Microsoft tablet computer to go on sale in Japan on March 15

How much in Japan?

49,800 yen.

It's a non starter without the full package of traditional windows applications like PowerPoint...

Surface RT comes with the RT version of the traditional MS Office package, included in the price. It is not included withe the Pro version.

Windows RT is DOA. It's already speculated that developers are dropping right and left off the RT boat. It's far more likely that Full WIndows 8 will be the go forward for MS. There are so few apps on RT compared to Regular Windows, Android and (especially) Apple iOS.

PontepilateMar. 02, 2013 - 08:47AM JST

It's a non starter without the full package of traditional windows applications like PowerPoint...

It has powerpoint, word, excel, and onenote.

Looks like applejuice will have to take back the comments about there not being surface products here!

And the article misses a very important part, the surface pro will also be sold, at a bit later date.

Looks like applejuice will have to take back the comments about there not being surface products here!

hehe, eager to see his reaction.

btw, I bought an Asus Vivotab with Intel Atom for my parents, for $500. It's the best bang for Windows 8 tablet at the moment IMO.

blackrockMar. 02, 2013 - 11:12AM JST

btw, I bought an Asus Vivotab with Intel Atom for my parents, for $500. It's the best bang for Windows 8 tablet at the moment IMO.

Latitude 10 and the ElitePad 900 (dell and hp) aren't too different internally, but look amazing, especially that ElitePad model, makes the ipad look like an overweight cellphone!

Caveat emptor. Not made in the USA or Japan.

windows is garbage..stay away.

Microsoft can keep on dreaming. Why would anyone in their right mind want to pay for "the Windows experience" in tablet form? Windows is horrible no matter the platform.

TokyozMar. 02, 2013 - 05:00PM JST

Microsoft can keep on dreaming. Why would anyone in their right mind want to pay for "the Windows experience" in tablet form?

If you ever needed to use photoshop, zbrush, etc, having full WACOM support built into your computer is amazing, especially when a WACOM screen usually >$1k anyway!

Not to mention you can actually use HDMI at 1080p ...

Surface joins the long list of Microsoft hardware failures:

That watch thingy

The "Tablet PC"

Zune

Some horrible phone that lasted three weeks before it was pulled.

The Xbox only survived because they threw so much money at it.

Microsoft hardware and software, designed by a committee!

And it shows!

If you need windows and microsoft products on the go, surely it's better just to stick with a laptop. They are very portable nowadays. For example, you need a real keyboard if you are working with excel or making a power point presentation. Tablets are really intended for (and are absolutely great for) major consumption (apps, games, media and reading) and only minor production (emails, notes, small documents etc). Do most people think like me? I guess microsoft think not.

If you want the windows experience then just buy a laptop instead.

billyshearsMar. 02, 2013 - 07:44PM JST

If you need windows and microsoft products on the go, surely it's better just to stick with a laptop.

You'd be surprised at how well a surface with the type cover can replace a laptop.

Tablets are really intended for (and are absolutely great for) major consumption (apps, games, media and reading) and only minor production (emails, notes, small documents etc).

You're mistaking real tablets with icrap marketing. Tablets have been around for a decade, in use at hospitals and major utilities. Hardly consumption .

With Surface Pro (not so much RT, which is oriented for the home use crowd), you can do anything a laptop can do (same internals as an ultrabook), including running photoshop and 3d modeling software, but instead of using a mouse, you can use the screen itself as input, since ALL surface tablets (and their equivalents from Asus, and Samsung) use WACOM certified digitizers and support WACOM pens with full 10bit pressure control.

I don't think graphic artists waiting for this amazing tool would be too happy about you calling their jobs "minor production".

You're mistaking real tablets with icrap marketing. Tablets have been around for a decade, in use at hospitals and major utilities. Hardly consumption

How sad, some people are badly sheepened by iCrap. Dear lords, tablet PCs have been out in industry for so long. 2 prominent examples are Thinkpad X tablet - used by businessmen, and the other is Panasonic Toughbook, popular among cops.

As my boyfriend keeps saying: it's Windows, it's trablet. Trablet? Yes, troubles + tablet.

Man, people mock Microsoft like they mock the Toyotas, Opels and Chevys...

They might not look as good as Ferraris and Aston Martins, but they keep the world turning.

Surface joins the long list of Microsoft hardware failures...."Tablet PC"

LOL, Tablet PCs running XP were used by some hard-core professionals in the early 2000s, like financial traders on the trading floor.

JeffLee,

Tablet PCs running XP were used by some hard-core professionals in the early 2000s

True.

Just not very many of them.

They failed to catch on.

nightvisionMar. 03, 2013 - 04:28AM JST

Man, people mock Microsoft like they mock the Toyotas, Opels and Chevys...

They might not look as good as Ferraris and Aston Martins, but they keep the world turning.

