[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfpULoEZIHk]
Oh dear. Just when we thought Microsoft might have gotten over its misleading Surface tablet ads attacking the iPad (and iPad mini), it has run three new ones, each attacking the MacBook Air (the other two are shown below the fold).
Microsoft’s decision to go on the offensive is perhaps understandable: while Apple can run a MacBook Air ad simply observing that it’s “the notebook people love,” poor sales of the Surface despite high marketing costs have so far resulted in Microsoft losing $1.7B on the device …
The ads claim the Surface is as powerful as a MacBook Air while championing the the Surface’s touchscreen, pen and detachable keyboard that allow it to be both a tablet and a laptop – the very ‘worst of both worlds’ experience that resulted in such poor reviews.
The poor sales performance of the Surface led Microsoft to abandon its plans to make a Surface Mini, a decision resulting in some embarrassment when observers pointed out that the company had made several references to the smaller model in the Surface 3 user guide.
Microsoft’s ad campaigns for the Surface have been almost entirely negative, attacking not only Apple but Samsung too. The two other MBA-dissing ads can be seen below.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jP4O7rEHQ8]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYC5dkQlQLA]
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I think the give away of Microsoft’s conceptual mistake with the Surface is most clearly expressed in the ad for the Surface Peo 3, called “Power” where the voice over says: “Yep, but it’s not only a tablet, it’s really a laptop”. That’s the whole problem right there, Microsoft. You’re trying to turn the tablet into a laptop PC, and in doing so you’re compromising the product in both capacities, making it both a poor tablet and a poor laptop.
it’s heavy tablet and poor laptop
You know I bought a Dell Venue Pro 11, the i3 version, for my wife, because she says she needed a Windows PC for a certain application that she runs.
Turns out that wasn’t true, but anyway, that’s how that started.
I notice, she 100% never uses it as a tablet, its only a laptop. And I never imagined that it was going to be as bad as it was, I honestly thought people were exaggerating. But you have this classic windows environment where everything doesn’t really work for touch that well. And so the first thing my wife found really confusing is the “two faces of internet explorer” – sometimes it works well with touch, and other times it doesn’t……what?
I do understand why Microsoft made the screen bigger. Since it is a laptop – a tiny netbook size screen is no advantage. Unfortunately with the Dell Venue Pro 11 we actually bought, my wife does suffer with the small screen.
Like I said, I got the i3 version, so I got the version with a relatively capable processor, and the faster SSD drive- so its capable enough performance-wise, but overall I didn’t realize that Windows 8.1 was really as bad as people warn.
It’s just a frankenstein monster.
8 was undercooked, but 8.1 is quite enjoyable in my opinion. the thing is you have to buy in to the concept that it’s a full and powerful OS that is both Table and desktop OS at the same time. If you reject that philosophy, you’ll constantly be fighting it and never enjoy it.
When, for example, you change from an iPhone to an android phone or WP phone there is a certain learning curve. Why isn’t this obvious with Windows 8? You have to LEARN something. Young kids find Windows 8 stupidly easy to use… then again they are open to new things unlike adults.
I always like when the Microsoft-leaning folks try to justify poor interface and hardware design by saying “Obviously, there’s a learning curve,” as if to say that if people have problems with it, they obviously are stupid and/or lazy. Usually, I imagine, these types of comments are by software engineers, or computer tinkerers who love the geeky side of everything. So do I. However, bad interfaces and bad hardware design is simply that: poorly designed, poorly executed. It has nothing to do with the abilities of the end-user or their motivation to “learn new things” or spend countless hours trying to get the damn thing to do what should be intuitive and easy for ANY user, regardless of their experience, and regardless of how long you think they should play with it before getting frustrated and giving up.
Prickly a bit, are we? Why is it an “attack” to point out the Surface is both a tablet and laptop; it has full touch support; full pen support – they didn’t even mention the superior resolution screen, and even with the type cover weighs less than the MacBook Air, much less an Air and its iPad Air cousin. If this is an “attack” then what did you call all those years of “I’m a Mac and You’re a PC” or even more recently, the Samsung wall hugger ads” Get a grip.
But it’s the worst of both. It’s not a great tablet (too heavy and you never see it being used in portrait mode) and there are laptops with much better keyboard and trackpad (including ones with a touch screen).
