4 ms·
not to show a direct favoritism toward Microsoft, but his review reeks with personal bias: "my first thought was, Boy, that’s heavy! When I looked up the specs
by therobot24 14y ago
not to show a direct favoritism toward Microsoft, but his review reeks with personal bias:
"my first thought was, Boy, that’s heavy! When I looked up the specs, I discovered that the Surface is only about 20 grams heavier than the iPad 3, but somehow those grams make a difference."
"I’ve used many keyboards for the iPad, and the touch cover seemed just as good as those—meaning I could type on it somewhat more quickly than I can on a touchscreen, but it I wouldn’t call it a pleasant experience."
Don't get me wrong, there are some legitimate gripes in terms of speed, functionality, and as the reviewer points out - focus. The reviewer even admits that Microsoft isn't advertising this as an iPad killer, rather it's suppose to fill in the gaps. Though, throughout the article, the only thing the reviewer does is try to replace their iPad:
"In the years I’ve been using the iPad, I’ve come to recognize that it's good for specific tasks. I’ll write short emails on it but not long ones. I’ll use the iPad to shop for stuff on Amazon, but I won’t use it to buy something with lots of variables, like a plane ticket.
To a lot of people, these limitations feel restrictive. The Surface was designed with those people in mind: It promises that you’ll be able to type faster, to use a pointer, to actually get things done and not feel like there are certain things your device just can’t do."
If the reviewer had made an effort to include the surface in parts of his or her life like buying a plane ticket, or shopping for something 'with a lot of variables' then we'd see how well the surface lives up to it's charge.
- marknutter 14y agoWell what else is he supposed to compare it to?
- therobot24 14y agoNo doubt about it, the surface should be compared with the iPad, but that's not what i'm complaining about. The reviewer states: "The iPad may not allow you to do everything, but Apple has made sure that it’s great at what it can do. The Surface, by contrast, will let you do everything you want. The problem is that you’ll have no fun doing it." My problem, is that the reviewer (at least in the article) seemed to make no attempt to go outside of the limits of the iPad with the Surface.
- gurkendoktor 14y ago> My problem, is that the reviewer (at least in the article) seemed to make no attempt to go outside of the limits of the iPad with the Surface. Maybe that's the point of the author then - that there is nothing that Surface can do (for him) that an iPad can't. The only example I can think of is Office, and it doesn't sound like the author needs it: >> After using them a few times, the Office apps came to seem like a marketing gimmick—a way to insist that the Surface is different, even if the difference isn’t actually useful. What else is there?
- mtgx 14y agoI don't think many people realized this but iPad 3 is actually heavier than iPad 2, and many might still remember how "light" the iPad 2 was compared to iPad 1. iPad 3 is somewhere in between the iPad 1 and 2 weights. But I think the ideal weight for a tablet is around 300 grams, which half of what most 10" tablets have today. This is probably the most important reason why the "main iPad" will eventually become iPad Mini. 600 grams is too heavy for extended and comfortable use.
- therobot24 14y agoi'm curious if there's any reasoning to 300 grams. I don't have an iPad, but i've used one, and it seemed fine to me - i guess over a long period it could become uncomfortable.
- evilduck 14y agoI read my iPad2 in bed pretty frequently, it's just heavy enough that resting the weight of the device on a single edge on your chest will become unpleasant rather quickly.
- DrStalker 14y agoAs an extra datapoint, a Kindle (170 grams) is trivial to lightly with a few fingers. It's no substitute for a tablet, but when all I want to do is read a book I love it so much more than any heavier, more capable device.