The same people who would pay that much for an ultra book. A grand for the Pro model is a rival to all the ultra books out there. It's there for the portability factor. It definitely wouldn't be overpriced if they were to charge a grand considering the specs and the competition pricing.
Actually, yes: there's a perfect example of this out there right now: Windows Phone, which is at a paltry 4% of market share while Android gobbles up 51.8% and IPhone rocks out at 34.3%. Heck, even the already-given-up-for-dead BlackBerry has DOUBLE the market share compared to Windows Phone (source) . Please understand, I'm not slamming the UI. I haven't used Metro extensively, so I can't speak to how easy or hard it is to use. But from a marketing perspective, I see this as a tough sell.
Point taken with Windows Phone, as it's definitely been an uphill battle to crack through Apple and Android's stranglehold on that market. However, I think the problem there is that everyone has a cell phone, which most people are happy with and loyal to and don't see much incentive to switch. Most people that try out Windows Phone love it, but it's tough getting them to make the jump. Although there are a ton of iPad's out there, I do think there is an opportunity for Surface to capture a large segment of customers that have held off on getting a tablet up until this point. I think that the ability to run a full featured OS in a tablet form factor is going to appeal to a lot of people. It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out....exciting times ahead.
Agreed with many of your points, but this is where MS will suffer by comparison to Apple and Android: device integration. One of the greatest things about Android and iOS is that, if you buy an app for your phone, you can download it to your tablet, too. It will function the same and even, in the case of Android in particular, sync across devices. And you didn't have to pay for it twice. If you're using a Windows tablet, unless you also have a Windows phone (and the adoption numbers say you probably don't), you'll be cross-platforming. And that just becomes too expensive and too much headache for the average user. I don't think the "average" user right now wants a full featured OS in tablet form. Tablets are for content consumption, not content generation. That may change in the future, but I kinda doubt it. I worked at a computer company in Round Rock (rhymes with "Hell"), and I can tell you that 99% of the customers we received said they just wanted to "email, surf the web, play a few simple games, watch Netflix and maybe type a letter once in a while". And we had the fun task of trying to convince them they needed a $1000 computer to do all that, when the barest of bare bones PCs could do it easily. Tablets can already do all that. Easily. Why should someone turn their backs on established, proven, popular products with tons of users, accessories, and developer communities like the iPad or Asus Transformer to adopt a new, unproven product like the Surface? The answer is: price point. Look at the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7. The only reason they sold like gangbusters was because of their price. At $199, MS might make a run of it with the Surface. At $299, it would be quite a bit more difficult. At $399? Forget it. It'll be DOA as a product line.
That's an interesting idea, and I could see that being the path that they take. Much like Google and Amazon, they will expect to make back whatever they lose on hardware through software sales. Might work, but I'm still skeptical. So much of my tablet experience is tied to compatibility and cross-communication with my phone. And, judging by my interactions with other tablet users, I don't think I'm alone in feeling this. With Windows Phone lagging so badly in market share, I see that as a hard sell for MS. With iOS and Android, phone adoption has driven tablet sales. MS is trying to swim against that stream. Good luck with that.
I agree that compatibilty is huge deal and that Windows Phone the weak link to big acceptance, but what I think people are over looking is the fact that most laptops and computer sales are still PC based. Compatibitiy with your laptop or home PC could be a buying point as can Xbox compatibility. While the Ipad has made end roads with some businesses, its still 'not there' for full business integration. I do outside sales and use an ipad daily for it. I still couldn't live with out my PC due to Apple's file management system. I've had an Iphone and switched to a Windows Phone and really haven't looked back. If I can get a Surface tablet for $200 or $300 its a no brainer for me. Office on a tablet along with Skydrive(much easier to deal with than ICloud) gives me most of what I need.
Very true. And understand, I'm talking mainly about consumer market growth, not small business or enterprise adoption. I firmly believe that consumer growth drives business and not vice versa. And yes, most laptops and computers sold are Windows machines. However... Laptops and desktops are soon to be no longer the market drivers. This chart is a bit old, but the trend has continued. Fact is: PC sales are on the decline, tablet sales are on the rise. That's the whole reason MS wants to jump on the bandwagon with Surface. Trouble is, I think it's just a little too late. I hope I'm wrong. But I'm not.
Myself personally, I see the laptop replacing the desktop The tablet/supersmartphone filling the laptop "void" Where I see a legit chance for Microsoft to win big on Surface: bridge the gap between laptops and tablets. Give me a product that gives me 99% of both worlds...something it seems like it might do. For all its market share, the iPad (to me) remains a 10-inch ipod touch. I'm not inclined to dump my macbook. I could possibly see the iPad besting the Air if you could only choose one. Anyway, if Surface shows that it really can be both your everyday laptop as well as your on the go tablet, that's a huge win and justifies a pricetag that is in line with laptops. My only major concern is Windows. It's been a bloated OS resource hog ever since NT, only getting worse over time. Metro/Win8 has to do a complete 180 if its supposed to do well on limited tablet hardware. It wasn't that long ago that they forced Vista onto netbooks with disastrous results.
It's Microsoft's time to shine again if they do this whole reboot thing right. Honestly, I hope they kick Google's ass (People have deluded themselves into thinking that we live in a Google world) and get to push Apple...
This is 100% false if you're talking about Windows 7. It performs great on low end hardware. Early results are showing that Windows 8 is either on par or faster than Windows 7 under various scenarios: http://www.techspot.com/review/561-windows8-vs-windows7/
Win7 is fine and an improvement over the clusterf*** that was Vista. But you still have to neuter it (Aero especially) for netbooks. I say that having it on a screaming Dell Precision, a ho hum Optiplex, and an HP mini. Then there's Windows history: NT/Win2000 ME XP Vista Win7 Win8/Metro? I'm hoping Win8 is a big winner. I am. I have, at worst, guarded optimism. If it delivers as advertises and facilitates a versatile tablet-laptop hybrid, than I'm all over it. I just want to sit back and give it a few months and hear the reviews. I can honestly say I'm far more interested in the higher end Surface than the highest end iPad or Android tablet.
Microsoft selling this at a loss (which it could afford) would be a big blow to the iPad. As a working professional, I work between my tablet, phone and desktop. If Windows 8 can combine these three seamlessly on a tablet, phone and computer, so long Google and hello Microsoft again. Thing is that the stylus/pen is important. Super important. I've been lugging around a Lenovo Thinkpad Android tablet for under a year now and it's slow compared to an iPad...but about 50x more useful for getting work done.
Didn't microsoft sink 30 billion into xbox. As long as they have their golden goose they can spend 30 billion on phones and tablets.
Corporations run MS windows...it's silly to think the surface tablet won't make a dent......windows is still 90% OS choice for business.
What do you mean by "sank 30 billion into xbox"? FYI : their entertainment division is probably only around #4 or so in terms of revenue generating departments they have. Their servers, business, and Windows divisions probalby make more money than their entertainment products. I'd be curious to see how much money they make off of Android. lol.