I don't understand the "OMG MICROSOFT MADE A TABLET IT IS CLEARLY COPYING THE IPAD" reaction Microsoft's getting here. They're absolutely ahead of the curve with the blending of mobile and desktop operating systems, something which I am extremely happy they are doing, and this is absolutely the logical design choices someone in that position would make.<p>Yes, it's very similar to the iPad in many ways. But other than some of the marketing, it doesn't seem to fall any closer to Apple than any of the Android tablets we've been seeing for the last year. In fact, the metro UI (extreme minimalism) is pretty drastically different from Apple's style (extreme detail). Apple phased out the bold color designs <i>years</i> ago. (And don't feed me the "Microsoft is just really slow at copying" nonsense - it's clearly as much an original design as any.)<p>A lot of the arguments against it are the sort of arguments Samsung fought against in its lawsuit with Apple. The result of that was a totally unique product, and an awful one. (<a href="http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/05/04/the-samsung-galaxy-s-iii-the-first-smartphone-designed-entirely-by-lawyers/" rel="nofollow">http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/05/04/the-samsung-galaxy-s...</a>)
So they're not just going after the iPad, they're also going after the MacBook Air: The Intel version + Touch Cover was repeatedly shown with the regular desktop and apps on it, and generally spun as a sort of light laptop.<p>Ambitious, and finally makes sense of their Metro/desktop combo OS strategy to a degree. The hardware to go along with it was a missing puzzle piece, and I guess shows just how important it can be.
They have a video on the main page. The video is a minute long. They have asked for my attention for a minute.<p>In that minute, they have not told me anything about what the Surface can do for me, and why I should care about it. I'm absolutely baffled by that.<p>Yes, I might know what it is, and have some idea about what it can do, but if this was a television commercial, I'd bet money that such a campaign would be a quickly forgotten failure.
I'm actually a Windows user (although I own an iPad), but you have to be a bit humored by all this. As usual where Apple has used a feather Microsoft have used the whole chicken with keyboards, screws, different versions, the whole enchilada. I'm only surprised there's no stickers. "ClearType display"? really, you felt you had to brand it just to compete with "Retina display".<p>Despite all this the tablet might actually be good, and seeing another quality tablet contender is always good for competition. I am however getting a bit worried by Microsofts "me too"-attitude and the reek of desperation these days. They could be making awesome stuff but they lack follow-through and the finer points of taste<p>It's a pity they won't put their chips down on things that actually <i>were</i> original, like the courier or mainstreaming the surface (the table). In the end they didn't have any choice since they couldn't surrender their enterprise tablet/smartphone customers to Apple. The Courier was innovative but perhaps too niche so its not even sure that was a bad call.<p>I guess I'm just arguing about the finer points about their attitude and execution, with Microsoft I'm always afraid that in-company bureaucracy will manifest itself into some stupid decision on the consumers behalf. Apple are fanatics (and splending assholes in some cases), but atleast you feel they pretty much set the consumer first and have some taste<p>Having said all this I'm still kinda rooting for MS since they ironically enough seem to be the underdog nowadays, how the tables have turned...
I occasionally use a Bluetooth keyboard with my iPad when I feel like firing off a bunch of email from my recliner. The keyboard is on my lap and the iPad is off to the side. It's nice because it's literally the exact same keyboard I use with my laptop and my desktop.<p>The Surface's attached, floppy keyboard wouldn't work for me at all. If I need to set up at a desk then I'll just pull out my laptop.<p>The concept of a screen-cover/keyboard is interesting, but I'm not sure how practical it is in real life. Virtually 100% of the time I use my iPad it (or its BT keyboard) is on my lap. (As I type this I'm sitting on a lawn chair on my patio). And if it's not a full stroke keyboard then I don't see it as being very comfortable to use.<p>I also dislike the 16:9 screen. On a tablet, 16:9 is useless for everything but movies: Too wide to thumb-type in landscape, too narrow and tall in portrait.<p>I also suppose they'll be able to severely undercut OEM manufacturers on price, especially of this thing stumbles out of the gate. If I were Dell or HP I would seriously question how to move forward.<p>But ultimately success will depend on the software. Microsoft is going to be ramming Metro down the throats of faithful Windows users in a few short months. If users love it, they'll surely flock to Metro tablets where they can use the apps they've already collected on their desktops, and Surface becomes the quick number 2 tablet. If they hate it, Metro and Surface will be about as popular as Vista and Zune.
