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Can a tablet replace a laptop? Definitely not, would say those who can’t do their jobs in the lack of a mouse and a keyboard. Can Microsoft create such an amazing product that it can directly compete with Apple’s MacBook and other ultrabooks out there? Can a Microsoft product defeat them in the market share? Definitely not, would say financial analysts who have seen the numbers related to sales and profits.
But if you are a true Microsoft fan and still believe the company can break down barriers and re-invent itself and the mobile gadgets market, then you are in luck. In a press event that took place yesterday in New York, Microsoft exec Panos Panay unveiled the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet.
What is so great about this product in comparison to its Surface Pro 2 predecessor? Panay said this one is faster, better built, thinner, lighter and has a wider screen than the previous model. The killer feature of this tablet, however, is that it can supposedly replace both laptops and tablets. It can cover all the functions a laptop sports, with the added convenience of being easier to carry and to use. Is that so?
Let’s see briefly the features of the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet and try to underline the ones making it better than a laptop:
The Surface Pro 3 will have a screen measuring 12 inches diagonally, up from 10.6 inches in the previous model. The Pro 3 is 32 percent thinner and 12 percent lighter than October’s Pro 2. The company said it customized more than 100 parts and worked closely with chipmaker Intel Corp. to maximize performance in a slim device.
So far, no matter how well equipped this device is, it still cannot compensate for a laptop, let alone for a MacBook. This is why perhaps the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 also sports an additional keyboard and mouse pack, to get closer to the concept of “laptop”. In other words, it is still a tablet (actually more of an Ultrabook) and it is still not impressive enough to give us hope that Microsoft will boost sales in its tablets and phones department.
We admit that Microsoft is bringing new and interesting ideas to the world, in an effort to maximize profits and gain new customers, but Apple and Samsung are way ahead of it. From a financial point of view,
[quote]Currently, that market is dominated by Apple’s iPad and various devices running Google’s Android operating system, including Amazon’s Kindle Fire. According to the research firm IDC, tablets running a version of the Windows 8 operating system made up less than 2 percent of the tablet market in the first part of 2014, a grim mark for Microsoft.[/quote]
Nadella said Microsoft didn’t create new gadgets just to create new gadgets, but because they wanted to deliver new experiences and new demands in the market to power up the entire industry. If by that they mean they want to bring down the reign of Apple and Samsung, they have still a very long and hard road to travel.