Have you seen the FR-S/ FT86? Damn nice looking car, much better than the California in my opinion (external looks). And not only are those more used, but they are also more reliable, and don't require you to take it to an expensive "expert" shop to get fixed should anything go wrong. If you want amazing looks, the HP ElitePad 900 G1 is amazing, thinner than the ipad 4 but twice the memory and faster x86 CPU, as well as longer battery life. I like the design of the Surface RT/Pro as well though, nice and business oriented with no unused space.

The fact of the matter is that crapple fans are jealous of the good design and great usability of these devices, no lame one-function "apps", you get full applications that load up faster (since crapple products have only 30MB/s speeds for 1gb apps, while Surface Pro and even just RT have speeds in excess of 500MB/s) and actually do something useful, like graphics, productivity software, and even being able to connect to an enterprise network without buying millions of dollars worth of new hardware headaches.

You'd be surprised at how well a surface with the type cover can replace a laptop -

I guess that's the point. Many millions of people already have a laptop complete with microsoft offices. Are those people going to spend big bucks to get, in effect, another laptop (and pay again for office) when they only want the tablet experience?

I don't think graphic artists waiting for this amazing tool would be too happy about you calling their jobs "minor production".

And I don't think microsoft wants to appeal to a comparatively very small niche market. There are more than a few market analysts who think this venture is doomed to eventual failure.

http://news.investors.com/technology/101812-629874-microsoft-surface-unlikely-todent-apple-ipad-lead.htm?ven=nrelatecp

Independent reviews for this product do not seem to rate the windows RT OS too highly either:

"Surface RT, Microsoft's first foray into personal computing, is a hardware success, and the company should be proud. Windows RT, the operating system that runs on it, is less of a reason for self-back-patting, however. While it doesn't completely tarnish the Surface experience, it often comes darn near, and it certainly keeps this from being a home run for Microsoft."

<http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/surface-rt-review-microsofts-new-tablet-mixed-blessing-1C6643458

Just not very many of them. They failed to catch on

You think that's something to make fun of? stupid. How dumb have people become? The world needs those professionals, and those professionals need pro devices, not craps.

And I don't think microsoft wants to appeal to a comparatively very small niche market. There are more than a few market analysts who think this venture is doomed to eventual failure

Blah blah, another false claim from a vague source, about a wrong thing. Basroil was talking about the Surface Pro, sir.

blackrockMar. 03, 2013 - 02:23PM JST

Blah blah, another false claim from a vague source, about a wrong thing. Basroil was talking about the Surface Pro, sir.

Yup, people tend to use strawman arguments when they know they can't actually say bad things directly. Surface Pro, while not fully mentioned in this half-assed article, is the real news when Microsoft issued their press release. That has the capability of changing how people view tablets, from an expensive toy to an actual useful tool for both work and play.

I personally will wait for the haswell based Surface Pro 2 that is bound to come out around Christmas time, since I already have a fast desktop and laptop. Haswell would increase battery life two fold, as well as increase graphics capabilities (including OpenCL and DirectCompute) and native USB3.0 (meaning less chips sucking down power). Of course, if I got one from my work for free, I don't think I would hesitate one bit to leave my laptop at home! (well, unless I needed CUDA acceleration, which is the only reason I went with my current one)

Basroil was talking about the Surface Pro, sir.

OK, son. The Microsoft Surface Pro:

"The Microsoft Surface Pro is suffering from an identity crisis. By melding a tablet form factor with the power of a full-sized notebook and an unfettered build of Windows 8, it's easily the most versatile portable on the market. But a jack of all trades is a master of none, and despite its vast potential, the Surface Pro is still in need of refinement."

"...the Surface Pro is notably thicker and heavier than the Surface RT. It measures at roughly 0.53-inches thick and weighs 2 pounds, up from the Surface RT's 0.37-inch thick and 1.5 pound chassis. On paper, the difference seems negligible, but it certainly has an impact when transporting and using the device on a day-to-day basis. While the wide 16:9 display is somewhat jarring to hold even on the Surface RT, the Surface Pro's added weight and thickness makes it even less practical for in-hand use."

"...the Surface Pro can't compete with a traditional clamshell design. Whereas the base of a notebook provides weighted balance, the Surface Pro is so top-heavy that propping it up on your lap is a constant balancing act. Those seeking aid from the optional and pricey Type Cover and Touch Cover accessories ($129.99 and $119.99, respectively) should look elsewhere — both are too light and thin to offer any significant counterweight."

" As you'd expect from a machine without a dedicated graphics processor, the Surface Pro performs best with older games or more recent titles with settings and resolution scaled down considerably. Source Engine-based games, like Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, and Left 4 Dead 2 can all output at native 1080p resolution with settings set to high or maxed out while delivering framerates of 45fps or higher. I found similar performance when playing Civilization V and Hotline Miami was obviously a breeze. The results of more taxing titles — like Saints Row: The Third, Battlefield 3, and Dishonored — were expectedly abysmal. Even at the lowest settings and low-resolution output, the Surface Pro didn't even come close to hitting 30fps."