After 5 minutes of scanning their site, I still cannot find the display resolution of their offering, but I have found:<p><i>"Coming Soon."</i><p><i>"Images are design renderings and not photographs."</i><p><i>"1, 2 Actual size and weight of the device may vary due to configuration and manufacturing process"</i><p>Anyone find a better spec sheet than this one?<p><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/global/surface/en/us/renderingassets/surfacespecsheet.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.microsoft.com/global/surface/en/us/renderingasset...</a><p>Why can't Microsoft present normal details in an accessible manner?
2012 is the year third party OEMs start to go extinct. First (and always) Apple, now Microsoft, soon Google/Motorola. There may be some niche markets left over for third party OEMs but otherwise I think they're done. No wonder HP wanted out of the PC industry. Maybe they knew something we didn't?
As a happy iPad owner, and with knowing next to nothing just from first impressions, I can say this genuinely looks like a very intriguing effort by Microsoft. I love the smart cover with keyboard and it looks to be a perfect platform to showcase Win8 on. Hope this gets some real success, would be great to have some decent competition in the tablet space to keep Apple on their toes (I know there are other tablets, but they suck or are just trying to be ultra cheap etc).
Shit website, shit marketing, and shit video aside, I'm seriously intrigued.<p>Microsoft has five cards to play here:<p>- REAL Windows (TM) and Massive Microsoft Developer Mindshare
- Ports, ports, ports!
- REAL Microsoft Office (TM) INCLUDED FREE on the low-end model
- PEN AND KEYBOARD!
- Billions of dollars in cash to burn making this happen<p>And they have three huge challenges in front of them:<p>- Windows 8 critical reception
- Their ability to execute
- They will be shipping these, at best, about two months before iPad 4 ships<p>Execution is going to be everything. Make this a work-friendly wonderbox that effortlessly supports Exchange, remote management, SharePoint, SkyDrive, SMB, OneNote, and Communicator/Lync? The iPad will blow off conference tables like crepe paper.<p>Make a fussy little piece of shit that takes the same amount of work to set up as a laptop or otherwise scares off IT? Doom.
So, to recap, no price, no demo of what it can actually do or why I would want one, two models with different processor architectures and significantly varying weights (1.5 and 2 lbs), awkward portrait 16:9 aspect ratio, no mention of battery life or availability, vents and cooling fans, two keyboards that look miserable to type on, but I'll reserve judgement until I've used one myself, and an admittedly useful kickstand.<p>This strikes me as a reactionary announcement from Microsoft. The surface is trying to be all things to all people. An iPad killer it is not. Still, I can't fault them for trying; their future rests on sales of Office and Windows.
I think the case is what is most interesting. Keyboard + trackpad.<p>Good bet by Microsoft. They are trying to shift the tablet market away from "a bigger smartphone" and back into their bread & butter desktop environment. They hope to leverage their ecosystem of apps on Windows and couldn't really do that with just a touch interface.<p>I'm excited to see what it feels like when it is released. I'll be honest, I'm not convinced that I'll be able to deal with the context switching between traditional and metro UI's (+ touch and trackpad input methods), but I'll certainly give it shot. Best of both worlds if Microsoft pulls it off.
If this lives up to the promise, it will definitely replace my netbook. This looks like something that will perform well as a tablet for apps and light internet usage, and is an easy form-factor to take to a coffeeshop for some hacking or writing as a netbook replacement.<p>EDIT: Why downvote ?? I don't care about the points, just curious if you are MS haters or something.
