Microsoft Surface Pro Arrives Feb. 9

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Microsoft Surface Pro Arrives Feb. 9

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday January 22, 2013 @12:36PM from the because-everybody's-clamoring-for-more-expensive-tablets dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "According to Microsoft, the Surface Windows 8 Pro will be available for purchase on Feb. 9 in the U.S. and Canada. As anticipated, the Surface Pro will be slightly thicker than the Surface with Windows RT, and will weigh about two pounds. The tablet is powered with an Intel Core i5 processor and 4GB of memory. It also includes an 802.11 a/b/g/n dual band Wi-Fi, a stylus for pressure-sensitive input, dual 720p HD webcams, a full-sized USB 3.0 port, microSDXC slot, and mini DisplayPort. Since the Surface Pro runs Windows 8 Pro, it will work with your corporate infrastructure, as well as any older apps that you used on Windows XP to 7. In terms of pricing, the 64GB version will cost $899 while the 128GB will set you back by $999."

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Let the bashing begin! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-22 12:37 · Score: 3, Insightful

I'll start: this thing is too expensive for what it is.
1. Re:Let the bashing begin! by MrEricSir · 2013-01-22 13:04 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Yeah, but this has a kickstand. A kickstand! Aren't those all the rage with the kids these days?
  
  --
  There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
2. Re:Let the bashing begin! by webmistressrachel · 2013-01-22 13:20 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Why would any professor worth his salt "Recommend" his students be locked into a device for consumption rather than one that more freely enables co-operation and creativity? Because that's not education is for, that's why.
  
  --
  This tagline was transcoded to result in at least one smirk. If you experience failure to smirk, please consult your Gen
3. Re:Let the bashing begin! by CohibaVancouver · 2013-01-22 13:33 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Why would any professor worth his salt "Recommend" his students be locked into a device for consumption
  in other words, an iPad.
  
  rather than one that more freely enables co-operation and creativity?
  
  Or, in other words, a Surface Pro.
4. Re:Let the bashing begin! by Barlo_Mung_42 · 2013-01-22 13:49 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  "The Surface Pro isn't good at anything."
  Or so you've read and like to repeat on the internet.
5. Re:Let the bashing begin! by ahabswhale · 2013-01-22 14:02 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Oh, you think I'm just spewing what everyone else is saying? That's true but only because it is true. Here's why...
  It's design sucks. A device can only be really good at one thing. This is not a new principle to design but pretty much the fucking foundation of industrial design.
  Want more?
  It's too heavy, expensive and crappy on battery power to be a good tablet, and it doesn't have a real keyboard or adequate screen size to make it a good laptop. Basically, they've built a "laplet" (or "tabtop", if you prefer). Unfortunately for Microsoft, nobody has ever asked for a laplet. This thing will fail even bigger than the Surface RT.
  Like I said, it sucks. Even Microsoft is starting to realize it so they've already decided to drop the price by $100.
  
  --
  Are agnostics skeptical of unicorns too?
6. Re:Let the bashing begin! by Missing.Matter · 2013-01-22 14:44 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The Surface Pro isn't good at anything.
  Surface Pro is the best tablet that can run x86 applications. Show me another machine that is as thin, light, and powerful with a stylus. You can't.
  
  I'll also save you the trouble of reading two replies to your posts....
  
  It's too heavy, expensive and crappy on battery power to be a good tablet
  You might say a tablet is defined by being thin and light and having all day battery life, but that's different from what I want in a tablet. I want a stylus for writing. Surface Pro has this, 90% of tablets today don't. I want ports for USB drives, portable harddrives, video out. Surface Pro has this, 90% of tablets today don't. I want an SD card slot for expansion and swapping cards. Surface Pro has this, 90% of tablets today don't. Hell even Google's Nexus tablets don't have this. So in my book, Surface Pro is the only real tablet out there. It all depends on the user's needs. The Surface pro is a little thicker and heavier than iPad (.5 lbs and .5") but the tradeoff is more power with an i5 and compatibility with millions of applications and devices. So great for you if your iPad or Android tablet is thinner and lighter and lasts all day. I don't care because they are as useless as rocks for my needs, and I'll gladly pay $899 for a tablet that does what I want.
  
