Microsoft Reveals their "Surface" tablet

Surface by Microsoft


[video=youtube;dpzu3HM2CIo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpzu3HM2CIo[/video]

There will be RT and full windows models

 

[alphanumeric]

The one burning question on my mind is RAM? How many GB's?

The Windows RT version will have 32 GB or 64GB of storage, the Windows 8 Pro 64GB or 128GB, no mention of available RAM on the spec sheet I downloaded.

 

[echrada]

Storage and memory vastly different things and that is why I would like to know what the RAM (memory) capacity will be.

 

[whs]

Regarding RAM, the current status is TBA. Same for cameras and some other features.

Regarding the advantages of the RT version, here are a few points I can think of:

- less electricity consumption, thus longer battery life
- faster performance due to RISC
- smaller RAM requirements
- possibility to run applications designed for ARM processors
- probably lower cost because a Tegra is cheaper than an Ivy Bridge
- good and fast graphics with the latest generation of the ARM processors

- and probably some more that I forgot and you guys can add.

 

[FSeal]

RISC is not "faster performance", it's really just "lower power".

At the same clock speed, RISC is usually significantly slower that CISC, and the Arm chips used will probably be at or below the clock speed of the i5 used in the "Pro" version.

The only real points I can see about the RT version is, smaller (lighter), cheaper, better battery life (maybe, though I bet the battery sizes will be commensurate with power consumption in the end).

Pro version has a better screen, more storage, more processor power, FAR more app availability etc... but will be heavier and more expensive.

 

[Coke Robot]

I just finished watching the keynote of the release, wow, that thing will cost a pretty penny....

 

[robinbredin]

[h=1]"Why Microsoft Surface could be the biggest shake-up in the tablet market since the arrival of the iPad".[/h]

Why Microsoft Surface could be the biggest shake-up in the tablet market since the arrival of the iPad - Yahoo! News UK

 

[SIW2]

It comes with 32 bit o/s doesn't it?

No secure boot , then.

It looks great - I am happy to say - well done MS!

There won't be many looking for a windows tablet - but they will look for a gorgeous tablet.

Seems MS has understood that.


Pricing is going to be big factor.

My guess is they will have to go head on with ipad £399 or less uk pricing for RT.

If they can keep the Pro version down to £499 they will do very well.

 

[alphanumeric]

Storage and memory vastly different things and that is why I would like to know what the RAM (memory) capacity will be.

I hear you, that was the best I could do at the moment. I'd also like to know how much video RAM is onboard.

 

[besb]

Looks interesting but success or failure will totally depend on the price.
However each type of device has its own place in my opinion not shared by all of course.
I have a desktop twin screens 3800x1200pxs of workspace for design and hard graft editing etc.
I have a laptop taken out to customer sites where work has to be done.
I have a tablet 10" (arm-Android) which I love 32GB+32GB for traveling, music, photos, books, movies as well as internet, email with a 8 hour battery life and a 5in smart phone small version of above tablet with satnav etc that lives in my pocket for voice communication.
But my guess is 90% of all users only use social media on the net, buy a few items, store pics and music and maybe write a couple of dozen emails a month and constantly inane tweeting. A tablet is great for that but my money is on 5in. smart phones
combining phone and tablet with more real estate than current smatphones.

 

[SIW2]

Ther is a problem for MS here.

What will the oem's think?

One of them must have been secretly making this for MS.

It will be the device that gets all the MS publicity, it won't have bloatware - it will be "competetitively priced"

How are the other oem's supposed to compete with that?

They are expected to pay $85 per unit licensing- which must have down badly with them already.

Now there is MS - and one oem - competing with them.

Furious isn't the word.

 

[SIW2]

You might think the oem's could fill a different niche - but it appears the MS Surface range will cover the £399 to £699 market - possibly they may have an idea to go even higher as well and go for a slice of mac/air/floaty/book action.

Sure there is a huge market for pc and laptops still - but there won't be if win8 is what is on them .

The oem's won't be jumping for joy if that is all they have to offer.

This is a massive opportunity for another o/s . But which one - is there one that could fulfill the oem needs?

 

[crawfish]

This is a massive opportunity for another o/s . But which one - is there one that could fulfill the oem needs?

Seems the biggest gainer is likely to be Apple. The perception is that Macs "just work", and then there are all the Apple stores to provide support when they don't. Linux is the only other alternative to Windows, and it's a non-starter. It's funny. Microsoft is trying to leverage its desktop OS (by wrecking it!) to get into the mobile market, while Apple is gaining desktop/laptop share on the backs of its phones and tablets without compromising anything.

 

[alphanumeric]

You know what would be totally ironic? What if people got so pissed with Windows 8 that they put Windows XP on there new PC. Especially if that's what their old PC was running. Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants for you know who.

 

[Coke Robot]

I think I'd rather go with a convertible ultra book like the Yoga.

The really eye catching aesthetic of the Surface tablet is that with the cover on it looks like an impossibly small notebook. But I use my 10" touch screen pc mostly on my lap, or in bed -- how's the kickstand supposed to work there? The neat magnetic cover certainly won't hold it up.

