3 ms·

>The tablet market was already broadening, flattening, and moving down market before yesterday’s Amazon announcement Right, but Microsoft is trying to bring it

>The tablet market was already broadening, flattening, and moving down market before yesterday’s Amazon announcement Right, but Microsoft is trying to bring it up market with the Surface Pro and other small x86 tablets(many of which seem to come with a keyboard or a laptop style dock, sometimes optional). Eg. see http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/30/hp-envy-x2-laptop-tablet-hybrid/ http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/30/hp-envy-x2-laptop-tablet-... As I posted in another comment a few days ago, They will be expensive, but far more capable and powerful(heavier and less battery life too). For example, they can run the full Visual Studio or Eclipse. You can take a Surface Pro and a Kindle Fire with you, run Eclipse with the Android SDK loaded, connect the Kindle Fire to the Surface and take the program you just wrote on the Surface and run it on the Kindle! Or write your code while on a roadtrip or on the subway and debug it on your Android or Windows phone(don't know how Hackintosh it can get for running apps on the iPhone). Can you do that with a Kindle, iPad or any other tablet on the market right now, which are used by most people as consumption devices? Where Microsoft is competing with the Kindle, Android tablets and the iPad is with Windows RT, which is a different beast(and costs less than $100 for OEMs + they are rumored to get kickbacks on ecosystem sales). The only big advantage Microsoft has right now in this space is Office RT. Amazon's tablets are oriented even more towards content consumption(read Amazon's content) than the iPad. It all boils down to how much consumption vs. 'creation' the consumers want to do on their tablets, or if they want to get one device that does it all.

archangel_one 14y ago
So these new Surface Pro things are going to be like a current ipad-style tablet, but with a keyboard, heavier, have shorter battery life and be more expensive. That sounds very much like a device I already have, which is called a laptop. It runs Eclipse pretty well on the rare occasions I want it to. Less than $100 is still a pretty hefty tag in this market too; that's half the price of a Nexus 7! I think Microsoft are going to have to learn that this market isn't going to allow them the huge margins they've traditionally enjoyed on PCs.
- cooldeal 14y ago
  >So these new Surface Pro things are going to be like a current ipad-style tablet, but with a keyboard, heavier, have shorter battery life and be more expensive. That sounds very much like a device I already have, which is called a laptop. It runs Eclipse pretty well on the rare occasions I want it to. This reminds me of the folks that discounted the iPad because it was not good as a smartphone for portability(oversized iPod Touch) and much less powerful than a laptop. Predictions based on personal anectodes in a billion plus device market are a dangerous thing. I agree that the Surface Pro is trying to create a new market here(spaced between iPad style tablets and the laptops/MB Air/Ultrabooks which is an uphill task, but I do think there are a lot of people who want a no-compromises powerful portable tablet for on-the-go use.
  - seanmcdirmid 14y ago
    The tablet market, at this moment, is going the other way, to include devices that are cheaper, a bit smaller, and more oriented toward pure consumption (Nexus 7, Fire HD, iPad Mini). This market has lower margins but the potential for lots of sales even beyond the iPad today. Now Microsoft comes with Surface (Pro and non-Pro), sounds like they are going after niche high-end tablet markets (those who want Office + a keyboard), and higher-end tablet markets (though who want to run Visual Studio). Completely opposite direction that at best will be a successful ultra-book. I'm not seeing mass appeal, but a lot of that will come down to pricing.
    - cooldeal 14y ago
      New products can and do disrupt market trends, especially in such a huge market. > sounds like they are going after niche high-end tablet markets (those who want Office + a keyboard), , and higher-end tablet markets (though who want to run Visual Studio).Completely opposite direction that at best will be a successful ultra-book. Niche in this market mean at least tens of millions of people. Not to say that the Surface Pro will succeed(pricing is important as you say) but the laptop/ultrabook market is still much bigger than the tablet, both the install base and sales.
rbanffy 14y ago
Microsoft, it seems, will never learn it's not about adding features, but solving a problem better than your competitors. That, more often than not, is about removing the bad stuff, not adding even more bells and whistles.

archangel_one 14y ago

So these new Surface Pro things are going to be like a current ipad-style tablet, but with a keyboard, heavier, have shorter battery life and be more expensive. That sounds very much like a device I already have, which is called a laptop. It runs Eclipse pretty well on the rare occasions I want it to. Less than $100 is still a pretty hefty tag in this market too; that's half the price of a Nexus 7! I think Microsoft are going to have to learn that this market isn't going to allow them the huge margins they've traditionally enjoyed on PCs.

cooldeal 14y ago
>So these new Surface Pro things are going to be like a current ipad-style tablet, but with a keyboard, heavier, have shorter battery life and be more expensive. That sounds very much like a device I already have, which is called a laptop. It runs Eclipse pretty well on the rare occasions I want it to. This reminds me of the folks that discounted the iPad because it was not good as a smartphone for portability(oversized iPod Touch) and much less powerful than a laptop. Predictions based on personal anectodes in a billion plus device market are a dangerous thing. I agree that the Surface Pro is trying to create a new market here(spaced between iPad style tablets and the laptops/MB Air/Ultrabooks which is an uphill task, but I do think there are a lot of people who want a no-compromises powerful portable tablet for on-the-go use.
- seanmcdirmid 14y ago
  The tablet market, at this moment, is going the other way, to include devices that are cheaper, a bit smaller, and more oriented toward pure consumption (Nexus 7, Fire HD, iPad Mini). This market has lower margins but the potential for lots of sales even beyond the iPad today. Now Microsoft comes with Surface (Pro and non-Pro), sounds like they are going after niche high-end tablet markets (those who want Office + a keyboard), and higher-end tablet markets (though who want to run Visual Studio). Completely opposite direction that at best will be a successful ultra-book. I'm not seeing mass appeal, but a lot of that will come down to pricing.
  - cooldeal 14y ago
    New products can and do disrupt market trends, especially in such a huge market. > sounds like they are going after niche high-end tablet markets (those who want Office + a keyboard), , and higher-end tablet markets (though who want to run Visual Studio).Completely opposite direction that at best will be a successful ultra-book. Niche in this market mean at least tens of millions of people. Not to say that the Surface Pro will succeed(pricing is important as you say) but the laptop/ultrabook market is still much bigger than the tablet, both the install base and sales.

rbanffy 14y ago

Microsoft, it seems, will never learn it's not about adding features, but solving a problem better than your competitors. That, more often than not, is about removing the bad stuff, not adding even more bells and whistles.