  and it doesn't have a real keyboard or adequate screen size to make it a good laptop.
  What about this isn't a "real" keyboard? Or the infinite variety of bluetooth keyboards or wired USB keyboards that can be plugged in? I also fail to see how 10.6" is not an adequate screen size but 11.6" on the Macbook Air somehow is. That extra 1" is the threshold? I might similarly say the Macbook Air has inadequate resolution (1366×768 vs 1920x1080 on Surface Pro). Or that Macbook Air is too heavy (2.38lbs vs 2.01lbs). Or too thick (0.68" vs 0.5"). Or too expensive ($999 vs $899).
7. Re:Let the bashing begin! by Luckyo · 2013-01-22 15:15 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I'd say the main reason it "sucks" is OS. It's still a horrifying chimera of desktop and tablet, and does neither thing well. Hardware itself actually looks good enough for what I would use it for, if a bit pricy. But I'm not into tablets anyway.
  That said if I were, that actually looks good. Solid build, essentially a laptop inside the screen with attachable keyboard. I can see this replacing an ultrabook for those who want to replace one with a tablet, but need x86.
8. Re:Let the bashing begin! by Billlagr · 2013-01-22 15:18 · Score: 2
  
  I'm going to try that! I put a playing card on with a clothes peg to make motorbike sounds as I rode..but a kickstand! Genius!
9. Re:Let the bashing begin! by steelfood · 2013-01-22 15:29 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  No, it's not expensive. It's just plain useless.
  Windows RT was a dismal failure, and Windows 8 will be equally disastrous. It fails on the touch front and on the mouse and keyboard front. Having tried it extensively, allow me to name the ways:
  Touch:
  1) The Metro home screen is the only touch-friendly aspect of it. However, it is filled with useless Microsoft apps that can't function without an internet connection and are tied to largely inferior Microsoft internet services.
  2) It has the usual miserable Windows software keyboard and handwriting recognition, with fairly limited support.
  3) Outside of Metro, the remainder is the usual touch-unfriendly Windows interface meant for a mouse and keyboard, where fat fingers will simply fail. This is what gets me the most. If the thing is a touchscreen, then it should be configured out of the box to be touch-friendly. Instead, it is configured as un-touch-friendly as possible. And worse, while you can say switch Explorer to use large icons on a grid instead of the list or details view, many screens simply don't have a touch-friendly interface.
  4) The edge swiping is annoying and easy to do accidentally, The left edge "screen list" is useful, but only to bring up Metro apps.
  5) Having to go to Metro just to access the swipe that will bring up a button to get to the list of programs is painfully clunky. The bottom swipe should be active on the desktop screen, and it should be the list of applications, not an extra button.
  6) The right swipe should have been able to access the entire control panel, but instead, it's largely useless.
  On the mouse and keyboard front:
  1) The Metro UI and swiping is as horrible as expected. Some things have Metro and old Windows equivalents, but most do not. It's incredibly annoying to switch between mouse and keyboard, and touch, and that's pretty much what's necessary to use Metro.
  2) And I don't think I need to mention that you can't even get to your software list without going through Metro, which is already a three step affair even by touch.
  3) It doesn't come with the cover, which is another $150.
  Oh, and did I mention that you have to "activate" Windows before you can use some of its functionality? It's hardware made by Microsoft but there's somehow still a chance copy of Windows on it can be a bootleg. Activation is automatic with an internet connection, fortunately, but it's ridiculous that it's even necessary.
  I expect Windows 8 to be slightly better than RT, in that it can run traditional apps. And there are third-party programs to minimize the damage Metro causes for those who want to do useful work with it. But that's about as good as it'll get. It's still a touch disaster, and a fairly useless "entertainment" device (RT comes with Office, but no games preinstalled).
  Microsoft needs to shape up if they want to even have a shot at the tablet market. They possess a split personality disorder both on the UI front and on the developer front that they very much need to ditch. If they can't seem to figure out what kind of machine it is (or develop a separate "personality" for each purpose), nobody else will be able to. And people will avoid it.
  For starters, they're going to have to revamp the entire look-and-feel of their tablet Windows to be touch-centric. It'll be easy to go from touch back to mouse and keyboard, because the mouse is just a very, very fine finger. But they need to commit to it, instead of leaving half of the screens in the old Windows UI and the other (useless) half touch-friendly.
  And they'll have to include the keyboard out of the box. The software keyboard is a stinking manure pile. Nobody's going to buy a Surface/Pro without an external keyboard. Nobody's going to touch Windows RT/8 without a real keyboard.
  Portable work devices are rarely perpetually-connected, while entertainment devices are usually connected. Including Office with RT to make it a useful work device was genius, but not including any games was equally boneheaded stupid.
  Only if they can fix the split personality disorder in the rumored Windows 8.1, could it be a useable OS. Otherwise, it'll just be another disaster.
  
