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Microsoft Surface
So, Microsoft has broken into the tablet business. What do you guys think?
http://www.redmondpie.com/microsoft-...-need-to-know/ "After a quite incredible barrage of rumor and speculation, Steve Ballmer has officially announced Microsoft Surface, which will be the Redmond company’s first effort in the increasingly-relevant tablet market. Given the poor performance of most competitors to the iPad, the significance of its introduction to the market could be huge, and here, we take a run-down of its vital statistics. From a design perspective, it’s a lot different to anything we’ve seen on the market, and as you can see from the photos, could be a game-changer. Packed into an ultra-light magnesium body, it’s finished off elegantly with PVD, while the screen is hardened by the Gorilla Glass previously used by Cupertino rival Apple in various digital products. The edges of the device are beveled at 22 degree angles to, as Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky points out, make the device "feel natural in your hands," but the finish isn’t the only unique design quirk – not by a long shot. Beside being the only tablet with the liquid metal finish, it also features a nifty in-built kickstand, enabling the device to stand freely for movie-watching, without the need utilize / purchase any separate or third-party accessories. Intuitive indeed. The killer feature, however, is the cover, which clips on magnetically to double as a touch-enabled keyboard – a feature Microsoft feels essential to those looking to purchase a tablet. Named Type Cover, it looks simply stunning, and at three millimeters thin, it doesn’t bulk out the device too much when being utilized as a cover. The most interesting thing about the tablet is that it will come with a stylus, yes, a stylus. It is designed in such a way that writing feels completely natural and feels as if the pen is in direct contact with the display, something which has never been achieved before on a device of this calibre. Remarkable indeed. And oh, did we mention that the stylus magnetically latches on to the Surface’s body? It features a 10.6 inch display, which, as well as being larger than the iPad by almost an inch, offers more screen real-estate than most other tablet offerings to date. With semantic zoom, it will offer a seamless Windows experience, and will, of course, present users with the ability to download games, movies, and general content through the Windows Store from the get-go. With 32 and 64GB versions available, there’ll be plenty of space for all that content to reside. Not only does the Microsoft Surface have the credentials to knock the iPad off its perch, but it may just threaten the fledgling ultrabook market, because as well as a Surface for Windows RT, there will also be one – packing Intel chips – with full Windows, and desktop apps running capabilities." |
I haven't been a fan of MS for a few years, but this might actually be a good thing. Keyboards are needed for tablets, I totally agree. Also I had an HP tablet LONG ago and the stylus felt just as natural for writing, so that's NOT really new...
What's nice is this can plug into printers and things, which makes it a hardy workstation. |
If that works as advertised, it'll not only capture a big chunk of the tablet market, but it'll crossover and grab a big piece of the laptop market as well......nice, especially the cover/keyboard.
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I've used MS products forever, it seems. Haven't had much experience with Apple stuff, till my wife's work got her an iPad a few weeks ago. I'm very impressed with it.
Addicting little thing. The on screen keyboard doesn't both me much. For MS to be successful with this, it'll have to be absolutely flawless at the same or cheaper price than the iPad. Another article I read on the Surface hit it on the head though. Tablets are for "consumption" not for "creation". So, it's perfect for the person that wants to browse the net, e-mail, facebook, etc.. But not for the power users that are into graphic intensive programs. |
I've been thinking about getting an ipad for a while. If this thing turns out to be as good as it sounds, I may get the surface instead. I'll have to go play with it at the microsoft store when it comes out. I love my iPhone, but this looks really cool!
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If I understand this right, and it has Windows and an external keyboard also allowing you to connect to external hardware, this seems like a cross between the MacBook Air and the iPad
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The ipad has developed a big hold on a lot of corporate sales forces that switched from laptops. Its going to be interesting to see if some companies will switch back to a windows based products. In the field a tablet seems to work for them, I always felt the ipad was nothing more than a big smart phone and not a replacement for a laptop.
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Just a small laptop if you ask me.
Yes I know . . . . nobody's asking. :) |
My laptop crapped the bed last month.So,i need to replace it.BUt whatever i get must be able run the Mega-Squirt tuning system.I wonder if..........
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Bill, I played with an ASUS tablet last semester at the university that was running a very early build of Windows 8. It had full desktop capabilities and the ability to install programs. It looks like the surface has USB ports...if that's the case, you can save the setup file from a cd onto a USB drive and run Mega-Squirt
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Cool.Thanks.
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Finally a tablet that IS a computer.. Ill be in for it and smart phone out the window and back to a basic cell phone
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Hmmm... not so good when your product crashes during it's official presentation.:doh:
http://www.break.com/index/microsoft...tation-2337555 |
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How many of us view emails or pics on a phone? even the latest and greatest ( 4x6) screen isnt much for details as all are compressed. If your mobile and want some details pics ( cowl tag, etc) A tablet with some nuts is a good choice.NOt a wanna be with 1 gig of ram or less and no upgradeability
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