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PhoneI

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2008
1,629
619
That would work if Microsoft was competing with the iPad from 3 years ago. Unfortunately for them, MS needs to compete with the iPad of today with a very healthy app selection.
 

PhoneI

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2008
1,629
619
Quick question here. Is it because of the size and screen orientation, or the way the apps handle?

First of all, text on the iPad3 looks far better. Also, the surface is uncomfortable to unusable in portrait mode.

I use my iPad3 as my ereader. The surface simply cannot compete with it for that. But it does do other things better. Again, in my opinion, its more lightweight notebook than tablet.
 

frozzbite

macrumors regular
Mar 10, 2011
101
9
I use my iPad3 as my ereader. The surface simply cannot compete with it for that. But it does do other things better. Again, in my opinion, its more lightweight notebook than tablet.

i agree. The surface or any other windows RT device is hardly an eReader to any extent. But then again, I don't really enjoy reading books on on my iPad. Magazines are fine, but books just don't cut it.

The kindles seem more suited for the job.
 

Renzatic

Suspended
I can kinda see that. I was playing around with the Metro Kindle app just a little while ago, and it was...weird. Scrolling left to right on a widescreen display to read a book just doesn't feel right. The iPad, with it's square screen and high res display, does a much better job at being an ereader.

And since we're semi on topic here, there is one good thing I'll say about Win8 now that I've made the final upgrade. The new Metro'd up desktop actually looks really good when you don't use bright ass neon day-glo colors for the window borders. I like the clean, minimalist look, and I can actually read the damn window titles now that I'm not looking at them as black text overlaid on shiny faux-glass BS.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,885
8,055
when i first got my iPad in 08, the app store was.....almost non existent.

I had to live with the blurry iphone apps for close to a year. Things only really started to pick up once i got my iPad 2. Then the app store really went nuts in my opinion.

I think you are remembering wrong. First of all, the iPad was first released in 2010, not 08. The app store, however, did open in 08, and it only had iPhone/iPod touch apps then, because the iPad did not exist.

When the iPad was first released in 2010, I remember that a lot of existing iPhone apps were slow to update to offer an iPad version. It took many of them a few months, but a majority of my existing apps had updated well before the iPad 2 was released. Also, there were lots of new apps that were created specifically for the iPad. So personally, I never felt like I was spending a lot of time using stretched-out iPhone apps. But that might be because I simply abandoned iPhone apps that didn't update and moved on to iPad-specific apps.
 

G51989

macrumors 68030
Feb 25, 2012
2,530
10
NYC NY/Pittsburgh PA
That would work if Microsoft was competing with the iPad from 3 years ago. Unfortunately for them, MS needs to compete with the iPad of today with a very healthy app selection.

The Surface does not compete with the iPad, nor does it really compete with notebooks.

Lots of the Windows 8 and Windows RT convertible computers aren't tablets or laptops, they're creating a whole new category of computing.

The iPad is a great consumer device, but falls flat on its face when it comes to getting work done, I can't get work done on an iPad, its so much of a pain in the ass, Windows RT/Windows 8 is a different story.

I think Apples vison of " Post PC " is just simple little tablets that are good for some simple games, light email and word processing, and consuming content from the App store.

Microsofts vision of this so called " Post PC ( ******** )" era is instead of having just a giant phone with limited intergration, limited OS, and limited software, which is what Apple wants. Microsoft is going down the route of a product that can do it all, aka the Surface.

Its not so much a notebook, but you can use it like one, mine just came today, the type cover is friggen awesome. Not as good as a full sized keyboard, but its easily the best mobile keyboard I've ever seen, I can almost type at full speed on it.

I think if we ever get into a lack of Desktops/Laptops for most consumers, and we are decades away from that really happening, just because heavy lifting, even decent gaming, requires a console, or a decent PC, and massive amounts of storage for the consumers pics, home movies, and all his content, STILL will require a desktop.

But, I think the market will eventually go with Microsofts way of thinking, while I know the iPad is a great product, I think the Windows 8/RT tablets are really gonna start changing things.
 

frozzbite

macrumors regular
Mar 10, 2011
101
9
I think you are remembering wrong. First of all, the iPad was first released in 2010, not 08.

whoops, you got me there. I meant 2010.

but still, the ipad app variety (made for ipad apps) didn't really develop for close to a year. I really expect the same thing to happen for windows 8 app store. Zero to hero can't possibly happen in a few months, let alone a year.
 

Vetvito

macrumors 6502a
Sep 30, 2012
532
13
Did you even read these articles? Can you understand them? You clearly cannot, and you clearly have no idea how business works. Just because a good bit of Microsofts business is Enterprise, does not mean they can['t also be a consumer company.

