Surface Go Will Fail in the Education Market

[unmorphed]

once these devices are in the hands of the school they need to be absolutely secure and flawless, even with current build of windows 10 and just browsing MSN or other news pages I get the your computer is infected blurbs with edge,

i have to use task manager to close it, the only way.

one visrus hit taking out a lot of users.
will be enough to bar Microsoft from ever
participating again in the school systems .
other operating systems have proved them self's as non nucense devices to the users. rock solid. and have a track record all ready being that way.

I don't know what you people do with your computers. I haven't gotten a virus or malware in years. And I don't don't use anything other than the built in protections of Windows. I would venture to say that it's those weird fetish sites you're clicking on.

 

[unmorphed]

I will not be surprised if it fails considering the past record of Nadella. Every product launched under him is either canceled or is not performing well.

"Every product launched under him is either canceled"...

I don't think things can actually be launched if they are cancelled.

Can you list these various failures of products launched under Nadella? Can you list 3 things? Can you list 2? Hell, I can't think of 1.

 

[dstrauss]

I feel Surface Go will fail in education. The cost per unit (even in volume) is too high, and with a lack of education focused software, and competition from Google (on the low end) and Apple (on the high end), there is no lane left for MS - EXCEPT - business. That is where I see MS possibly having a hit on its hands. If you use your device for any typical business oriented activities, the lack of a real file system in iOS (File and File Browser are no substitute) is an unbelievable pain. I think the 8gb/128gb SKU is going to dig deeply into iPad Pro sales in the enterprise, and when you add 256gb/LTE, it could be a real power seller to business.

 

[Geodude074]

Several reasons why Surface Go will fail in the education sector:

Surface Go + keyboard = $500. iPad = $330. Chromebook = $150.
Office = $150. Google Docs = free.
Windows = huge IT effort to lock down and maintain. iOS/Chrome OS = set it and forget it.

iPads make for great textbook replacements. Chromebooks are great for taking home and writing papers or doing homework in general. Surface could be good at both, but is simply too expensive to be competitive. Maybe if Microsoft created a $300 Surface Go with Office and a keyboard included. But until then, it's not even a consideration.

 

[jnjroach]

Several reasons why Surface Go will fail in the education sector:

Surface Go + keyboard = $500. iPad = $330. Chromebook = $150.
Office = $150. Google Docs = free.
Windows = huge IT effort to lock down and maintain. iOS/Chrome OS = set it and forget it.

iPads make for great textbook replacements. Chromebooks are great for taking home and writing papers or doing homework in general. Surface could be good at both, but is simply too expensive to be competitive. Maybe if Microsoft created a $300 Surface Go with Office and a keyboard included. But until then, it's not even a consideration.

Once you add a keyboard to the iPad the price is very similar. Also Microsoft offers Office365 free to students and faculty (https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...are-office-365-education-plans&token=AAHJdmLP) , also the privacy policy for O365 Education is so much better than G-Suite's (https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en ).

The device will do well in districts that understand the value and TCO of using the Surface Go.

 

[chezm]

Are all kids in high school using Office suites and half-baked applications that claim to be suitable in the work force? In my industry we rely on programming code, big data applications to construct deep analysis of trending/discovery, high capacity analytics tools supporting massive data loads in seconds and Visio designs that are 100-150MB in size. I am sure none of this can be done on a basic tablet, the capability required to perform such tasks needs minimum 4GB of RAM, a decent processor. I know our applications aren't support on Chrome or Android, I think GO is expensive but if it were priced a little cheaper it would be a great product for students looking to be in the real work force.

 

[v_2samg]

When did we decide to make our kids dumb by giving them iPads and Chromebooks? I grew up with a PC. Learnt stuff and did things that you cannot imagine doing on an iPad or a Chromebook. Oh how times have changed!

 

[Geodude074]

Once you add a keyboard to the iPad the price is very similar. Also Microsoft offers Office365 free to students and faculty (https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...are-office-365-education-plans&token=VQZ9LI3R) , also the privacy policy for O365 Education is so much better than G-Suite's (https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en ).

The device will do well in districts that understand the value and TCO of using the Surface Go.

I've never seen a school that uses iPads with a keyboard. iPads are used primarily for educational apps and reading. Also, iOS as a tablet experience is way more intuitive and user friendly than Windows 10, which is important when you're handing it over to 3rd graders and expecting them to know how to use it every day.

Office 365 is free for faculty and students, but it's online only. The offline Google office apps are free, which makes a $150 Chromebook a really compelling choice. Also, Chromebooks come with a keyboard.

