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Politcal Worker (100+ posts)
Numerous calls to Microsoft stores around the US all have a consistently pointed to a late January launch. Both January 26th and 29th have been bandied about, but a window of a few days doesnt make much of a difference. And then when we can see the RT and Pro models of the Surface head-to-head, well have a better picture of where Microsoft sits in the tablet landscape.
CNETs report of the imminent release of the Surface Pro has got me thinking about the Microsoft tablets, Windows 8, and Steven Sinofskys no compromise idea. On the software front, the interface previously known as Metro is an innovative, clever way forward in the mobile space. Sadly, Microsoft is still bogged down with legacy even with the Windows RT Surface, the desktop still stuck around for a number of tasks.
With the Surface Pro, things get even worse. Old fashioned desktop apps can run exactly like they would on a desktop computer, completely missing the point of touchscreen tablet computing. Good luck hitting those tiny tap targets. Despite all of the hard work Microsofts engineers and designers have done, they keep getting hampered by legacy.
The hardware on the Surface Pro is a mixed bag. On one hand, it sports a 1080p display, has USB 3 support, mini DisplayPort output, and much larger storage space. On the other hand, it seems like the battery life will suffer, the price is substantially higher than ARM-based tablets, and it generates so much heat that it needs fans. As a laptop, these tradeoffs would seem fine. This is a tablet, though. Were used to cheap devices than run silently, and only need to be charged every other day or so. The priorities in the Surface Pro seem to actually make it a worse tablet in a number of ways compared to the ARM version. If my iPad couldnt last a whole day without having to be plugged in, I wouldnt use it nearly as much.
By hanging onto this idea of no compromises, it seems like the Surface Pro will be a mediocre mix between a laptop and a tablet that doesn't particularly excel at being either. While I cant back up these feelings of hesitation about the Intel-based tablet until I actually have the hardware in my hands, this doesn't seem like a device that I would recommend to any demographic. With the comparatively high starting price of $899, I dont see this as being the sales savior for Microsoft either. The folks at Redmond have failed at providing a meaningful use case for this device. Everything it does seems to be handled better with either a regular tablet or a cheap-o Windows laptop.
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