Why Microsoft's Surface Pro Could Fail

Nerval's Lobster writes "Microsoft's Surface Pro boasts one feature that could rapidly become an Achilles Heel, especially if Microsoft intends for the device to compete against Apple's iPad and a host of lightweight Google Android touch-screens. In a Nov. 29 Tweet to a customer, the official Surface Twitter feed claimed: 'We expect it [Surface Pro] to have approx. half the battery life of Surface with Windows RT.' That means Surface Pro will have roughly four hours of battery life. That's roughly half the battery life (if not less) of Apple's various iPads, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Research In Motion's PlayBook, Hewlett-Packard's now-cancelled TouchPad, and Motorola's all-but-forgotten Xoom. In other words, pretty much every tablet currently on the market. Nor can the Surface Pro compete with other tablets on price. The 64GB version of the device will retail for $899, with the 128GB version coming in a little higher at $999."

Comments

It doesn't compete with tablets

[Guspaz]

It competes with ultrabooks. Unfortunately, it doesn't compare all that favourably to ultrabooks either (about the same price, same weight, smaller screen, no keyboard included), and stealing sales from Wintel ultrabooks doesn't really help Microsoft or Intel.

Re:It doesn't compete with tablets

[mystikkman]

Anyone else tired of the constant negative stream of non-sequitir flamebait summaries and articles on Windows 8 or even Microsoft/Apple on Slashdot and any and all positive or neutral news being totally ignored?

After driving away all the folks with half a clue, even the echochamber seems to be losing interest in constantly talking to itself on Slashdot, with only 33 comments after half an hour of posting inspite of the flamebait title and summary, just hastening the steady descent of Slashdot into irrelevance.

Last one out turn off the lights.

Re:It doesn't compete with tablets

[SomePgmr]

Yeah, people are still emotionally involved in microsoft's failure. It's a hold-over from when they really mattered, and behaved horribly.

Of course that's not so relevant anymore and there's no rational reason to get so worked up over "yet another device" or "yet another windows". I think even microsoft knows that getting traction with a brand new line of tablets with a new tablet-y UI on a new windows, in an already saturated market, is a difficult and risky thing.

We'll see what happens, but I'd guess (only guess) that the surface line will end up being like google's platform references while other companies produce their own, less expensive, more capable tablets with a breadth of options more like we're accustomed to in laptops.

Fire to Nexus to iPad to Surface... it'll be nice to see options filling in the cracks. You'll note the new, larger Nexus and new, smaller iPad. They're each trying to push out from their respective beachheads.

Re:It doesn't compete with tablets

[0123456]

If I wanted to type in application names to run programs, I'd still be using DOS.

If your GUI requires you to type application names to start them, you've just shown that it's a lousy GUI.

Stupid

[Anonymous Coward]

Only a stupid person would think this. It is by FAR the most powerful tablet on the market, so obviously the battery life will suffer. To run full x86 applications will drain battery - its the best that it could be at 4 hours without being financially unviable. It's the same amount of battery life that laptop/tablet hybrids that already exist have.

The iPad may have more battery life, but it can't replace a laptop. Pro Surface can, and that is it's killer feature. Battery life at 4 hours is fine (plus, since it supports USB 3.0, how long until someone makes a USB charging block that gives you a full charge that you can carry around with you? Not long is the answer)

Re:Stupid

[Missing.Matter]

The difference for people interested in the surface is that it can become laptop-like, while a laptop cannot become tablet-like. They have some that do: convertibles. But they never lose the bulk of their keyboards is tablet form. So there's a continuum here.... for people who want more tablet than laptop there's the surface. For people who want more laptop than tablet there's convertibles all the way to full laptops. No reason to knock the surface because it doesn't fit into the category you prefer; there are options for you and this is not one. Doesn't mean it won't sell to those who want this option.

*facepalm*

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a full-blown Windows 8 laptop in a tablet form factor, stop comparing it to the iPad, the Galaxy Tab, the Playbook, the TouchPad, the Xoom, the Transformer Prime, etc....

Re:*facepalm*

[marcosdumay]

Ok, so let's compare it with full-blown laptops, that are both more powerfull and cheaper.

Re:Forget battery life - price is way too high

[phantomfive]

Then who is the device intended to be sold to? The same people who've been buying Windows tablets for the last ten years, and were unpopular?

I have a x86 tablet

[nebular]

I have an ExoPC. It gets about 4 hours of battery life. With current x86 mobile chips, that's about all you're going to get without killing the performance

The surface pro isn't competing with the ipad or the android tablets. It's targeted to those who need to be able to run existing windows applications, but want the convenience of a touchscreen tablet. That's what I wanted when I bought the Exo and it's why I'm interested in the surface pro. I didn't expect as long battery life.

If Microsoft knows anything they aren't expecting huge surface pro sales.

Re:WHY COULD IT FAIL?

[rgbatduke]

I was in our local supermall yesterday. They had an interior kiosk set up to sell Surfaces, manned by an easy half dozen earnest young salespeople hired for the season. They didn't have a single customer in view -- not one in all the times I walked by it. Everybody standing around looking bored.

The Apple store about fifty meters away, on the other had was absolutely packed, as it always is, with customers waiting in line. It wasn't even a busy night at the mall -- parking was actually pretty easy for the season.

The really interesting question is -- can Microsoft compete ANYWHERE on a level playing field? If they didn't have the world's computer retailers in a ball-lock with their pricing formula, would they even exist? The answer is not so clear. I've watched student PC and laptop ownership transition from nearly all WinXX PCs to nearly all Apple products in only five years. iPhone, iPad, iPod, thinline apple laptop -- standard operating equipment for current college students. A smattering of Droid tabs and phones in there -- it is the nerd product and also pretty cool. Even linux-based systems -- the choice of the ubergeek -- are starting to compete with Windows systems for a whole generation of kids.

If Valve/Steam works out and games move over the Linux big time, Windows could actually experience the start of its long awaited death spiral.

rgb

Re:WHY COULD IT FAIL?

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Look.

I'm not a fanboi. I do have a long history with Apple - an Apple ][ in 79-81. I loved, and could never touch, the NeXT in its heyday. I wrangled lab work to get to the NeXT and Indigos....

At that time - Mac II FX & ci - I hated Apple. OS 6,7 made me laugh.

Despite being NeXTophile, I thought Apple passing Be for NeXT was a mistake. I got that one wrong...

It took a couple of revs on OSX before I was more than just curious. By the first Aluminum PowerBook? I was at least a partial user.

I'd rather be running Linux. Most of the time, I do. But I have a MountainLion setup that, after hours of tweak, matches most of my Mint/Ubuntu/Elementary setup. (Hit F12, and console visor drops, with multiple tabs. Full toolchain and POSIX/GNU essentials)

So, I am prepared to say that the Retina MacBookPro is - by far - the best computer I have ever used in my life. If Sony or Dell came up with something equal, I'd have no qualms - but I don't hold my breath. This thing is so fast and responsive, I run a fullscreen Quetzal VM instead of a 2010 Latitude.

This is not a fluke - but apparent to anyone who's had the opportunity to evaluate a daily experience between the me-too PCs and the Apple package.

Re:WHY COULD IT FAIL?

[spire3661]

15-20 GB out of 64GB(pre-formatted size) is UNACCEPTABLE. how do you defend that? the 64 GB model should not even exist at those price points and shows MS' desperation in keeping costs down.