$300 Windows 10 Surface Pro lookalike makes its crowdfunding debut

[davidhk129]

It does not take long, does it ?

Source :
http://www.zdnet.com/article/300-windows-10-surface-pro-lookalike-makes-its-crowdfunding-debut/

excerpt :

$300 Windows 10 Surface Pro lookalike makes its crowdfunding debut
You won't have to pay extra to get the stylus and keyboard with Chuwi's Surface Pro lookalike.

The cheapest option available is the $300 64GB SurBook, but the one most fans have gone for is the $400 model, which includes a backlit keyboard, stylus, 6GB memory, and 128GB storage.

 

[davidhk129]

I think I'll call it a " poor man's " Surface Pro.

It might not be a " dream on, bro " to me after all.

 

[Drael646464]

I think I'll call it a " poor man's " Surface Pro.

It might not be a " dream on, bro " to me after all.

That naming is TERRIBLE. But the product should be good for a budget alternative.

 

[nate0]

Ya Surbook is a weird name. Sounds like legal terminology.

 

[nate0]

I think I'll call it a " poor man's " Surface Pro.

It might not be a " dream on, bro " to me after all.

How long is the campaign?

 

[Drael646464]

How long is the campaign?

A month.

 

[nate0]

Anything unique or different on this one that might make it stand out other than the price?

I just took a look and see this so far.

10,000 mAh battery
6GB RAM
All Metal design
Fanless cooling
4 core instead of 2 core processor
1 USB Type C 2 USB 3.0 Type A

Those are actually impressive for the changes/upgrades for the price. The quality of the innards I guess is the trade off?

 

[nate0]

And they totally met their quota and surpassed it by almost 1000%

 

[Drael646464]

Anything unique or different on this one that might make it stand out other than the price?

I just took a look and see this so far.

10,000 mAh battery
6GB RAM
All Metal design
Fanless cooling
4 core instead of 2 core processor
1 USB Type C 2 USB 3.0 Type A

Those are actually impressive for the changes/upgrades for the price. The quality of the innards I guess is the trade off?

Well with cheaper tablet models the things to watch for are Wi-Fi strength, speaker quality, and headphone jack. With a hybrid, also keyboard/trackpad quality.

Obviously it would be hard to keep up with the quality of the surface keyboard. The use of Apollo lake is one way they have cut costs.

At this price point and with the publicity I'd not be surprised if Chuwi delivers pretty well though.

Chinese budget tablet makers save money by using others components (like the surface book screen they'll no be using), which saves them r&d, and they do no advertising, keep their margins thinner, and sell online (saves retailer costs a bit).

I've seen quite a few chuwi tablets, and while some models have been duds, most are good. The chuwi hi10 for example was one of the only such budget tablets with decent quality speakers.

Teclast, chuwi and xiaomi are pretty much the best out of that budget tablet market. The chuwi hi13 was on the front page here awhile ago.

 

[RumoredNow]

Bookmarked. Gotta consider this one. It might be just what I need.

 

[HeyCori]

Congrats to them. I didn't even know this product existed until I saw this thread! I would like to see WC do a review. Maybe there's a SurBook in my future. :grin:

 

[davidhk129]

Additional related article of SurBook :

Early birds can get a discounted Chuwi SurBook during crowdfunding campaign

By Brad Jones — Updated May 24, 2017 9:02 am
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/chuwi-surbook-crowdfunding-campaign/


excerpts :

Chuwi is running an IndieGogo campaign that will process pre-orders for the first wave of SurBook systems, according to a report from Liliputing. The company is well-established in China, but much less so in the United States, so this strategy allows it to offer its product directly to consumers without relying on relationships with retailers

The cheapest model available offers 64GB of storage, and will cost the first 200 backers $299 — later, the price will go up to $369. There’s also the option to get the same system bundled with a keyboard and a stylus, which costs $349 at the early bird rate, and $473 thereafter.

Chuwi is also offering a 128GB model that comes with the keyboard and stylus accessories, which costs $399 while the early bird allocation is still available, after which point the price will rise to $498.


The crowdfunding campaign will run for a month, but Chuwi has already met its low funding goal of $30,000, so all orders made from here on out are guaranteed to be fulfilled.