Do I sense fear among the Apple faithful…
@rogifan – It is the BEST COMPROMISE of both worlds. The tablet weighs a mere 0.3 lbs more than the beloved iPad 4, which was hailed as the greatest thing since sliced bread until the second coming of the iPad Air (which IS a great device). There is NO laptop with a better keyboard and trackpad that is as light, thin, and portably convenient as the Type Cover. Is it the best keyboard/trackpad – NO – but it is sure a lot better than any other detachable keyboard/cover out there for the size and weight.
@Michael Powers – surely you are not serious that fingering the trackpad of the MacBook Air is any kind of comparable experience to the pen on the Surface Pro 3?
@ dksmidtx : I’ve used the Surface Pro and I hate it. It truly does feel like the worst of both worlds. Its a horrible tablet – too heavy to be carried around and used like one, and its too small and flimsy to be used as a serious laptop. I actually did like having it for the times when I wanted it – but wound up returning it to best buy because i just couldn’t justify the price. I’d rather have my Macbook and iPad and have the choice of using what I want; a device that is optimized for the task I am doing. I’m not trashing Microsoft for trying…I just wish they could find a way to make it cheaper…because at that price, I’d rather buy a Mac.
@Scott Simon – After all, these are all PC’s, which really stands for “personal choice” as much as “personal computer” but just look at what you just wrote – you prefer a MacBook and iPad to the Surface Pro 3 – that’s fine, but dissing it on price is absurd, as a comparable MacBook and even a minimum iPad Air is going to cost AT LEAST $500 more than the Surface Pro 3. As for “too heavy to carry” let me remind you that it weighs 0.2-0.3 lbs more than the first four generations of iPads and you rarely, if ever, heard the Apple faithful complain they were too heavy – they were lauded as the second coming…
The Surface Pro is fantastic. I have a Surface Pro 2 and I love it. The improvements made in the third generation seem great.
I also have a MBA that has started collecting a bit of dust since I bought dock for my Surface.
I love the Surface for its pen technology. I bought an ipad 3 a few years ago as a way to take notes in class. Wow was that a horrible experience. I ended up giving the ipa to my girlfriend. I love the surface for taking notes with pen and with the keyboard. It’s fantastic.
@dksmidtx : “…but dissing it on price is absurd, as a comparable MacBook and even a minimum iPad Air is going to cost AT LEAST $500 more than the Surface Pro 3.”
Here are some numbers to counter that argument:
Surface Pro 3 – Core i5, 256GB HDD, 8GB RAM = $1,549 + $129 (TypeCover) = $1,678
MacBook Pro 13″ with Retina display – Core i5, 500GB HDD, 8GB RAM = $1,299 + $499 (iPad Air) = $1,798
Notice that the MacBook has more HDD space but if you really crave 500GB of HDD for the Surface you’ll have to step up to the last Surface Pro model that starts at $1,949. Granted it’s a Core i7 system but that’s still fairly pricey in comparison to Apple. Also, if you step down to the non-Retina display MacBook Pro it’s actually $200 less. Step down a MacBook Air — the first laptop Microsoft compared the Surface Pro 3 to — and the price is equally lower.
Also noteworthy is that the iWork and iLife Suites are free with every Apple device purchase while MS Office 365 requires a monthly subscription. That’s to say nothing of the incredible lack of software available for the Surface. And no, a couple decades of legacy applications don’t count. I’m referring to new software development and Apple is the clear winner in that category. Also lacking any and all Google apps (direct from Google) is a rather gargantuan omission.
Bottom line is that Apple is no longer the lone hardware manufacturer of so-called expensive laptops and if you’re not at all concerned about or have use of a tablet you’ll come out even cheaper on the Apple side.
The only thing that’s missing is pen support, which is both easily remedied and is far from a deal breaker for most people. The iPad has dominated the market for years without pen support and the fact that both Microsoft and Samsung have had pen support for a couple years hasn’t had a measurable impact on the iPad’s dominance.
