Microsoft Shifting Its Focus Toward ''Devices and Services'' Discussion

[Grant Hatchimonji]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says his company is going to put more focus on hardware. Does this mean a Surface-branded smartphone is in development? Our sister site TabletPCReview has more details.

Read the full content of this Article: Microsoft Shifting Its Focus Toward ''Devices and Services''

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[LandSurveyor]

The Kins would have worked if they had been allowed a special data rate plan like Tmo did with the Sidekick but VZW wasn't havin' none o' that and so they died. I really can't see why Verizon bothered with them in the first place. They had to know that wouldn't work.

But again, water under the bridge.

I wonder if a full-blown Surface tablet will be a real choice for me or maybe I would just be better off with a regular but compact laptop running Windows 8. One with a built-in hard drive and even (gasp!) an optical drive.

And I hope MS has considered how many potential buyers will be weighing a similar decision.

[r0k]

The Modbook Pro is coming out soon. It's expensive. Perhaps the surface will put pressure on Apple to consider bringing OS X to (a high end intel-based) iPad.

[rkevwill]

The Modbook Pro is coming out soon. It's expensive. Perhaps the surface will put pressure on Apple to consider bringing OS X to (a high end intel-based) iPad.

Perhaps. I would hope however it would have a detachable keyboard, or built in the cover. Of course, Im not a real fan of on screen keyboards, for REAL work. (lots disagree with me of course)

Thing is, I've been wondering for years, when Microsoft was going to use their incredible ability, and bring out some cool stuff. They certainly have the engineers for it, and their gaming technology is top notch. Perhaps they have something here, with Windows 8 across the board. Question is, will they alienate or bring Nokia in the loop.

[Ed Hardy]

The Kins would have worked if they had been allowed a special data rate plan like Tmo did with the Sidekick but VZW wasn't havin' none o' that and so they died. I really can't see why Verizon bothered with them in the first place. They had to know that wouldn't work.

It's been a couple of years so my recollection is a bit fuzzy, but if I remember correctly, Verizon and Microsoft had a plan for the Kin One and Kin Two, including the low-priced service plan you mentioned, and then a new VP at Microsoft came in and demanded that the operating system for the devices be re-written, delaying the release by over a year. Verizon was so angry it refused to offer the super-cheap plan with them, and the Kin series bombed.

Hopefully Microsoft will handle things better with a Surface smartphone. But this does raise an important point. Microsoft can make a tablet, sell in in its stores, and have a successful product. The same isn't true for smartphones -- the vast majority of Americans buy their phones from their telco. If Microsoft hopes to sell more than a smattering of handsets, it has to get at least one wireless carrier on board. I would guess this is why it's hoping Nokia, Samsung, and HTC can make a success out of Windows Phone without Microsoft having to made any hardware.

[Mitlov]

The Modbook Pro is coming out soon. It's expensive. Perhaps the surface will put pressure on Apple to consider bringing OS X to (a high end intel-based) iPad.

Apple has actively bashed the Transformer/Windows tablet concept of an all-in-one device, calling it, if I recall correctly, like bolting a toaster oven to a refrigerator. They may never fuse laptop and tablet, even though it makes sense (see: Apple's resistance to adding a right-click button to their mice and trackpads, even though right-clicks are now an integral part of interacting with OSX). Or they may come around in a year or so after the convertible tablet market is blown wide open (at which point certain people will call the Apple convertible tablet "revolutionary" ).

[Drillbit]

The Kins would have worked if they had been allowed a special data rate plan like Tmo did with the Sidekick but VZW wasn't havin' none o' that and so they died. I really can't see why Verizon bothered with them in the first place. They had to know that wouldn't work.

But again, water under the bridge.

I wonder if a full-blown Surface tablet will be a real choice for me or maybe I would just be better off with a regular but compact laptop running Windows 8. One with a built-in hard drive and even (gasp!) an optical drive.

And I hope MS has considered how many potential buyers will be weighing a similar decision.

After toying with so many concepts, I would go with a regular laptop that is compact. Why?

Having a big built in hard drive helps. My wife got a Samsung Series 9 ultrabook that certainly wasn't cheap but contains only like 128Gb SSD on it. Which means you need an extra external hard disk to carry around for all her whopping files (she has a ton of pics). At some point its not elegant.

I got an Acer 722 InspireOne netbook. Kind of not that cheap for a net book but it does have 4Gb of RAM, Windows 64 bit premium and a 500Gb drive. Obviously I won't have storage issues when I carry this around with a ton of files. And it cost a whole lot less than the Series 9 even though you are matching plastic against the Series 9's sculpted metal build.

Tablets are not going to carry that much stuff. You can cloud your storage of course but you need an Internet connection. Nowadays some tablets and convertibles like the Asus Transformer Prime can access an external hard drive but it is still an external hard drive that is not the most elegant to carry around.

You need to decide if your style of computing needs to be highly mobile one or if you are going to do considerable "content" creation, management and storage. My wife did point out the reason for getting her Ultrabook is because her regular notebook is getting too big to lug around for trips. (For that I carry my netbook with 500Gb storage, plus a tablet or two).

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[Drillbit]

Carriers seem to have an active dislike for Microsoft and bundling Skype won't make things easier. But that is not going to stop Microsoft from making a Surface or Xbox phone. On the other hand such activities may alienate OEMs towards Google's direction.

Microsoft making its phones and tablets that end up competing with Nokia's own phones and future tablets is not a bright situation for the latter.

Microsoft's decision to go with an ODM rather than an OEM like Google Nexus doesn't help with OEM perception.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[LandSurveyor]

I suspect I will eventually go with some sort of middle-grade laptop with Win8. I'll keep the Touchpad going as my bedside computer for fast access to the internet and will probably replace it later with another tablet, maybe a 7" model by then. This could also be what I carry out of the house when necessary.

At this point I would have no problem going with an Android tablet but will have to see how these Surface devices play out in the market. Pricing and how well they "play" with the main computing device will figure into the decision.

The wild card would be if HP's mysterious re-hiring of WebOS people bears some kind of fruit. Something more powerful than the Touchpad priced competitively with other tablets could well be worth consideration.

[weegie]

All I'm wondering is how I will be able to buy my next notebook without MS getting an automatic Windows 8 license sale, I tried to buy my Dell Precision without an OS at all last time and they wouldn't do it, downgrade rights is automatically counted of as a sale of the newer OS even though you specifically request the older version, you get the disc as well....wanted or not.

This video is a great parody of Windows 8, not strictly true but gives the gist of the idiocy behind it....super gigantic smartphones!
Windows 8 Consumer Preview Official Demo Parody - YouTube