Now, Apple is a 100% consumer company, they have zero pro offerings, and zero enterprise offerings right? Good, we agree on that.



Right, thats why the Mac is a failure compared to the Windows PC, in business and at home.



Do you have any idea what your talking about? You clearly don't, which is why you ignored my post where I ripped every part of your argument apart, you refuse to face the truth.



The Windows 7 Phones did NOT sell out on launch, so your full of lies right there, and people were lining up to get a Surface. Clearly you drink to much Apple Kool Aid. Yep, those peoples are LINING UP to get one, clearly they all must be large business's.



Why are Mac Mini sales so poor? Because its a pile of crap with an integrated graphics card from 3 years ago.

Pretty much, nothing personal, but.

1: You know nothing about microsoft
2: you know nothing about the market
3: you know nothing about business
4: you know nothing about the consumer market
5: you know nothing about the enterprise market
6: you don't even understand basic business princeables


So if Microsoft is such a consumer failure despite 70 million xbox 360s sold ( at a profit mind you ), and we can say about half of those Windows/Office users use at home, so about 700 million licenses sold right there to people at home, those billions of dollars in consumer market profit mean Microsoft is a failure.

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No, billions do.



Well, when it comes to big Box Reatilers, places like Wal Mart will have a handful of Laptops and Desktops for sale, but your right in the sense they refuse to sell Macs, because Macs don't sell.

Right now, the biggest Big Box PC seller in the US is best buy, and every best buy has a Mac section staffed by an Apple Employer, and the PCs still outsell the Macs by a ratio of 11 to 1. Clearly, consumers don't like something about Macs. Maybe the fact that with the expection of the iMac, they're overpriced crap? ( As I type this on my 2011 iMac ).

And online, tons of choice. Consumers have a ton of choices....yet they keep picking Windows and Windows OEMs....over and over and over.

Hey I make a living off these articles and tech moves. Wanna see my bank statements or brokerage account?

I know nothing, that's funny. When you clearly can't name a single consumer successs Microsoft has had besides the Xbox.

When it comes to PCs you don't have a choice of a new Dell Linux, new Samsung Linux, new whoever with whatever OS besides windows. When you go to the store you have Windows, Windows, Windows, and maybe a Mac. That's not exactly a choice, can we agree on that?
 

PhoneI

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2008
1,629
619
The Surface does not compete with the iPad, nor does it really compete with notebooks.

Oh really????? The only reason Windows 8 UI exists us because of Windows 8. Every review you read compares it to the iPad.
 

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
when i first got my iPad in 08, the app store was.....almost non existent.

I had to live with the blurry iphone apps for close to a year. Things only really started to pick up once i got my iPad 2. Then the app store really went nuts in my opinion.

We have given apple time before, lets give MS the same year to pick up. Besides, only we the consumers benefit from strong competition to apple:)

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I think most people rather buy from the Apple Store direct.


Maybe but i dont see why. The prices are the same and you can take it home right then and there from a store like BB. Speaking of Best Buy, i went there today. They had the Apple section with the new 13.3" retina display laptops. I mentioned those before in here sometime back that they were $1599 with those displays and i got replies that they didnt make a retina display 13.3" ....but i had read they were going to to and saw the prices. Obviously the others didnt know it.

Well, today they were priced at $1699. $500 more to have a retina display. Thats why most people dont buy Apple products. They are just priced way too high. No way id pay that just to have the retina display. Ill stick to the one i do have.

As for Windows 8, they had them there on all their computers. I think Windows 8 is going to sell like hotcakes. Many people were checking them out and even an old couple were looking to get one and the Lady said she liked change so she wasnt fazed. Another old guy was rambling on how he had been using Windows 8 for 1.5 yeers already testing out the Beta's. He knew alot about them and was helpful. Point being, even the older people that i saw werent scared by it and in fact the guy i was talking to said it was easy once you start using it for a short time.
You have the choice to use it with the live tiles OR you can switch it back to desktop mode like they have always been. That there will make many who need time to adjust or dont like it to use it the way they know how while strill having the newest tiles system.

I know i was impressed even though it will take me time to adjust when i get one.

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Indeed!

Last time I was in a Wal Mart, about a month ago, they had laptops ranging from 250-800 dollars.

Their most expensive PC was a Dell XPS something for 950. No macs at all, but they do sell iPads and iPhones.

They don't do high end at most big box retailers, thats mostly a best buy thing.

Tho I had to Admit, I BOUGHT a Compaq laptop at that Wal Mart for 260 bucks for a Celeron B800, 4gb DDR3 ram, 500gb HDD, Windows 7.

