Microsoft Surface

[Jammrock]

Microsoft is going to make a couple of self branded tablets to promote Windows 8. One with an nvidia ARM-based processor. The Pro tablet will be an ultrabook competitor with an Intel Core i5 processor and more storage space.

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/default.aspx

Hopefully I'll be able to play with one soon. And get a big discount. Would be interesting to see how this compares to other tablets.

[VJ]

So they are basically trying to pull the apple trick... Bundle hardware with the OS...
Not necessarily a bad thing, and from the first news items it looks like an interesting device. The danger of having the Windows OS in my opinion is that it looks a lot like a laptop without a screen; the functionality of this device fully depends on how well the applications that run in Windows will adapt to the tablet format (because the Intel version is capable of running standard Windows applications)... The OS will no doubt be developed well, the applications...?
(Apple did not have this problem with the iPad, nor did Android: there were no existing applications)

[Marshmallowman]

Did you see the screen covers with the integrated keyboard....

This is kind of what I have been looking for in a tablet, a bit of power and the discrete optional keyboard.
Would like to see something with a bit more gpu though (hint amd apu)

[dZeus]

this screams 'me too' at Ipad with a keyboard-cover, similar to Zune and the Ipod (or those MS phone thingies and the Iphone).

I wonder if MS will copy the 'success' of the Zune player with this too, or if they're desperately trying to convince OEMs to produce products like this. However, I can't come up with an example where the OEMs were wrong and MS was right on product design/choice/placement.

MS shareholders better kick out Ballmer before he ruins the company completely

[VJ]

XBox ?

[dZeus]

Did they fail to sell the Xbox concept to OEMs before making it themselves?

P.S. Xbox was anything but a success. After investing many billions of $$$, xbox360 is where it finally paid off.

[Jammrock]

All console makers take a hit on initial investment before it pays off in the long run. Or fails miserably.

Whether it screams "iPad wannbe" or something better remains to be seen. Hopefully I'll get my hands on one closer to launch.

I will admit some hesitation on putting out our own tablet hardware in the now crowded tablet market. But if it works it could pay out big. At a minimum it will put our hardware partners on notice and force them into producing more competitive, quality products.

We shall see. But remember that Microsoft has been in the touch computing business a lot longer than Apple, and most everyone else, and recently announced a new touch tech that increases touch screen response time by a lot. Releasing a tablet may not be such a bad idea after all.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/03/10/microsoft-demos-super-fast-touchscreen-display/

[UtwigMU]

This IMO is not so much about tablets.

Microsoft's blessing and curse is Windows legacy. While the most business software runs on Windows, this gives them substantial market but it also makes it hard for them to innovate (like Apple who obsolete 2 generations old products).

The threat is that iOS and Android have generated huge markets for applications and the whole ecosystem is cheaper than Microsoft's. Cheap laptops and some business apps ported to Android or migrated into cloud accessible by browser or Android/iOS client could threaten MS ecosystem.

This is why Microsoft needs developers of tablet/touch apps for Windows, this is why they released controversial Windows 8 which favours non-existing tablet software ecosystem of over their Windows legacy (there is Win7 which is good and which will be around for quite a while).

Also since for consumer gadgets user experience is very important (in PC it was the lowest price, hence loads of preloaded crapware on new computers). So MS wants to lead the way by making their own tablets and thus getting enough developers on board their tablet and Windows Phone ecosystem for it to start.

While Nokia is doing poorly and this tablet will not be as popular as iPad, don't discount Microsoft. Their generation 1 products usually suck but in a few generations they get it right.

[cjolley]

This IMO is not so much about tablets.

Maybe, I think it might be exactly about tablets coming of age.
If MS get's windows working on a tablet then suddenly they jump to the front of the pack in available tablet apps by orders of magnitude.
Don't discount that.

[UtwigMU]

I meant not Microsoft profiting hugely from sales of tablets (hardware) but Microsoft defending their core business which is Windows, Office and Servers.


Windows has been working on tablets for a decade now, only the tablets were relatively heavy (1-2kg), expensive (north of 1800 USD) and untill 2008-ish stylus only and without multitouch. Not succesful outside special markets.

