Microsoft First Tablet - Surface !

_Kaiser_

AngryLips wrote: »

Now available in Ireland: IT: Surface Touches Down in Ireland

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

Bit late...I would have actually bought one if it was around Xmas. It only seems like there will be new tablets around the corner from apple and android. Spec wise it seems a bit stupid to get one,

That article also suggests it's the cut-down RT version NOT the "Pro" one. For nearly €600 (or almost €700 if you include the keyboard) there's a lot better options out there.

At that price point you might as well spend another hundred or so and at least you'd get a full blown actual Windows Pro tablet from the likes of Samsung etc

AngryLips

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

That article also suggests it's the cut-down RT version NOT the "Pro" one. For nearly €600 (or almost €700 if you include the keyboard) there's a lot better options out there.

Ya, no details yet on when the Pro will be available here. It's not even available in the UK yet.

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

At that price point you might as well spend another hundred or so and at least you'd get a full blown actual Windows Pro tablet from the likes of Samsung etc

I guess it depends on what way you intend to use the tablet. The RT sells it to be because it has a much better battery life and it won't heat up the way a W8 tablet will.

_Kaiser_

AngryLips wrote: »

I guess it depends on what way you intend to use the tablet. The RT sells it to be because it has a much better battery life and it won't heat up the way a W8 tablet will.

I agree with you but the RT has already been written off by a lot of analysts because of its limitations considering the high price you pay for it. If it was around €300 less it'd be a better contender vs the huge amount of Android tablets (I'm not even factoring in the Chinese ones that the specs are rapidly improving on for under €100 - check out the ongoing Bargain Alerts threads)

Surface Pro is where it's at but it's dearer again and will no doubt have to deal with issues caused by its cut-down sibling - "my mate bought one of those Windows tablets but sure it doesn't run anything he has on his laptop" etc, and competition within the same market from OEMs with equivalent or superior hardware at cheaper price points

MS should have pitched RT at €250-300 and Pro at €500-600 max, and you could argue that they could be cheaper again to get people onboard the new platform. After all, when you can buy an established iPad or Android tablet for much the same money, which would you go for?

Tablets will never replace laptops in a productivity sense either unless you add docks or keyboards (which then negates their whole purpose). It's the same with my Galaxy Note 2.. sure its great for browsing or a quick email/text/IM, but you'd be driven demented trying to do a report on it - and that's true of ANY touchscreen device I think.

You just can't be a good ole fashioned keyboard and mouse when it comes to getting real work done.

liamog

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

I agree with you but the RT has already been written off by a lot of analysts because of its limitations considering the high price you pay for it. If it was around €300 less it'd be a better contender vs the huge amount of Android tablets (I'm not even factoring in the Chinese ones that the specs are rapidly improving on for under €100 - check out the ongoing Bargain Alerts threads)

Surface Pro is where it's at but it's dearer again and will no doubt have to deal with issues caused by its cut-down sibling - "my mate bought one of those Windows tablets but sure it doesn't run anything he has on his laptop" etc, and competition within the same market from OEMs with equivalent or superior hardware at cheaper price points

MS should have pitched RT at €250-300 and Pro at €500-600 max, and you could argue that they could be cheaper again to get people onboard the new platform. After all, when you can buy an established iPad or Android tablet for much the same money, which would you go for?

Tablets will never replace laptops in a productivity sense either unless you add docks or keyboards (which then negates their whole purpose). It's the same with my Galaxy Note 2.. sure its great for browsing or a quick email/text/IM, but you'd be driven demented trying to do a report on it - and that's true of ANY touchscreen device I think.

You just can't be a good ole fashioned keyboard and mouse when it comes to getting real work done.

Your points about the Note 2 are the exact reason why the surface works so well.

It's a fine tablet, if slightly on the expensive mark,but then I do get the ability to multi task on it. There is something to be said for web-browsing with a Netflix pinned to the side.

When I'm on the go and need to "do a report" I have the full office capabilities and a keyboard and mouse(trackpad) with me. If I'm at home then I plug in my USB dock with a real keyboard and mouse and then I can work away on it.

Bear in mind this is all done on my RT. Have you seen what software most people use? Office plus a web browser is grand for the majority of people.

Expanded flash support would be better so I don't have to fiddle with the whitelist and if they ever get iTunes on it then the majority of people I know wouldn't even notice that it isn't a "real" PC.

I agree a slot in dock would be awesome, to ease my first world problem of connecting a VGA, USB and Power cable.