260 bucks?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Wtf? Sure it feels cheap, but it has a 7 hour battery life, and it performs perfectly for a basic user. You'd be hard pressed to tell someone who only does basic stuff to buy a MBA over the 260 dollar Compaq imo.

I bought it for a camping computer, for the sole fact that I won't care if it gets damaged out in the woods ( I tether it to my phone and charge it with my Ridgeline lol ) :cool:

Fry's has them as well. Those are the two stores i go to here where i live.
 

cnev3

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 13, 2012
462
56
Zune was always an mp3 player .

That's a poor excuse for it's failure. If the Zune was only meant to be an MP3 player, they wouldnt have put in a cutting edge Nvidia Tegra chip in it, with an HD amoled screen. It was developed to be a direct competitor of the iPod Touch.

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I think the basic apps are enough for a majority of people.

I disagree. If the Surface is to compete with the crowded tablet market, "basic apps" isn't enough.

I think in a few months time the app store will grow exponentially.

That's what everyone thought when they bought their Zune HD, and anxiously awaited apps to take advantage of it's high end graphics. Unfortunately, they never came. Not even with all the capital Microsoft had to make it happen.

I bet the Xbox will flop because of the lack of exclusive games. :rolleyes:

The Xbox 360 is more reassurance how vital software is. The Xbox has done well because of it's great exclusives, and Xbox Live, despite the long history of it's hardware failure and RROD's. The fact that it's been $100 cheaper than the PS3 didn't hurt either. But the Xbox 360 didn't need a sleeker design or more powerful processing power than the PS3 to secure their place in the home console market. It had what mattered the most, great games.
 
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Rodster

macrumors 68040
May 15, 2007
3,177
6
That's a poor excuse for it's failure. If the Zune was only meant to be an MP3 player, they wouldnt have put in a cutting edge Nvidia Tegra chip in it, with an HD amoled screen. It was developed to be a direct competitor of the iPod Touch.

I gotta agree and I own a Zune HD, love the sound and HD Radio. It was designed to be more than just an MP3 player.
 

zhenya

macrumors 604
Jan 6, 2005
6,931
3,681
Well, today they were priced at $1699. $500 more to have a retina display. Thats why most people dont buy Apple products. They are just priced way too high. No way id pay that just to have the retina display. Ill stick to the one i do have.

It's not just for the Retina display. For that $500 you also get double the RAM and a SSD. No, they aren't cheap, but they are about the best laptops you can buy today.
 

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
It's not just for the Retina display. For that $500 you also get double the RAM and a SSD. No, they aren't cheap, but they are about the best laptops you can buy today.

Oh yeah, your right. You get 256 MB's of RAM instead of 128 ...lol, some with PC's with the same equivelent price have 4GB.

Not arguing there arent good devices. Are they the best? I dont know if i would say that but they are good. Just overpriced like everything else Apple. They use intel chips like most everyone else.
 

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
And of course the CPU is the sum total of the machine. :rolleyes:

Just saying it doesnt have anything else special inside that the others have except for a Apple OS.
We all know Apples more money than everyone else and always have been which is why they dont sell near as many computers. We also know Apple charges way more to buy memory than anyone else and for their accessaries.
 

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
I think you have this confused with the RAM on devices like the iPad mini and iPod touch.

According to Apple (http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/), the 13 inch Retina MacBook Pro has "8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory."

Nope, i do have it wrong though.

For $1699 you get the 13.3" MacPro with: Best Buy link

8GB memory w/ a retina display and 128 GB flash storage

for $1999 you get the same but with 256 GB of flash storage.

The $1199 model has no retina but has a 500 GB harddrive with 4GB of memory.

so for $500 more you get far less space using a flash memory(128GB) as opposed to a harddrive(500GB) but you get 4GB more memory and a retina display.
Or for $1999, you can get 256GB of flash memory.

I guess it all depends on how much you like that screen compared to your space(372 GB less) and the extra 4GB of memory for that $500.
 

zhenya

macrumors 604
Jan 6, 2005
6,931
3,681
Just saying it doesnt have anything else special inside that the others have except for a Apple OS.
We all know Apples more money than everyone else and always have been which is why they dont sell near as many computers. We also know Apple charges way more to buy memory than anyone else and for their accessaries.

A MacBook most certainly has a whole lot that is special other than the OS. Nobody else builds a laptop in which every detail has been sweated the way a MacBook has. That's what makes them premium. I'm the buyer for our company's IT assets, and we mostly buy very expensive Thinkpads, which are generally considered second to Apple in the PC market, yet they don't even come close.

Apple now sells more laptops than anyone else, in case you haven't noticed.

Their memory prices aren't out of line with other OEM's either.

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I guess it all depends on how much you like that screen compared to your space(372 GB less) and the extra 4GB of memory for that $500.