If they manage to move Exchange and SQL and various apps in cloud and sell it as a cheap service and maintain high OS market share on tablets and other post PC devices, then they are good for a few more decades of good revenue.

If PC market is highly erroded (I think there will be Windows legacy 20 years from now as I see DOS based cash register apps still) by Android, iOS and perhaps others, they will go the way of Novell.

It's interesting how this will play out with OEMs. Traditionally (in desktop market) the best OEMs were the ones who made most sales and this was mainly price based. To average consumer a Dell or HP or IBM desktop running Windows was completely replaceable.

With laptops there is already differentiation - some brands have higher quality and have price premium. For tablet experience tight hardware and software integration is required and company has to make the whole widget themselves (or outsource it).

Microsoft making tablets will piss off OEMs and those who have no strong R&D (Dell, Toshiba, perhaps Acer) are worse off than those who have some alternatives outside of traditional desktops and laptops (HP - Unix, Palmos, tablet experience), Lenovo (android tablets, perhaps most tablet PC tradition and experience, cell phones, Origami concept). I remember how when HP was pissed off at MS for lowering Vista ready specs after HP invested a lot in new motherboards, all of a sudden almost all HP desktops and laptops could be ordered with FreeDOS and HP was sending restore Windows CDs to all partners. This time endangered OEMs might go more Android, try Linux distros,...


I think it will get very interesting and computing landscape will change more in 2010s than it did in 2000s.

[cjolley]

...
Windows has been working on tablets for a decade now, only the tablets were relatively heavy (1-2kg), expensive (north of 1800 USD) and untill 2008-ish stylus only and without multitouch. Not succesful outside special markets.
...

By "working" I meant something somebody would actually want to use

[VJ]

I think one of the problems is the way people are used to interacting with devices. With a computer, keyboard and mouse are most common; for phones, it has moved to touchscreens.Tablets somehow still fall in between: we want them to do more than a phone (ie use them as a computer), but at the same time the fact that it lacks proper input means it is inherently flawed to be used as a computer.

I have a convertible tablet for over 5 years now, and while I really like it, I never really used the tablet features. I very frequently used the touchscreen though, as it is faster to navigate than any other pointing device. As such, the combination keyboard + touchscreen makes the whole thing quite usable. I also noticed that I use my phone for quick internet things (browsing, short mails) as it is handy, despite the typing disadvantage and the small screen.

However, they way I can hold my phone and type with thumbs is not possible with a tablet: how do you type on a tablet when you are sitting in the couch? I can't imagine balancing it on your lap is comfortable, and it is too big for the thumb typing. With my convertible laptop came some interesting keyboard software that has this split keyboard for thumbs. But it still is too "abnormal" looking for people to start using it... And the more a normal keyboard is added to a tablet, the more it looks like a laptop...

[UtwigMU]

By "working" I meant something somebody would actually want to use

I had my Thinkpad X61 Tablet before Steve invented iPad. Everyone who saw it loved it but wouldn't pay as much as I did for it.

[cjolley]

I had my Thinkpad X61 Tablet before Steve invented iPad. Everyone who saw it loved it but wouldn't pay as much as I did for it.

OK, want to pay for and use.
I really think that the IPad is just irritatingly crippled enough to be ripe for the picking if MS can get a pad interface combined with windows compatibility working on a tablet at the IPad price or a little less.
Becky has a windows laptop and an IPad. The laptop is old and the IPad is new.
The IPad is ALMOST able to replace the laptop, but not quite.
I think the "almost" is baked into the IPad for Apple's usual greedy reasons and thus an opening is created for MS.
Just like 30 years ago.

[dZeus]

Seems like all but the world's largest OEMs were taken by surprise by MS own tablet/notebook/hybrid.

Either MS thinks they can afford to alienate OEM relations, or they think they have nothing left to lose? (as the Tablet market is saturated with Android and iOS, and they don't think OEMs will care about Windows 8 RT unless MS offer it themselves).

They've tried a similar approach with Windows Phone 7.x using Nokia (say hello to trojan horse Elop), and they've managed to nearly kill Nokia using these tactics. Basically we're waiting for people to pick the carcass (Nokia's IP).