PaulieC

liamog wrote: »

When I'm on the go and need to "do a report" I have the full office capabilities

I presume you mean a student report or some other not-for-profit type report as the Surface comes with a Home and Student license for Office

AngryLips

PaulieC wrote: »

I presume you mean a student report or some other not-for-profit type report as the Surface comes with a Home and Student license for Office

:D You're overlooking the fact that the Office on Surface can be tied into your work license if necessary.

liamog

AngryLips wrote: »

:D You're overlooking the fact that the Office on Surface can be tied into your work license if necessary.

That is true, I use it for college docs so the Student version has me well covered. That said if i needed it for work, I'm not really sure how we'd go about getting the license onto it.

_Kaiser_

liamog wrote: »

Your points about the Note 2 are the exact reason why the surface works so well.

When I'm on the go and need to "do a report" I have the full office capabilities and a keyboard and mouse(trackpad) with me. If I'm at home then I plug in my USB dock with a real keyboard and mouse and then I can work away on it.

You've just proven my point though. I'm typing this on a Vostro 3350 as we speak. 13.3" screen, proper backlit and excellent keyboard, and even with an extended battery it's eminently portable.

Why on earth would I need a Surface only to have to add peripherals when I want to actually DO something on it. By doing so you are turning it into an expensive but feature-restricted laptop. Why not just buy a laptop?

Tablets are content consumption devices, not creation (I don't count Facebook wall posts, twitter inanity or similar in that). I think there is a place for Surface/Windows 8, but it's on devices like the Lenovo Yoga or similar convertible tablet/laptops from other OEMs, not this expensive, cut-down paperweight that is the RT

I fully expect to see loads(!) of them on adverts going for half nothing in the next few months, just like the Blackberry PlayBook before it.

evolutionqy7

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

You've just proven my point though. I'm typing this on a Vostro 3350 as we speak. 13.3" screen, proper backlit and excellent keyboard, and even with an extended battery it's eminently portable.

Why on earth would I need a Surface only to have to add peripherals when I want to actually DO something on it. By doing so you are turning it into an expensive but feature-restricted laptop. Why not just buy a laptop?

Tablets are content consumption devices, not creation (I don't count Facebook wall posts, twitter inanity or similar in that). I think there is a place for Surface/Windows 8, but it's on devices like the Lenovo Yoga or similar convertible tablet/laptops from other OEMs, not this expensive, cut-down paperweight that is the RT

I fully expect to see loads(!) of them on adverts going for half nothing in the next few months, just like the Blackberry PlayBook before it.

Thats because I dont think the surface rt is target at business users at all. From my point of view. It would be great for students and average Joe. Who only ever use the browser and need Office time to time for a bit of official typing.

As explained, tablets are consumption devices first, but surface adds that little extra that allows it to work a bit too.

Up till I see iTunes on it, I dont think ill be going near it. I can live with the lack of legacy apps, but office and itunes are my two must haves.

I know it has Xbox Music, but I find the user interface on that stupid to manage millions of songs. Plus no sync capabilities makes it a companion device

liamog

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

You've just proven my point though. I'm typing this on a Vostro 3350 as we speak. 13.3" screen, proper backlit and excellent keyboard, and even with an extended battery it's eminently portable.

Why on earth would I need a Surface only to have to add peripherals when I want to actually DO something on it. By doing so you are turning it into an expensive but feature-restricted laptop. Why not just buy a laptop?

Tablets are content consumption devices, not creation (I don't count Facebook wall posts, twitter inanity or similar in that). I think there is a place for Surface/Windows 8, but it's on devices like the Lenovo Yoga or similar convertible tablet/laptops from other OEMs, not this expensive, cut-down paperweight that is the RT

I fully expect to see loads(!) of them on adverts going for half nothing in the next few months, just like the Blackberry PlayBook before it.

replacing anyway.

If you look at what most people do, then consumption is the main use of a computer. I'd love to see all this mad creation that is going on, and no typing an email or uploading a photo doesn't count. For anybody that is creating real content then I'd say get yourself two monitors on proper sized screens with a proper desk setup.

I used a HP Touchpad (Cyanogenmod) for over a year as a tablet device, and regularly found myself going back to a PC to do proper tasks on. Now using the Surface I find that 90% of my needs are filled, and more importantly they're filled by one device, with my data where I need it.

To me the Surface is a Tablet with extra features rather than an under powered laptop.