" For general computing, the Surface Pro gets roughly 4 hours of use on a single charge — considerably less than the Surface RT's advertised 8 hour battery life and iPad's 10 hour charge. Extended gaming sessions can drop the lifespan to anywhere between 1.5 to 3 hours depending on the title and settings used. Battery performance in either context is reasonable — specs and form factor considered — but when an Ultrabook or MacBook Air can offer similar portability and specs with better energy performance, it only draws more attention to the limitations of the Surface concept."

"There's a future in PC/tablet hybrids and with Windows 8 and the Surface series, Microsoft is making significant headway. But there's still significant barriers when it comes to portability, energy efficiency, and cost. At $899 for the 64GB variant and $999 for the 128GB model (of which, only offers 29GB and 89GB of available storage), the Surface Pro is a costly endeavor. And until processing and battery technology get to the point where thinner, lighter, and more energy-efficient products can emerge, the category will be limited to all-in-one portables that struggle to match the utility and efficacy of their tablet and notebook equivalents."

billyshearsMar. 03, 2013 - 06:14PM JST

OK, son. The Microsoft Surface Pro:

Not to mention that Pro actually can play left4dead... something you can't say about the pathetic oversized phones that claim to be tablets.

And lets top it off with ZDNet's review,

_"Despite its increased bulk, weight and remaining design issues, the Surface Pro — like the RT — has a classy overall look and feel. One of the goals of the Surface range is to provide an exemplary showcase for Windows 8, and in this Microsoft has largely succeeded.

...early adopters generally, will embrace the Surface Pro warmly — particularly the 128GB version. It's certainly an intriguing bit of kit that should give other makers of hybrid tablet/ultrabook hardware plenty to think about. But it's not perfect yet — especially when it comes to battery life. We look forward to the next iterations of Surface with interest."_

billyshears,

Well said!

The Surface, the Surface Pro and that other over priced coffee table thingy that never sold either, also and confusingly called "Surface," like most Microsoft products, are designed by a committee.

They have "committee" stamped all over them. That's why, they - as you put it - "suffer from a identity crisis." All kinds of bits and pieces of ideas lumped together in a confusing mishmash. An "everybody's friend," with the personality of Barry Manilow.

Basroil,

You're right that I never used a Windows tablet for very long.

A friend had one years ago. He let me have a go on it. Didn't like it at all, I'm afraid.

Double tapping on an icon worked after you had stabbed it several hundred times and it had fiddly little menus that were hard to read with the low pixel density.

And neither of us could get the handwriting recognition to work.

It was a desktop OS and software crammed into a small screen.

Probably why its sales were abysmal.

Still prefer our 3rd-gen i7 convertible ultrabook (laptop with detachable screen, both laptop and screen having each their own batteries) so can have both worlds: a tablet when we want it, a laptop when we need it.

The Xbox only survived because they threw so much money at it.

It's not just surviving. The 360 has the highest attach-rate (videogame sales per console sold) of this generation's consoles, including handhelds. The last couple years, the 360 sold the most videogames worldwide. That's where the money is in the business - in videogame licenses.

Talking about throwing money, Nintendo is the only one of the Big 3 that didn't sell their Wii console for much of a loss, but they have the lowest attach-rate of the 3. Do you know how much overall loss to Microsoft selling the 360s at a loss? ~$3 billion. Do you know how much loss Sony took for the PS3s? ~$5 billion.

BertieWoosterMar. 04, 2013 - 03:48AM JST

You're right that I never used a Windows tablet for very long.

Shame, since the new ones are amazing (well, at least the non-japanese ones, japanese "tablets" tend to be clunky and useless due to design ideas from the 1990s).

A friend had one years ago. He let me have a go on it. Didn't like it at all, I'm afraid.

That has nothing to do with Windows 8 tablets, saying that meant you need to say that the ipad is horrible because the newton was doa.

Double tapping on an icon worked after you had stabbed it several hundred times and it had fiddly little menus that were hard to read with the low pixel density.

Windows 8 doesn't have that issue, the entire start screen debacle solved it.

And neither of us could get the handwriting recognition to work.

Ever tried recognition on icrap? Now that is bad. Recognition on Windows 7 and 8 is actually pretty good, despite the fact you will never need to use it since you can use absolutely any keyboard made in the last decade on the surface pro.

It was a desktop OS and software crammed into a small screen.

Surface Pro has a FullHD screen, with software made for tablets, but also includes software for those that want to use a keyboard and mouse with it.

Your arguments are basically strawman arguments, since they are based on information so outdated that it has nothing to do with the current situation, and no longer hold true.

Basroil,

Since you love Microsoft products so much, please just go on using them.

After all, someone has to support poor, beleaguered Microsoft.

Good luck!

BertieWoosterMar. 04, 2013 - 06:01PM JST

Since you love Microsoft products so much, please just go on using them.

After all, someone has to support poor, beleaguered Microsoft.

Since you love apple products so much, please just go on talking about competitor's products you have no experience with.

After all, someone has to support the falling, failing apple stock.