Is the Surface Pro for you

I think it will only sell to the high end users maybe more than RT but not much more.

Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

Actually I'd already read that, the guy who wrote that uses Apple Juice to brush his teeth, that is actually a pretty positive article for him, he usually pans anything Microsoft.

I was amazed that he actually quite liked it, and his little mate Brooke Crothers seemed pretty taken with it as well and he's another Apple lover.
 

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Just spotted another one.

Looks like they had a good attempt at what they were trying to do. But do a lot of people want something like that?

The reviewer poses the same question:

If you're going to buy a Surface, buy the Surface Pro. Period. (And buy the 128GB model.)

But if you're going to buy a $900 tablet, get the decked-out iPad with LTE and 128GB of storage, and if you're going to buy a Windows laptop, check out the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga or the Dell XPS 12.

Which leads me back to the same question Josh asked about the Surface RT: who is this for?

Even a well-executed Surface still doesn't work for me, and I'd bet it doesn't work for most other people either. It's really tough to use on anything but a desk, and the wide, 16:9 aspect ratio pretty severely limits its usefulness as a tablet anyway. It's too big, too fat, and too reliant on its power cable to be a competitive tablet, and it's too immutable to do everything a laptop needs to do.

In its quest to be both, the Surface is really neither. It's supposed to be freeing, but it just feels limiting.

Microsoft Surface Pro review | The Verge
 

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This fad (if you can call it that) will pass.

-Max :)
 

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MS might be onto something with this idea - but we will have to see.


This fad (if you can call it that) will pass.

I am not at all sure it is even going to begin - at least not in large numbers.
 

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The more I think about it, the more this device is really going to be a niche device. As we have been seeing, the sales of PC's are down and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that people often don't need the full power that a PC delivers. They seem to be adjusting just fine to the limited functionality of the iPad and the Android for most of their tasks.

Obviously, with the increased horsepower of the Surface Pro, the battery life is going to take a hit. It seems like everytime I pick up my Asus Transformer tablet at home it needs to be charged and that annoys me. But that only happens every couple of days. With the Surface Pro I will almost need to keep it plugged in most of the time...which is not ideal at all. This thing really needs to come with a charging dock.

I just think at the end of the day, I'm not mobile enough to require this level of portability to justify the price spend.
 

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The article is very good, and Ed covers a lot in his review.

Based on the information in the article, I don't see a need for a Surface (RT or Pro) myself. I do think it's an interesting concept, and it could well be the first of a wave of such devices. Even so, it doesn't seem to offer much that a good notebook wouldn't, except portability. Given a choice, I would certainly rather carry around a 2-pound surface than a larger, heavier laptop.

Selling businesses on the Surface Pro might not be hard - if first you can sell them on Windows 8.
 

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I read a different review earlier that points out that if you view the Surface Pro as a laptop in a tablet form factor, it makes sense.

Also, the Verge's reviews are seriously questionable if the product isn't from apple. I don't really read into reviews from the Verge as they have ties to apple's money. If you read most of them, you'll see that there is some serious apple loving there. Also, it's bad to brush your teeth with apple juice, you'll wear down your enamel! :D

Personally, the tablet PC form factor I believe will be a mainstay for a LONG time. That's just what will happen. The VERY same thing happened with laptops, most desktop die hard users believed laptops would be a fad as people would just go back to a desktop. Guess what, laptops greatly exceeded the sales of the desktop for several years in a row, along with phablets. The tablet PC is just another evolution of the original PC.

But for me, I'm not actually going to be buying a Surface Pro as it's not in the books or the plan for this year. For 1,000 dollars, that will buy a base Surface Pro with a touch cover. That same 1,000 dollars can either buy me a 27 inch IPS touch display that tilts down like a drawing easel, or pretty much cover more than half the cost of my new desktop build. I'd prefer uncouth performance, speed, and custom design over something as of right now, I won't be using at least a few times a week for major things. That's next year. By which time, I'm hoping a Surface Pro 2 is in the works with an AMD APU, and for like 900 at most.
 

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Ok,, first off, you can connect a bluetooth mouse and keyboard, or I am sure, plug in a 4 port USB hub for a full size keyboard and mouse. So, there is neglected information, could be considered misinformation.

Second, Your average laptop only gets 2 to 3 hours and then it starts dropping off after a year or so (depending on manufacturer). And they need to be replaced also after atleast 2 years (again, not always, but pretty close), which is why, no battery comes with more than a 1 year warranty.
Your not going to get 4 to 5 hours on a single charge in a laptop. Maybe in a netbook, but your also not getting an i5 in a netbook.

So 4 to 5 hours on the Surface Pro is pretty damn good by comparison. Again, misinformation. Deliberate? Or just ignorant?
the battery BS is just that, BS.

Aren't iPads marketed to the blogger/writer/artist as a go anywhere do everything wherever you go device?
Hmmmm, I could be wrong, don't think so though.