 

[jnjroach]

I've never seen a school that uses iPads with a keyboard. iPads are used primarily for educational apps and reading. Also, iOS as a tablet experience is way more intuitive and user friendly than Windows 10, which is important when you're handing it over to 3rd graders and expecting them to know how to use it every day.

Office 365 is free for faculty and students, but it's online only. The offline Google office apps are free, which makes a $150 Chromebook a really compelling choice. Also, Chromebooks come with a keyboard.

All of the iPads I've seen in schools have a ruggedized case and keyboards, Some schools will opt for the inferior Chromebooks - but even Google recognizes that Chrome OS isn't enough as they are enabling Campfire to allow dual-booting into Windows 10.

Even at the paid tier of O365 for education, it is reasonable and will allow for better management and controls. But you can embrace whatever narrative you would like...I will continue to help schools transform digitally to prepare their students for the 21st Century

 

[Mike Buckhurst]

I've never seen a school that uses iPads with a keyboard. iPads are used primarily for educational apps and reading. Also, iOS as a tablet experience is way more intuitive and user friendly than Windows 10, which is important when you're handing it over to 3rd graders and expecting them to know how to use it every day.

Office 365 is free for faculty and students, but it's online only. The offline Google office apps are free, which makes a $150 Chromebook a really compelling choice. Also, Chromebooks come with a keyboard.

You do the modern youngsters of today a major disservice by suggesting they're not capable of using real computers, they've grown up in a world of IT, they know it better than most adults, I have a constant battle preventing my children access to things I want to control, they are so resourceful in figuring out circumvention's knowing that I can't lock down the network fully, from what I see all their friends are the same, giving them a toy like an iPad would be a serious underestimation of their skills. Schools use Chromebooks because often those making the decisions either have no money or don't know what they're doing.

I'd worry about my kids having Android, they don't yet fully understand the realities of the nasty applications that are out there, I'd rather them have windows, warts on all, with the knowledge that the AV and malware protection you can get for Windows, out of necessity, is second to none.

 

[anon(10505149)]

Yea, yea, phones are dead and move on, but if you don't believe there are credibility issues from that move, then you are crazy. People love to mention Apple, Google, and Amazon in their pitches for technology. No one is left to champion Microsoft, it's too embarrassing and risky. Nadella might just dump the technology you were saying was something your company or school should adopt. Developers feel the exact same way too. The biggest issue Microsoft has isn't apps, it's trust in the commitment of leadership.

Couldn't agree more! I just don't understand the folks saying "yea yea move on" from phones. Nadella could not have destroyed Microsoft's credibility more than when he killed mobile.

Microsoft's lack of credibility is the main reason I can't champion them in my own IT shop of over 100+ employees, supporting an agency of 1000+ plus field offices. There is absolutely no way I can go into my bosses office and with a straight face recommend Surface devices. Why? Because there's no way he can go in with a straight face and recommend them to the agency's leadership team. Is Microsoft committed to these devices? Who knows!

And to be honest, there's not much of a reason to keep our Windows laptops, other than Office 365. The vast majority off our apps are HTML5, CSS, jQuery, JavaScript, AKA "web" apps. Chrome is our standard browser, and that would run just a well on a Mac or even a Chromebook as it does on an Windows machine. We're really only keeping our PCs around for Office 365. Sad but true.

When Microsoft pulled the plug on mobile it sent a very clear message to IT shops in Education, Enterprise, Consumer, Retail, you cannot trust Microsoft, so don't be the fool that risks his career championing them.

 

[anon(10505149)]

So…for the same price, I tell them we’ll get a great machine…but NO APPS? At the Middle School level, our Tech Ed leader is preaching ‘It’s all about the apps’ mantra as we get more and more iPads. For Gr 6 – 8 students, it’s ‘all about the apps’ for their assignments and projects. What apps come with the Surface Go? For the same price, and no apps, there’s no way the Go is going anywhere in our school.

I totally agree about the lack of apps. I also think that MS seems lazy and complacent about its own app store. And not trying to just stub my own thread here, but that's why I started a thread on what realistically can MS do to improve the app situation?

https://forums.windowscentral.com/a...t-can-ms-themselves-do-improve-app-store.html

In all sincerity I'd like to know, if you were Nadella what would you do to improve the App Store situation?

Because I totally agree. Apps are the central question not only in the Education market, but also in Retail, Consumer, and more and more so even in the Enterprise. Developers are targeting iOS today primarily because they know that's where they stand the best chance of being profitable. The Apple app store is where all the paying customers are at. So how can Microsoft turn that around?

