The Microsoft Surface Tablet thread.

[Puddle Jumper]

Yeah that would of been a great price because any lower and you hurt the OEMs out there. At 399.99 with cover I can see the value in the surface over a Ipad 2. How ever if it would of had a 1080p screen and a better SOC I could see the current pricing. It was just dumb of MS to price this so high considering how well weak the hardware is SOC and screen. The awesome build quality gives me high hopes for the surface pro to be kick ass.

Yeah, I like the build quality and design but it really can't compete with the iPad 4 or Nexus 10 at it's current price given it's specs.

 

[dagamer34]

What is the appropriate price of it then?

It's priced appropriately. People don't buy the iPad because of the screen, they buy the iPad because it's an iPad. As such, I don't think the higher resolution is such an amazing benefit that it is unfathomable for someone to pick the Surface over an iPad. No one picks one ecosystem over another for such a simple reason (and if they do, they'll learn their lesson the hard way if they ever have to switch).

Do I wish the Touch Cover and Type Cover were cheaper? Sure. But that doesn't mean they don't still have value. If the Surface costs too much, Microsoft will cut the price, but I wouldn't bet any money on that happening.

 

[WelshBloke]

Rumor has it that sales of the Microsoft Surface have been slow so far...

This sucker might start dropping in price even faster than I predicted!

Its hard to guess what Ballmer means by a modest start. He's not normally known for measured understatement so I'm going to assume he means low sales.

 

[Zink]

It's the iPad 2 (or mini) at $400 vs Surface at $500 if people don't care about resolution. The price is appropriate to attract people who specifically want Windows RT but it doesn't convince people who just want a good tablet to move away from the iPad or Nexus 10. Having the price set this way helps promote Windows RT as a premium experience and leaves room for OEMs to compete but I'm not sure why OEMs aren't going lower than $500 or $600 with keyboard.

 

[quest55720]

I can see wanting to have premium pricing to avoid a race to the bottom. If that was the idea they should of made 1080p screens the mandatory spec. It would of made the excellent multi-tasking of RT even better. The multi-tasking with the extra res and office could of really been differentiator for them over Ipad and Nexus tablets.

 

[podspi]

I can see wanting to have premium pricing to avoid a race to the bottom. If that was the idea they should of made 1080p screens the mandatory spec. It would of made the excellent multi-tasking of RT even better. The multi-tasking with the extra res and office could of really been differentiator for them over Ipad and Nexus tablets.

Yea, I think Microsoft was in a bad predicament here. Yes, they could price aggressively and make the Surface a successful product, but Microsoft doesn't want(/need) surface to be a successful product. Microsoft wants(/needs) Windows RT/8 to be successful products to build up the app ecosystem.

If they price too low, they run the risk of squeezing OEMs out. Now that is not an illegitimate strategy (Apple did it and they seem to be doing alright), but it is not the strategy Microsoft claims and seems to be following. They said the Surface was supposed to 'prime the pump' of the market. Initially I did not understand what they meant, but I think I have a better idea now. The Surface is supposed to be a product that gets you interested in the WinRT device market.


And for the record, I think they were successful. When I first heard of WARM (Windows on ARM), I kind of dismissed it and figured I would pass. After having played with a Surface, I am now open to the idea of picking up a WinRT tablet, though I don't think the Surface will be the one.

 

[rockyct]

I doubt they'll actually lower the price of the core tablet. I could see a discounted keyboard, or a free one, but I don't think the tablet will go on sale. They priced it to hug the line between two expensive and too cheap that it hurts the OEMs. This is a very new market so they don't want to kill it before it takes hold and pricing it at $400 crosses into the kill OEM competition side. I also think in general since they are trying to model after Apple, they won't put the Surface on "sale" either.

I think the Surface three to six months from now will actually be a bit more compelling for the average consumer than the Surface right now. The app store should grow pretty quickly since it is the same app store as with Windows 8. I also think people will be more aware of Windows 8 in general and I think people will ultimately like the OS and would like to have it on a tablet. We'll have to see what the Clover Trail WinRT models will end up like though but the Surface Pro will probably be priced more out of the tablet range.

Also, I still don't know what it is about that Surface commercial but whenever I show the Surface to my really non-techie friends, they just want to try out the keyboard snap because they saw it in the commercial.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

It's priced appropriately. People don't buy the iPad because of the screen, they buy the iPad because it's an iPad. As such, I don't think the higher resolution is such an amazing benefit that it is unfathomable for someone to pick the Surface over an iPad. No one picks one ecosystem over another for such a simple reason (and if they do, they'll learn their lesson the hard way if they ever have to switch).

