Surface - (by Microsoft Corporation)

Once pricing is unveiled I'll make my decision. Very glad that it can run steam and a person from microsoft said it can run civ 5 so we should see a fairly decent graphics card in it or integrated.

 

I'm seriously interested and will be in the market for something like this. Not exactly sure as yet but I will be keeping my eye on it especially when pricing is known, a big deciding factor.

 

Keyboard looks like it'll be a pain to use unless its feedback is better than it looks.

 

I think this is were tablets were always headed ever since I saw the Samsung Q1 which was probably the best attempt so far to blend a tablet and a real windows OS, but I think apple actually delayed it for quite a few years by going in a different direction and be successful.

I don't know if I want one yet but the thought of it running Civ 5 and being portable certainly appeals, it could possibly steal as much from the laptop market as the tablet market. The Pro version appeals to me a lot more than the RT but so many unknowns I need more details to be released.

Keyboard is very cool mind you but it's not all that original .

 

I thought the Surface was a big coffee table sized computer.


Does that mean they've dropped all work on it now?

 

I think it's still the same thing really, making windows usable with touch interfaces. Maybe the coffee tables and other noveltys will start coming once Windows 8 is available.

My only issue with it is tablets have never really appealed to me in anyway and as cool as the keyboard cover and stand look I still suspect a normal keyboard will be better.

 

This looks to me like is a laptop with some touch interface stuff tossed in. The question is would a laptop (which can run Steam too, and has everything needed to play anything available on Steam) be a better choice?

 

If the smart cover for the iPad had a keyboard on one side, would you call it (the iPad with the SC) a laptop (ignoring the fact that the iPad is running a phone OS and this a desktop OS)? It's basically the same thing here. the keyboard isn't fixed to the tablet.

 

I wouldn't, no. What I mean is that it looks like it is a laptop, pretending to be a tablet. I'm not convinced that this is a good approach, but I guess we will see.

 

I wonder if by competitive pricing they don't only mean the iPad. This thing looks like it could kill the netbook market if its priced anywhere near netbook prices and the iPad. I still think I'm going to buy one, most likely the highest priced one with full windows 8 along with the 128GB hard drive and the USB 3.0 ports. It'll probably be extremely expensive but it looks worth it and I could maybe ditch my netbook.

 

I love the keyboard idea actually but it looks kinda like a jumbo sized Zune HD and if it uses the ZUNE software that's a big negative for me as I personally detested the ZUNE software, so much so that my ZUNE has a permanent spot on a dock hooked to a set of speakers and never gets updated (I keep all my "Safe for Work" music on it).

The aspect ratio also seems a bit 'off' compared to the iPad and other tablets...seems like it would be kind of long and skinny.

It'll be much easier to tell once it's sitting on store shelves...

 

It runs windows 8 and has an aspect ratio of 16:9

 

Yeah...saw that but was referring more to the RT version (should have been more specific) and over on the Surface website on Microsoft.com it looks more like the ZuneHD or Windows Phone 7 interface...is that what Win8 is going to look like with tiles etc? ...haven't seen any screenshots of Win8 to compare.

 

Yeah windows 8 is adopting the metro style interface. There is still a desktop much like windows 7s though

 

I'm kinda surprised at how well this is being received. The best thing about tablets is usually that they don't have to run Windows, and Windows 8 isn't exactly getting glowing reviews at the moment either. Then when you factor in all the usual complaints about Microsoft hardware being terrible... isn't this just the perfect storm?

 

I'm wondering if Norton Anti-Virus is going to be available as an App on launch day

 

It's certainly a nice design and looks to be a quality bit of tech but I can't get too excited about it until I know things like RAM, battery life, price and see a few proper PC games running on it.

I sort of suspect this will end up more expensive than most people are imagining in which case I'd rather just buy a new desktop system with some serious gaming credentials.

 

The Surface looks a little thick; anyone else agree?

 

Nope the RT version is thinner than the iPad and still manages a USB port so I'd say it is probably the perfect thickness.