Very unimpressed by iOS 8...

[WillysJeepMan]

I'm not the one to compare prices because I've built my laptops and desktops but I do know for what's inside they're overpriced.

Do you feel that way about the Surface Pro 3? I keep hearing this claim that Apple products are overpriced and yet when Microsoft produces a product with price-parity of an Apple alternative, suddenly the Microsoft product is not overpriced... but reasonably priced.

 

[BobLobIaw]

Do you feel that way about the Surface Pro 3? I keep hearing this claim that Apple products are overpriced and yet when Microsoft produces a product with price-parity of an Apple alternative, suddenly the Microsoft product is not overpriced... but reasonably priced.

What is the Apple alternative to a Surface Pro 3?

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

Do you feel that way about the Surface Pro 3? I keep hearing this claim that Apple products are overpriced and yet when Microsoft produces a product with price-parity of an Apple alternative, suddenly the Microsoft product is not overpriced... but reasonably priced.

It's really hard to pin the surface pro 3. Can you get a cheaper laptop with better specs for the price, yes. In that form factor, probably not. The surface biggest feature is its dual laptop tablet hybrid stance. As just a laptop it can be beat as far as price because for 2k dollars you could build a beast of a laptop. As just a tablet it can be beat because of lack of apps plus lack of LTE and price again as you can get an iPad for less than its starting price. But together it's a fair price as you're getting a blend of both.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

What is the Apple alternative to a Surface Pro 3?

Microsoft believes that the Macbook Air is an (inferior) alternative.

It's really hard to pin the surface pro 3. Can you get a cheaper laptop with better specs for the price, yes. In that form factor, probably not. The surface biggest feature is its dual laptop tablet hybrid stance. As just a laptop it can be beat as far as price because for 2k dollars you could build a beast of a laptop. As just a tablet it can be beat because of lack of apps plus lack of LTE and price again as you can get an iPad for less than its starting price. But together it's a fair price as you're getting a blend of both.

That's what I suspected.

 

[Danjp]

Do you feel that way about the Surface Pro 3? .

Yes, the Surface series is over priced, I can get another brand PC with the same specs for cheaper, Or a $300 laptop that will run Office and browse the web, can't do that with apple and chromebooks aren't as versatile. People like to argue dumb points that aren't valid all the time, but bottom line for me is PC's give me better value for my money, and I probably wont be buying a Surface any time soon.

 

[BobLobIaw]

Microsoft believes that the Macbook Air is an (inferior) alternative.

Indeed, the Macbook Air is an inferior alternative. So is the iPad. The Surface Pro 3 can't be analyzed in terms of price parity with an Apple alternative because there is no Apple alternative.

 

[k0de]

Microsoft is seldom original. They take other ideas and drastically improve upon them.

Is that not the trademark of an inventor? Why recreate the wheel if you can improve it?

For example Fishing Rods have evolved drastically compared to their original creators. And so on..... Oops etc, etc....

 

[twint7787]

MS continues to crawl as it always has when it comes to listening to customer wishes and then applying them.
Am I the only one who finds it curious that only WPC and Crackberry members are the ones gnashing their teeth about this. I'm getting the impression that people are more or less taking the stance that iOS showing an upside just peeves them off about their own OS of choice and are bashing it to downplay it.

I edited your post a little bit but yes, this is exactly why some of us are giving this so much attention. I want MS to move faster. Period. I still don't see why people are bashing this update to IOS. I never said, nor did anyone else in this thread say it was revolutionary, but it really makes their entire ecosystem very attractive. I think some people here are a little too emotionally connected to MS and Apple as companies.

 

[TheMightyCraken]

I just watched the presentation for IOS 8. Those that believe that IOS 8 brings nothing to the table are not being truthful. IOS 8 brings tons. More than I've ever seen in any other package and this package will be a FREE upgrade. Google I/O is a joke by comparison.