  --
  "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
10. Re:Let the bashing begin! by thoth · 2013-01-22 15:52 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  The thing you are overlooking is your needs aren't a significant part of the market. A stylus and all that other stuff? If those were major selling points then Microsoft would have been successful with tablets say... 15 years ago.
  Your repetitious "90% of today's tablets don't" blah blah. Sounds like a prediction that Surface will battle and claw it's way to... 10% market share?
11. Re:Let the bashing begin! by ahabswhale · 2013-01-22 15:56 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Surface Pro is the best tablet that can run x86 applications.
  I don't need a tablet that can run x86 apps. Users don't give a flying shit about "x86" they just give a shit about having good apps to run. iOS and Android already offer that in spades. And the Samsung Galaxy Note supports the stylus in ALL apps, not just specially written ones.
  
  Show me another machine that is as thin, light, and powerful with a stylus. You can't.
  
  Apparently, you're not too hip on the tablet scene: http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxynote/note_10.1/index.html?type=find
  It's thinner, lighter, cheaper, has longer battery life, 3G, and is designed for use with a stylus, etc.
  
  You might say a tablet is defined by being thin and light and having all day battery life, but that's different from what I want in a tablet. I want a stylus for writing. Surface Pro has this, 90% of tablets today don't.
  I think I already covered this argument.
  
  I want ports for USB drives, portable harddrives, video out. Surface Pro has this, 90% of tablets today don't.
  
  USB drives and hard drives? What fucking century do you live in?? And pretty much everyone has a video out capability now (not that I've seen anyone ever use that feature before other than fucking around).
  
  want an SD card slot for expansion and swapping cards. Surface Pro has this, 90% of tablets today don't.
  lol, lots of tablets have SD card slots dude. Have you ever googled an android tablet before?
  
  The Surface pro is a little thicker and heavier than iPad (.5 lbs and .5") but the tradeoff is more power with an i5 and compatibility with millions of applications and devices. So great for you if your iPad or Android tablet is thinner and lighter and lasts all day. I don't care because they are as useless as rocks for my needs, and I'll gladly pay $899 for a tablet that does what I want.
  And what are your needs? You mention all these features you want that the Surface Pro just happens to have but seriously, what is your job or hobby that requires these features? I'm having trouble envisioning it. I'm willing to say that it's possible that there's a small group of people the Surface Pro would be a good match for but I think it's a very, very small group. Congrats to you if you're one of them.
  And FYI, that $899 does not include a keyboard. Feel free to tack on another $130.
  Honestly, based on everything you've said, I find it hard to imagine how the the average consumer would choose a Surface Pro over a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Keep in mind, I'm not any kind of Samsung fanboy.
  
  --
  Are agnostics skeptical of unicorns too?
12. Re:Let the bashing begin! by Luckyo · 2013-01-22 16:18 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  You solved the entire problem for microsoft with its abysmal win8 sales and massive consumer rejection of the OS!
  Congratulations!
13. Re:Let the bashing begin! by ahabswhale · 2013-01-22 16:51 · Score: 2
  
  Good points. Honestly, I wish them well because I think the more competition the better.
  