As for the App Store, it's been 4 MONTHS, 4 MONTHS, ONLY 4 MONTHS, get it? 4 MONTHS.
Oh sorry, actually it has been less than 4 MONTHS.

I could go on, but I think that will do.
 

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I think the Surface Pro is a good device that will find plenty of buyers, but they will be specialized users, power users or corporations. IMO, I don't see Jane and Joe public, who are content consumption orientated, spending $1,000 for this laptop/tablet. I personally don't plan on purchasing one because I can't see me doing my daily heavy computing work using a 10 inch screen. When on the road or out of the office, I want my laptop with the 15 inch screen to get real work done.

For a portable business and personal device that is used primarily for content consumption or light text work, my Windows RT device is outstanding.
 

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Is all this bad news because M$ took out the start menu out of Windows 8, I think so no body likes a dictator and voted with there wallets no mater how good the product was.


Dismal news for Microsoft's mobile efforts: Windows Phone and Windows 8 tablets sales are in the dumper | Computerworld Blogs
How are they in the dumper? Windows Phone 8's marketshare, in under three months, has surpassed two year's worth of Windows Phone 7's marketshare, like 50% to 49% with more people wanting a Windows Phone than a Blackberry. Globally, its marketshare is rising pretty decently for a new and fresh platform.

Windows 8 however, is being adopted slowly but surely. Gamers have been quick to pick it up most of all. For a new and fresh UI on a familiar product, it's doing ok. Microsoft already knew going in that Windows 8 adoption wouldn't be overnight or over a few weeks or a few months, it's the long haul they're after.

Windows RT on the other hand, that's slow to be accepted. That's more of a tablet to compete against the ipad and android than Windows 8 Pro tablets are. That needs to be realized first, and the second realization is that the top apps from both ios and android need to be brought over to Windows RT, just like how Microsoft's Windows Phone division has said they're getting the top 46 of 50 ios and android apps to the platform.

And the last realization is that this is a new UI dynamic that ios or android doesn't have, so therefore this is hesitation against it. That usually goes away after the plunge is taken.
 

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Reports show that Windows Phone market share is in the very low single digits in the U.S. and have declined since the release of Windows Phone 8

Declined - that used to mean gone down.

Reading a bit further..ah,yes that is what he means

Microsoft had a 2.9% market share of the smartphone market in the U.S...More disturbing still is that Microsoft's market share declined from the quarter previous, when it had a 3.6% market share. That means that Microsoft's share of the smartphone market declinced since the release of Windows Phone 8.

That is unfortunate - I don't have one of those - but apparently it ain't bad as a phone o/s.
 

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Reports show that Windows Phone market share is in the very low single digits in the U.S. and have declined since the release of Windows Phone 8

Declined - that used to mean gone down.
0.7% as of last quarter.

Elsewhere in the world that isn't saturated with smartphones, Windows Phone usage has gone up.
 

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Good - so they are doing better where there is little or no competition - is that what you mean?

Let's say 0.7% is very roughly a fifth of 3.6%.

MS have managed to reduce their share of the US market by a fifth - 20%.

Not sure how they did that.
 

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Good - so they are doing better where there is little or no competition - is that what you mean?
If you want to put that way so can you go about your day in solace, sure.

Look at China though, Nokia is facing an issue they haven't seen in a while: high demand and not enough product. What is selling the most? The Nokia Lumia 920T. That country has the highest share of android usage, I believe it was well over 50 percent. The iphone takes a smaller share of the market, Windows Phone actually (last that was heard of several months ago) is the most used smartphone there. The Windows Phone 7 recently passed iphone usage. The Lumia 920T can't even stay in stores long enough to meet demand.

Then there is the rest of Europe that doesn't seem to be totally into high end smartphones like in the US. Italy saw the highest increase last quarter for Windows Phone, along with Britain and Finland, a slight decrease in Germany.

Then there is Mexico and South America, where Nokia is targeting their lower end Lumia 505 and 620 there. Those two seem to be what's sought after the most.

We'll have to see next quarter if Windows Phone increased in the US, as last quarter of 2012 saw the release of Windows Phone 8, and that data could reflect Windows Mobile 6 and Windows Phone 7 drops. There are two conflicting reports that Windows Phone surpassed Blackberry in the US, and the other says not.
 

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That sounds better.

In developing countries cost is a major factor.

Nokia is good at pushing out low cost stuff. win phone will be on them .

That might bump up the figures.

Lucky for MS Samsung is doing so well in android stuff- if Samsung weren't so dominant there, Nokia might be carrying that instead.
 

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That sounds better.

In developing countries cost is a major factor.

Nokia is good at pushing out low cost stuff. win phone will be on them .

That might bump up the figures.

Lucky for MS Samsung is doing so well in android stuff- if Samsung weren't so dominant there, Nokia might be carrying that instead.

You do realize the HUGEST demand for a Nokia Windows Phone is in China, for the Lumia 920T, that costs roughly 730 US dollars right?
 

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