Well also considering that Microsoft is also releasing Windows Phone 8.1 for free and brings tons of cool new features that even Apple didn't have time to bake into their new iOS...I also think that Swift is a complete waste of time...

 

[SchlepNT]

The Surface Pro 3 isn't overpriced for what it is. The $999 model compares very favorably with the 13" MacBook Air: much better resolution, considerably lighter (1.76 lbs vs. 2.96 lbs), a touch screen with pen input, about half as thick, and comes with Windows installed. I mention the last one, because no matter how many times I see Macs used in business, they're almost always running Windows which means additional cost. To me, it negates all this, "b-b-but $130 keyboard!" nonsense people are throwing out.

Microsoft's message isn't that the SP3 is better than a MacBook Air, though. Their message is that Surface is better than carrying around a MBA+iPad everywhere, and also has some unique features like pen input that set it apart.

If you really do spend most of your time with the laptop on your lap, then there are better options out there. I can't imagine those options being Apple, though, unless something is changed. I owned a PowerBook G4 (OG), the Aluminum PowerBook G4, and a 15" MacBook Pro. Any one of them could burn off the short and curlies in a matter of seconds.

 

[Christopher Lindsay]

Yes, the Surface series is over priced, I can get another brand PC with the same specs for cheaper, Or a $300 laptop that will run Office and browse the web, can't do that with apple and chromebooks aren't as versatile. People like to argue dumb points that aren't valid all the time, but bottom line for me is PC's give me better value for my money, and I probably wont be buying a Surface any time soon.

And to add to this the one thing people tend to forget is all windows 8.1 products run apps whether they're touch screens or not.

 

[TheMightyCraken]

You can use an iPhone with Windows though. I know several people at my college who have iPhones with Windows laptops.

Sent from my XT907 using Mobile Nations mobile app

Obviously you can, but the point is its that to use most of the "cool" new features hot need to be fully submerged in the Apple platform

 

[SwimSwim]

ios 8 = ios 7 + health stuff and some minor stuff which android, wp , BB have enjoyed since atleast 2 years but were waiting for apple to invent the new features and be called revolutionary
i dont see any reason why ios 8 is even called the next version of ios, it doesnt have any new features as such and might as well have been an updated ios 7.1.x or something instead of 8
every other mobile os gets major changes every update(wp,android,BB10 and even the aging and old- BBos and symbian)
ios on the other hand has gone the other way after ios 7, design is kiddish and unoriginal-they should have given an option of themes and fonts instead , even wp has more customisation in that aspect(dark and white background,wallpaper,colour schemes etc)
ios is a great os no doubt,dont get me wrong, but ios 7 and 8 are real letdowns for an apple lover like me, i love my idevices but only one of my ipads is on ,7 others are jailbroken on 6.1.3 and 6.1.2
wp8.1 has already gotten soo much criticism and hate for a few things despite bringing alot of new things to the table if not late but ios 8 ,despite not getting any major updates is still not scrutinized

ps- taking calls with a mac etc have been inbuilt-features for windows and windows phone as well, just try pairing wp8.1 to windows 8/8.1 and see, you can even make calls etc from there

Oh my god... There's so much wrong here... I don't even know where to begin...

 

[SwimSwim]

We're getting off topic. IOS 8 is pretty lackluster. That's all.

How so? While I'm not an iOS fan (the design is pretty ugly, IMO. While iOS 7 was a big improvement and movement towards modern design: the colors are still UAF): Only a fool could say that iOS 8 isn't a huge, massive update.

I'm genuinely impressed with how much Apple has improved and added in a one year time-frame, and while I'll be sticking with Microsoft for now: Their very sluggish update schedule for Windows Phone stings even more now. Desktop Windows receives pretty regular updates, so I'm not complaining there. But Windows Phone? Always lowest priority: even for Microsoft.

Again, I'll remain a loyal Microsoft user for now, but iOS 8 does have me aching for some of the features introduced. While I'm very impressed with the turnaround Microsoft has been showing lately: They still can't seem to get mobile right. Improving? Yes. Are they there yet? Far from it.

