Microsoft Surface: It's time to speed up or give up

Microsoft's Surface tablet is an important element in its plan to reinvent itself as a devices and services company — but while Microsoft has been steadily rolling out its Surface tablet and related offerings, has the pace been fast enough?

It's been nearly a year since the first Surface tablet went on sale, but rather than a big bang, it seems Microsoft has gently introduced its new hardware to the world by adding new markets on a piecemeal basis, and moving away from its initial direct sales model, where everything was inhouse, to one where the occasional reseller is also given the chance to sell a few units.
Right now, for example, Surface is only available from Microsoft direct, John Lewis, Currys or PC World in the UK. Resellers (through which a most enterprises will buy) are still waiting the go ahead to sell it.
Microsoft told ZDNet that is is taking a "measured and phased approach to the growth of the Surface business in order to meet customer demand and partner expectations".
Microsoft Surface: It's time to speed up or give up | ZDNet
 
I think if they had a couple of different models in different price ranges they might sell more. I'm referring to 8 Pro models not the RT.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
They need to do better marketing, maybe some commercials.....as a lot of people still have no idea what a "Microsoft Surface" is.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self built
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4790
    Motherboard
    GA-Z87X-D3H
    Memory
    G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire ATI Radeon R7 250
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC892
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung UN32EH5000, Dell 1703FPT
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WD5003AZEX
    WD10EZEX
    Samsung HD103SJ
    Samsung 128 GB 840 PRO
    PSU
    SeaSonic M12II SS-500GM
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R4
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900ALED
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    16 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
    Other Info
    Bose Companion 2 Multimedia Speakers
They need to do better marketing, maybe some commercials.....as a lot of people still have no idea what a "Microsoft Surface" is.
The "Surface" doesn't even sound cool to me and I suspect to many or most people as well, despite the positive reactions of those that have tried it against Apple and Androids. IMHO, the word "surface" seems rather lame for a tablet device.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows Developer Preview, Linux Mint 9
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
I have a Surface at work and very few people have any idea what it is. But they all know what an iPad is.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Hi there
the Surface pro performs just fine --I've tested one recently -- however for its price IMO there are far better and CHEAPER options - but I'm not a tablet lover by any manner of means -- I don't really find taking a small ultrabook PC around any more inconvenient than a large tablet and it's infinitely more flexible and useful.

However people seem to like these devices so Ms need to get their marketing in order -- and also to Ms : It's no point advertising these things if there isn't anywhere to buy them easily or even see them in a physical store.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Centos 7, W8.1, W7, W2K3 Server W10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 X LG 40 inch TV
    Hard Drives
    SSD's * 3 (Samsung 840 series) 250 GB
    2 X 3 TB sata
    5 X 1 TB sata
    Internet Speed
    0.12 GB/s (120Mb/s)
Microsoft Surface and the school of hard(ware) knocks


But with the exception of the Xbox game console, many of Microsoft's moves into device categories have flopped. There was the USB speaker set, the floppy drive-based TV photo viewer and even a cordless phone. And more recently, we saw the prolonged Zune, the ephemeral Kin and that niche-iest of devices, the original table-based Surface (that's right: table, not tablet) now shucked off to Samsung.

Many of Microsoft's failed hardware products represented experimental forays into new businesses that were easy to abandon. But with tablets attacking the market for other mobile computing form factors, Surface is a far more strategic effort. As with the Zune music player, Microsoft appears ready to go in for at least a second round on Surface. Indeed, while both of the existing Surfaces had their drawbacks, neither was terrible, at least from a hardware perspective.
Longtime Windows PC partners can take some comfort in that the Surface tablets have at least brought a level of humility to the software giant when it comes to using its own operating systems. Microsoft has had a history of pointing the finger at its hardware partners for their failure to exploit Windows technologies and go head-to-head with Apple. Now the company has found out that it's not so easy.
Microsoft Surface and the school of hard(ware) knocks | Microsoft - CNET News
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7/8 Mint
    System Manufacturer/Model
    lenovo W530
    CPU
    intell i7
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16gb
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    512 gb ssd
    Other Info
    Around 13 million employes
Price has to come down for both the surface rt and pro
We are getting jibbed on the gigs. Buy a windows tablet 8 or pro and a 64 gig hd. You get 34 usable gigs. I have a demo surface pro 80 gigs and it has 45 usable gigs. I bought a asus windows 8 ,, 64 gigs and it has 34 usable gigs. This is before I added anything
So basically I am getting jibbed out of almost half the drive, if I am to pay the price I should have the full gigs
If not, because the OS is a pig, then lower the price
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
128 gigs wouldn't be enough for me. That's one thing that makes me shy away from devices like that. SSD's are getting cheaper and bigger so why do these devices have such small amounts of storage?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
128 gigs wouldn't be enough for me. That's one thing that makes me shy away from devices like that. SSD's are getting cheaper and bigger so why do these devices have such small amounts of storage?

I speculate because they were never intended to be a PC replacement. They weren't expecting people to store pictures, music, movies and such on these devices. They are intended more as web consumption devices, they need to be able to check facebook, email, etc.

I just took a look at my surface pro 128GB at work and it has 78.3GB free.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
128 gigs wouldn't be enough for me. That's one thing that makes me shy away from devices like that. SSD's are getting cheaper and bigger so why do these devices have such small amounts of storage?

I speculate because they were never intended to be a PC replacement. They weren't expecting people to store pictures, music, movies and such on these devices. They are intended more as web consumption devices, they need to be able to check facebook, email, etc.

I just took a look at my surface pro 128GB at work and it has 78.3GB free.

your surface pro- prior to putting anything on it?
or after
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    4 Windows 7 Pro Sp1- 4 Win 8 Pro, 1- xp pro sp3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 390, 380, 3 Vostro Laptops (7 computers in all)
    CPU
    desktop/laptop
    Memory
    4gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    atm randioum
    Hard Drives
    350,250
That's after I put the stuff on it that I use. Things like Office, etc. But then again, I don't really see much value in the Surface, so I don't use it much. I'd much rather use my Dell Latitude 6430u ultrabook. Far more useful to me.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Back
Top