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[CharmingCharlie]

I honestly do not get the hype for this thing. The RT version is basically a tablet with a keyboard it uses an ARM processor so you can forget about playing PC games on it. The Pro version comes across as an ultra book with touchscreen. Now the Pro will be a "fully" featured PC with an i5 processor which is nice. However I don't even want to think how insane the pricing is going to be for the Pro version. Not to mention the Pro version is going to be hell to keep cool if you do any gaming.

 

[strata8]

I honestly do not get the hype for this thing. The RT version is basically a tablet with a keyboard it uses an ARM processor so you can forget about playing PC games on it. The Pro version comes across as an ultra book with touchscreen. Now the Pro will be a "fully" featured PC with an i5 processor which is nice. However I don't even want to think how insane the pricing is going to be for the Pro version. Not to mention the Pro version is going to be hell to keep cool if you do any gaming.

The heat might be an issue for gaming. They've got a pretty unique cooling solution, though, so who knows how it's going to turn out:

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Pro version is the interesting one, thanks to the possibility of running Steam. Getting Braid, Limbo, Frozen Synapse, Bastion, and my entire back catalog of older PC titles in a smaller form factor is very tempting. Of course, that unit is probably $1000 and runs like lava, so my excitement will remain in check until further specs are released.

 

[Lulubop]

For sure, I'll get a pro for Steam.

 

[Speedymanic]

A laptop isn't a tablet.

So the pro is a Tabtop? Or a Laplet? Cool.

 

[spats]

No interest whatsoever.

 

[Refreshment.01]

Now you guys came up with an "anti tablet" faction. What? How's you regular day? spending time battling and fighting for survival. X¬D

 

[michaelius]

People keep saying this, but I cant tell if its haterade, or just folks wanting or trying to ignore the pro. Thats the one that has the appeal to me. The RT is nice and all but wont get my eye until they work on their Appstore, the Pro however serves a lot of the function a person primarily uses a mobile device for. Websurfing and whatnot, with the added bonus of being a full on desktop OS also.

RT isn't nice. RT is useless junk.

Pro however is very very nice.

1920x1080 display which probably is IPS (as TN in tablet would be tragically bad), 128 gig SSD, i5 ULV, normal windows - that's a full functionality of normal laptop in tablet form factor.
And it has USB 3 so i can connect mouse

 

[shinobi602]

Interested in it as a tablet, but not for gaming.

 

[HarryHengst]

No, but im also not interested in tablets in general. I have enough problems with using a smartphone because im a retarded baby who needs real buttons, i dont need more of those things.

 

[LukasTaves]

The pro version + a 360 controller does seem super interesting...

Also, Mark saying that he trusts MS made me much more relieved about Ms' next console

 

[Kapoios]

The Pro is an attractive device but before making any decisions i'd like to see battery life and price first as well as performance reviews.

 

[Ghost]

Wonder if RT will get UE love as well, that would be a huge win over Android

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Just on a superficial level the keyboard looks awful to use and the OS is Windows 8. So no, not interested, especially not for gaming. Also bound to be very cost inefficient compared to desktop hardware because it uses technology I don't care about or need. But I'm indifferent to tablets rather than being anti them as such.

 

[Shtof]

I already play games on my Android phone, so I could see myself playing games on a tablet if I owned one. On the other hand, I'd hardly buy a tablet to play games.

 

[Takuya]

Has to be sub $400, or it's DOA.

 

[plagiarize]

Has to be sub $400, or it's DOA.

which one? the one with office built in, or the one that's a full PC?

 

[michaelius]

Just on a superficial level the keyboard looks awful to use and the OS is Windows 8. So no, not interested, especially not for gaming. Also bound to be very cost inefficient compared to desktop hardware because it uses technology I don't care about or need. But I'm indifferent to tablets rather than being anti them as such.

It has usb port - you can use any keyboard released in like last 10 years with it.

 

[erpg]

If I ever get a new laptop, this will be it.

 

[Gustav]

No 3G/4G for either those? Am I seeing this right?

 

[plagiarize]

No 3G/4G for either those? Am I seeing this right?

they haven't announced one way or another.

 

[Goldrusher]

Interested yes, but not for games.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

I5 version is basically a swish modular laptop so yes, for old games it'd be fine.

Can't imagine ever using it without the keyboard for games though.

 

[grimshawish]

I honestly do not get the hype for this thing. The RT version is basically a tablet with a keyboard it uses an ARM processor so you can forget about playing PC games on it. The Pro version comes across as an ultra book with touchscreen. Now the Pro will be a "fully" featured PC with an i5 processor which is nice. However I don't even want to think how insane the pricing is going to be for the Pro version. Not to mention the Pro version is going to be hell to keep cool if you do any gaming.

