why the three month wait?

[GoodThings2Life]

I think Microsoft wanted to announce something to generate the buzz, and they were quite successful. Unfortunately, only enthusiasts are still talking about it right now. They needed to gradually release information about it during this time rather than sit on it for months.

 

[Thamuz]

I know it's been a while since anybody replied to this thread but I just thought of something which might be relevant.

First of all, does anybody know if Microsoft has confirmed the processor which will power the surface pro? Because in light of the recent announcement by Intel about their SOC (clover trail), I was thinking that is why Microsoft is waiting: they wanted the surface pro to also have things like connected standby, but for that they need a SOC, no?

I'm probably wrong but I really hope the surface pro will have features like connected stand by. In fact, that's probably the only thing which will put me off buying a surface pro immediately.

 

[freestaterocker]

I think ms should tick off the OEM's. Maybe then they will make better products. If the surface pro was a launch device, and turned out to be the ottest selling x86 tablet, it would show HP, dell, Lenovo and the rest that they seriously need to step up their game.

+ 1 trillion

 

[freestaterocker]

I've been thinking lately, and I actually just posted this status on Twitter:



It's true though, Apple doesn't bull**** or play around, they don't generally announce things way ahead of time(iOS 6, but iOS 5 is out and is not buggy). Like the new Retina Display Macbook, they pretty much just had it ready to go. Microsoft experienced this success with the Xbox 360 S, where they set it on sale essentially the day of announcing it. It was a complete mystery and it hit hard, like Apple always does.

I think they should've waited. I definitely want a Surface Pro for college. It will replace my laptop and then I'll get a high end desktop for Photoshop/Gaming/Video Editing.

Well put. Although I disagree about the Surface specifically, as I really believe it was meant more to set the bar for their OEM partners. HP, Lenovo and the like phoning it in with last year designs running the new OS is gonna sell about as well as the android tablets currently collecting dust on store shelves. That strategy only works for Cupertino. They ideally should've waited with WP8 devices, but they had the iPhone 5 launch to contend with. People on the fence about switching would just get the iPhone for sure if Nokia just said nothing.

Edit: they probably did anyways, but at least this way they have a better shot.

 

[jdevenberg]

I know it's been a while since anybody replied to this thread but I just thought of something which might be relevant.

First of all, does anybody know if Microsoft has confirmed the processor which will power the surface pro? Because in light of the recent announcement by Intel about their SOC (clover trail), I was thinking that is why Microsoft is waiting: they wanted the surface pro to also have things like connected standby, but for that they need a SOC, no?

I'm probably wrong but I really hope the surface pro will have features like connected stand by. In fact, that's probably the only thing which will put me off buying a surface pro immediately.

They said it would be an i series chip (likely an i5, though i3 and i7 are possible). So waiting on Atom is likely not the case.

 

[enthuz]

Since I will be using the $14.99 upgrade on my laptop, I can definitely wait for the Pro to upgrade my present tablet. It would be nice if the Pro had the latest chip in it, but I wouldn't complain on it having the latest i7 either.

 

[power5]

It's true though, Apple doesn't bull**** or play around, they don't generally announce things way ahead of time(iOS 6, but iOS 5 is out and is not buggy). Like the new Retina Display Macbook, they pretty much just had it ready to go. Microsoft experienced this success with the Xbox 360 S, where they set it on sale essentially the day of announcing it. It was a complete mystery and it hit hard, like Apple always does.

I think they should've waited. I definitely want a Surface Pro for college. It will replace my laptop and then I'll get a high end desktop for Photoshop/Gaming/Video Editing.

Don't be so sure. Do you think all the "leaks" about the iphone 4s or iphone 5 just happened to get more and more widespread as the event date got closer? Apple is a PR powerhouse they know how to work the media.

 

[jdevenberg]

Don't be so sure. Do you think all the "leaks" about the iphone 4s or iphone 5 just happened to get more and more widespread as the event date got closer? Apple is a PR powerhouse they know how to work the media.

They still didn't "announce" it, even if the leaks were intentional. That would have been a much better strategy for MS. Announcing the Surfaces 4 and 7 months ahead of time was a completely boneheaded move.

 

[mparker]

They may be waiting on the new chips from Intel. Clover Trail (dual-core Medfield) isn't supposed to be released until late Q4 '12/Q1 '13.