Do I wish the Touch Cover and Type Cover were cheaper? Sure. But that doesn't mean they don't still have value. If the Surface costs too much, Microsoft will cut the price, but I wouldn't bet any money on that happening.

The iPad still has a much better screen and considerably faster SoC that justify it's price.

It's like pricing a Camry the same as a BMW M3 and saying people buy the M3 because it's a M3, maybe they do but it doesn't make the Camry it's equal.

 

[finbarqs]

except the OS are completely different. It's like the camry has onboard navigation, 4g LTE, and bullet proof windows with carbon fiber constructure, while the bmw m3 is... a bmw m3 equipped with a v8 while the camry is still the 6. Sure you can do more with the camry, but it's still slower than the m3.

I think Microsoft is 'eating hard rice' right now... they realized that windows 8 sales is probably very low... I don't know anyone who ran out to purchase windows 8. But there are a lot of people who ran out and bought new laptops/desktops. Then complained about how confusing it is..

 

[Zink]

Windows 8 obviously won't fail for PCs but it is strange how they messed everything up to make it work well on tablets and now the Windows tablet hardware isn't competitive at or bellow $500. I would want a iPad 4 (or even Nexus 10) with Windows RT on it, why is there a choice between nice hardware and Windows?

 

[BornStar]

Someone watched their Surface get run over by a car.

http://forums.wpcentral.com/surface-windows-rt/202040.htm

 

[gorcorps]

Someone watched their Surface get run over by a car.

http://forums.wpcentral.com/surface-windows-rt/202040.htm

I wish they would have just told the story and left it at that, but they just HAD to shoehorn the "I'd love to see what an ipad would look like" line in there. Can we simply not let the merits of any product stand on its own without mud slinging?

 

[s44]

Windows 8 obviously won't fail for PCs

Really? Because the crap use paradigms MS is pushing make me think my W7 build is my last PC.

 

[rockyct]

Really? Because the crap use paradigms MS is pushing make me think my W7 build is my last PC.

It's do or die for Microsoft. If they don't transition to a mobile world, they will no longer be relevant. If they waited a couple more years, it would be too late. They're using their leverage in the PC market while they can to force themselves in the mobile market.

 

[blurredvision]

Really? Because the crap use paradigms MS is pushing make me think my W7 build is my last PC.

And you're the only one that matters. Microsoft is doomed.

 

[Demo24]

I think Microsoft is 'eating hard rice' right now... they realized that windows 8 sales is probably very low... I don't know anyone who ran out to purchase windows 8. But there are a lot of people who ran out and bought new laptops/desktops. Then complained about how confusing it is..

Last I checked win8 has been outselling win7 by comparing the releases. Dunno what the figures are now, but may not be as bad as it seems.

 

[BladeVenom]

Last I checked win8 has been outselling win7 by comparing the releases. Dunno what the figures are now, but may not be as bad as it seems.

Windows 8 upgrades are selling thanks to the deep discount. Windows 8 computers are another matter.

 

[dagamer34]

Windows 8 upgrades are selling thanks to the deep discount. Windows 8 computers are another matter.

Windows 7 had a similar discount (3 upgrades for $150). Arguably, you'd get more sales now since not everyone needs 3 copies and $40 per copy is cheap.

 

[Red Storm]

Ended up returning my mom's Surface lol, though we then got a Lenovo Yoga. She liked not having to worry about viruses (as did I, being her tech support), but ultimately she needed to be able to download and run programs that just aren't available on ARM.

Funny thing about the Yoga, I find myself using the touchscreen much more than I thought I would.

 

[darkewaffle]

Windows 8 upgrades are selling thanks to the deep discount. Windows 8 computers are another matter.

The majority of people don't buy or not buy a new computer based on software. They buy a new computer when they get fed up with their old computer and they use whatever is on it.

I actually think more upgrades would be seen as a positive for Microsoft as all new PCs are going to be Win 8 by default. So more upgrades to me would indicate better penetration into "current" devices; the question is do software upgrades displace new hardware purchases? I'd probably say to a limited extent at best.

 

[darkewaffle]

Also I have to say I like the Surface if only because "Express Yourself" is such an awesome song.

 

[BladeVenom]

Sinofsky is gone@#@# So was he forced to leave because of how their current products turned out, or is he abandoning his failure? http://mashable@#@#@#@#@#/2012/11/13/sinofskys-exit-leaves-more-questions/

 

[finbarqs]

I think this is the beginning of the end of Microsoft@#@#@#@#@#@#

 

[shabby]

And it begins http://mashable.com/2012/11/15/microsoft-sued-for-surface-storage-space/

 

[dagamer34]

And it begins http://mashable.com/2012/11/15/microsoft-sued-for-surface-storage-space/

No computer ever advertises free space, just total space. This lawsuit is going nowhere.