  --
  Are agnostics skeptical of unicorns too?
14. Re:Let the bashing begin! by hairyfish · 2013-01-22 17:03 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The Surface has a place. 90% of the corporate world use x86 apps, good luck running those on any other tablet. I've worked a few places that tried to do the iPad or Galaxy Tab thing and it never works because productivity requires a keyboard, a mouse, and corporate apps (which just happen to mostly be x86). We currently pay $1500 for a corporate laptop and another $500 for an iPad for a lot of our users. Even at $1100 (incl some accessories this is a win for us). I'm sure we're not the only company in the world in this situation.
15. Re:Let the bashing begin! by shutdown+-p+now · 2013-01-22 17:26 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Surface Pro is the best tablet that can run x86 applications. Show me another machine that is as thin, light, and powerful with a stylus. You can't.
  Sure I can. Thinner, lighter, Core i5, and it has a stylus.
16. Re:Let the bashing begin! by shutdown+-p+now · 2013-01-22 17:29 · Score: 2
  
  For classroom accessory, laptops make much more sense, since you have desks to place them on - and they're much more convenient that way than a tablet would be. And the laptop can have a touch screen, too, and many newer ones (also with Win8) do.
17. Re:Let the bashing begin! by Zontar+The+Mindless · 2013-01-22 17:47 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Aren't most corporate apps these days really Web apps? Where I work (very big, very multinational software company), the only things that everyone has to use and that actually have to *run* on people's machines are Web browser, VPN, and maybe an office suite.
  Tablets already have the first 2 covered quite well. (It's not like we're sitting around on our thumbs waiting on ports of Firefox or AnyConnect to iOS and Android.) And who the fuck is going to write a 20-page whitepaper or 50-slide PPT preso on a tablet?
  So we'll have the sales guys going for e-peen points waving their tablets at each other, while (surprise, surprise) not doing much actual work on them at all. And 90% of corporate workers will still be using desktops or laptops.
  So yes, in this case, x86 compatibility is not much of a draw at all.
  (Now for me *personally* it might be fun to get one of these and to try to put Linux or Android on it. But "fun" does not a business case make.)
  
  --
  Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
18. Re:Let the bashing begin! by bemymonkey · 2013-01-22 19:03 · Score: 2
  
  Are you really planning on using a tablet tethered to a power cord all day?
19. Re:Let the bashing begin! by beelsebob · 2013-01-22 20:09 · Score: 2
  
  The Surface has a place. 90% of the corporate world use x86 apps, good luck running those on any other tablet.
  Good luck running them on the surface pro too, when you discover you can't actually click the tiny buttons, hover over things, or right click on things.
  There's a reason those god awful windows XP tablets from years ago never caught on –it's because they weren't actually capable of running any of the software that "ran" on them.
20. Re:Let the bashing begin! by beelsebob · 2013-01-22 20:13 · Score: 2
  
  Uh, what? Being able to play Crusader Kings 2 on a tablet is a huge selling point.
  Unfortunately... you can't actually play it, because it's designed with a mouse/track pad/track point in mind, not a touch screen. As soon as you want to get your character sheet open, and try to right click on that portrait you're going to realise why this was such a terrible idea.
21. Re:Let the bashing begin! by caywen · 2013-01-22 21:25 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  A device can only be really good at one thing. This is not a new principle to design but pretty much the fucking foundation of industrial design.
  
  You seem so sure of yourself, evident by the unnecessary profanity. And yet many highly successful products both past and present betray your assertion.
  MP3 + Video player => iPod Touch and its ilk
  MP3 + Video player + Browser + Apps + Phone => smartphones
  Passenger car + SUV => Crossover SUV cars
  Game Console + Media Center => PS3, Xbox 360, soon PS4 and Xbox 4
  PC + LCD monitor hybrids => All in one PC's, iMac
  Compact Camera + Interchangeable lens => Micro 4/3 (e.g. Sony NEX)
  Printer + Scanner + Fax => Printer / Scanner / Fax (duh)
  Radio + CD Player => Boombox, FM Walkman
  Power Screwdriver + Power Drill => Combo Power Screwdriver / Drill
  Hammer + Crowbar => Pretty much any hammer you find today
  and the list goes on and on and on. Pretty much every one of these carries with it compromises that can be lambasted by anyone inclined to do so. In all successful cases, the benefits match or exceed the compromise. Some of these examples are more enduring than others, but the bottom line is that compromised hybrid designs are a fine way to go about product design.
22. Re:Let the bashing begin! by beelsebob · 2013-01-22 23:12 · Score: 2
  
  adjustable screen DPI
  I use it day to day. The issue is that if you're running a desktop app on a tablet you have a choice – make the buttons big enough to tap on, but for no content to fit on the screen (because it wasn't designed to run on a tablet), or make content fit on the screen, but the controlls to small to use. By contrast, software actually designed for tablets does not have this problem, because it's UI is laid out in such a way that content is accessible despite big chunky controls. This also does not solve the hovering or right clicking issue.
  