 

[MyNL822]

iOS 8 is good, I'm not unimpressed, its just I don't appeal to many of the features, it doesn't seem as big as iOS 7. But, I love the quick reply and the quick access parts of the update, that is great. Didn't they have quick reply planned for us in a leak? What happened to it?

 

[SwimSwim]

I edited your post a little bit but yes, this is exactly why some of us are giving this so much attention. I want MS to move faster. Period. I still don't see why people are bashing this update to IOS. I never said, nor did anyone else in this thread say it was revolutionary, but it really makes their entire ecosystem very attractive. I think some people here are a little too emotionally connected to MS and Apple as companies.

Very true. Many take their technology too heart, and it basically becomes a biggest ***** contest. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but it's true: that's how I see this whole thread.

So because Apple made some improvements: Microsoft-fans feel inadequate and are getting highly defensive. I've said this several times: But you're a fool if you don't beleive iOS 8 is a significant update with lots of new features in tow.

 

[MyNL822]

The Surface Pro 3 isn't overpriced for what it is. The $999 model compares very favorably with the 13" MacBook Air: much better resolution, considerably lighter (1.76 lbs vs. 2.96 lbs), a touch screen with pen input, about half as thick, and comes with Windows installed. I mention the last one, because no matter how many times I see Macs used in business, they're almost always running Windows which means additional cost. To me, it negates all this, "b-b-but $130 keyboard!" nonsense people are throwing out.

Microsoft's message isn't that the SP3 is better than a MacBook Air, though. Their message is that Surface is better than carrying around a MBA+iPad everywhere, and also has some unique features like pen input that set it apart.

If you really do spend most of your time with the laptop on your lap, then there are better options out there. I can't imagine those options being Apple, though, unless something is changed. I owned a PowerBook G4 (OG), the Aluminum PowerBook G4, and a 15" MacBook Pro. Any one of them could burn off the short and curlies in a matter of seconds.

Well that's a little off-topic, mmkay. Lets get back to iOS 8 mmkay.

 

[ajayden]

The iOS 8 announcement was cool. I only wonder.....from version 1 to version 7, all iPhones have horrible battery life and will adding more features worsen it?

What is the use of having so many features when your phone cannot be used for a decent time (forget about competing with battery life of Lumia's) in a single charge.?

 

[SwimSwim]

iOS 8 is good, I'm not unimpressed, its just I don't appeal to many of the features, it doesn't seem as big as iOS 7. But, I love the quick reply and the quick access parts of the update, that is great. Didn't they have quick reply planned for us in a leak? What happened to it?

Actionable notifications were in early builds of WP8.1. They even made it as far as the SDK. Unfortunately, they were cut due to time constraints (apparently wasn't refined enough, and therefore not ready for consumer use).

We'll be getting them soon enough, but now it's sadly too late to have it before Apple got the chance to "invent" them. Android has had it for years, of course, as with BB10, but Android is a mixed bag, and BB is going the way of the dodo...

Hopefully they'll come with a GDR update, but I honestly wouldn't expect them until Windows 9 "Threshold." It'd be wonderful for Microsoft to release earlier, but they seem to love holding off on releasing features for the sake of packing them into larger updates. :/

 

[SwimSwim]

The iOS 8 announcement was cool. I only wonder.....from version 1 to version 7, all iPhones have horrible battery life and will adding more features worsen it?

What is the use of having so many features when your phone cannot be used for a decent time (forget about competing with battery life of Lumia's) in a single charge.?

Well, if you've seen iPhone users, they're often "wall huggers." In my school, kids are always desperate to plug in their iPhones. Funny, really. Especially interesting how Apple prioritizes being thin and light over battery life. Didn't the Droid Razr vs. Droid Razr Maxx show us that people will gladly take a slightly bigger and slightly heavier phone for the sake of dramatically increased battery life?