Saw one of these in HMV the other day - seemed pretty cool.
Unfortunately for MS its not exactly 'patentable' so it'll be copied.

With the prices of Tablets I hope one day we can maybe see a desktop computer linked to a tablet. That way whilst you can't run the games etc. on the tablet, when your at home you can and then when out you can carry work etc. on your tablet.

A kind of All in One station.

All a lot easier. THIS is what Windows 8 can offer. I don't see this from this tablet though.
Pricing is likely to be insane as you say, and really tablets just arn't for 'everything' - hardware is made to the specifications of reality and the customer. Tablets should be more basic, but very quick and good at those basic things. They are not PCs.

 

[operon]

No 3G/4G for either those? Am I seeing this right?

Plug in a dongle if you want

 

[Gustav]

Plug in a dongle if you want

Yeah, no thanks.

 

[Monty Mole]

I now desperately want one to replace my desktop PC. Will I play games on it? Undoubtably - it'll keep me occupied nicely when away on conferences etc too. But it'll never replace my 360/PS3 etc.

 

[Projectjustice]

I have a Samsung Galaxy tab with a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 chip under the hood and i never use it to play games. I love the tab for reading, movies, netflix while im at the fire house.

Any specs on the GPU/CPU on this thing?

 

[michaelius]

It's basically a swish modular laptop so yes, for old games it'd be fine.

Can't imagine ever using it without the keyboard for games though.

Well with HD4000 under the hood we are looking at machine which can run previous console gen games like Kotor in native resolution and current gen games at least in 720p.

 

[Horse Armour]

Well with HD4000 under the hood we are looking at machine which can run previous console gen games like Kotor in native resolution and current gen games at least in 720p.

You can't compare this thing's integrated GPU to the high end Sandy bridge GPUs, there's likely going to be a massive gap in performance.

 

[Conor 419]

What kind of gaming experiences can we reasonably expect from such a device? Will I be able to play Civ V on it?

 

[SparkTR]

What kind of gaming experiences can we reasonably expect from such a device? Will I be able to play Civ V on it?

A Microsoft guy tweeted Civ V runs well on it.

 

[Hoo-doo]

What kind of gaming experiences can we reasonably expect from such a device? Will I be able to play Civ V on it?

Not with playable framerates.

A Microsoft guy tweeted Civ V runs well on it.

According to AnandTech Benchmarks, the ULV chips used achieve an average of 10.6 FPS on medium settings and 786p.

 

[Diablohead]

I want the full on pc version to replace my current tower at the start of next year or whenever it comes out, I do game on my pc but not as much as a few years back and my love for tablets is ever stronger after having my ipad for the last few months already.

Not with playable framerates.

because you know the current processor and gpu specs, right?

 

[flyinpiranha]

Ridiculous price? I'm assuming you're not aware you can buy an iPad for $399.

I'm aware, but the 64Gb is around $700 and anything below that my phone does.

Didn't they say the Pro will be in line with ultrabook pricing? So $400 isn't going to happen.

If the iPad price is "ridiculous" and you think the Pro will be $399-400, it's safe to say you won't be buying a Pro. Also I wouldn't' count on much hardcore gaming on the thing. There will probably be a lot of touch based stuff but it's not like you are going to be playing the next Crysis or Witcher.

For 399 price range you are looking for ARM version not I5 version.

No way in hell MS will charge 400 for i5 version.

Yeah, I will look at the ARM but the Pro is exactly what I'm looking for as I've always wanted a tablet-like system but with a full OS. I was way off with pricing because I really hadn't looked at any of the details, figured it was just an iPad-ish type of system but I see it's way more robust and hopefully a lot more powerful so my bad on not reading about it completely first.

As for the gaming, I know it won't be "hardcore" but I am hoping for XBLA with a controller, that seems like it could be done. I'm not looking at it as a 'hardcore gaming machine' but a tablet with very capable gaming possibilities (Windows games, controller, XBLA, steam,etc ... ).

With the keyboard addition I could see myself dropping up to $800 on this. But anything more and I'd probably have to pass. I use my works iPad all the time around the house and I just find it extremely limiting with software and just overall freedom of what I want to do with it (customizable and such) and it's kept me from getting one. I'm glad we're finally moving to the tablet form factor with a full OS.

 

[danmaku]

Now you guys came up with an "anti tablet" faction. What? How's you regular day? spending time battling and fighting for survival. X¬D

Was wondering the same. Not being interested in tablets = anti-tablet? I guess that makes me anti- a hell lot of things.

 

[michaelius]

You can't compare this thing's integrated GPU to the high end Sandy bridge GPUs, there's likely going to be a massive gap in performance.

