy a GTX 960 do you think that it is a GPU of a similar level of performance? Remember we are talking about MS here.

And yes I saw the notebook is 1.5" larger (Diagonally) I'm sure that is a great reason to make a notebook. Oh Yeah!

If your excited with the "all the features of the SB in the same size and weight and quality of chassis" I think you should buy one of these for everyone in your family. Do you get a company discount?

I'm sure the dGPU for $200 must run a badass version of AutoCad I still think it's pointless to have a removeable keyboard cutting off the GPU. If you just want the detachable tablet get the cheaper on and put the AutoCad on your desktop. Of course I'm assuming a power user running AutoCad has a desktop. Wasn't that one of your options?

No I don't hate MS they make me lots of money, I actually sell lots of Microsoft products. I just enjoy pointing out the irony of this product I'm sorry if it hits your funny bone wrong.

And yes as some one that has been working in the channel since the mid 80s I can tell you for a fact that YES it play a big part in declining PC sales.

I'm glad you find it tasty that MS and the NSA are spying on you. Be sure to smile while you play on your XBox, Bill is watching, lol.

Your imagination is telling you that MS is telling that notebooks are dead. MS is actually telling that Windows is OS for all form factors, from IoT to HolloLens, with everything in between.
So you can not imagine SP3 user who would like to have dGPU while he is docked to the bigger screen. I have SP3 and I would really like that, while I have no use of dGPU without big screen, keyboard and mouse. You see, while OEMs and resellers have no vision, MS have.
How hard is to imagine a potential buyer who likes everything about SP3/4 but keyboard or simply needs more power. How hard is to imagine ultra book user who would like to detach screen for browsing or reading comics? With that said, SB is not "one size fits all" product. It just adds diversity to windows offering. It doesn't kill anything but it looks like a great product.

 

[fil333]

Nice device, but the $1499 starting price is a bit too rich for my blood. If I'm paying that much money for a laptop, it's not going to be a laptop / tablet hybrid. I'd go for an MSI GS60 at that price level.

Agreed. Microsoft is basically making a laptop with the same price point as a mac but with windows on it. I thought the advantage of windows was that it wasn't expensive.

If that's the only advantage you see in Windows then you can't be a power user...