Surface Pro Tablets to Finally Arrive in January 2013

[exfileme]

This January Microsoft will offer 64 GB and 128 GB versions of its Intel-based Surface tablet, starting at a hefty $899 USD.

Surface Pro Tablets to Finally Arrive in January 2013 : Read more

 

[GabZDK]

That's one nice tablet

 

[Jerky_san]

Wish it had GPS to.. I might of missed it in the specs but didn't see it.. Would be nice.. then it would basically be an all in one tablet.. Could you Street and Trips and such..

 

[Nexus52085]

can't wait. I've been eyeing the pro version for a while now.

 

[nukemaster]

Interesting to say the least.

 

[edgewood112358]

I wonder if Microsoft is eventually going to make a cheaper surface with an atom or AMD C or E series APU? They could probably sell that for $650 in the entry level, which might be enough to sway hesitant buyers- $900 for the entry level x86 surface is a lot!

 

[bavman]

[citation][nom]edgewood112358[/nom]I wonder if Microsoft is eventually going to make a cheaper surface with an atom or AMD C or E series APU? They could probably sell that for $650 in the entry level, which might be enough to sway hesitant buyers- $900 for the entry level x86 surface is a lot![/citation]

Its really not at all. If you compare it to ultrabooks in the same price range, its very competitively priced (as opposed to the RT version imo).

I really like the fact that it uses SSDs not eMMC based memory, hopefully that will be upgradable.

My only beef with it is that if I'm dishing out $900 I think they should include one of the keyboards. It seriously can't cost anywhere near the $100 they ask for it. I bet it takes them $10-20 max to make.

 

[Guest]

Hefty price? This is practically cheap compared to some of the competitions. Samsung ATIV Pro with pen and digitizer is sold for $1200. Dell XPS 12 convertible is sold for $1200.

Meanwhile, Surface Pro 128Gb = $999 + Cover ($150?) = $1050, that is cheaper than competition.

Acer W700 128GB is $999. Not quite sure about Lenovo Yoga. I vaguely remember other vendors such as Toshiba, Asus and Sony is more expensive.

If Microsoft has launched this in October instead of RT, Windows 8 take up might have been better as this tablet can run all existing x86 apps instead of have to relying on the still barren app store to catch up. Well, now that it is soon here, lets see if this will boost Windows tablet sales. I just hope that Microsoft is able to manage their sales and delivery channel well this time so that it is able to deliver the products timely all over the world. In this fast moving industry you really need to able to do what your competitor can do, which is to quickly make your products available to interested market segment and lock in their purchase as soon as possible. Because a purchase made on your product is likely to mean a purchase lost to your competitor for quite awhile.

 

[wemakeourfuture]

Way over priced. Will sell very few units.

If they included 4G LTE and the ability to make calls then they could have had more leverage.

Has to be at half the price to compete with the iPad and Android tablets that exist.

Microsoft will continue their subpar performance at their Entertainment and Devices Divisions.

 

[wisedupearly]

How many legacy Windows apps are going to be really useable on this form factor?
Like RT, you'll need the keyboard and trackpad for input.
But that small screen is going to scroll you to death

 

[moogleslam]

They're really missing the boat by not having it out before Christmas.

 

[bavman]

[citation][nom]tiltowait[/nom]Surface Pro 128Gb = $999 + Cover ($150?) = $1050[/citation]

Your math is a tad off

 

[bavman]

[citation][nom]wemakeourfuture[/nom]Way over priced. Will sell very few units.If they included 4G LTE and the ability to make calls then they could have had more leverage.Has to be at half the price to compete with the iPad and Android tablets that exist.Microsoft will continue their subpar performance at their Entertainment and Devices Divisions.[/citation]

But its not supposed to be compared to an apple/android tablet. Its a full-blow laptop...comparable to $1000 ultrabooks, not $500 tablets.

 

[JOSHSKORN]

Can it run Crysis? Seriously, can it? I'm guessing if so, not very good due to the GPU.

 

[wisedupearly]

4 hour battery life
no 3G/4G
no GPS
no office
no screen angle adjustment
no sale

 

[cirdecus]

[citation][nom]wemakeourfuture[/nom]Way over priced. Will sell very few units.If they included 4G LTE and the ability to make calls then they could have had more leverage.Has to be at half the price to compete with the iPad and Android tablets that exist.Microsoft will continue their subpar performance at their Entertainment and Devices Divisions.[/citation]

I'm sure more people will be correcting you, but this is actually a PC not a toy tablet like an iPad or Android device. It functions like a complete desktop\laptop.

So if you want to compare this PRODUCTIVITY computing device to a content CONSUMPTION device, then start by comparing a full laptop to the iPad and see which has more features and functions. Like USB ports, external hard drives, file management, the ability to run any windows application on the planet, etc.

This isn't a toy tablet, this is the real deal.