  touchpads
  Again, I use one every day. The surface pro does not have one, it has a touch screen. One is available as a $150 optional accessory. If you're going to use it all day with the optional accessory attached then what you have is a screen with a keyboard and touch pad that fold up into it, we have a name for that, a laptop. We can already buy cheaper, lighter, smaller, better ones than the surface pro.
23. Re:Let the bashing begin! by Lanforod · 2013-01-23 05:06 · Score: 2
  
  Yep. Corporate webapps that require Java and/or Flash. Good luck getting those to run well on an iOS or Android device. My opinion is that some companies will realize that the pro is a viable replacement for the desktops, laptops, and tablets for everyone. Just need some sort of docking station for when at a desk to connect it to a full keyboard, mouse, and large screen or two, and perhaps wired ethernet. I suppose the display port and usb3 ports would be able to handle all that. If MS doesn't already have such a device, the first company to make a good one could make a killing on it.
24. Re:Let the bashing begin! by ahabswhale · 2013-01-23 06:19 · Score: 2
  
  lol, now show a list of all the hybrid concepts that have utterly failed. It's miles long. And keep in mind that some of your examples are pretty damn weak:
  Hammer + crowbar: It's a mediocre crowbar. I've done a lot of demo work and a single purpose crowbar works much, much better.
  MP3+Video player: It's just a media player. It's still serving one purpose.
  Camera w/interchangeable lens: It's still designed for a single purpose: taking good pictures. Interchangeable lenses enable that.
  Need I go on?
  
  --
  Are agnostics skeptical of unicorns too?
Looking forward to this. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-22 12:40 · Score: 3, Funny

Mostly because work is buying me one.
1. Re:Looking forward to this. by Ambassador+Kosh · 2013-01-22 15:25 · Score: 2
  
  This is the big thing. I would love a tablet that I can take real notes on. Especially one where I can enter mathematical notes.
  Every tablet I have looked at has been very bad to taking notes on. They just don't have the accuracy required. This tablet even runs a full windows of windows which means I could take notes and still use applications like matlab and excel.
  
  --
  Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD! :)
Success story! by girlintraining · 2013-01-22 12:43 · Score: 3, Funny

After the stunning success of the original Surface tablet, Microsoft releases its successor, codenamed "Rodents of Unusual Size".

--
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Re:And? by BLToday · 2013-01-22 12:51 · Score: 3, Interesting

Except the HP TX2500 series were some of the crappiest laptops I've ever used. We bought 8 of them for the office and within 18 months half of them died. They were hot, the screens were dim, and the stylus was never accurate. Plus, it came with Windows Vista.
Win8 != Corporate Infrastructure by Gothmolly · 2013-01-22 12:52 · Score: 2

At $LARGE_US_BANK we are only STARTING to roll Win7 out to the great unwashed. We still need IE6 for about half the bank's applications.
Saying that Win8 is for corporate America is just masturbation.

--
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
1. Re:Win8 != Corporate Infrastructure by Holi · 2013-01-22 12:58 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Because your bank isn't using it, that means no corp will. Is that your point?
  
  --
  Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
2. Re:Win8 != Corporate Infrastructure by ahabswhale · 2013-01-22 13:29 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  This is why I will never write code at a bank. The dullest environment ever.
  
  --
  Are agnostics skeptical of unicorns too?
3. Re:Win8 != Corporate Infrastructure by mattack2 · 2013-01-22 13:52 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  So, that means your bank did stupid, browser-specific sites rather than using web standards.
at that price it needs at least 8gb ram by Joe_Dragon · 2013-01-22 12:52 · Score: 2

at that price it needs at least 8gb ram
Not at those prices by tuppe666 · 2013-01-22 12:53 · Score: 3, Informative

It doesn't come with a hardware keyboard or Office (unlike the Surface RT)
At the prices quoted it does the Surface Pro does not come with a keyboard at all :) those are sold separately.
Not the same thing by tuppe666 · 2013-01-22 12:59 · Score: 2, Insightful

