Comments on: Microsoft outsources Surface assembly to Pegatron; prices above $799 for Windows 8, above $599 for Windows RT expected

By: howaboutanewton

howaboutanewton — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 00:16:39 +0000

It’s Digitimes. Their predictions are even worse than Limbaugh’s dictacular comments.

By: Shenaya

Shenaya — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:43:32 +0000

Microsoft just pulled the wraps off its first tablet attempt last evening, and tomorrow…
Read full article here,
http://www.geekscover.com/2012/06/microsoft-expected-declare-windows-phone-8-tomorrow/

By: theledger

theledger — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 11:46:42 +0000

Microsoft’s greatest success in the last (Windows) is also its greatest obstacle to embracing the future. Essentially what they are trying to do is squeeze a desktop paradigm into a tablet form factor.

Toaster ovens aren’t better than a toaster at making toast and aren’t better than an oven at baking things. At best they are suited for warming leftover pizza.

Leftovers from the Windows desktop era.

By: Lux

Lux — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 10:21:13 +0000

A kickstand made of magnesium no less. It will be a race to see if it breaks before the battery ignites the case. Magnesium is even more brittle than it is flammable. Hey and it took a lot of hard work, innovation, and design insight to come up with that ingenious screen protector that connects with magnets. Where did they ever come up with that idea? Why hasn’t anyone ever thought of that before? How original is that? Watching Steve Balmer on stage is like watching a pitchman trying to sell the latest whopper-chopper or sham-wow.

By: DRMSSDB

DRMSSDB — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 05:18:19 +0000

“… while greatly offending its clients…”

What are those “clients” going to do? They are already making Android tablets. This is actually a rare case of MS having the right idea (software and hardware integration). But it’s MS, so they couldn’t help themselves from putting full Windows on it and putting on a fucking kickstand. A. Fucking. Kickstand.

By: DRMSSDB

DRMSSDB — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 05:15:59 +0000

The Sewerface. It’s the next The Social.

By: qka

qka — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 23:10:18 +0000

How about an “fa” before the RT?

By: Max

Max — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:19:33 +0000

MS simply dont get it. iPad is a bare device requiring no peripherals – thats its USP.
MS make theOS – sold with the machine. Apple give away the iOS upgrades – are MS going to charge for them ?

The machine is made and sold at cost – to gain traction and market share- the apps are minimal
So where is the revenue stream coming from?

By: Jeff II

Jeff II — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:03:16 +0000

@ Mr. Botvinnik the Yankees fan forever:
You, sir, are going to receive the cleaning bill to help pay for cleaning my coffee off my keyboard and monitor!

Sewerface indeed! Let’s hope some of the tech press picks up this wonderfully creative and descriptive term…

@everyone: cut and paste Sewerface® into the comments sections of other tech blogs – let’s get this thing viral!

By: RePlay

RePlay — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 18:59:58 +0000

You know, I really want there to be an “a” between the R and the T.

By: billyjackblack

billyjackblack — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 18:56:11 +0000

But they’re busy building hybrid tablet/desktop (kickstand and keyboard?) computers that will neither be good tablets or good desktops.

By: R2

R2 — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 18:08:23 +0000

And it will arrive alongside the glorious introduction of the iPad mini, dropping the floor price of high quality tablets to $299 while Microsoft reaches for the ceiling. It will be ultra thin, ultra compact and ultra lightweight, carving a brand new, spanking hot market in the 8″ category that Redmond photocopiers will scramble to match before they can even gain a foothold in the 10″ category.

There will be blood.

By: billyjackblack

billyjackblack — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 18:05:08 +0000

Windows has proliferated because of price. Look at sales figures for computers above $1,000. Price not being a factor, people will overwhelmingly choose Apple. Surface is doomed.

By: botvinnik

botvinnik — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:34:51 +0000

I’m excited about The Sewerface®, gonna be Microshaft’s greatest product since the Zune.

By: WetFX

WetFX — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:27:13 +0000

MS did not anything about being 3 or 4G compatible. They did say they had a great Wi-Fi antenna. If they do not offer cell technology they are stupid. Even if the the the best selling iPads are Wi-Fi only they will be toast. Android makers will be all over it. There will be no cell carriers advertising or store sales; instead they will be telling customers not to buy them. Not to mention Nokia backstabbing.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:25:17 +0000

“Since Microsoft is only expected to receive limited profits from its own-brand tablet PC products, while greatly offending its clients, the strategy that Microsoft has taken is rather risky.”

Leave it to an analyst to understate the glaringly obvious.
The difference between “risky” and “stupid” is the existence of an upside. I see no upside for Microsoft on this Surface adventure.

The verdict on this project falls squarely in the “stupid” category…

By: Raymond in DC

Raymond in DC — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:07:53 +0000

At that price I can buy a 32 GB iPad Wi-Fi or (for a few dollars more) a 16 GB Wi-Fi + Cellular. One can only imagine how “stripped” the subSurface will have to be to make that price point.

By: steve R

steve R — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:04:58 +0000

Yes.

I see them using this model and that the $599 is even WITH a loss.

By: stableos

stableos — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:28:43 +0000

Just as I choose Apple products for personal use because I find the whole experience to be what I prefer, there will be tons of folks who will lap up the Microsoft offerings because they believe that Microsoft will provide them with the best product. No matter what happens, I am sure that Microsoft will declare it a huge success. Their tablets will probably do tons of things but few very well.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:26:15 +0000

…take a loss (a la Xbox)…

By: winski

winski — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:26:05 +0000

Well, that didn’t last long.. So, Bomber is trying to be Tim Cook.. FAIL…

If the Flying Monkey Machine is sending / depending on an integrator and assembler to build their ‘tablet’ – THEY LIED IN THEIR ANNOUNCEMENT. BUT, that shouldn’t surprise anyone.. they LIE about every thing… It’s BOMBER !!!

So now, their PREVIOUS hardware partners – Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, etc… hopefully, will tell Steve – BLOW IT OUT YOUR A**….!!! We’re done with you….

Then the monkey’s are gone… tee…hee….

By: thethirdshoe

thethirdshoe — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:24:09 +0000

If Microsoft takes a loss, how can their “Partners” make any money?

By: Zmarc

Zmarc — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:19:09 +0000

Doesn’t surprise me at all. Microsoft can’t buy in bulk like Apple and they’ve got extra tech like that keyboard which costs something. (Not to forget the kickstand that sounds like a luxury car oor slamming.) But I bet the Pro version will be even higher than $800. I think $999 sounds more likely. It needs separation from the RT and Microsoft wants to give the illusion that their products are premium, like Apple.

Of course these are guesses and Microsoft coud be willing to take a loss (a la Amazon), so they could be cheaper.

By: HTML5 Gordon

HTML5 Gordon — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:05:51 +0000

Wow, if the RT based one starts at $599, it is going to be even more of a stillborn than I originally thought.