 

[davidhk129]

Chuwi is also offering a 128GB model that comes with the keyboard and stylus accessories, which costs $399 while the early bird allocation is still available, after which point the price will rise to $498.

Think I'll buy that one and live on canned soups and bread for next 60 days.

 

[nate0]

Think I'll buy that one and live on canned soups and bread for next 60 days.

TopRamen Days

 

[Burnnerman]

It may turn out ok, but from things I have seen and read, backing anything on Indiegogo with a flexible funding goal is a massive gamble. Basically it is throwing your money into the wind and hope you get something to come back to you.

 

[Drael646464]

It may turn out ok, but from things I have seen and read, backing anything on Indiegogo with a flexible funding goal is a massive gamble. Basically it is throwing your money into the wind and hope you get something to come back to you.

Chuwi is an established company. They could probably make this without the crowdfunding easily. I think they want the volume to keep the price down, and are also using crowdfunding as a marketing tactic.

I actually see a bit of that these days, make some pre-sales, drum up some marketing, lower production costs - but no actual need to do it.

 

[Park.Katt]

The price tag may be low, but this N3450 is a real drawback to me... Not even on par with a Core m3, I'm not ready to give this product a chance, I need more power personnaly.

 

[Shrave]

Ugh, I'm tried of crowdfunded hardware. Who knows when they'll ship. Who knows what their customer service is like. Who knows anything. Just take my money and give me Surface products.

 

[dstrauss]

I have to agree with Shrave - unless this is just a "third computer backup" how do you begin to rely on such a device...crowd funding is getting to be an annoyance, and it seems like every one I have ever attempted shipped far later than other competitive options, and the final result was inferior.

 

[RumoredNow]

I keep going back and forth on this. I truly cannot decide to pull the trigger OR to just move on. Time is running out to get the IndieGoGo pricing. Thoughtful advice would be appreciated.

I'm traveling overseas to Portugal this fall. Is it worth getting the SurBook? Should I just take my laptop and save the $400 (SurBook 128GB w/ keyboard & stylus) to spend in Lisboa?

Currently I'm using a Dell Inspiron 3543 that was purchased just about 2 months before W10 hit, so it was built for Windows 8.1 (but it is up to date with W10 v1703 15063.413).

• Intel Core i3-5005U (3M L3 Cache, 2.00 GHz, dual-core)
• Intel HD Graphics 5500
• 4GB Single Channel DDR3L 1600MHz
• 15.6" display, 1366 x 768 pixels, touch screen
• 1TB SATA 5400RPM hard drive
• Built-in DVD+/-RW
• HDMI 1.4a, (2x) USB A 2.0, (1x) USB A 3.0, SD card
• 10/100 Mbps Ethernet network, Dell Wireless-N 1705 @ 2.4GHz + Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi Display support
• 4-cell 40 WHr battery (removable)

And this is fine for what I use my computer for: web browsing, personal data management and organization, storage, documents, light photo/video editing, streaming video to TV...

If I got the SurBook, I don't foresee a storage issue. I can get a quality Samsung UHS-III 128GB SDXC card for about $45 and I have a 500GB SATA 5400RPM hard drive in a USB 3.0 external shell.

Perceived Disadvantages:

• Slower clock speed on the Apollo Lake SoC (yet it is just a bit faster in turbo mode)
• Loss of screen real estate
• Loss of internal storage requiring workarounds
• Loss of GPU power (? I'm a bit fuzzy on this ?)
• Loss of Optical Drive (which I never use much anymore, but I do have archived materials and x86 programs in that format)
• Loss of HDMI port (although I do prefer my ScreenBeam mini 2 Continuum Edition for ease vs wired setup)
• Sealed battery

Perceived Advantages:

• Major weight savings and portability advantages
• 50% more RAM
• Higher ppi and actual pen support should get me inking more
• USB C added and double the number of USB A 3.0 ports
• Without knowing the direct mAh to WHr conversion it would still appear on paper that the SurBook should yield longer battery run time
• Gain 5GHz WiFi capability

It's really a tough decision, so as I said any thoughtful advice is greatly appreciated. I have about 2 weeks left to decide and lock in the $100 savings.

Thanks in advance.