Yes i know I have seen benchmarks for i5 ULV gpus in Ivy Bridge and it's much faster than desktop HD3000 in Sandy

Was wondering the same. Not being interested in tablets = anti-tablet? I guess that makes me anti- a hell lot of things.

That's just a new name for "lol no buttons " faction which i'm proud of being part

 

[Infinite_Daremo]

Can someone explain how W8 emulates a mouse click on the touch interface. Is 1 tap a left click and 2 fingers is right click? Tap and drag is a selection box? Or am i mis-understanding W8?

I've wanted a portable Fallout 1/2 machine for years now. I have an Alienware laptop but its not exactly portable before the laptop party shout at me.

 

[kagete]

I'm going to run Osu! without being raped by the iOS IAPs!

 

[xtop]

Yes i know I have seen benchmarks for i5 ULV gpus in Ivy Bridge and it's much faster than desktop HD3000 in Sandy

i'm too lazy to look up the desktop sandy benchs, but are you sure the ulv is faster? the other computers in this bench could be sandy bridge for all i know. too early lol

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5872/intel-dual-core-ivy-bridge-launch-and-ultrabook-review/5

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

The only thing I got from the announcement was that the keyboard magnet cover is cool and I hope to see a clone of that for the nexus tablet. Regardless, I still have no desire to game on a tablet, and still have no desire to use Windows 8/RT.

 

[Conor 419]

If I can use this for my standard laptop uses and then have XBLA/Indy and Steam titles on the side then I am absolutely considering one of these.

Though, as you can see I'm getting mixed reports up above. Any chances of playing CIV 5 on this thing?

 

[radioheadrule83]

I'm interested in both the RT and pro model for different reasons.

I'm not interested in the RT for its potential for games, but it looks like it could be a competitive smart device that will run ALL of the WinRT environment applications that are designed for Windows 8 (basically anything Metro). I think that eco system is going to be really healthy with the transition to Windows 8, co-developing apps or porting existing ones for it will be a no-brainer. Social apps, messaging/email, browsing, simpler styles of game - they're all going to be pretty awesome, and integrate seemlessly with notifications and images appearing in the Metro UI. It'll be really nice. And the hardware is sexier than the pro model: lighter, thinner, like a small pad of paper. Gorgeous design.

The pro model has more usability, like an ultrabook laptop. It'll actually outperform my current laptop for gaming, and I can actually run Dolphin @ around 15-25fps in some games, and run some games on low settings just fine. I'm still not particularly interested in it as a gaming machine, but I expect it'd get a lot of the popular games something like the iPad would get and even some of the more popular touch-games and graphically non-intensive games that you would see on Steam and services like that. Add to that things like digital ink, increased storage, x86/64 compatability - and this becomes an amazing device for creative productivity on the move. Working with web assets, I don't typically need a super powerful workstation to work on graphics or anything... I could do that with this tablet really easily, and anywhere I have this thing in my backpack. It'd be a great device for showing off work or portfolios at meetings and interviews. A great presentational device.

Both devices would be really cool with SmartGlass, and I love that it has decent inputs and outputs - unlike the iPad. Full size SD support (meaning you can use microSD but you're not restricted to it), USB for connecting mobile phones, storage, and printers (hell, you could even connect an iPad! ha)... the keyboard covers are fab.

 

[taku]

If I can use this for my standard laptop uses and then have XBLA/Indy and Steam titles on the side then I am absolutely considering one of these.

Though, as you can see I'm getting mixed reports up above. Any chances of playing CIV 5 on this thing?

You could probably play it using "Strategic Mode"..

 

[east of eastside]

7", sub-$200 Xbox-tablet, make one, Microsoft.

 

[erpg]

You could probably play it using "Strategic Mode"..

Oh baby, I hope that works well with touch.

 

[Paracelsus]

The entry pricepoint for it to be a competitive core gaming machine is just too high, I'd still rather spend 400$ on 3DS+PSV.

 

[Bending_Unit_22]

Not in the least. I don't even buy a laptop if its screen is smaller than 17".

 

[sullytao]

I'd gladly game on it with a mouse/keyboard or if they release an attachment that makes it look like a Wii-U pad (and is easily supported).

 

[Duane Cunningham]

What successes has Microsoft had anytime in the last decade?

-Zune crashed and burned
-Windows Phone 8 has failed to catch up to Android or iOs
-Vista was a mess (although 7 was better)
-Their biggest success has been in the XBox brand, and even that finished second both times.

I want MS to succeed; I do like the XBox well enough and I actually appreciate the Metro UI and aesthetic quite a bit. But I just cant see "jumping in" on this straight out of the gate.