The one thing I will say about the magnetic cover is that it forestalls a potentially serious problem of expectations on the windows 8 machine: You can't accurately use touch on a 10 inch screen in desktop mode. You couldn't do it in windows 7 and that's why 7 tablets failed, and you still can't do it in 8. You need to be able to mouse to, say, drag and drop multiple icons, or click the tiny little maximize, minimize, and close buttons in the upper right corner of the screen.

I think this is a beautiful machine, with (for once!) design elements to rival what Apple does every six months. And it's great that in limited circumstances -- like when you have a flat surface available to open the keyboard on -- you can use it as a productivity machine. And of course, thanks to the IPad, no one really expects a tablet to be all that productive anyway. So I agree that it will be a persuasive competitor to the ipad. And I can't wait to see it in person.

I would imagine Desktop Mode with touch is more accurate in 8 than in 7.

 

[Coke Robot]

Microsoft has already talked to their OEMs about this and nothing has been released by any of them yet about the Surface. I don't think they will freak about it since it's a part of the new Windows market, not the device that's trying to topple them. Again, this is more to promote to the OEMs that kind of want to build an android tablet or a Windows tablet to show to them how it's done with Windows. I remember once that Microsoft built their own sound card days and days ago because there weren't any good ones out there until they released theirs. And, like Microsoft said in the keynote for Surface, they need something to make Windows 8 great, and the best way to do that is introducing touch input. They did it with Windows 1 when that needed a mouse. They're doing it again for Windows 8.

Also, I bet with the Windows Pro Surface, it would at least have 4 gigs of RAM and it would be a 64 bit machine. They've been making the push to ditch 32 bit and they will with Windows 9. The 64 gig model would have 4 gigs, I bet the 128 gig model will have maybe 8.

I don't have an ideaer about WinRT. :shock:

 

[Coke Robot]

I'm honestly considering buying the Pro version of the Surface. I've been pondering buying a laptop, or a used one and fixing it up. Then 8 came around, and that made me interested in tablet PCs. My main need is a physical keyboard and the ability to prop it up, like a slide out one that a couple have been demoed at Computex this year.

But this, this satisfies my needs! It props up, has TWO keyboard options, looks very modern and sleek, powerful, and has the Windows 8!

 

[stefalopod]

I would imagine Desktop Mode with touch is more accurate in 8 than in 7.

Meh, not noticeably.

It might be the case that on a a new Windows 8 ready screen with ten point capacitive touch, the desktop works better in 8 than in 7 (somehow?). But on a 10.1 inch 1366 x 768 resolution touch screen machine that had run 7, which has been loaded with eight, the desktop is still the desktop -- full of fiddly little buttons that are very difficult to select accurately on a touch screen.

*long tap an application file to bring up the context menu, hunt and peck to find the application properties, hunt and peck to select the compatibility tab, hunt and peck to open the compatibility drop down menu, select compatibility for win 7... stupid fiddly bit! Let me try that again...*

You'll never know how much you appreciated your arrow keys until you haven't got them anymore, a problem that most Surface users won't encounter because they'll have the mag keyboard. It's a brilliant product pairing.

 

[BillWindows]

"You'll never know how much you appreciated your arrow keys until you haven't got them anymore,"

You're not kidding, I couldn't believe it when I bought the iPad.

 

[Coke Robot]

I would imagine Desktop Mode with touch is more accurate in 8 than in 7.

Meh, not noticeably.

It might be the case that on a a new Windows 8 ready screen with ten point capacitive touch, the desktop works better in 8 than in 7 (somehow?). But on a 10.1 inch 1366 x 768 resolution touch screen machine that had run 7, which has been loaded with eight, the desktop is still the desktop -- full of fiddly little buttons that are very difficult to select accurately on a touch screen.

*long tap an application file to bring up the context menu, hunt and peck to find the application properties, hunt and peck to select the compatibility tab, hunt and peck to open the compatibility drop down menu, select compatibility for win 7... stupid fiddly bit! Let me try that again...*

You'll never know how much you appreciated your arrow keys until you haven't got them anymore, a problem that most Surface users won't encounter because they'll have the mag keyboard. It's a brilliant product pairing.

I would doubt the issue with the Desktop since you can adjust the icon size in the Ribbon, that would probably be larger for tablets by default. I don't know for sure though. In 7, that would a be a HUGE pain, but in 8 and the Ribbon, that's fairly resolved.

 

[jimbo45]

Looks mighty interesting. I'm not sure I'd be interested in an Intel tablet over an actual ultrabook, but for bummin' around the house this would be very interesting in the ARM variant. Heck, given it can do RemoteApp and connect into VDI farms, it's got a place there as well without the cost of additional software or the inability to print.

Believe me tablets can become very habit forming, they're instantly on and light, even on an iPad you can do most things, mainly on the consumption side though. So having a full blown PC on a tablet will be awesome. But I've still got a couple of PCs and laptop as well.

Hi there
C'mon guy.
Even a small humble netbook fitted with an SSD can boot up just as fast as a tablet -- or certainly the difference is negligible.

We'll have to see but at its projected pricepoint I could probably buy 2 Netbooks !!!!.

Cheeers
jimbo