I just flashed back to Ballmer mocking the MacBook Air 4 years ago. I guess he did want one after all.<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYcxvEfUikg" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYcxvEfUikg</a>
So, let me see if I got this right. From the live blog:<p><i>Surface for Windows RT coming in 32GB and 64GB models. Priced "like comparable tablets based on ARM."</i><p>This is the one that won't run Windows programs. Right now, there are little to no apps that are made for it. It's also the one without full HD screen. And they'll still try to sell them for $400-$600.<p><i>Pro coming in 64GB and 128GB models, will be priced on par with Ultrabook-class PCs.</i><p>That's the Intel Core tablet, which needs vents. Priced at $900-1100. More expensive than any other tablet on the market. Needs the thicker keyboard cover, but will run Windows programs.
I think it's pretty safe to say that this is Microsoft going all in on the consumer market.<p>1. Video doesn't really show anything but it is admittedly well made.
2. You have to actually download the tech specs.
3. The tech specs have little meaning. (At first glance what is ClearType HD Display, some sort of Retina?)<p>It's like they took the apple philosophy even further.<p>Not sure how I feel about this but I guess now finally all the windows people have what the metro really is made for.<p>Oh and a little detail.<p>2100 Likes so far and not a single tweet (which obviously can't be true for reasons I am not yet aware of.)
From a marketing perspective, the video on the site is terrible compared to Apple's iPad site. If you go here:<p><a href="http://www.apple.com/ipad/" rel="nofollow">http://www.apple.com/ipad/</a><p>You see someone using an iPad, how big it is, how simple it is to use, what it's capable of doing, and you can immediately think the possibilities.<p>Microsoft's video shows some dark crumbling rocks and dust, and this strange tablet device with different colored keyboards. There is some shaking and wind blowing and hammering. It barely scratches the surface (ha ha) of what the device can do.<p>I can't impute any desirable value here except from what I can derive from other Windows devices, which is that the thing will probably require Norton AntiVirus and will blue screen on occasion.
I don't see a sticker telling me what kind of processor is in inside, nor do I see a sticker telling me which version of Windows this is. I'm a bit confused.
Microsoft is trying to straddle two models and risks failing at both. The Surface will apparently be both a touch based device but also a more traditional desktop. The problem will be when buyers expect desktop performance out of a lower power device. For applications that are designed for a touch interface from the start, it's comparatively easy to optimize for performance, or at least the appearance of performance and responsiveness. But load up something huge with a heavy footprint (Office/Outlook etc) and it's a different kettle of fish.<p>If MS can pull this off, while still hitting battery life and price points, hats off to them.
"Unexpected error occurred." at <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/surface/" rel="nofollow">http://www.microsoft.com/surface/</a><p>Not a good omen. (Edit: they fixed it.)<p>Without having seen the product, I'd say that its fortunes will be based largely on its price point. They need to have a compelling offering in the $499 range, or this is going to be a blip on the iPad/Kindle Fire market.
While a horrible launch approach (no price, no availability, no info on cpu or ram) I will be keeping my eye on this, and looking for a chance to test drive in a brick/mortar.<p>This could become an amazing travel device, but not holding my breath.
People will bitch and whine, but you've got to hand it to Microsoft the Surface tablet is pretty appealing and I say that without any bias or affiliation with Microsoft. The video was a bit cheesy and very motion graphics oriented which is completely different to their regular style of low-budget looking ameteur product videos.<p>I won't contribute to the Microsoft is trying to compete with the Apple iPad debate but I will say you'd have to be an idiot to not at least try and challenge Apple's dominance in the tablet market which Microsoft is doing and is probably one of the only company that has the potential to succeed in doing so.<p>If the price is right, I'll definitely buy one of these. Using my heavy laptop on the train just isn't viable any more and I can't code on an iPad because it doesn't have a keyboard.
Compare and contrast the the top thread here with the one on reddit. Obviously two different perspectives.<p><a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/v8yrl/microsoft_announces_surface_tablet/" rel="nofollow">http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/v8yrl/microsoft_...</a><p>The questions are:<p><pre><code> - Is the keyboard any good?
- Is the stylus any good?
- Is the integration any good?
- Is the experience any good?
