Microsoft Surface Pricing Leaked

[sysigy]

Originally Posted by Odanez

The thing I like most about the microsoft surface is the design

I agree, having the protective screen cover double up as a keyboard is a smart design feature imo.

The thing I really liked about the ASUS Transformer series is that the keyboard (albeit more bulky than the M$ surface's) doubles up as a battery pack / mobile tablet charger, plus their Prime versions are metal cased.

I think I can safely say I will upgrading my WP7.5 to a WP8 and be getting a Windows 8 tablet, I'm just not set on which one yet... if the price doesn't change from what's stated in the OP I will be looking to ASUS for sure.

[AruisDante]

Originally Posted by sysigy

IMO Windows 8 tablets will blow Apple out of the water with their software / hardware support, the Windows RT tablets I'm not so sure about. To have any hope they'll have to drop their prices which I'm sure they'll do after release if sales are poor but by then the damage will already be done. The main thing for me about Windows 8 / Windows RT tablets is choice of manufacturer but when it comes to the 'little people' too much choice is a huge issue which in part IMO is why Apple succeed, people want a tablet, Apple make it and give you a simple choice based on 2 factors, capacity and connectivity which almost anyone can make a choice over, I want to connect to wifi or 3G/4G, I want space to store my photos and music.

Well, Microsoft made a lot of its OEMs very, very angry with surface. They apparently had a very heavy hand in the design stage for OEM Windows tablets, and didn't tell any of them they were working on one of there own the whole time. Meaning they knew what the playing field was going to be, and made sure they were above it. That's the good old ruthless M$ we've been missing for a while now. HP has flat out dropped W8 tablets, and Asus is actually rumored to be considering doing the same. They just don't see the point in competing with a first party device, especially when M$ insists on having as much design control as they do. Add to that the $80 per-device tax for W8, and it becomes simply impossible to put out a price competitive tablet to Surface that is also feature competitive and still make money. Especially since OEM's don't make any money after the hardware sale, unlike M$ who takes a slice off all the app store sales.

So somehow I foresee device overload being much less of a problem than it is with Android.

Did I not just say this in my last post but with less words

More or less, but someone else was still confused so I gave them the full scoop.

The hybrid between the new Metro start menu and classic desktop is dire and extremely frustrating to use with a keyboard and mouse. The old 'start button' has completely been removed so to get the start menu (metro) to appear now you have to press the Windows key on the keyboard or move your mouse to the bottom left of your screen which causes the new start menu to appear (if in desktop).

So.... exactly what you used to do? Sure it moved a couple inches further to the left for a mouse click, but.... see my point? What is more jarring about it for me is the complete disconnect in UI/UX design between the two interfaces. They don't feel like two sides of one whole. They feel like two completely separate things that were stuck together with bubblegum. Which they were.

The metro start menu is the default view when Windows 8 is powered up, to access the desktop you have to click on the 'desktop app'.

I feel like when I shut down/restart my computer from desktop it boots back up in desktop. But I'm not 100%. Either way, I run W8RC on my desktop as my primary OS and I see metro.... basically never unless I'm searching.

[sysigy]

Originally Posted by AruisDante

So.... exactly what you used to do? Sure it moved a couple inches further to the left for a mouse click, but.... see my point? What is more jarring about it for me is the complete disconnect in UI/UX design between the two interfaces. They don't feel like two sides of one whole. They feel like two completely separate things that were stuck together with bubblegum. Which they were.

My point being, without the familiar windows icon / start menu icon it's not obvious, yes people will work it out but still not everyone is tech-savvy enough to work it out before getting angry because something that used to be simple and obvious is now hidden.

Modern tech is not about the tech, it's about the interface. Apple wins because it's made the interface into complex computing simple and desirable for the 'little people'.

OMG, I'm praising Apple!

ARRRGGGHHH I said OMG!!!

sysigy

[Jahova]

For a while now Apple/Mac has been taking over the portable computer tech. Sure there is Android and some others, but Apple is pretty much the leader, even if some people don't like it. The way things are going, Apple/Mac has a niche that not even Microsoft will trump.

Future dominant interfaces will likely be:
Portable Device = Apple/Mac
Desktop/Laptop = Microsoft
Low-End Server = Microsoft & Linux/Unix
High-End Server = Linux/Unix