Wow, I never thought of that, thanks. Just today I was looking at the type cover wondering how long it would last folded back like that.
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Surface Pro 3 marketing woes and review round up
- Thread starter maflynn
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Wow, I never thought of that, thanks. Just today I was looking at the type cover wondering how long it would last folded back like that.
Why not just change the view mode? (Such as entering full-screen mode)
Presumably, if you want a tablet version of the app, that is not "designed for a keyboard and mouse" (two very useful devices for any type of document work), then you would be using a touch pointing device... which would be your finger or a thick stylus on the iPad, but a very precise pen on the SP3.
In any case, you're better off with the SP3, no?
That and IMO MS Office has been streamlined quite nicely to be used with touch devices. Touch Office will be much nicer, but I think the old desktop version scales quite well and most stuff is touch friendly like the ribbon UI.
I've been trying to decide whether to pull the trigger and order one for the last two weeks. Today I did it. I went for the i5/8GB/256GB config and it ships at the end of August.
I have full confidence it will be a great device, however Microsoft will accept returns for 14 days so I get two weeks to test it out.
The Surface 3 is not a device I desperately need, but I'm always keen to try new tech and the iPad comes up short in a lot of areas so the Surface 3 will certainly have its uses.
Same here, I don't "need" it, but its something that I'd like to work on for a little while, but since I'd have to sell my existing laptop to fund the purchase, I'm not all that jazzed up about going completely over to Windows - at least not yet
So I've done a 180 and cancelled my order. It isn't because the Surface is a bad product, I just think with Broadwell chips due in Q4 buying a Haswell based computer right now doesn't make a great deal of sense. Buying a first revision of the Surface Pro 3 would mean I'd take a hit on it's second-hand value once Microsoft inevitably refresh it with the Broadwell chips.
So it just makes sense to avoid Haswell so late in the lifespan and wait for Broadwell and a better more efficient Surface Pro 3. Although the alleged 12" MBA could also be a tempting purchase...!
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Heh, no problem!
So it just makes sense to avoid Haswell so late in the lifespan and wait for Broadwell and a better more efficient Surface Pro 3. Although the alleged 12" MBA could also be a tempting purchase...!
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Oh sorry. It would help if I paid attention.
Heh, no problem!
A wise decision in my opinion.
Not only is there a great likelihood of a Broadwell-based refresh but you'll also be giving Microsoft a few months to iron out the manufacturing wrinkles and driver bugs that accompany any new generation of product.
I recently picked up a new 11" MBA and I'm extremely impressed with it. If you think that the hypothetical 12" model might be a better fit for your needs then even more reason to wait another few months.
Really all your saying is that you think the product is overpriced by $130. That may or may not be true--but i cant see any reason selling these items separately is such an issue for so many.
Basic sp3 i5 plus cover is about $1200. Not out of line for a similarly spec's ultrabook.
Still you may be right--consumers are not always rational
The way that they are doing it, it is just shady. It is like the gas stations that have on their big signs out front $3.50 per gallon. Then you get up to the pump and see that the price on the pump is $3.70 per gallon and the $3.50 is really a discount if you pay with cash. If they put $3.70 up on the sign out front, they would no longer be competitive with the gas station down the street that charges $3.60 whether it is cash or credit.
If the Surface was advertised with the keyboard price included, I wouldn't be upset about it. But them comparing it to a laptop, showing the keyboard in every advertisement, and boasting the $999 price tag.... *keyboard cover not included...that is shady. But if they said $1128 including the keyboard cover, they would no longer be price competitive with a comparatively specked Macbook air so they can't do that either.
It also reminds me of Tesla auto. You go to their site and it says lease this vehicle for $400 a month. Then when you read the fine print the $400 is including your estimated fuel savings! The real lease is close to $1000 a month! Pure shady!
So to believe that the Surface Pro 3 is overpriced is irrational?
Here's the thing to keep in mind...
For years those who are not friendly towards Apple have claimed that Apple's products are "boutique items" that are overpriced fashion statements. Now that Microsoft produces something that is generally comparable in price to Apple's "overpriced" offering, suddenly Apple's pricing becomes reasonable and rational? LOL
It took years for Apple to build the reputation and following that it currently enjoys. It is foolish for Microsoft to think it can swoop in and offer something at a similar price without having the reputation to deserve that "boutique" pricing.
MacBook Air debut'd in 2008 for $1800+. Apple priciing has been coming more in line with pc products over the last 5-6 years.
There is nothing boutique about a $1200 ultrabook or hybrid with ssd and i5 internals. Its typical market pricing at this time.
But the public's perception persists. Right or wrong, that's reality. And that "overpriced boutique" accusation still gets trotted out when anti-Apple people feel it will help them. So there are still people clinging to that.
Now it is boomeranging and biting Microsoft in the butt.