Makes the Macbook air just as outrageous
...and it is. Except that Apple is desirable, but the top selling laptop on Amazon right now is the chromebook http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Electronics-Laptop-Computers/zgbs/electronics/565108/ref=pd_ts_zgc_e_565108_morl?pf_rd_p=1306419382&pf_rd_s=right-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=2956501011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1RB1ZW709NBS28NH1KWN selling for a third of the cheapest surface.
1. Re:Not the same thing by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-22 13:56 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  It might be a third less because it uses a shitty ARM CPU, has half the RAM, one eighth the amount of storage space, no touchscreen, no pen input, no memory card slot, lower resolution and weighs more than the Surface Pro.
Compare to ... by Rougement · 2013-01-22 13:33 · Score: 4, Insightful

An iPad at $400 cheaper and a MacBook Air for only $100 more. I'm not sure, at this price point, what MS are trying to accomplish. It just reeks of a hurried "oh hell, we must release something to counter Apple' Well, here's your something.
1. Re:Compare to ... by Barlo_Mung_42 · 2013-01-22 13:41 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  MB air is $100 more and doesn't even have a pen or touch?
  I'd rather have the Surface Pro.
2. Re:Compare to ... by Cinder6 · 2013-01-22 13:47 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Apple user here.
  Here's what the Surface Pro has over an iPad: Run desktop apps; ability to modify the OS as you see fit
  Here's what the Surface Pro has over a Macbook Air: Touchscreen
  Different tools for different people and different uses. I don't personally want a Surface (Pro or RT), and it certainly has some (pretty big) disadvantages, but that doesn't mean I can't understand what Microsoft is trying to accomplish. I think there's merit to their "Windows anywhere" goal, though it still needs some polishing.
  
  --
  If you can't convince them, convict them.
3. Re:Compare to ... by Missing.Matter · 2013-01-22 14:19 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  How clueless can you be? Macbook air has no ethernet port, and surface pro does have a USB 3.0 port. As it runs Windows 8 Pro it supports more hardware than the Macbook air including any optical drive, barcode reader, or digital camera you want to plug into it.
4. Re:Compare to ... by CohibaVancouver · 2013-01-22 14:34 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  An iPad at $400 cheaper
  An iPad doesn't run corporate win32 and win64 apps natively. An iPad doesn't integrate with Active Directory for seamless access to network resources. An iPad only has a finger, not a stylus interface. iPad has no USB port.
  
  and a MacBook Air for only $100 more
  
  The Macbook Air has no touch interface and doesn't convert to a tablet / slate for easy use on an airplane in economy with the seat in front of you in full recline.
5. Re:Compare to ... by exomondo · 2013-01-22 15:17 · Score: 2
  
  An iPad at $400 cheaper and a MacBook Air for only $100 more.
  So then i have to carry 2 devices and it cost me $600 more?
6. Re:Compare to ... by Barlo_Mung_42 · 2013-01-22 15:28 · Score: 2
  
  I see what your saying but I don't think the Zune is a good comparison. MS entered the market with Zune way too late, just as it was ending in fact because of the growth of smartphones. Tablets are going to be around for a long time. So even though they are late (to this generation, let's not forget tablet pcs) there is plenty of time for them to catch up with android. Apple isn't the main worry. They'll just keep doing their own thing no matter what. MS *can't* let android take over the majority of their oem market. If they fail (and they may) it will be for different reasons than why Zune failed.
Re:Can it run linux? windows 7? Windows XP? by Gertlex · 2013-01-22 13:35 · Score: 2

"why would you want to run Win 7 or XP on this thing?"
So you don't have to deal with the shitty Metro aesthetic. Completely worth installing Windows 7 just to get rid of it.
It's a tablet... so install Classic Shell instead and live in the Desktop, while preserving touch and pen-stuff.
Re:And? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-22 13:45 · Score: 2, Insightful

The TX2500 uses a Turion CPU...that's like Pentium-M level performance.
And Oblivion? Really? That game is almost a decade old. The fact that you only get a horrid 18fps in it shows how crappy that computer is.
I'm still a bit interested by Overzeetop · 2013-01-22 13:58 · Score: 2

