3 Reasons Why Surface Pro is Priced Right
We have grown accustomed to the fact that a high-end tablet should have a $500 base price. Anything above is viewed as expensive and anything below makes you wonder what the catch might be.
Learning that Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet will cost at least $899, excluding a touch or type cover, it might be a sticker shock at first look, but for most of us this may actually be the Windows 8 device of choice.
The base price of $899 will get you a Windows 8 x86 tablet based on an Intel Core i5 processor, as well as a 10.6-inch display with 1920x1080 that exceeds the 1366x768 pixel resolution of the Surface RT tablet. The Surface Pro will also support pen input.
It's an Ultrabook.
The Surface RT tablet was chastised to be a bit on the slow side to open and run applications, which should be fixed with the Core i5 processor. Take all other hardware specs into account, especially the higher-grade screen, and you have a considerably more powerful machine -- even if that means that your battery time will be cut in half. If you add the $130 type cover, you end up with a $1,030 computer, which is a pretty strong contender in the Ultrabook space. Sure, you could argue that the device isn't quite as pretty as some of the other high-end ultra-books, but as far as flexibility goes, this is about as good as it gets today.
It's a Tablet.
The flexibility, of course, relates to being a tablet. I am personally not a big fan of vertical touch surfaces (like a laptop LCD) and have been pretty disappointed by the flimsy touchscreens on current generation Windows 8 notebooks - which is, by the way, non issue on Surface due to its fixed vertical stand. However, for people like me, touch is really useful on screens that lay flat on a surface, which you can do with this tablet - and use it as a tablet if you want to. If the screen of the Surface Pro is as good as Microsoft says, and if the pen input is compelling for note taking and sketches, the Surface Pro could be a very convincing notebook/tablet combination for your job. As much as we love iPads these, Surface Pro has a good shot to becoming the best platform to bridge the home and business world for today's computing needs.
It's Windows.
Let's be realistic. Windows RT has some advantages, but needs time to mature and especially attract applications. Its biggest downside is the fact that you can't run Windows x86 applications; Microsoft will have to make a tremendous investment to attract developers to this platform. x86 Windows comes with its usual downsides and long loading times. But it is the Windows we are used to, and it is the Windows that runs our applications today. It may not have the platform appeal of Google Play or Apple App Store apps yet, but the Windows Store appears to be growing nicely, and let's not forget that HTML5 is cross-platform. Even with hybrid apps that use native code and HTML5 code, it does not take much to predict that the Windows Store will grow nicely over time.
The Bottom Line
It would be wrong to consider the Surface Pro to be an expensive tablet. It should rather be seen as an upscale Ultrabook that has the option of being a tablet being thrown in for free. It is the kind of device we have been waiting for to evolve the idea of Apple's iPad - and it is Microsoft's best effort to showcase the Windows 8 UI yet. Could it be improved? Sure: Let's integrate a Kinect sensor into the screen, please.
that said, they specifically mention input pen...
does it has sensitivity? different pressures? angle? or is it a glorified 3$ pos you can find on amazon that just emulates a finger?
It runs Windows 8, just like any other desktop/laptop. It's x86, it runs everything your Windows 7 PC can.
The pen is a Wacom pen, it's pretty much the same as Samsungs S pen (which is a Wacom pen).
that doesnt mean it cant be an altered version without the desktop mode
now as for the pen... i know wacom makes pressure, angle sensitive pens, but if i remember right they also make finger replacement pens that are just a fake finger...
what does the samsung s use so i have some frame of reference.
So what you are saying is that having a table form factor and digitizer is worth $0 and should be given free?
Whether you want to buy it is one thing, but it definitely has features to make it worth more than your laptop.
$300-$600 I assume.
But for $1030 (with keyboard) I rather get MBA.
imo, I think $1000 is too much to spend for a type of device I like to upgrade every 2-3 years.
I like to spend $600-700 for an ultrabook
Personally that's why I'll never understand the appeal behind tablets. I want my gear fixable. Even if it's just a laptop I'd like to know that I can replace the screen, HDD, memory, keyboard, etc.
Tablets just seem... useless.
IB
I don't really see the Air as competition other than folks who are ok with a traditional ultrabook... they're not tablets. I don't like carrying multiple devices on the road so I want something to replace my Ultrabook and iPad and do a good job of being both - and I think this device (or the Samsung) could possibly do it.
Surface dings:
$130 for a type keyboard that's inferior to type on than a $10 desktop keyboard.
Cost more than a i5 desktop with 3 monitors.
Touchscreen more awkward than a mouse.
vastly unupgradeable compared to desktop.
fewer external connectors/peripherals, USB,PS2,DVI,HDMI,DVD,ESATA.
lower disk an memory capacity.
mobile CPU slower than desktop counterpart.
So yes the surface is relatively powerful ultrabook in a tablet form factor. But seriously if you require that kind of power to do your work, you are already using a desktop, are you really going to switch to a tablet? Even a notebook/ultrabook offers a better windows experience. and a Nexus 7 is far less expensive, more portable, has better battery life, and offers a completely adequate casual experience. The Surface is nothing more than another gimmicky product for people to show off how fashion conscious they are at their local Starbucks.
They still need a GPS and a flash for the camera though. Maybe NFC too.