Surface 3 - New direction, higher prices and crappy i3

[SysAdmin]

The Surface tablet continues to struggle and the idea to take down the iPad failed so with Surface Pro 3 the plan has changed. The new Tablet now has a higher price ($799 vs $499) and is aimed at corporate customers. It also includes a crappy i3 processor instead of the i5 that the Surface Pro 2 had. You can get a i5 or i7 but the prices goes way up.

Happy computing!


http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9248464/Microsoft_doubles_down_on_2_in_1_enterprise_first_Surface_strategy?taxonomyId=241&pageNumber=2

[SysAdmin]

@psxphill

Surface Pro 3 is cheaper than the Pro 2 because it uses the crappy i3 processor instead of the i5 that's in the Pro 2.

[SysAdmin]

Well I would never have thought a i5 would be more expensive than a i3. Or that the performance wouldn't be the same. How I have had my head in the sand....

Also get the pricing right.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/20/technology/mobile/microsoft-surface-pro-3/

Looks like the regular Surface RT tablets will be discontinued thus Surface will now start at $799 instead of $499.

[SysAdmin]

@Andre.Siegel

Surface RT caused MS to take a 900 million dollar write down ouch! Surface RT has always sold very poorly and did not have many apps available. A Surface Mini was developed but then the decision was made to no longer try to complete with low cost iPad's and Android tablets. Thus Surface RT will be cancelled shortly, collect them for door stops while you can.




Surface Pro 3 can make sense for some users since it can run all their Windows applications. I'm wondering how WinUAE preforms on it myself. Could someone test WinUAE on Pro 3 and report back? Surface RT makes little to no sense for anyone. It's not viable for customers and MS has to answer to shareholders. It was a solution chasing a problem that didn't exist. Goodbye just like ZuneHD & Kin phone.

[SysAdmin]

And here I was thinking, that I should get a lifetime membership of amiga.org.
It is not suitable for the SysAdmin to post stuff like this.
Anyway glad I did not throw money after amiga.org

Up to you, but your post is off topic. Amiga.org has always had an altermative  OS section and you are welcome to skip threads you have no interest in. Many Amiga.org owners own more than one system including Windows and or Mac/Linux and don't mind livley discussions of them. While some may see this thread as bashing in fact the MS Surface so far has been a epic failure. The only thing it has succeeded at is upsetting Microsoft's OEM PC Partners and made them rapidly make low cost Chromebooks.  Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't remember tying you down, beating you and forcing you to read this thread. Also, don't worry about not donating to Amiga.org. That always was your choice to make.

[SysAdmin]

One nice thing about the Surface Pro 3 is the included pressure sensitive pen that has integrated one button launch of OneNote and 256 pressure levels. You can also use pressure sensitive pens on iPad & iPad Mini with Wacom's professional-grade pressure sensitivity (2,048 levels) but they will cost you $80 to $99 extra.

http://www.amazon.com/Wacom-Intuos-Creative-Stylus-CS500PK0/dp/B00FC7DOCW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1400704721&sr=8-3&keywords=ipad+wacom+stylus

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AO1MH60/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=M3KV17QOEVYI&coliid=I1NA23XATFHA30&psc=1

A few got excited that the Pro 3 is $100 cheaper than the Pro 2. They easily achieved this by swapping out the nice i5 processor for the crappy i3. Even the original Surface Pro that's almost 2 years old had an i5 so this is a step back.

[SysAdmin]

You are getting far too hung up on the fact it has a i3 in it. Lots of laptops come with i3 in that, for day to day stuff, is perfectly fine. A business looking to replace a fleet of aging laptops will not go "oh the i5 is so much more powerful lets get that!" they will look at the cost and go for the cheapest option. Especially if they have no need for i5 speeds.
 
You are hardly likely to hand a i5 or i7 powered computer to someone that is only going to be running powerpoint or wordprocessing. It is pointless.
 
Also do your math. $799 from $999 is not $100. Try $200.

When Surface Pro 2 failed to sell at $999 they reduced it to $899 and it has been that price for some time.

http://www.cnet.com/news/whats-new-with-the-microsoft-surface-pro-comparing-surface-pro-2-specs-vs-new-the-surface-pro-3/

Surface Pro always had an i5 so playing processor games by switching it to an i3 and bragging that it's cheaper is a so Microsoft. Everyone is different but I would never buy or want a machine with an i3. Apple offers no machines with an i3 for a reason.