</code></pre>
If Microsoft can get to yes for all 4 of those in a timely fashion, then they will at least have a business niche machine. Price will be less of a factor for machines that come out of the company budget.<p>Even if the app ecosystem doesn't take off immediately, Microsoft could strategically pick the right dozen apps to hold things down until then.
This is seriously one of the most heavy handed, almost laughable attempts at being hip and cool I've ever seen. I thought it was a parody for a second.<p>Honestly could they scream any louder 'We are absolutely terrified of Apple. Please love us again.'
Apple was smart to release the iPad 2 with a design that practically "had to have" a special cover. This allowed them to legally advertise the iPad's price at one amount even though the majority of their customers would really be paying more (i.e. $549 after shelling out for a $50 cover, instead of only the base $499 amount).<p>Microsoft probably has the same plan here. A cover that contains a keyboard can be even more expensive (say, $100 each instead of $50) and they can use profits from covers to mask the true cost of tablets.<p>Then again, they've said nothing about the price...
My client has started outfitting their sales reps with ipads complete with covers that double as a stand. After a few weeks, they wanted keyboards, after keyboards they wanted a stylus.<p>Personally, I think MS nailed it. This could be just a tablet to some people, but it can be a whole lot more to the enterprise.<p>Now to see the pricing...
The Win8Pro version has about the same 42 W-h battery size as in the new iPad. I doubt it can manage the same battery life, especially if it has to have vents.
Good to see MS trying to compete with the iPad. Not sure that they'll have any more success than the Android based systems, but at least they're not ceding the market to Apple.<p>I'll be very interested to see how the OEM partners view this.<p>The key will be in pricing. If it's $499 for the base version, it might have a chance. Pricing it "on par with Ultrabook-class PCs" will leave it Zuned.<p>I'm also surprised that Microsoft was able to keep this under wraps for this long.
Video requires Silverlight. Here is the Youtube version. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dpzu3HM2CIo" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=d...</a>
As a loyal Microsoft user/apologist for decades now, I have to say that i'm cringing pretty hard after watching the coverage of this. This falls into pretty much the same form factor as the failed netbook, with no discernible distinction. Watching Microsoft throw itself off a cliff with everything from Win 8 to this tablet is very difficult to watch.
One word : Fail.<p>They have gotten better at presentation, but they missed one key point of Apple presentations.<p>Apple has learned that "Ships Today" is as important as the technology being sold.<p>So who cares what it CAN do, its not available now. Its not even available tomorrow, its available soon. All they did was give Apple a bigger opportunity to undercut their buzz.
Just noticed from the Win8Pro version, <i>"Pen with Palm Block"</i> a nice innovation Apple hasn't bothered with yet. Question I want to know is, <i>"can you develop"</i> applications for the tablet, on the tablet?
The keynote talk (<a href="http://cdn-smooth.ms-studiosmedia.com/news/mp4_mq/06182012_Surface_750k.mp4" rel="nofollow">http://cdn-smooth.ms-studiosmedia.com/news/mp4_mq/06182012_S...</a>) is informative. At about minute 14, the demonstrator tries to show how IExplorer works on the tablet. It fails. He keeps clicking here and there to try to restart it, then he clues in that folks can see him doing this and he points it to his chest, card-player style. Then he sprints to the podium to get another machine. I felt for the poor guy.
I was pretty excited about this device as well. Until I downloaded and played with Windows 8. Windows 8's inconsistent and confusing UI blows. The Metro integration into Windows 8 looked like a last minute decision because most apps still have the Aero interface.<p>Microsoft has realized that the hardware to software integration is crucial to a great user experience. However, they spent so much time on the hardware of this tablet that I'm wondering if the Windows 8 software can match.<p>That said if this tablet is under $600, it will sell like hotcakes.
Microsoft couldn't choose between ARM and x86 and this will be a huge problem for them. It's emblematic of the terrible position that they're in, trying not to be left behind while trying to refresh and extend their aging desktop OS monopoly. These products do nothing well. A stylus? That's a bullet on a PowerPoint, not a compelling feature. I felt sad watching them retell their passionless internal talking points while giving a more pathetic version of an Apple launch.
