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fjtorres · 04-01-2015, 08:29 AM

One complaint I see that I don't get is the one about the pricing being "too close" to the low-end SP3, because of the smaller screen. To me, smaller screen = lighter weight, more portability. Ditto with the CPU; a coreM CPU might be a better fit for some productivity uses but there's more to productivity than Photoshop and video transcoding. And until we know for sure how "weak" the Cherry Trails are out in real world use I'm reserving judgment on what the new gen Atoms can and can't do. What I do know is the 2W power draw means the 10 hr battery claims are likely real and that USB charging means I can charge it with the cheap 2.1w power adapter I already own.

All computers feature trade-offs.
And different designs trade different features to meet their target markets. That is one of the virtues of multi-vendor platforms; there's no need to try to be all things to all people. The Dell Venue Pro is a very nice WinTab for the education market with a CoreM processor starting at $329. The trade-off is a thicker, all-plastic casing, a dual core CPU, 2/32 memory and storage, lower-res screen. Still very good and very useful, but upgrading the screen to full HD and moving to 64GB flash gets the price close to the S3 where the dual core vs quad core peak power vs sustained throughput takes over. There's room for both.

Just as there's room for 8in cheapie WinTabs for reading and droids and iPads.
Each has its market based on its strengths and its weaknesses. Pretending any single platform or product is superior or beyond reproach is delusional; they're all flawed and they're all fatally flawed for entire markets worth of users.

Now, my experience with TabletPCs going bsck to the TC1000 days has always been that the problem was the hardware (too heavy and too expensive) and not the user experience which has always been very good, especially the multitasking and pen functions.

Compared to my most recent HP Tablet PC the S3 looks to have double the resolution, double the CPU power, a third the weight, double the battery life, and all the functionality at 40% less (list) than what the old one cost *on sale*. If I can hold out 'til the fall I can probably get a better price when they start putting it on sale, maybe bundled up with the keyboard or maybe the 4G/GPS version.

Or maybe Dell will drop their price or Asus will beef up their 10in Model...
The Surface tablets exist to show that Windows Tablets aren't just cheapie surfing and media boxes, that they can be useful productivity tools if designed right. A billion a year in 2014 sales says they succeeded in the business market. Now they're going after the academic market. They've got a shot at it.

BTW, here's the CPU specsheet:

http://ark.intel.com/m/products/8547...specifications

Anandtech's early take:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9126/m...nces-surface-3

Tech Radar:
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-...1289839/review
(They got the US accessory pricing wrong, though. Way too high on the keyboard.)

It is an interesting tablet.

04-01-2015, 08:29 AM	#14
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	One complaint I see that I don't get is the one about the pricing being "too close" to the low-end SP3, because of the smaller screen. To me, smaller screen = lighter weight, more portability. Ditto with the CPU; a coreM CPU might be a better fit for some productivity uses but there's more to productivity than Photoshop and video transcoding. And until we know for sure how "weak" the Cherry Trails are out in real world use I'm reserving judgment on what the new gen Atoms can and can't do. What I do know is the 2W power draw means the 10 hr battery claims are likely real and that USB charging means I can charge it with the cheap 2.1w power adapter I already own. All computers feature trade-offs. And different designs trade different features to meet their target markets. That is one of the virtues of multi-vendor platforms; there's no need to try to be all things to all people. The Dell Venue Pro is a very nice WinTab for the education market with a CoreM processor starting at $329. The trade-off is a thicker, all-plastic casing, a dual core CPU, 2/32 memory and storage, lower-res screen. Still very good and very useful, but upgrading the screen to full HD and moving to 64GB flash gets the price close to the S3 where the dual core vs quad core peak power vs sustained throughput takes over. There's room for both. Just as there's room for 8in cheapie WinTabs for reading and droids and iPads. Each has its market based on its strengths and its weaknesses. Pretending any single platform or product is superior or beyond reproach is delusional; they're all flawed and they're all fatally flawed for entire markets worth of users. Now, my experience with TabletPCs going bsck to the TC1000 days has always been that the problem was the hardware (too heavy and too expensive) and not the user experience which has always been very good, especially the multitasking and pen functions. Compared to my most recent HP Tablet PC the S3 looks to have double the resolution, double the CPU power, a third the weight, double the battery life, and all the functionality at 40% less (list) than what the old one cost on sale. If I can hold out 'til the fall I can probably get a better price when they start putting it on sale, maybe bundled up with the keyboard or maybe the 4G/GPS version. Or maybe Dell will drop their price or Asus will beef up their 10in Model... The Surface tablets exist to show that Windows Tablets aren't just cheapie surfing and media boxes, that they can be useful productivity tools if designed right. A billion a year in 2014 sales says they succeeded in the business market. Now they're going after the academic market. They've got a shot at it. BTW, here's the CPU specsheet: http://ark.intel.com/m/products/8547...specifications Anandtech's early take: http://www.anandtech.com/show/9126/m...nces-surface-3 Tech Radar: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-...1289839/review (They got the US accessory pricing wrong, though. Way too high on the keyboard.) It is an interesting tablet. Last edited by fjtorres; 04-01-2015 at 08:33 AM.