 

[Internaut]

The Surface 3 was more expensive and made significant inroads into education before MS failed to follow up on it in a timely manner.

This gets to the crux of the issue. Microsoft seems to have two problems, outside of its core markets, at the moment. Firstly, it lacks the tenacity it had under Gates’ leadership. Second, when it does have some success, it fails to follow through. Google have been going after the education market for some time. Through success and failure they’ve persisted.

 

[anon(10409867)]

This is pretty obvious. After all, who wants to write on a glass with a piece of plastic?

 

[LibbyLA]

This is pretty obvious. After all, who wants to write on a glass with a piece of plastic?

So convince a bunch of iPad/Apple Pencil users of that.

I put matte screen protectors on my Go and my iPads. I haven’t inked with the Go much, just tried it as a white board (with both OneNote and the whiteboard app, connected to an overhead projector and not connected) and it worked fine for me. I will not have to raise the overhead projector screen and write on the glass whiteboard in my classroom. Instead, I can accomplish the same thing with my Go.

 

[4everForever]

Those people who keep saying iOS and android have the Microsoft Office, how much thing you can do on these "mobile" version of Microsoft Office with limited functions compared to a full version of Microsoft Office on the surface go with all features available?

 

[Zeem Frostmaw]

Those people who keep saying iOS and android have the Microsoft Office, how much thing you can do on these "mobile" version of Microsoft Office with limited functions compared to a full version of Microsoft Office on the surface go with all features available?

Not to mention multitasking on iOS and Android is laughable by comparison. Want two word documents open at the same time? You can't. That's it.

Windows has no competition when it comes to actual productivity.

 

[ytrewq]

I know a couple of new high school freshman (one is my daughter) who have bought Surface Gos. In each case, it was a pretty simple explanation: "My backpack is already too heavy. This is a small Windows PC that weights a pound."

It's the same reason I bought one for myself. For routine meetings, this is much easier to lug around than my Surface Book 2 (which I love, but it is heavier).

I don't know whether school districts will spend the extra money to lighten students' backpacks. But when students/parents are making the purchase, this is pretty cheap, super small/light, and has full Windows.

 

[darrell reimer]

So I decided to try out a Surface Go during our Christmas break. After using it for 10 days, I'm even more conviced that this device will not succeed in the Education market; espcially the Elementary/Middle School space.
This is a wonderfull device, but it's stuck 'in the middle' between too many other devices.
It's definitly not going to replace our iPads. No educational apps being developed for this platform; Windows 10 is NOT a touch friendly OS. I purchased the first/original Surface RT, and LOVED it! Because...Windows 8/8.1 was a super touch friendly OS; it was built for touch. It was awesome!
The only thing i didn't like was the 16:9 screen aspect ratio (I wish it would have been 3:2) Windows 10 is nowhere near acceptable for a touchscreen device. It's built for laptops - with or without touchscreens. My 950XL is built for touch; my S8+ is built for touch. Not this device. There's no way this Go will replace our iPads.
So...can it still be used in an Elementary/Middle school arena is other ways. Our students do plenty of research, use OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Sway etc.
Now the problem for this device becomes its price: way too high! I've got a mid-range ASUS Chromebook, 'ruggadized' with tough rubber edges; turn it on and it gets 10 hours battery life; runs all the Office apps; can now split-screen apps (yes!), HDMI and USB and card reader. It cost me $269 CDN. The Surface Go starts at $529 CDN; add the $149 keyboard, and you're over $650 CDN. That's way too much of a difference for any IT department to even consider.
I've actually enjoyed using this little machine. Reminds me so much of my Surface RT. The problem is that it's 'stuck in the middle', sort of in 'no man's land'. This will become even more apparent when the foldable phones start coming out. Unfolded, their screens will be 2/3 the size of the GO, and will fit in your pocket. The GO is too big for your pocket, and not big enough to replace your laptop. Again: it's 'in between' too many other devices. Too bad....

 

[Gayle Lynn]

Maybe when Windows on ARM with SnapDragon 1000 finally arrives this could finally be what I'd hoped it would.

Had the RT also and this feels like a step backward.

Maybe having SnapDragon will attract more apps and touch support. For now I still use Samsung Tab and iPad pro along with Note 9. The Note + stylus works and it has to be just as good on Go.

For now I traded in Surface Pro 2017, too bug as tablet for me, and use SL2 along with others.