Yuck, it looks like you can't use it w/o a table top so it's useless on a plane, or train , or couch. It's like a half ass competitor to both iPad and MacBook Air.
The good:
1. the magnesium body is tough and very weather resistant. Similar to Nikons current camera line.
2. stand and keyboard built in make this a machine you can do very serious work on
3. 600 dpi sample rate for drawing means serious design work can be done as well.
4. Like the Xbox, Zune HD, natural keyboard, arc mouse, and their live cams: When Microsoft decides to design it usually is awesome.<p>the bad:
1. They said how much they believe in their partners yet only one application was shown off (lightroom). No special hardware or software partnerships.
2. No discussion on ports, actual cpu speed, ram, bus speed, or video capability.
3. no discussion of pricing.
4. The names are confusing for consumers: windows rt, surface, etc. they should have just said its all windows 8.
Windows 8 for arm and windows 8 for intel. easy.
5. It was not available the day of the anouncement.<p>The BIGGEST problem:
They did not show how this device is worth buying as part of your Micosoft ecosystem of experience and devices. How does it work with windows phone? they did not show it doing tricks with xbox and smartglass. They did not show how this device should be important to you.
Ignoring all the judgement we're passing on this product, a good engineering effort deserves praise. Looking at this segment of the presentation (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jozTK-MqEXQ#t=41m32s" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jozTK-MqEXQ#t=41m32s</a>), with my extremely limited understanding of manufacturing and physics, I am truly surprised how they managed to fit so much functionality into 3mm.
I think this is a step forward for Microsoft, and besides, end-users will benefit form the Microsoft-Apple competition.
They innovate and we get better devices :)<p>Im an Apple user, but earn my living as a system admin for windows and linux servers.
I get all my work done from my hackintosh , and if nothing changes probably will not go back on using windows anytime soon.
I truly hate windows, especially Vista which made me turn to Mac OS and never look back.<p>Despite all this I will never become so narrow minded as most apple fanboys and dismiss everything new.<p>I'm tired of reading/hearing:
"Apple has already done this, Microsoft stoled their ideea", "Apple knows the right way to make a product", "This will never work for Microsoft", "Microsoft failed again", "OMG look at the product page, Its crap so the product must be a pile of dong too!"<p>Common people, what is wrong with you?<p>I say good job Microsoft, finaly something promising. How well it would do in the real world remains to be seen, but I think there is a huge market for this device.
Have seen a pre-production device in Bangalore manufactured by Samsung.<p>I expect Pricing and distribution would be announced by Samsung in a seperate event .<p>The tablet app I saw looked good but it had touch responsiveness issue, and internet access was slow, saw the app crash and restart , but not sure if that was hardware related as it was a beta app.
This device doesn't look like it will work well in my lap. I use a 5 year old laptop that I'm pretty happy with. I have a tablet that I never use but that's mostly because I don't like touchscreen interfaces, except on phones where they are lesser of 2 evils (the other evil being super-tiny keyboards).
My wife has a bad back, and even carrying a 13" laptop around for and extended time causes her a lot of pain. She would kill for a tablet with a keyboard that she could use for work while traveling (mostly, power point, word and a bit of Excel).<p>Now, if only her company (60k+ employees) would upgrade from XP...
The problem is that you never know how long Microsoft will stand behind any of their hardware products.
They held firm with Xbox, they surrendered with everything else.
Last year, they canned their tablet plans. This year, they come back with a new tablet plan.
Etc.<p>Hysterical or desperate? I do not know.
The only reason to announce hardware more than 6 months prior to availability is to deter people from buying iPads and Macbook Airs in the meanwhile.<p>I've played with Win8 running on an Atom tablet and while the hardware sucked, the idea of being able to do real work on legacy apps (Photoshop, 3DS Max, video editing etc) on it is nice. The x86 Surface is definitely a laptop replacement.<p>Not convinced about Metro yet though - depends on the apps we'll see on it I guess.<p>I also have an iPad with the Logitech Ultra Thin BT keyboard cover and I really like it. If only iOS had CMD/TAB keyboard shortcut for swapping between apps and more open file system I could do a fair bit of web dev work on it. My 13" Macbook Pro feels like a brick compared to the iPad+keyboard cover.<p>Still can't do Photoshop/3D/etc work on the iPad though.