 

[wisedupearly]

4 hour battery life
no 3G/4G
no GPS
no office
no screen angle adjustment
too heavy as tablet
no sale

 

[cirdecus]

[citation][nom]wisedupearly[/nom]4 hour battery lifeno 3G/4Gno GPSno officeno screen angle adjustmentno sale[/citation]

Pretty sure its a lot more than 4 hours
You can plug a USB 3G or 3G device into this thing just like you can a GPS dongle.
Office is never free retard, when was such powerful software free? Show me apple's free office app for their iPad.
Screen angle adjustment? Like, as in turning the tablet with your hand?

I think you're confusing this with your android/ipad. This is a computer, not a toy shopping cart.

 

[cirdecus]

[citation][nom]moogleslam[/nom]They're really missing the boat by not having it out before Christmas.[/citation]

I would've released it before christmas too. My guess is that they want people using and playing with RT and they're betting big on the ecosystem growing. They probably didn't want the Pro tablets to be a distraction.

 

[bavman]

[citation][nom]Cirdecus[/nom]Pretty sure its a lot more than 4 hoursYou can plug a USB 3G or 3G device into this thing just like you can a GPS dongle.Office is never free retard, when was such powerful software free? Show me apple's free office app for their iPad.Screen angle adjustment? Like, as in turning the tablet with your hand?I think you're confusing this with your android/ipad. This is a computer, not a toy shopping cart.[/citation]

Lets try to not call others retarded okay? Don't be a child

Also the surface RT gets 7-10 hours battery depending on the situation and microsoft clearly said the pro will have about half the battery life of the RT so he is correct in assuming it will be around 4 hours. Check your sources before being "pretty sure" its a lot more than 4 hours.

 

[wisedupearly]

[citation][nom]Cirdecus[/nom]
Screen angle adjustment? Like, as in turning the tablet with your hand?I think you're confusing this with your android/ipad. This is a computer, not a toy shopping cart.[/citation]

check here http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-surface-pro-to-have-half-the-surface-rts-battery-life-7000008113/
ohh, a dongle - battery life is now 3 hours
office is free with RT - get it now?
seriously, a productivity device that you have to hold? good luck with that buddy.

 

[Guest]

[How many legacy Windows apps are going to be really useable on this form factor?
Like RT, you'll need the keyboard and trackpad for input.
But that small screen is going to scroll you to death]

Have been using tablet form factor running Windows 8 for quite awhile now, so I can share some opinions on this.

All legacy Windows apps will run, including games. As the resolution is 1920x1080, it merely depends on your eyesight whether you can really your applications and games at such fine resolution on a 10" screen. If your eyesight is not as good, you can always change the screen resolution to lower until the applications look big enough for you.

Scrolling should not be an issue, as it is 1920x1080.

To run most legacy applications, keyboard and trackpad are ideal. Depending on the applications, sometimes it is even essential. So the solution to this is either get the touch/type cover, or buy a more comfortable but bulky bluetooth keyboard and mouse, or buy a light air keyboard+pad that can fit into a pocket easily.

If there is any worry, it is whether at such a small enclosure, will running demanding games producing too much heat for this device? Oh that also means that you are stuck outside in a snow storm, you can use this to keep warm.

 

[bigdragon]

I need more information about the stylus. Is it Wacom? How many levels of pressure sensitivity does it have? Does it do angle detection? Is there an eraser? How does it perform in Photoshop, Painter, or other drawing programs? I want to buy one, but I need more information. I have an old Motion LE1700 t replace.

 

[wisedupearly]

[citation][nom]mightnmagic[/nom] Oh that also means that you are stuck outside in a snow storm, you can use this to keep warm.[/citation] LOL

If we were talking about only images then your reference to resolution is understandable. How often are you zooming in on productive apps on your device? This is the type of feedback that has been missing.

 

[Guest]

About the comment on battery life and 3G/4G connectivity:

Based on my experiences on similar Ultrabook, the battery life drain depends on the tasks you are doing. For simple document and file editing, turn down the brightness a little, turn off wireless you can easily get 8-10 hours of battery life. For video playback, depends on the brightness on screen, you might go for 5-7 hours. For very demanding games, the battery might run out in 3-4 hours. For older games which uses little of 3D such as Baldur's Gate and such, you are getting 5-6 hours. Yes, it cannot be compared to those 10+ hours in Android and Apple tablets, but the games are so much more fun. And it can easily play all video formats unlike the situation with Android and iPad now.

3G/4G does not necessarily requires a USB dongle, a portable hotspot device is small and dirt cheap so just plug the USB dongle into it and get 3G/4G access via WiFi. Or if you already own Android device or iPad, turn them into hotspot.

Such a device can do much more than Android tablet and iPad can do. It is in a different class of devices altogether so you might see people buying both of them. Of course, for some people, Android or iPad is good enough and they have no use for Surface Pro. For a lot of us though, we might just skip over Android and iPad, and get our needs met by this.