I think that even with their massive advertising budget and concerted efforts to take over from the iPad, they might still struggle.
People see Apple as the Ferrari of the computing and phone world. They see Microsoft as the VW. So, if they have a choice of a £349 VW or a £399 Ferrari, which do you reckon they'd go for?
If I had been running it, I'd've been pushing it as a loss-leader, like they did with the Xbox. MS would make the money back on apps.
The Pro version is mildly appealing, mainly for running PARS or SIMS on. But this RT version i really do not get it, its got that vile Windows Metro interface with the headache of not being able to run any of my Windows programs, may as well use an ipad iOS has a nicer interface. At least with the Pro for a few specific tasks i think i can refrain from stamping on the tablet as Metro drives me round the bend with its bad design, but guessing the Pro will be priced at a level we do not want to pay.
I dunno, most people who have used the Metro interface on a touchscreen device come back saying the same thing - it is a very nice interface on that medium. The iPad interface is *horrible* in my opinion, it annoys me so much, so often when I have to do anything on the few we have here.Originally Posted by Quackers
On a tablet, in general, use of traditional Windows applications is going to be somewhat limited even if you have x86 chips - as the interfaces are not designed for big flabby fingers...
So, on a design basis, the tablets have a very good chance. On a price basis, they've shot themselves in the foot.
SYNACK (18th October 2012)
You're right. The font scaling was a real problem on Windows 7 (and even worse on previous versions) but AFAIK Windows8 scales everything in the 'metro/modern' UI by default so presumably it wouldn't be an issue. The only time you might encounter problems is when running legacy desktop software but the RT version doesn't even support this so it's a non-issue!
Admittedly it's not the end of the world but put up against the displays in the ipad3 (2000x1500) and the slew of 1080p android devices that are hitting the market it relegates MS's surface instantly into 3rd place in the display department.
Last edited by flyinghaggis; 17th October 2012 at 09:42 AM.
I was only ever interested in the Intel version. But it looks like its gonna cost a small fortune. :-/
Looking at them from a works point of view. I don't see the advantage of having an RT Surface over an Android/ipad (as in integrating it to the network). Or am I missing something?
Someone may know more but I always believed that the RT was the one you had at home and used for personal use and was the iPad equivalent. The advantage for a school or enterprise was the Surface Pro and the ability to join to the domain, be managed centrally and give access to what all middle managers are "desperate" for. Access to documents, collaboration and be more efficient. So I am looking forward to January when we take away their iPads and give them Surface Pro's as they tick all their initial requirements for a tablet where as the iPad ticked less than 20% of what they wanted them for.
Same here (nail head job done) anticipate they will still want their ipads for angry birds.
The way in which they will be able to join the domain and access the shares etc as you mention will be an instant crowd pleaser amongst our staff.
Yes I am looking forward to ousting these staff who don't want efficiency, collaboration or working on the move they just want iPads and iPads the school pay for which they wont have soon.
We have ordered two of the RT's to see what they are like and if they are any better than an iPad. And to test out Office 2013 which can link our domain accounts to SkyDrive accounts so the more mobile of users can save to SkyDrive from Office 2013 and open on the RT and visa versa. This may or may not work but worth a try for those that don't require a full Surface Pro.
Windows RT is supposed to be manageable using Windows InTune at some point early next year which obviously isn't as nice as joining it to your domain and using existing tools but there will be the option to do it.
Haven't seen anything to indicate what you will actually be able to manage with it though.
Local GPO can be enabled on RT devices and according to the app development guide it can also access network shares.
Last edited by Theblacksheep; 17th October 2012 at 10:35 AM.
Cool, thats exactly what I thought :-)
I'd kind of hoped that the Windows RT tablets would be a budget alternative to be honest. If they're going to cost upwards of £500 then personally I'd rather go for an x86 based version providing it doesn't hurt the battery life too much. Hopefully Intel can pull something special out of the bag with their upcoming clovertrail atom CPU's.
They won't be running Atom CPUs... They'll be running i5 processors from all the blurb that's been going around.
Sorry, I went a bit OT there. The x86 surface pro is going to be an i5 but i was just referring to Windows 8 Tablets in general! The surface pro sounds awesome but I worry about the effect of that Core i5 on its' battery life. The upcoming atom is promising power usage close to an ARM CPU so if Intel can match the performance of the tegra3 that would probably be a better fit for a tablet device IMO.
Considering what Intel achieved with the mobile Medfield chip, I think there'll be some impressive x86 chips about for tablets in the next couple of years. Low power usage with impressive performance is already there.
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