It looks cool but what is with Microsoft's naming conventions. Apparently the official name for this product is "Surface for Windows RT," as it is referenced here:<p><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/about.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/about.aspx</a>
Can anyone explain the timing and placement for this announcement? Why now and why outside of a major conference and on such short notice?<p>Is it supposed to be a hip marketing ploy or is there something else happening they wanted to announce ahead of?
All well and good. But the UI divide between Metro and Win 7 is just there.. I see no attempt to change any aspects of the traditional windows UI. Metro still seems to be a shell unable to hide the real UI underneath.
Does anyone know if Windows 8 (or whatever is powering the Pro version) is resolution independent? Or will developers have to compile a version for the Surface Pro, and a different version for the x86 desktop market?
At first glance I thought it was a dual screen (MS Courier's big brother) with the lower screen as the keyboard.<p>I liked the Courier concept I wish Microsoft released it, the Courier would have be a perfect match with Windows 8.
Microsoft Surface == enterprise manageable tablets. IT organizations familiar with managing fleets of ubiquitous Windows workstations (desktop or notebook) will be able to now manage cheaper Windows convertibles.<p>Similar to how Apple (and Microsoft, and Google) would drop machines in schools to indoctrinate the next generation, Microsoft is going after users where they use computers the most: in the office.<p>Those that do not get "Surface" per se, will at least be familiar with it in a few years, after they have been exposed to other Windows 8 profiles at work (or on new home computers).
i can't believe they've got the windows logo on the front bezel. super ugly and distracting. even apple, who loves its logo as much as any corporation, kept the front of the ipad logo-free.
I think what is great about the Surface line is that now other OEMs will have to design and produce even better hardware to compete. This is very good news for the consumer.
I'm really hopeful for a tablet (read: something light with a decent interface) where I can do general-purpose computing (read: install my own stuff and have reasonable processing power) so I really hope this succeeds on these levels. Some of the ideas at least are very worthy.<p>Having said that, there is nowhere near enough detail to make an informed judgement on anything yet (except the PR strategy - which is [pretty laughably] a poor imitation of what Apple does).<p>Still. We live in hope.
Quite promising from someone who has bean dead* for at least 5 years. :)<p>* <a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/microsoft.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.paulgraham.com/microsoft.html</a>
Using the Surface name is a total sleazy Microsoft move. The table has nothing whatsoever to do with the "Surface" technology they developed unless the screen can magically detect the specially coded or shaped components that a Surface table can detect.<p>And if Apple released a new product with the joke of a website and spec sheet that MS just did they'd be scorn of anyone that knows how to type.
I just see how ad designers for that picture/video prepare their creatives on their macs and fill dirty for selling their souls to M$.<p>That also brought me another memory: Zune. So much hype and so poor results.<p>Microsoft should stick with desktop/business software and keep milking it.
MS is not capable of doing anything else profitably anymore.
Pros:
Keyboard as cover
USB<p>Cons:
Thicker (and probably heavier) than the iPad<p>I have to say, Windows 8 is looking pretty good for touchscreen devices.
Anyone happen to know if it uses their new ultra-responsive (1ms) touchscreen technology? I remember being pretty excited about that when they demoed it, but it seemed like it wouldn't be rolled out for a while.<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOvQCPLkPt4" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOvQCPLkPt4</a>
I didn't see anywhere a way to adjust the angle of the stand. I constantly change the angle of my laptop monitor, and sometimes even the one at work.<p>Now this device would want me to adjust myself to stand at the right angle looking it. Hopefully it would be still readable from other angles, but then how would you touch it?