 

[Thamuz]

They may be waiting on the new chips from Intel. Clover Trail (dual-core Medfield) isn't supposed to be released until late Q4 '12/Q1 '13.

That's what I was hoping for Unfortunately, the pro has an i5 processor: Surface specifications

I know that's not a bad processor, but I really wanted the surface pro to have connected standby

 

[XBWillem]

Does anyone have any sources indicating in what form and when W8 Pro is coming to Surface?

To me it all is vague now.

 

[Lundon44]

I'm personally a bit torn on what to do..

The Surface is by far the best looking RT tablet though pricing was a bit higher than expected. I'd prefer the Surface Pro by far but would love to try out the RT in the meantime.

I think I'll end up buying the RT on launch, see how it goes. I was really hoping to have a tablet I can game on it but I guess having a tablet for that and a gaming laptop would be redundant. So I'll likely use this till Surface Pro comes out and if it's still the top Pro laptop at that time I'll give my Surface RT to my girlfriend or mom and upgrade to the Pro.

 

[jhoff80]

I decided to preorder a Surface RT, which will be replaced with a Surface Pro as soon as I can.

There's a rumor going around that perhaps the reason Microsoft is waiting is because they want to use the 10W TDP (less heat and less power usage) Ivy Bridge CPUs that Intel is apparently putting out a small run of. If that's the case, it would make sense why they're waiting.

Otherwise, I think another part of it is to not PO the OEMs too much.

 

[jhoff80]

I was thinking that is why Microsoft is waiting: they wanted the surface pro to also have things like connected standby, but for that they need a SOC, no?

I'm probably wrong but I really hope the surface pro will have features like connected stand by. In fact, that's probably the only thing which will put me off buying a surface pro immediately.

Connected Standby in a Core i5 series chip won't be available till Haswell, which won't be ready for manufacturers to use until late Q2/ early Q3 2013. It's not going to have that (especially since the specs page specifically says "3rd Gen Intel Core i5 Processor".

 

[Getintothegame]

Connected Standby in a Core i5 series chip won't be available till Haswell, which won't be ready for manufacturers to use until late Q2/ early Q3 2013. It's not going to have that (especially since the specs page specifically says "3rd Gen Intel Core i5 Processor".

That would be an Ivy Bridge then, right?

 

[jhoff80]

That would be an Ivy Bridge then, right?

Yes, 3rd generation is Ivy Bridge.

 

[The1Weapon]

It would seem to me that the most important reason for the delay is that it puts the focus solely on developing the Metro apps and building out their ecosystem. Considering that the RT tablets simply don't use the desktop interface for programs other than Microsoft Office, it would make most sense (I believe) for Microsoft to put the emphasis on building their app ecosystem first, because you'll always have x86 programs being developed later on. With that in mind, it makes the Metro interface more justifiable, promotes Microsoft's moderation/streamlining of it's content ecosystem to get your programs (and once more poeple are comfortable with that, then the rest of the media as well, such as music and videos), and makes it more competitive to the other tablet ecosystems at a faster pace than it would to simply have both tablet versions available at once.

Unfortunately, it takes away from the potential users who would prefer to have the x86 version of the Surface right away, but I think that's the main reason why, if I had to guess.

 

[stephen_az]

Personally, I think the reason for the wait is pretty straightforward. They can use the Surface RT tablets as a platform upon which to build interest in the professional version which certainly targeted at a more business oriented market. Company purchasing does not revolve around the holidays but getting a lot of RT tablets into consumer hands during the holidays can create interest and momentum on the business side. Of course it also lets them gauge pricing based upon the reception of both the RT tablets and the various OEM tablets. FWIW, there are many companies whose fiscal year follows the calendar/tax year. They don't know what they have available for discretionary and yax sheltering purchases until December....

 

[jdevenberg]

Does anyone have any sources indicating in what form and when W8 Pro is coming to Surface?

To me it all is vague now.

It isn't coming to the surface that comes out next week, which uses Windows RT and an ARM based Nvidia Tegra chip. In about 3 months, another Surface, the Surface Pro, that uses an intel Core i5 chip and runs Windows 8 Pro. Here is a link to the Microsoft store comparing the two tablets.
Help me choose which Windows tablet is best for me - Microsoft Surface

 

[ShaunKL]

Gears of War 3 for Example

A longer wait isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just means there's more time to make it better. And that's something a lot of companies don't seem to do these days.