I dropped by the Seattle Microsoft Store this evening for the first of the Surface 2 meet and greet events with team leader Panos Panay. About 120 or so were there with me crowded around the classroom area in the store and around a table filled with a wide selection of hors de ouvers and soft drinks. A lot of the people stayed for all of Panay's one hour talk but some wandered in and out of the area, checking out the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro models on display. Panay was accompanied to this event by Microsoft researcher Stevie Bathiche who spoke about the changes to Touch and Type Covers and the changes to the quality of the screens in the two devices. Panay talked about the manufacturing process for the devices and the team goals for the version 2 Surfaces. I loved this level of detail about how they went from using 3 pieces of VaporMG material in construction of Surface RT to just 2 in Surface 2 but I don't know how many other people were as interested in that. Panay described Surface 2 as essentially a single piece "bucket" in which they now insert all of the electronics and screen. He talked about the speed increases and the camera improvements much as he did at the launch event. He vividly demonstrated the use case for the Surface that CEO Steve Ballmer presented to him. Laying flat on the floor of the store, Panay propped a Surface on his stomach with the kickstand out and keyboard connected and started typing on it. This, he said, was one of the ways Ballmer likes to use his device. The 22 degree angle of the kickstand made the Surface visibly wobble while typing. The new 44 degree setting significantly stabilizes the device.
He also discussed the Surface 2 Pro and the improvements in that model and its power and popularity, but by far most of the discussion was on the Surface 2. He went over the services component of the devices- the SkyDrive and Skype features and noted that the press seemed to gloss over these items. Panay believes these services add substantial value to the Surface product that no competitor can match.
Panay and Bathiche answered a number of questions covering further details about the two devices. They clearly enjoyed themselves in the friendly crowd, grabbing a Surface RT that one attendee had with him to demonstrate the differences between the Surface RT and 2, making fun of another viewer's Mac Book Pro and being seemingly ready to disassemble another viewer's Sony Vaio hybrid to see how it worked. Panay laughed about the grief he got from the press for inventing the word "lapability."
I was able to ask Panay to expand on his comment about the popularity of the Surface Pro. I noted he had made that claim in the launch event and at least some tech bloggers had expressed disbelief. He said "all things being relative, there is no question the Pro sold something like 12 times more units than anything in its class, by which I mean units $899 and up." In other words, the Surface Pro didn't sell by iPad numbers, but among high end Ultra Book quality devices, the Pro sold far better than the rest. I asked Bathiche if the most commonly missed key on the first Touch Cover was the spacebar. It is the one I miss most often, followed by "A." He confirmed it was and talked about how the new Touch Cover will reduce that problem. He also demonstrated a few of the gestures that are possible on the new Touch Cover: two finger swiping allows you to control the edit cursor on a page and another gesture that allows selecting and deleting text.
The event ended with a raffle of Microsoft Store gift cards, including a $500 grand prize and lots of time to mingle to further talk with Panay and Bathiche and to touch and use the two Surface devices as well as examine several of the accessories. Touch and Type Covers (not the new versions) were given out to those who wanted them, autographed if desired.
All in all it was a nice event. Panay is a genuine guy, clearly believing his team has created great products that are even better in version two. The devices and accessories are, just as with the first generation, well made and attractive. The Surface 2 I played was faster and demonstrated no lag in swiping the Start Screen back and forth and up and down. Bing apps I started launched without showing those annoying "busy" circles which I frequently see on my Surface RT. When I used a second Surface 2 and started the same apps, I did see the circles and tried to get Panay's attention. Before I could catch his eye, I decided to see if there were other apps running and sure enough, the previous user had started and left running 4 or 5 apps. I closed them all and then tried my test again and the apps launched this time without the circles. The Surface 2 devices are clearly improvements over version 1 and I agree with Panay that the SkyDrive and Skype services included represent real added value. Events like this one probably have a tendency to "preach to the choir" but I suspect some skeptics went away re-thinking as well. If there is a Microsoft Store near you, I recommend attending.
He also discussed the Surface 2 Pro and the improvements in that model and its power and popularity, but by far most of the discussion was on the Surface 2. He went over the services component of the devices- the SkyDrive and Skype features and noted that the press seemed to gloss over these items. Panay believes these services add substantial value to the Surface product that no competitor can match.
Panay and Bathiche answered a number of questions covering further details about the two devices. They clearly enjoyed themselves in the friendly crowd, grabbing a Surface RT that one attendee had with him to demonstrate the differences between the Surface RT and 2, making fun of another viewer's Mac Book Pro and being seemingly ready to disassemble another viewer's Sony Vaio hybrid to see how it worked. Panay laughed about the grief he got from the press for inventing the word "lapability."
I was able to ask Panay to expand on his comment about the popularity of the Surface Pro. I noted he had made that claim in the launch event and at least some tech bloggers had expressed disbelief. He said "all things being relative, there is no question the Pro sold something like 12 times more units than anything in its class, by which I mean units $899 and up." In other words, the Surface Pro didn't sell by iPad numbers, but among high end Ultra Book quality devices, the Pro sold far better than the rest. I asked Bathiche if the most commonly missed key on the first Touch Cover was the spacebar. It is the one I miss most often, followed by "A." He confirmed it was and talked about how the new Touch Cover will reduce that problem. He also demonstrated a few of the gestures that are possible on the new Touch Cover: two finger swiping allows you to control the edit cursor on a page and another gesture that allows selecting and deleting text.
The event ended with a raffle of Microsoft Store gift cards, including a $500 grand prize and lots of time to mingle to further talk with Panay and Bathiche and to touch and use the two Surface devices as well as examine several of the accessories. Touch and Type Covers (not the new versions) were given out to those who wanted them, autographed if desired.
All in all it was a nice event. Panay is a genuine guy, clearly believing his team has created great products that are even better in version two. The devices and accessories are, just as with the first generation, well made and attractive. The Surface 2 I played was faster and demonstrated no lag in swiping the Start Screen back and forth and up and down. Bing apps I started launched without showing those annoying "busy" circles which I frequently see on my Surface RT. When I used a second Surface 2 and started the same apps, I did see the circles and tried to get Panay's attention. Before I could catch his eye, I decided to see if there were other apps running and sure enough, the previous user had started and left running 4 or 5 apps. I closed them all and then tried my test again and the apps launched this time without the circles. The Surface 2 devices are clearly improvements over version 1 and I agree with Panay that the SkyDrive and Skype services included represent real added value. Events like this one probably have a tendency to "preach to the choir" but I suspect some skeptics went away re-thinking as well. If there is a Microsoft Store near you, I recommend attending.
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