SSD's are a performance upgrade; (way more important than the CPU for the vast majority of users). hopefully buyers understand that going in to their purchase.
 

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
A MacBook most certainly has a whole lot that is special other than the OS. Nobody else builds a laptop in which every detail has been sweated the way a MacBook has. That's what makes them premium. I'm the buyer for our company's IT assets, and we mostly buy very expensive Thinkpads, which are generally considered second to Apple in the PC market, yet they don't even come close.

Apple now sells more laptops than anyone else, in case you haven't noticed.

Their memory prices aren't out of line with other OEM's either.

I have a MacPro and it is nice. I like it but it is overpriced and i can get a PC laptop just as nice for less. And no they dont sell the most laptops.

The new Levono Yoga Ultrapad with Windows 8 is amazing.
Touchscreen, folds over to use as a tablet with the touchscreen or flip it back over the use the keyboard and use as a laptop...IPS LED HD display. It is thin and light but not MacAir thin and light. That is $999 with a 13.3" display.
But it only has a 128GB solidstate drive(ill assume flash memory)

Still cheaper than the basic $1199 for the 13.3" MacPro. The Retina display MacPro with these specs plus 4GB more memory is $1699.

As for Apple selling the most laptops....til i see it, i dont believe it and ive never seen it mentioned ANYWHERE.
 

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,885
8,055
The new Levono Yoga Ultrapad with Windows 8 is amazing.
Touchscreen, folds over to use as a tablet with the touchscreen or flip it back over the use the keyboard and use as a laptop...IPS LED HD display. It is thin and light but not MacAir thin and light. That is $999 with a 13.3" display.

The $999 model has an Intel Core i3 chip. The model with the i5 chip is $1199, same as the starting price of the non-retina MacBook Pro.
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...-category-id=1A4B81C8AC677A5FB11849005C1752B5
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/
 

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
The $999 model has an Intel Core i3 chip. The model with the i5 chip is $1199, same as the starting price of the non-retina MacBook Pro.
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...-category-id=1A4B81C8AC677A5FB11849005C1752B5
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/

Click on the Best Buy link above in my last post(Levono Yoga Ultrapad). That Levono has a i5 chip in it for $999. And in anycase...the Levono has the specs of the retina display for $1699 asside from 4GB less memory and i can get 4 GB of memory for a lot less than $500. The Levono is expandible to 8GB.
 
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zhenya

macrumors 604
Jan 6, 2005
6,931
3,681
Yeah I guess my memory of the MacBook sales must have been in a particular segment or something.

Anyhow, I take issue with the idea that you can get a pc just as nice for less, because you can't. Yes, you can get one with the same specs, but it's nowhere near the whole package. Lenovo's screens are crap; their power adapters are still the same bulky junk bricks that everyone has been using for 20 years. The chassis is nice inside, but the plastic is thin and creaky outside. The trackpads are ok, but nothing close to the MacBooks.

It's fine that many people don't care about these details, but the competition is not 'just as good' when you take in the whole thing; not even close.
 

SpyderBite

macrumors 65816
Oct 4, 2011
1,262
8
Xanadu
All the Surface needs is MS Office and people who are Windows friendly will fall over each other for one. Without the Office suite, it will probably last as long as the Microsoft Cordless Answering System and Microsoft Gaming Joystick.
 

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
Yeah I guess my memory of the MacBook sales must have been in a particular segment or something.

Anyhow, I take issue with the idea that you can get a pc just as nice for less, because you can't. Yes, you can get one with the same specs, but it's nowhere near the whole package. Lenovo's screens are crap; their power adapters are still the same bulky junk bricks that everyone has been using for 20 years. The chassis is nice inside, but the plastic is thin and creaky outside. The trackpads are ok, but nothing close to the MacBooks.

It's fine that many people don't care about these details, but the competition is not 'just as good' when you take in the whole thing; not even close.

You better look again because they are not. The chargers are smaller (Not that i care how big a charger is). and they use the same 128 GB SSD performance you said was a good thing in the MacPro. The screen is amazing too. The IPS LED HD screens are better than the Retina displays in the iPhones.

Seems you need to do some research since your out of touch and your buying your company's IT assets....lol :p Im kidding...i know these are brand new computers and showed up only yesterday in stores but im telling you that new Levono is sick....and it is LESS than the basic 13.3" MacPro.

Ill borrow this LINK from the guy above for you to see the specs. The one in the middle is the one at Best Buy for $999

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All the Surface needs is MS Office and people who are Windows friendly will fall over each other for one. Without the Office suite, it will probably last as long as the Microsoft Cordless Answering System and Microsoft Gaming Joystick.

It has Office
 
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