Is there some visual distortion going on or is that tablet really thick? Reminds me of the newton.<p><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/global/surface/en/us/publishingimages/new/gallery_3_large.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.microsoft.com/global/surface/en/us/publishingimag...</a>
"Hands off entertainme"? Who designed the mobile version of the Surface website? <a href="https://twitter.com/designdaisuki/status/214878299669790720/photo/1" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/designdaisuki/status/214878299669790720/...</a>
Anyone knows how the cover keyboard is built ? is this a 'fake' dumb plastic molded keyboard using a capacitive layer underneath ? I wish it is, so that the whole keyboard could be an analog sensing surface if needed.
The tablet looks nice, but the keyboard looks as if it will be one of the worst keyboards in the history of the universe. As someone who loves the idea of a convertible tablet, I really do hope that I'm wrong.
Their launch video is almost as tacky as the Asus Padphone's... where's the taste these days?<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqjoRMHyYQc" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqjoRMHyYQc</a>
Did they run out of money to design the back or something? They can't have Jony Ive but was there no one else they could hire to approximate 60s era Braun? Like a 4th year design student?
Let's talk a little about 'kickstand'.<p>Am I wrong in believing this hasn't got adjustable angle and is useless if the device isn't on an actual desk?<p>Seems like the Achilles' heel of the entire device to me.
Some future popularity could come down to how flexible they are with that USB port. Can you plug in a thumbdrive and watch videos or play music? Extract or back-up photos?
After reading several reviews, and looking at MS Surface website, I am still not clear what this is. Is it going to run full featured Windows OS? Whats the price point going to be? Is 10.2 inch keyboard really going to make it possible for me to type things fast? (Remember those notebook keyboards? I could not really type on it). Is Microsoft going to build hardware for this? If no, who is building it? When is it going to be available on the market? Oh common give me something. All I get it, is Microsoft now has a tablet, which has a keyboard. thats it... cmon. I need bit more details than that.
Can't wait to see how well the Pro version runs with Norton or McAfee burning up cpu cycles. Hope that's not the "desktop" experience they're aiming for.
I'm curious what J. Allard (MS Courier) is thinking about this piece of technology. Especially about the one with the pen.<p>Hello enterprise ready tablets!
Microsoft had the touch-surface interface back like a year before the iphone came out. But they rolled it out as a $10000 restuarant/menu interface instead of a computing/consumer device one. Classic good tech/bad customer targeting failure. <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2007/may07/05-29mssurfacepr.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2007/may07/05-29ms...</a>
thinking as an average consumer I can only look at this as a marginally uglier (looks like it's lower quality) and thicker tablet. if isn't significantly cheaper than the ipad why should i buy it?
I generally hate Microsoft stuff (including Windows 8), but this is a refreshingly original and good design (personal opinion, of course.) Since Zune and XBox, Microsoft seem to have sharpened their game to the point where they are capable of delivering small, compact, and useful hardware which functions well. Some people mocked the Microsoft Mouse in the initial stages of the presentation, but come to think of it, most people I know prefer Microsoft's ergonomic laptop mice to Apple's Mighty Mouse, which, quite frankly, is rubbish.<p>Priced at the right point, this could take aim at a number of different devices, which it seems to fit at the smooth spot between:<p>- Stylus-capable tablets you can actually write on (IBM x series)<p>- Small media-capable tablets like the iPad/Kindle Fire (for consuming eBooks, media and the Web).<p>- eBook readers like the standard Kindle. I don't know what digital Ink capable means, but if it goes any way towards making eBooks more readable than they are on the Fire/iPad, consumers will buy this device just so they don't have to buy different things for watching videos and reading books with lesser eyestrain.<p>I bet that both this and the Lumia and other Windows phones are going to be massive in markets like India, which know Microsoft and Nokia well, and have never seen much of Apple tech.
<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/global/surface/en/us/renderingassets/surfacespecsheet.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.microsoft.com/global/surface/en/us/renderingasset...</a><p>WinRT (ARM) and a Intel version. Multitouch keyboard. Full HD on the Intel tablet on 10.6 inch screen (nearly the same density as the MBP Retina)<p>Also, funny the comments here, the iPad edges are tapered, but the RT version is 9.3mm and Apple says the iPad is 9.4mm deep.<p>Why oh why are they pushing Silverlight to show the video?