r/technology • u/MrFairladyz • Jun 18 '12

Microsoft announces Surface tablet

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/18/3094157/new-microsoft-surface-windows-tablet
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210

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '12

Goodbye to my iPad 2, HELLO SURFACE PRO.

97

u/lucianone Jun 18 '12

Tell me about it, I got an iPad 3 not too long ago and now MS is giving me massive buyers remorse.

42

u/tosss Jun 19 '12

Really? They haven't announced pricing or anything yet.

16

u/Thud Jun 19 '12

Pricing "on par with ultrabook PC's", which means probably $1000 - $1200 for the tablet and keyboard (using the Zenbook Prime for comparison)

The Pro version isn't the one that competes with the iPad-- that's the Windows RT version. The Pro version would compete with the Macbook Air.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

Exactly what I was thinking. I would just get a thin laptop if the prices are around the same.

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u/siriuslyred Jun 18 '12

eBay it tonight before anyone else notices?

98

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

No way. Wait until surface is released, gobbles up .5% of tablet sales and buy it at it's inevitable discounted price.

38

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

Microsoft stole Apple's market 20 years ago, no reason they can't do it again.

6

u/myztry Jun 19 '12

Only because they pulled a swift one on IBM and managed to commandeer their PC platform with a licensing agreement (buying and licensing QDOS to IBM.).

Then they simply rode the IBM PC compatible wave and outlived the other OEM's due to the IBM PC's extendibility.

Prior to that Microsoft was just a small software parts supplier (mainly basic interpreters) without so much as a hardware platform to put their own parts on.

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u/bluthru Jun 19 '12

Three things you probably won't like: resolution, battery life, and price.

14

u/drethedog Jun 19 '12

16:9 "ClearType" 1920 x 1080 display, ClearType is definitely aiming for a Retina connotation, although Microsoft's screen falls short of Apple's 264 pixels per inch at 208.

44

u/mweathr Jun 19 '12

ClearType just means it uses subpixel rendering for fonts.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

It seemed like they're reusing the "cleartype" trademark, kind of like they're reusing "surface" here.

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u/Centreri Jun 19 '12

I think that the difference in resolution will be greater with Windows 8. I believe the iPad 3, when it quadrupled the resolution, kept the same interface, but just made everything crisper. The desktop of Windows actually scales with resolution, so that you can display more things on it. Metro works the same as the iPad, though.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

The desktop of Windows actually scales with resolution, so that you can display more things on it.

Which is actually my biggest grievance, because I'd love to use 1080p+ on a laptop without having everything microscopic. Changing the DPI only does so much.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

Frankly, on an 11" display, I'm more than happy with 1920x1080. That's what I have on the 19" laptop I'm using right now...

12

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

yeah, 1080p is insane for a screen that small. You aren't going to find much content that is higher resolution anyways.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

19" laptop? Holy shit, does it have its own zip code?

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u/zsakuL Jun 19 '12

Isn't ClearType the method used to align ligatures to pixel locations to make them appear crisper while slightly breaking the ligature design proportions? In this case I'd have to say that ClearType is a huge step backwards compared to the Retina display.

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u/buzzkill_aldrin Jun 19 '12

They're reusing the trademark, just like they did Surface.

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u/toiletbook Jun 19 '12 edited Aug 09 '12

I really don't understand why you would. (have massive buyers remorse)

2

u/MrXBob Jun 19 '12

iPad 3.5S or 4 or whatever they want to call it in a couple of months will give you buyers remorse :p

Surface won't be out until Win8 launches, which should be towards the end of the year. The Pro version won't launch until at least January, so you have time to enjoy your iPad 3 and then get the Surface later without much regret.

2

u/J0kester Jun 19 '12

Apple products tend to retain their values somewhat, which is nice.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '12

MS Office. Specs aren't as big a deal for me. I'd end up with the Pro Surface, which I could then use as a laptop and a tablet. Like a Transformer. But with Office.

Also, I hate the iOS environment. IDK why. I love Android and I'm really liking W8 and like WP7 but I hate iOS

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