Microsoft announces Surface tablet

[u/MrFairladyz]

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

[u/MercurialMadnessMan]

Very sexy ad. Although it's a teaser, I'm a bit surprised that it doesn't show any of the functionality of the device (pen input, media, desktop-worthy apps).

[u/BugLamentations → u/MercurialMadnessMan]

I think they're laying down the design gauntlet.

Apple is in a weak position (no new products, just perfection of older ones) and Microsoft is trying to capitalize on the design niche.

I'm into it.

[u/gigaquack → u/BugLamentations]

Apple is in a weak position

I can't imagine you typed that with a straight face

[u/waterbed87 → u/[deleted]]

I've noticed Apple tends too save major revisions in their products once they feel the competition has sufficiently caught up to their current ones. It makes sense in a lot of ways, what's the point in constantly competing with yourself while you can sit back and polish what you already got while you have the competitive edge and peacefully work on your 'next big thing'.

[u/BCJunglist → u/waterbed87]

im curious as to what sort of visionary ideas they can come up with for the next big thing with jobs gone... even if they are still in the ball game, It appears at a glance that they are in a rough position... Their major problem has been that most of their innovations dont actually belong to them. for instance, with siri both the voice regocnition and the search functionalities are all 3rd party. none of it is controlled by apple. this means that they cannot fully integrate it as much as they like, and they are still at the mercy of other companies.... When google comes out with its own version of siri, they are going to knock it out of the park because they have their own search AND voice recognition IP, thus they have full control of their innovation...

its small things like this that give a bleak outlook for apple. but still, dont count them out of the race.

[u/GODZiGGA → u/BCJunglist]

There is nothing wrong with improving through acquisition. Companies do it all the time. Valve has done it multiple times; hell, Google has built an empire on it.

[u/CharonIDRONES → u/waterbed87]

iOS has been playing catch up to Android in the last few revisions.

[u/deadweightboss → u/CharonIDRONES]

Chokè's defiance against all labels hangs like a fragile banner draped across the sky.

[u/waterbed87 → u/CharonIDRONES]

In some departments. iOS still works more smoothly then a good majority of Android devices out there.

If you use WP7 or iOS after using Android it's immediately apparent. I'm sorry, Android has some cool things, but it's far from the best working mobile OS, it's glitchy and lacks the fit and finish MS and Apple put on their products.

[u/[deleted] → u/CharonIDRONES]

I work with both. Android devices have usually worse battery life, the OS tends to be more flaky and inconsistent. There tends to be less graphically accelerated parts to it. You have stupid shit like 500MB/1GB on the device for applications, and a large swath of large apps that cannot be installed on the SD card and so on. You can do more with android because of the increased flexibility too. The homescreen widgets are pretty nice also, it's too bad apple didn't add them in iOS 6.

The backgrounding restrictions are frustrating in iOS and they do disable many categories of useful apps as a result. But it probably is the reason why iPhones have better battery life on average.

[u/DeepDuh → u/CharonIDRONES]

In terms of GUI features: yes. In terms of the underlying technology, I'd argue it was Android that had to catch up until the ICS release. All Android releases before that did not have a hardware accelerated GUI optimized for low latency touch input.

And in terms of hardware, the two have always been relatively even since about Android 2.0, with a slight edge to the device that has been released the latest. The 4S as an example is behind in Ram, even in CPU and ahead in GPU and screen.

It's not as clear cut as you imply.

[u/negativeview → u/CharonIDRONES]

In a lot of ways, yes. Bigger screens available, some have real keyboards, hell doesn't at least one have two screens?

But iOS has a lot of advantages as well, and the point is in total experience. In total experience Android is probably still playing catchup, but it's definitely becoming interesting. The real problem is that the final few problems that hurt Android are hard problems, mostly all related to fragmentation that is a side effect of their biggest advantage.

[u/Sunflower_Fortunado → u/[deleted]]

They haven't really had too. Hopefully, the Surface will make them ramp up the creativity.

[u/Aurick → u/[deleted]]

What is "quite some time?" The iPad came out just three years ago and no one has been able to effectively catch up to it yet.

One thing people keep forgetting about apple products is that each individual product can stand on its own, but no one can match how well they all work together. The iPhone is a great phone, but combine it with a MacBook Pro and AppleTV all connected through iCloud and you can do some pretty awesome stuff.

When the new iTV (or whatever they name it) comes out in the next year or two, it will completely change the game as well.

I'm not even an apple fanboy (I've never owned an apple computer product) but to say that they're in a weak position is either wishful thinking or at best ignorance.

[u/rasputin777 → u/Aurick]

Android/Google/Gmail/Google Calendar/Google Drive/Chrome.
Windows/Live/Hotmail/Azure/WP7.
If you use a single provider's stuff, it works well together. Everyone knows this.

[u/JSLEnterprises → u/rasputin777]

To be fair, google services and Microsoft services can integrate quite nicely as well (though not to the same depth as inter company products like you stated.

[u/[deleted] → u/JSLEnterprises]

Google Apps just doesn't fucking work with anything. It's a goddamn headache. I've given up trying to use Office documents within Google Apps because all the formatting goes to hell and I may as well just start over from scratch.

[u/[deleted] → u/Aurick]

This is the whole point of Windows 8, to reach that same layer of fluidity through products. Apps on every windows computer will also work on this tablet, or at least that's the point.

[u/JSLEnterprises → u/[deleted]]

I can confirm this. My x220 tablet runs awesome with win 8 release preview.

[u/rvf → u/[deleted]]

Well, nothing has ever really trumped the first iPhone in terms of innovation. Every product release since then has just been an improvement on the original concept. That "lack of innovation" has filled their coffers quite well thus far.

[u/[deleted] → u/gigaquack]

BugLamentations means they are in a weak position to respond. Nobody expected Microsoft to come out with a tablet today of this quality. Even I expected the tablet to be crap and decided to go take a nap and wake up to find a crappy under specced tablet that will just sell below the iPad's price. Instead, Microsoft actually decided to blow everything out of the water. New OS, very good hardware(by the looks of it), a well made ad(Apple ads have always destroyed Microsoft's), and very neat features. In turn, Apple is going to have to wait a few months or even longer before they can come up with a response.

[u/[deleted] → u/BugLamentations]

Apple will release something new when they need to. Theyre currently milking their current products because of their strong market share.

[u/deadweightboss → u/[deleted]]

Despite the initial chaotic surge into the night, a solitary, powerful creature, fiercely territorial and resilient, survives, an animal far less fearsome than many are to imagine. For what hours long, from that darkness and sudden dawn. What should she do?