“U.S. tech writers have given Microsoft Corp’s new Surface tablet-laptop hybrid largely negative reviews, casting a shadow over the software group’s hopes to take a bite out of sales of Apple Inc’s iPad and MacBook Air,” Bill Rigby reports for Reuters. “The ‘Surface with Windows 8 Pro,’ as it is officially called, is available from Saturday. Windows co-chief Tami Reller said earlier this week it is a key part of revving up interest in Windows 8, launched last October but which has not gripped consumers’ imaginations. The Surface Pro is thicker, heavier and several hundred dollars more expensive than the first Surface RT, which runs on an ARM Holdings Plc-designed chip and is not compatible with old Microsoft programs.”
Rigby reports, “Available in 64 and 128 gigabyte versions, both with wifi-only connectivity, the Surface Pro starts at $899, excluding a $120-plus keyboard. That is $200 more expensive than a comparable iPad and closer in price to the 64 GB MacBook Air laptop at $999… Reviewers found the device uncomfortably stranded between a tablet and a PC, with many compromises. ‘It ran all the software I threw at it – both the new type and the old desktop type – speedily and well,’ wrote Walt Mossberg on the All Things D tech blog. ‘But the Pro has some significant downsides, especially as a tablet… It’s too hefty and costly and power-hungry to best the leading tablet, Apple’s full-size iPad. It is also too difficult to use in your lap. It’s something of a tweener – a compromised tablet and a compromised laptop.’ “Mossberg said the Surface lasted less than four hours on his standard battery test, half the performance of an iPad. He also expressed concerns about the usable memory on the 64 GB version.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: GWAK.
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“Reviewers found the device uncomfortably stranded between a tablet and a PC, with many compromises…”
Which was obvious to most of us outside of Redmond – excluding, of course, hardcore Windows fanboys and Apple haters – from the beginning.
The leadership as MS doesn’t understand why a bastard hybrid isn’t everyone’s wet dream for tablet computing. Aside from that, they also have missed on two important elements that Apple has emphasized on mobile devices – battery life and weight.
So really, how different is this new Surface Pro tablet from all the tablets that Microsoft tried to sell for the past 10 years that failed? It’s heavy, thick, costs too much, and has too short of a battery life. All the same downsides from all the previous tablets.
I worded that wrong. Of course Microsoft didn’t sell tablets; it was their hardware partners. But, anyway, Microsoft certainly had a hand in the specs and watched it all fail to gain traction.
You are missing one huge drawback, no good tablet software. Legacy windows software is not designed to be used on a tablet. All iPad software was designed from the ground up to be used on a tablet.
I like Microsoft’s strategy, I like it a lot.
++1
and + 1/2
Windows WAIT/WEIGHT is a shit sandwich without the bread.
Even the bought and paid for Softie Press is having a hard time making excuses for it. Turdrott is trying really hard, having dropped any pretense of having Apple stuff and going full time Micro$oftopoly and even he admits quite a few issues exist.
At the local PC user group where I teach tech, the only thing anyone wanted to know about Windows 8 was how to turn off the Metro crap and get to work. We spent an hour covering the Metro hacks.
That says it all.
Why not just use 7? Is there something they need from 8 that would make the effort to kill Metro worthwhile vs 7?
The only pressure I know of to deal with 8 is if you buy a new computer and 8 has been installed.
The user group gets very techy and everyone was thinking about ‘what if I HAVE to use this thing’ and one of our techy members had researched the hell out of how to kill off Metro. So it was a fun adventure in hacking, which the group occasionally enjoys.
M$ are just playing at product development. They have a cash cow in Windows and office that keeps the stockholders and board happy.
The stock will not grow anymore since there is nothing to add value to the stock.
It’s just funny that M$ will never get user experience and product design.
Kickstand with a garbage.
MDN, I submitted GWAK: Garbage With A Kickstand to AcronymFinder.com, but gave this page’s URL as the authoritative web reference. I hope you don’t mind. 🙂
The one thing that bothers me the most about tech reviewers is that they fail to point out that the 128gb iPad3 with wireless AND LTE is $70 cheaper than the the Surface Pro 128gb (only about half of that available) wireless only.
U.S. tech writers have given Microsoft Corpse’s new Surface…
#MicrosoftSuicide
While the Surface Pro indeed has issues, none of them are going to stop corporate dorks from snapping them up like hotcakes. It’s compatible with their existing MS infrastructure, and it makes CIOs look like they have the “latest thing”. They’ll stick USB flash into them and dock their machines during their business lunches.
I recommend Apple fans start taking new threats seriously, even if it’s just crapware from MS.
I think you’re wrong. Corporate IT departments thus far don’t seem to want Windows 8 in their infrastructure, and that’s what you must use for Surface. Then there’s the utter lack of memory, which will severely limit the applications that can be installed.
Plus, an IT department could very easily argue against spending money on this new tech with the keyboards that already had a fraying issue. It would likely be less expensive to purchase sturdier laptops with real keyboards, much more memory, and the ability to run whatever OS the IT guys wanted.
“The ‘Surface with Windows 8 Pro,’ as it is officially called, is available from Saturday.
So it’s available from Saturday, from Saturday until when? “From” is one-half of a statement, indicating the beginning of availability, and demanding a clause that states the close of the availability.
So the statement should read “The ‘Surface with Windows 8 Pro,’ as it is officially called, is available from Saturday until stock is depleted in late February. Or sooner.
Windows 8 is no different than any other previous version of Windows – they all suck. From the blocky Windows 3 interface to the flagrant disregard for security over the past 20 years, Microsoft should be out of business.
They’ve given the world very little in terms of innovation, and are still addicted to corporate customers who live in the past.
You are all thinking in an Apple mindset..not a good start!