Posted on 10/06/2015 9:55:16 AM PDT by prisoner6
Well this came out of nowhere. After years of pleading from PC enthusiasts, Microsoft finally revealed an ultra-premium Surface laptop, dubbed Surface Book, at its hardware event on Tuesday—a portable PC designed to embrace Windows 10’s most cutting-edge features, and one that’s just oozing style.
If the Surface Pro is a tablet that can replace your laptop, as Microsoft’s marketing crowed last year, does that make the Surface laptop a laptop that can replace your tablet that replaces your laptop?
Not quite. Both aim for different targets. While the Surface tablets were initially introduced to highlight the sort of mobile 2-in-1 experiences possible with the touch-friendly Windows 8, the 13.5-inch Surface Book showcases what traditional PC makers can achieve with Windows 10.
“What if we can do for laptops what we did for tablets?” Microsoft device chief Panos Panay wondered aloud on stage. “We made the ultimate laptop. We made the Surface Book.”
(Excerpt) Read more at pcworld.com ...
LoL,
Range is everything when it comes to computing! :)
Probably a heat pipe / convective circulation type thing.
I am sure it will sell at least as well as the “Zune”...M$ should just give up on the hardware side.
Traditionally a laptop has a separate keyboard. Also, laptops didn’t have a touch screen.
IMO, the laptop still has the tablet beat. I can type a 50 page term paper on a laptop but it would be impossible to do the same on a tablet.
Actually, a desktop is best for major projects like a 50 page term paper.
Some laptops are all solid state now which means that they consume less power and are more portable.
That's a very insightful comment.
It DOES have a lot of MacBook Pro aspects, at least from the outside. But perhaps Microsoft has watched the evolution of the laptop frame and finish, and decided that whether or not it happens to look like an MBP in some respects, the fact is that's what most (not all) of their customers want.
It is, after all, possible that they reached that design independently or nearly so. It IS an incredibly functional and attractive design overall.
Why? I don't find the design at all compelling. It's thick, and a bit kludgy looking. The hinge looks interesting but it leaves a huge gap when the laptop is closed and there seems to be a few downsides with it such as adding additional weight for little true beneficial hinge functionality. Complexity adds mechanical breakage points that may come back later to bite the user when the warranty expires. It looks cool, but is it necessary for added cost/benefit of the function of the device?
As a tablet, is the storage on the keyboard or on the screen section . . . or do they split duties? How? If so, where? I'm curious what exactly is lost when undocked.
I
Hey you never post negative things on windows threads! Oh wait...
Start with weight.
From MS curmudgeon Paul Thurrott (who also has issues with The Hinge):
preorders for Surface Book are higher than for any previous Surface device
Applebots just crapped their pants :-)
Hardware cannot overcome the biggest negative a Windows machine has.... and that’s Windows itself.
The issue with the hinge will be if it’s stable on an airplane or train. If it vibrates the display that will be an issue. But for a first version this thing looks amazing. Surface pro is the tablet that replaces your laptop. Surface Book is the laptop that replaces everything :-)
Yup! Getting ready to watch Windows Weekly and they should have more info.
FWIW MS >claims< they put most of the weight in the bottom so the entire device would be more “stable” as a laptop. I too wonder about the stresses on the hinge in that situation on a plane or train.
So, to you, my asking serious questions is "negative" posting in Windows threads? M'kay. Delusional.
So you didn’t say this “I don’t find the design at all compelling. It’s thick, and a bit kludgy looking.”
Of course I did, but that is an opinion in response to a comment about me BUYING one of these computers, but not negative. It's my opinion about why I would not buy one. I don't find it compelling. It looks thick and a bit kludgy to me. That's what I think and those are the reasons I think it is not compelling enough to buy. Your milage may vary. I attacked nobody. I did not even criticize the price, the users, or Microsoft. . . although I question why Microsoft wants to compete with their own customers, the VARs and OEMs who buy operating systems from them to install in their own laptops and hybrid computers.
I then asked a serious question that has yet to be answered by Microsoft, although a couple of posters have made some comments I find worrisome such as the "tablet section" has only a 3-4 hour battery life. It cannot be a successful tablet with such a poor battery performance before being recharged. . . but I don't know that answer to be true. . . I want to see a link to a test, a specification from Microsoft, or other authoritative source.
Again, you are misquoting what I have said . . . I believe I have said that I do not go on Windows threads and criticize Windows users. . .
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