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Well, we can certainly call this a smart cover versus what Apple said. The actual Keyboard is a critical piece when it comes to tablets and here it seems Micro

Well, we can certainly call this a smart cover versus what Apple said. The actual Keyboard is a critical piece when it comes to tablets and here it seems Microsoft is supposedly delivering something which could be very useful.

ams6110 14y ago
Isn't the (or a) point of a tablet that it doesn't have a keyboard?
- webwanderings 14y ago
  I have seen people place their iPad on table in a restaurant, with their wireless bluetooth keyboard and mouse, typing away like they're sitting in front of their desktop at home. So ...
- Someone 14y ago
  The point is that everything you can do on it, you can do without a keyboard. Apple thought that the only way to reach that point was by removing the physical keyboard, and they probably were. Microsoft, apparently, either thinks that that 'everything' need not be everything, or thinks that, with today's user expectations and application developers, adding that keyboard will not lead to a situation where a too large part of 'tablet' apps cannot be (efficiently) used without a keyboard. I think they may be right. The Surface may not end up being a tablet proper, but I think it can be a successful hybrid, if its price is right and if it provides so much storage that it, for non-power users, can be a desktop replacement.
  - webwanderings 14y ago
    I think it is obvious by now that tablets without the real keyboards are actually just the reading and entertainment devices. They are not a "serious" stuff by any means. Same goes for smart phones. So it all depends on the target market. If we look at the landscape, we can see that we have practically adopted tablets as an add-on device over TVs. Sure we're reading conveniently without flipping hard pages but is there a significant and life changing gain? You can use your phones as a GPS so you don't get lost. Big deal. It's not like people never ensured that they have directions before heading out to unknown locations. What else have we achieved via these handheld computer devices? We can take pictures and videos so we don't have to carry additional cameras or camcorders. Is that a gain? We can ask the camera manufacturers. What else is there?
- dfxm12 14y ago
  As people use tablets for more and more tasks & as tablets get more and more powerful, we'll see different input devices for them. The keyboard is just the obvious beginning of this...

ams6110 14y ago

Isn't the (or a) point of a tablet that it doesn't have a keyboard?

webwanderings 14y ago
I have seen people place their iPad on table in a restaurant, with their wireless bluetooth keyboard and mouse, typing away like they're sitting in front of their desktop at home. So ...
Someone 14y ago
The point is that everything you can do on it, you can do without a keyboard. Apple thought that the only way to reach that point was by removing the physical keyboard, and they probably were. Microsoft, apparently, either thinks that that 'everything' need not be everything, or thinks that, with today's user expectations and application developers, adding that keyboard will not lead to a situation where a too large part of 'tablet' apps cannot be (efficiently) used without a keyboard. I think they may be right. The Surface may not end up being a tablet proper, but I think it can be a successful hybrid, if its price is right and if it provides so much storage that it, for non-power users, can be a desktop replacement.
- webwanderings 14y ago
  I think it is obvious by now that tablets without the real keyboards are actually just the reading and entertainment devices. They are not a "serious" stuff by any means. Same goes for smart phones. So it all depends on the target market. If we look at the landscape, we can see that we have practically adopted tablets as an add-on device over TVs. Sure we're reading conveniently without flipping hard pages but is there a significant and life changing gain? You can use your phones as a GPS so you don't get lost. Big deal. It's not like people never ensured that they have directions before heading out to unknown locations. What else have we achieved via these handheld computer devices? We can take pictures and videos so we don't have to carry additional cameras or camcorders. Is that a gain? We can ask the camera manufacturers. What else is there?
dfxm12 14y ago
As people use tablets for more and more tasks & as tablets get more and more powerful, we'll see different input devices for them. The keyboard is just the obvious beginning of this...