Price alone is not the only factor... Microsoft has no good reputation to warrant charging what others with an established track record are charging. This is one of the reasons why Microsoft will have an uphill battle gaining traction with the SP3.
I don't think it's overpriced at $930 with the keyboard, but in terms of Microsoft's marketing that is the price IMO as without the keyboard their entire marketing direction falls flat. They dropped the price $100, why bother? They should have just included the keyboard, then there would have been no complaints, I think people would still have gladly paid $899 with the keyboard. Microsofts shell game may entice more people into the store, but once they realize they do have to buy the keyboard the shell game is up.
Just as I was able to demonstrate your price comments were unfounded, any apple advocate could show the starting prices for the macbook air 11" and 13" models--$999 and $1199--are below many pc ultrabook competitors like the sony viao pro ($1399)
Your arguement that microsoft and the surface brand may lack persistance bears more weight. I wouldn't be that surprised if is this the last surface rodeo--a sop from Nadella to Gates while consolidating power.
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Marketing is perception. So you may be right.
You didn't demonstrate that my price comments were unfounded, only that Apple prices have dropped for some devices over time. Which when taken in a vacuum appear to support your claim, but looking at the braoder consumer landscape would show that you haven't really proved anything. But that's ok. I don't expect many to understand that there is a commodity-mindset associated with Windows devices.... for the vast majority of people who buy Windows notebooks, price is the number #1 priority. There is an expectation that Windows systems are going to be signficantly cheaper than Apple systems.
So while you might "prove" that Windows-based ultrabooks are similar in price to Apple's "ultrabooks", customer expectation does not see them as similar. And we end up in the same place, your belief that consumers are irrational.
Is that true? I mean how is that even provable? Apple doesn't have any cheap laptops, how do you know if Apple sold a $300 laptop it wouldn't sell like hotcakes and become the expected norm from "most" Apple consumers? In fact I'll go out on a limb and say that's exactly what would happen.
No, the facts remain:
11" Macbook Air: $899
13" Macbook Air: $999
Surface Pro 2 + keyboard: $930
Those look pretty comparable to me. The 12" SP3 screen sits right smack in the middle so in some ways it is comparable to both. Of course that's before you consider the benefit of having a touchscreen, stylus included, better resolution, tablet mode, etc. There is NO reason the SP3 shouldn't be considered an ultrabook with ultrabook pricing. Walk into any Best Buy in the country and you will see $300 windows laptops right next to $1000 windows ultrabooks, I can't see Best Buy selling both if they didn't make them money.
Yes, I believe i have demonstrated this point. Apples pricing relative to similarly spec's ultra books is very reasonable. And I have also demonstrated that Sp3 is in the mid-range of pc ultra books. And in turn you have abandoned your claims, except to say there is "a perception" that things are other otherwise.
Apple killed the commodity PC model by making hardware premium and replacing the netbook space with tablets. The true commodity notebook space in 2014 is now the Chromebook model, which W8 doesn't work in. On top of that, MS's hybrid tablet/laptop vision requires touchscreens, which adds a premium and ups the base pricepoint. Part of why W8 failed in the initial rollout is because MS's OEM's were trying to keep things cheap and stick with the commodity hardware model in spite of Apple whooping their ass.
So basically, times have changed, the budget hardware space has evaporated beyond Chromebooks, and MS has to push for premium hardware in the Windows arena so it can compete with Apple. And with first party hardware, it has to price high enough to give its OEM's some room to capture the space below the Surface.
I never thought of it that way, but that's a good point. I guess I don't like that Microsoft shows the keyboard in the advertisements, claims it can replace your laptop and every demo set up in their own stores has a keyborad attached. But you have to pay extra to get it. And you are right, it is priced in line with comparably speced ultrabooks. But Microsoft is fighting an uphill battle, they need to outdo the others on price and quality. The quality is there. Or they can keep it as is and it will be a niche product, and knowing Microsoft, it will be shelved in a year or so. Nothing they have done has gained them inroads in the tablet market and the Windows Phones are just a blip on the radar, at least in the US. I think they have a great OS for the phone and I think the Surface Pro 3 is an outstanding product. But somehow to me, they still aren't doing something right, and it's a shame as they have some nice products but consumers go to the Apple Store in droves.
I'm pretty sure nearly $1billion in sales (more than 1 million estimated units) of the Surface 2 in a three month period would be considered a success.
You can compare it to Apple sales and say it wasn't as good...but damn, that's a lot of units no matter what.
Windows phone is number three, but certainly not a "blip"...and is the only OS actually growing in share over the next few years.
I never saw Surface 2 sales figures. I just know they took about a billion dollar loss on the first Surface. Any link for that? Windows phone marketshare was somewhere in the 3.5% range the last time I looked. There were some other countries where it was higher, but this article today at BGR doesn't sound too good.
http://bgr.com/2014/07/01/windows-phone-market-share-3/