MSoft's 'IPad'

[K_F]

Whadya think of this goodie...

I hope it needles apple, and brings the prices down  ;)
But will the code work ??
 

[anta40]

Do you mean Surface/Surface Pro?
Well it looks very interesting. It runs Windows, which means it can run my favourite Windows apps.
Probably that will replace my ipad :P

[clive]

Apple is playing to a different audience, so I doubt the price of an iPad is going to materially change. Want a cheaper iPad, go to the refurb/outlet shop.

It's also unlikely to run legacy applications well, especially the ARM version. Again the tablet market requires a different approach, Microsoft is trying to get to it's own vision of this, but it won't be Apple's.

Microsoft's vision needs to be profoundly better in it's first iteration, just look at what's happened to RIM and HP. It also has to be cheaper, and sell well, for the price reduction hope to become reality. A cheaper product is also going to skimp on screens and cameras, again rendering it second tier device. To be competitive you've got to at least be at parity with the competition, otherwise you're left trading off features and Apple wins again.

Having used an iPad 2, some Android tablets (Nook Color, Nook Tablet, Acer A500), the 4:3 screen ratio is a winner for surfing. Apple loses on attachment of external devices, flash drives, HDMI, etc. Tablets uniformly suck at data entry, editing, development, etc. Having a keyboard helps, but remind me again what the driver is for having a tablet, and the utility of the format.

Give me a netbook (10-11") with a retina display, now we're talking.

Posted from an Acer Aspire One

[anta40]

It's also unlikely to run legacy applications well, especially the ARM version

Really? I mean the Surface Pro, which uses Intel?
If that's true, then I guess it's bad.

I had some exposure with a Windows-based tablet: ASUS Eee Slate.
It's good (albeit pricey). You can run MS Office, VLC, etc on it. Obiously I won't use tablets for development (that's what PCs/notebooks are), but IMO this tablet is better then the iPad, which I only use for browsing, email, and reading.

[zooba]

I haven't spoken to anyone with access to any of these, but the Intel one should be fine for anything that would run on a desktop or laptop. Though you'd have to expect the battery life to be lower than the ARM one, since power consumption is the main reason to change architecture.

As for coding, I'd expect the debugging experience to be great with touch-enabled tools (though I don't know of any yet) but any serious amount of typing is always going to require a great keyboard. If you need to work on the go (plane/bus/train) then a tablet is unbeatable - Remote Desktop from an ARM Surface (if available) sounds like an unbeatable setup for this purpose.

Cheers,
Zooba  :t

[Farabi]

Tablet on my country priced USD 85 because the buy ability on here is low. But the specs is enough for surfing. If only Apple could give a special price for indonesia, I will afford to buy it. Because I need the goodie.

[clive]

.. but the Intel one should be fine for anything that would run on a desktop or laptop

It's a tablet. The applications really need a user interface tailored to touch and the nature of the tablet, not a bunch of legacy junk which people don't have source for, or simply can't be bothered to recompile/retarget appropriately. Microsoft's biggest problem here is breaking away from all the desktop/laptop/legacy junk  to be able to create a viable challenge to the iPad.

It's been suggested that the ARM version will be priced close to the Apple iPad, the low end there is $400, and that's going to be hard to beat (specs, function and perceived value). The x86 on the other hand has been suggested to be close to an UltraBook, which is up at $800-900, and honestly if it's up there I'd take the UltraBook, which would have far more utility than a tablet.

[zooba]

It's a tablet. The applications really need a user interface tailored to touch and the nature of the tablet, not a bunch of legacy junk which people don't have source for, or simply can't be bothered to recompile/retarget appropriately. Microsoft's biggest problem here is breaking away from all the desktop/laptop/legacy junk  to be able to create a viable challenge to the iPad.

As far as I can tell, that's the aim of all the new Metro stuff and why they're so strong on making it look/act like a separate world (rather than allowing windowed Metro apps, etc.). Unfortunately for many corporate users (and some developers), the legacy junk is completely unavoidable and saying "too bad" really is saying "please don't waste your money on us."

I don't believe the Surface Pro is meant to be an iPad challenger - more of a netbook challenger. The ARM Surface is directly up against the iPad in terms of target market and it does get away from most of the legacy stuff.

My personal opinion extends further in that the Surface is probably meant as a way to provoke the hardware partners into doing their jobs better. Along with Microsoft Signature, it seems like a pretty direct attack on the horrible things OEMs do to make money rather than making better systems. Hopefully the Surface will end up as a true baseline model, with the other manufacturers producing better designs (both specs and experience).

Cheers,
Zooba  :t