I am having a hard time understanding how the writer is so impressed. This tablet is not new. It's what we expected from Microsoft.<p>======================<p>The Facts:<p>- For a long time Microsoft has said windows 8 will have a tablet mode.<p>- A few years after the iPod came out, Microsoft came out with a copy called the zune.<p>- A few years after the iPhone Microsoft partnered with Nokia and other OEMs to come out with a copy of the iPhone.<p>- The Keyboard cover idea isn't new <a href="http://uk.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_TF101/" rel="nofollow">http://uk.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_TF101/</a><p>- The magnetic cover isn't new<p>The result:<p>This press conference was expected and what was announced wasn't surprising.<p>======================<p>How was this tablet a "Knock out of the park"? It seems to be more like a base hit. Microsoft made a base hit with the Zune and it went no where. We will have to see where this base hit goes.<p>All that said, it seems like this product is up to the caliber of Zune, which was a decent piece of hardware. I am sure creating this tablet was hard for Microsoft. And they seem to have captured the interest of many people. However, this mix of design and interest didn't result in success for Zune. So we will just have to see what happens next. Either way It's great to see some competition for Apple. Competition is always a win for the consumer.
That's some marvelous hyperbole.<p>Honestly though, I don't understand the excitement about this tablet. Is it really just because another company seems to have put a lot of effort into the industrial design of a product?<p>If this was the surface tablet of a few years ago (decade?), where you could place a camera on it and the images would immediately transfer, I'd be impressed. Instead its just a very nice looking Windows 8 tablet/laptop?<p>The original surface stuff looked incredible, and it would still be incredible today. Unfortunately I'm not seeing any of it in this new device.
<i>But Microsoft knocked one out of the park yesterday. Completely. Hit. A. Home. Run.</i><p>They COULD! GO! ALL! THE! WAY!<p>God I hate this writer already.
At this point, we don't know price or release date. It is another of the "announce early" to keep enterprise IT from buying someone else while Microsoft catches up (ask any number of software devs in the 90's).<p>I do wonder how this will affect traditional Microsoft partners. What does Dell and Lenovo think and will is stifle their tablet efforts.
Whatever comes out of the Microsoft tablet effort, one simple thing really matters: competition = good.<p>What wouldn't be good is for Apple to just sit atop the tablet industry, forever unchallenged.<p>Whether it's Amazon or Samsung or Microsoft taking their shot at the crown, it's great for the space to be hyper competitive.
You can tell how much the writer doesn't believe a single Goddamn word he says. Vagary, exaggerated emotion, all for what? Some device I can't even find one cool thing about. This was written for a boss, not for you and me.