3 ms·

> The argument Microsoft make that you can have your cake and eat it, have a device that's an ideal tablet and an ideal laptop, has failed. Wait, it has? It ha

> The argument Microsoft make that you can have your cake and eat it, have a device that's an ideal tablet and an ideal laptop, has failed. Wait, it has? It has evolved, and continues to evolve; but I see no evidence that it has "failed." The Surface line has swelled to over $1 Billion, and hybrid devices are the fastest growing segment of the OEM market (the only growing segment, really.) The design process of apps is changing, in the same that is changed for the web. Apps will become responsive, and change with use input and share the same codebase. That's Microsoft's vision, and I think it makes the most sense. Even Google is starting to bend to this. Apple will be next. And in the same context, some apps don't need to evolve with input. Some apps just aren't meant to work with touch or vice versa, and that's ok. No one is going to run their IDE in touch, and no one is going to run their drawing program with a mouse. But the ability to dock and switch with the same device is appealing to customers and businesses. It saves money on device costs, and it has the possibility to save money on the development of software that wants to live in multiple worlds with multiple inputs.

simonh 10y ago
Hybrid devices are selling well, but they're overwhelmingly not being used as hybrid devices. Only a tiny minority of users ever actually use the devices in tablet mode. See my reply to spronkey below on why this is a terrible sign. I get why MS and Google are doing this. Their tablet strategies have largely failed so they're trying to leverage desktop/laptop success to prop up the tablet side. I contend that it will have the opposite effect because it will cause an accelerated tapping away of attention and resources from the struggling platform to the more successful one.
- partiallypro 10y ago
  Do you have any data to back up the idea that touch input is not used commonly on hybrid devices running Windows? I'd love to see that data, because I don't believe it exists. There's a difference between running windows in "tablet mode" and just using touch casually as an input. I never put my Surface in tablet mode, but I have set my parents to always be in tablet mode because it's the only mode of operation they use. I dock my Surface and use it as my work station, but when I'm at home I use it strictly as a tablet. I have a strong feeling that others do similar. I also don't buy your notion that this is a "toasterfridge" solution. That's an Apple talking point.

simonh 10y ago

Hybrid devices are selling well, but they're overwhelmingly not being used as hybrid devices. Only a tiny minority of users ever actually use the devices in tablet mode. See my reply to spronkey below on why this is a terrible sign. I get why MS and Google are doing this. Their tablet strategies have largely failed so they're trying to leverage desktop/laptop success to prop up the tablet side. I contend that it will have the opposite effect because it will cause an accelerated tapping away of attention and resources from the struggling platform to the more successful one.

partiallypro 10y ago
Do you have any data to back up the idea that touch input is not used commonly on hybrid devices running Windows? I'd love to see that data, because I don't believe it exists. There's a difference between running windows in "tablet mode" and just using touch casually as an input. I never put my Surface in tablet mode, but I have set my parents to always be in tablet mode because it's the only mode of operation they use. I dock my Surface and use it as my work station, but when I'm at home I use it strictly as a tablet. I have a strong feeling that others do similar. I also don't buy your notion that this is a "toasterfridge" solution. That's an Apple talking point.