Mit Surface RT und Surface Pro brachte Microsoft erstmals eigene Tablets mit der neuen Windows-Generation auf den Markt - die eine Modellreihe ist anscheinend bei Nutzern wenig gefragt, die andere erscheint erst in diesem Monat in Deutschland. Doch schon ist die Rede von neuen Generationen des Surface, welche im Rahmen der Build Developer Conference vom 26. bis 28. Juni in San Francisco enthüllt werden könnten. Dabei soll es sich um Geräte zwischen 7 und 9 Zoll handeln, die den aktuellen Bedarf nach kleineren Flachcomputern als den ehemals gängigen 10-Zöllern decken sollen. Denkbar ist, dass auf einem kleineren Surface eine aktualisierte Windows-RT-Version, auf einem größeren dann schon Windows 8.1 Blue vorinstalliert sein wird.
- Walt Mossberg, "Wall Street Journal"
"Some users may not mind the price or bulk of the Surface Pro if it frees them from carrying a tablet for some uses and a laptop for others. But like many products that try to be two things at once, the new Surface Windows 8 Pro does neither as well as those designed for one function." - David Pierce, "The Verge"
"Even a well-executed Surface still doesn't work for me, and I'd bet it doesn't work for most other people either. It's really tough to use on anything but a desk, and the wide, 16:9 aspect ratio pretty severely limits its usefulness as a tablet anyway. It's too big, too fat, and too reliant on its power cable to be a competitive tablet, and it's too immutable to do everything a laptop needs to do. In its quest to be both, the Surface is really neither. It's supposed to be freeing, but it just feels limiting." - John Biggs, "TechCrunch"
"In short, the Surface Pro is so good that it could drive Windows 8 adoption with enough force to make people reconsider Microsoft’s odd new OS. Microsoft bet the farm on a new paradigm and it needs a champion. Surface Pro is the right hardware for the job." - Iain Thompson, "The Register"
"But if you're stacking the Surface Pro up against other Ultrabooks, then the system's cost is within the bounds of sanity. If Windows is your thing and you're not often working on the go, it's worth taking a look at the Surface Pro." - Peter Bright, "Ars Technica"
"Surface Pro's major selling point over Surface RT is that it can run almost two decades worth of Windows apps. But those apps are almost universally mouse and keyboard apps, which means you're going to want to treat Surface Pro more like a laptop and less like a tablet. Maybe other people can make use of the form factor better than I can. I'm sure the same markets that have used Windows tablets for the last decade will leap at Surface Pro—if they haven't already gone for the iPad. I'm sure some people will find it "good enough" as a laptop-like device, and for them it may be a viable purchase. But it's not for me." - Ed Bott, "ZDNet"
"In short, this is a great product for anyone who’s already committed to a Microsoft-centric work environment. It isn’t likely to inspire many iPad owners to switch, unless those Apple tablets are in the hands of someone who has been eagerly awaiting an excuse to execute the iTunes ecosystem. I don’t expect Surface Pro to be a breakout hit for Microsoft. Too many people will have good reasons to say no, at least for now. But it does represent a solid, interesting, adventurous alternative for anyone who wants to spend some quality time today exploring Microsoft’s vision of the future. The big question is how large that market is, and whether Microsoft can evolve both the Surface hardware and its accompanying apps and services so the next iteration is capable of breaking out in a big way." - Alexandra Chang, "WIRED"
"WIRED: Sleek and well-designed hardware. Sharp, beautiful touchscreen. Speedy performance. Runs all legacy Windows desktop applications. Great pressure-sensitive pen. Additional USB port on the charger so you can charge your phone at the same time. Type Cover is pleasant and forgiving. TIRED: Lacking in usable storage space. Short on battery life. Non-adjustable kickstand becomes a burden with long-term use. Pricey; you’ll need to drop extra money on several accessories (mouse, keyboard cover, external storage). Too hot, heavy and thick to comfortably use as a tablet." - Steve Kovach, "Business Insider"
"Microsoft created a very strange product category with the Surface Pro, one that will likely only appeal to a slim number of people who want to try a funky form factor but still work in a classic desktop environment when they need to. My experience with the Surface Pro was nearly identical to the one I had with the Surface RT, which makes it tough to recommend a pricier and heavier device with bad battery life. If the Surface intrigues you, check out the RT model first." - Tim Stevens, "Engadget"
"That it offers compatibility with the massive back-catalog of Windows apps gives this a strong leg up over the earlier Surface RT, but the thickness, heft and battery life are big marks against. We're confident Microsoft will keep refining Windows 8 to make the OS as a whole more seamlessly tablet-friendly, and we look forward to testing the dozens of touch-friendly hybrid and convertible devices due this year, but sadly Microsoft's second tablet doesn't have us reaching for our credit cards. Not quite yet." - Kyle Wagner, "Gizmodo"
"If it fits your professional needs, you'll at least want to consider it. Same goes if you have enough scratch to take a flyer on a secondary computer (that also happens to represent the future of computing). For anyone else, the Surface Pro probably isn't worth it. The Surface Pro is ultimately the best answer to questions a lot of people haven't bothered asking yet. That's different from being extraneous—it's more like being the girl who shows up 30 minutes early to every party—but it still means the Pro isn't for everyone. For a lot of you, a thick, superpowered tablet isn't necessary, and a laptop-like (and laptop-priced) machine that makes it harder to bang out emails, IMs, and tweets while on the couch or in bed is nothing you're interested in."
Laut Informationen aus der Produktionskette, die der Technikseite "Digitimes" vorliegen, wurden bereits Komponenten für bis zu 1,5 Millionen Einheiten zur Weiterverwertung ausgeliefert. Dabei wurde auf die meisten Zulieferer der ersten Surface-Generation zurückgegriffen: Samsung und LG zeichnen sich nach wie vor für die Displays verantwortlich, letzterer Hersteller fertigt auch die Akkus, während die Oberfläche aus Gorilla Glass von Corning bestehen wird. Die Chipsätze stammen von Intel und Nvidia, wobei nun darüber spekuliert werden darf, ob nun ein Tegra 4 oder ein Intel Atom bei einer möglichen günstigen Surface-Version verbaut wird. Auch ob die neue leistungsstarke und gleichzeitig stromsparende Haswell-GPU-Architektur von Intel bereits in einem möglichen Surface Pro zweiter Generation Verwendung findet, ist noch nicht bekannt.
Statt der angepeilten 3 bis 4 Millionen Surface-Einheiten, die Microsoft weltweit verkaufen wollte, wurden nur etwa 1,5 Millionen Tablets des Herstellers mit Windows RT und Windows 8 ausgeliefert. Die eher niedrige Bestellauflage könnte Anzeichen dafür sein, dass Microsoft die zweite Surface-Generation eher vorsichtig angeht, und möglicherweise eher auf die Produktion anderer Hersteller hofft. Acer hat aktuellen Berichten zufolge bereits ein 8-Zoll-Tablet mit Windows 8 in Planung - das Iconia W3.