Panasonic's 20" tablet has certain major advantages for me, as I do architectural-like work. Still, pressure sensitive pen input (if high-dpi accurate) and a 2lb mark is nice. 4 hours life sucks, but it's not as bad as the 2 hours proposed for the panasonic.
The biggest draw for this is a machine that could replace both my iPad and my notebook computer (currently an 11.6" Acer Timeline). The ability to have a real OS and the ability to run real applications (Lightroom, AutoCAD, Bluebeam, Analysis software) is a major plus.
The shortcomings, beyond the middling battery life, include the limitation that you can only get 128GB. While that may seem like enough for a tablet, this is a working machine and really needs have an option to go to 256, if not 512, for serious road warrior data sets (or photogs on the go). And *micro* SD? Slow AND limited capacity. Hard to believe on a tablet this big that SD was a deal breaker in the real estate department. The lack of included keyboard is just money. I have Apple products, so overly expensive SSD and accessories are already commonplace.

--
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Functionally the same by tuppe666 · 2013-01-22 14:12 · Score: 4, Insightful

It might be a third less because it uses a shitty ARM CPU, has half the RAM, one eighth the amount of storage space, no touchscreen, no pen input, no memory card slot, lower resolution and weighs more than the Surface Pro.
No its a third...as in you can but three of them for the same price as Surface. Pro. It comes with 100GB of cloud storage...and has a memory card slot. runs a lightweight OS [and can run Ubuntu too :). Other than touch-screen something I want...if I can get android compatibility, but that has been announced on the next chrome book there is embarrassingly little in it.
...but your right it is not exactly the specifications, but functionally very similar, and has advantages cost being the most glaring.
Re:And? by BLToday · 2013-01-22 14:22 · Score: 2

Calibration doesn't help much. The screen is very inaccurate on as you approach the edge of the screen. I'm probably off about 2 mm within 1 inch of the edge.
Re:Works on my corporate network? by black3d · 2013-01-22 15:39 · Score: 2

You do realise it's a fully-fledged computer under the hood, don't you? It's not running a "tablet OS" like Android or iOS. It's running normal Win8 on a normal Intel i5. It's simply a laptop in tablet form. You can install whatever anti-malware, etc, you like. The one caveat is that you can't install any OS you like - the BIOS will make sure of that.

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"The true measure of a person is how they act when they know they won't get caught." - DSRilk
Re:Works on my corporate network? by XcepticZP · 2013-01-22 19:35 · Score: 2

UEFI Secure Boot is only applicable for Surface RT. The Surface Pro has no such limitations and you can install ANY OS you please.

You're welcome.
Re:And? by ByOhTek · 2013-01-23 00:38 · Score: 2

HP...
Never again. Their business end stuff may be good, but their consumer grade stuff is cheap low grade crashy garbage.

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Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
Re:One thing? Like a Claw hammer? by ahabswhale · 2013-01-23 06:05 · Score: 2

The pry bar on a hammer is really only good for removing nails and minor demo work. You need a true pry/crow bar to get real work done. I say this as someone who has spent a lot of time doing demo work.

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Are agnostics skeptical of unicorns too?
I predict. by Holi · 2013-01-23 06:32 · Score: 2

That around 90% of the comments here will be from MS haters coming to bash something they have yet to see. For reasons they can only poorly describe.

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Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Re:2 pounds? A whole 0.9Kg? by Holi · 2013-01-23 06:34 · Score: 2

Actually, every review I have read has said it stays quite cool. But what do I know, I just went around and did some research instead of spouting off complete nonsense.

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Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Re:And? by Fritzed · 2013-01-23 08:42 · Score: 2

Not even close. The HP Envy specs:
- CPU is Atom (Surface Pro is 3th generation i5)
- Resolution only 1366x768 (Surface Pro is 1920x1080)
- SSD only upto 64GB (Surface Pro is upto 128GB)
I am looking for a Surface Pro clone, more specifically a 16"+ laptop with 2560x1440 resolution, with touch and (a proper, precise, pressure sensitive) pen, and 250GB+ SSD, and i5 or better. If anyone knows of anything that has at least the resolution and pen, i'm grateful.

- CPU is Atom (Surface Pro is 3th generation i5)

3th
I'm not going to correct you.
I just want Thirth to be a word.

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Spooooon!!!!!