[SysAdmin]

@Duce

I've never seen Apple offer an i3 in one of their machines. Maybe I missed it when it happened. If you watched the Surface Pro 3 presentation Microsoft targeted the MacBook Air not the iPad. Apple has not upgraded the Air's Display in over 3 years and it's looking dated in 2014. MS found one of Apple's shortcomings that's for sure. By targeting the iPad in the original Surface launch MS bit off more than they could handle. The iPad juggernaut annihilated the Surface and help fuel a almost 1 billion dollar loss for Microsoft's Surface division. They don't want to repeat that mistake so beating iPad is no longer a goal. The Air while still selling well is getting old and has a dated display. They hope by targeting that they get some traction with Surface Pro 3. While they made no mention of Surface RT being cancelled (Renamed just Surface 2 from the older Surface RT) rest assured it's days are numbered.

They gain nothing by saying it's cancelled while still having a huge amount of them sitting in warehouses unsold. Also, if they said that Surface RT (Surface 2) is cancelled now it would send a chill through their developer community. Developers would stop developing RT Apps immediately. By saying nothing about Surface RT they hope to change the focus to Surface Pro 3 and it's ability to run almost all x86 Windows applications. With less than a 2% share of the Tablet market or less than one day of iPad sales they are desperate to do anything they can.

[SysAdmin]

Another perspective

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/21/microsoft-laptops-surface-pro-macbook-alternative-tablet

[SysAdmin]

@sysadmin
 
I can play linkies too.
 
http://www.lifehacker.co.uk/2014/05/20/10-reasons-microsofts-surface-pro-3-can-replace-laptop

Nothing wrong with that list, I'm sure a few Windows fans will replace their laptops with a Surface Pro 3. The problem with Surface Pro is it never sells in large numbers. A few Windows fans always buy them.

[SysAdmin]

Yes, only 4.6 million people bought Mac's in '13....

You are right of course, you won't find me disagreeing with you, Apple should have sold many more. By hogging OS X for themselves Apple is limiting the wide spread use of the OS. They should have partnered long ago with 1 or 2 other companies. Sony would have been a good one and allowed them to sell OS X machines.

[SysAdmin]

I miss the first Surface, the real one.

http://www.tested.com/tech/3181-microsoft-surface-20-launching-early-2012/

Its a iPoolTable killer!

[SysAdmin]

Don't forget the most important revolutionary feature in the new Surface Pro 3. It's as thin as the original 2010 iPad. Also, you don't need features like 4G(LTE) or even 3G, Surface Pro 3 does not have anything like that. Why would it need it when it has classic WiFi. Maybe in 2018 the Surface if it's around will be as thin as the 2014 iPad.

[SysAdmin]

@Duce

Are we still calling the iPad Air a consumption device? Remember it runs the full version of Touch Office something not available for any Surface Tablet yet. Sure the old PC version of Office works on the Surface Pro 3 but it's not Touch optimised for Tablets like the version available for iPad. Don't forget all the iLife and iWork Apps are free from Apple on the iPad. Apple applications are more modern and easier to use then MS versions. You get the choice though and can use the MS equivalent or the Apple one. iPad has a ton of productivity Apps, while it may have been  consumption device in 2010 that's not true in 2014. Applications are available for almost anything you want and they are easier to use and lower cost than PC programs. Surface Pro 3 is your father's PC shoehorned into a Tablet form factor, limited appeal and sales. The iPad is a modern easy to use technical solution for the masses. MS no longer targets the iPad with the Surface. That greek tragedy was very costly and failed. They now target the MacBook Air but what will they do when the new version comes out? They also target and hurt sales of their PC OEM's.

[SysAdmin]

@Duce

Plugging in a printer is so 20th Century. iPad prints to modern printers wirelessly. When I print to the iPad I'm at least 300-600 feet away upstairs in bed. I would hate to have to get up and plug the iPad to my printer. Maybe if MS was doing something new I could get excited. I haven't seen them do anything other than trying to copy Apple or Google for years, borning.

Yawn............

ZuneHD=Surface Pro 3

Copy copy copy copy.

At least Samsung throws a ton of gimmicky features on their devcies to see what sticks. MS stock was down today for the launch of Surface Pro 3.