Too heavy? I got to play with one at the mall the other day and I was amazed by how thin and light it was. The screen ratio really looks good especially in portrait. Screen was gorgeous and was so thin and light. Using mainly a dell venue 11 pro and it is very thick and heavy with keyboard cover attached, surface was so much lighter. The pen was like using pen and paper…. The kickstand was great too. Microsoft should did improve this over the last generation in every way. No I have to decide what to get, MacBook or surface for school next year? My mid 2010 MacBook pro is really slow but I do like it. I think I need to upgrade to ssd but don’t want to do it myself since last time I fried something and had to take it to apple and pay $100s to get it fix…
@Mark Langston – don’t see where you got your numbers – you should take a look at store.apple.com and microsoftstore.com. The MacBook Pro Retina with i5/8gb ram/256gb SSD goes for $1499, and even given your selection of the lowest (and by many counts inadequate storage-wise) iPad Air of $499, that’s still $1998. Now, the i5/8gb/256 Surface Pro is $1299, plus $129 for Type Cover – grand total $1428 – $570 LESS on my calculator. Add another $100 for 32GB on that iPad Air, and the difference just keeps growing.
Nice try guys, but I think your “cyphering” is more akin to federal government accounting…
@marklangston, You’re incorrect. The Surface Pro 3 that is $1549 is the 256GB/i7, not the i5. The i5 with 8GB ram and a 256GB drive is $1299. An i5 macbook Air with 8GB ram and a 256GB drive is $1299. Add in the cheapest $500 iPad Air and that’s $500 over the price of the surface, or $380 if you include the keyboard. Stop trying to lie here.
You say it’s cheaper to go Apple if you choose not to use a tablet, well that’s wholly untrue. If you choose a MBA you will pay the exact same price for the same sized Surface Pro 3. But with the Surface Pro 3 you get a tablet with a pen that has a digitizer.
And how in god’s name is the lack of pen support “easily remedied”? Have you ever even tried a tablet with a digitizer? I have spent around $100 or stylii for my iPad 3 and they are all absolutely horrible compared to my Surface Pro 2. They’re not even worth mentioning in the same sentence. I’ve tried expensive stylii too, not cheap nubs. You’re just flat out lying.
I concede that I was wrong in the pricing. While looking at the non-Retina display model I was mixing the specs of that device against the Retina display model, so I stand corrected.
However for those that continue to debate this point, here’s what’s interesting: you’re on an Apple blog debating a product with mediocre sales and equally mediocre reviews.
I’m sure you’re enjoying your devices and you’re welcome to them. As another comment stated, the term “PC” can also be defined as “personal choice”, which is correct. My choice has, is and always will be Apple. Pound-for-pound they make the best devices, the best software and have a retail experience that has no equal. No system or ecosystem is perfect but Apple delivers and then some. And with iOS 8 and Yosemite adding to the synergy and functionality it’s only going to get better.
At this point Microsoft is grasping at as many straws as it can. The desperation is palpable. A year ago the iPad was their number one rival and the future of computing was strictly tablets, now it’s the desktop. A year ago the Charms bar and the removal of the Start button was the future of computing, today it’s being recognized as the biggest mistakes Microsoft’s made since Windows ME. And if not for them spending $7.6 billion to acquire Nokia Windows Phones would be extinct.
I don’t think Microsoft is going anywhere — they still own a lot of the enterprise in terms of servers and AD authentication — but they’ve clearly lost the war on mobile devices and even staples like MS Office have stiff competition in the form of iWork and Google Docs. Even the insanely feature-poor Chromebook is outpacing Windows machines in the education and medial markets; IBM and Apple are working together to take over the enterprise — starting with Ford who’s replacing all Blackberry’s with iPhones — and even the Xbox division, which can’t seem to stick to a consistent story, is getting pwned by the PS4.
But I digress.
Enjoy your pen input and “this is so much cheaper and better” lap-tablet. The rest of us are okay right here.
@dksmidtx> “Do I sense fear among the Apple faithful…”
*Looks at the sales stats of MacBook Air and iPad Vs. Microsoft Surface*. Nope – no fear! :-)
I wasn’t meaning “fear” in the sense that Apple has anything to fear from the Surface Pro 3 – the Apple faithful will never convert. The fear I mention is the mere fact of calling those ads “attacks” on the beloved MacBook Air – they did nothing but point out features it does not offer…and the fear of the faithful here sounding alarm bells and quoting prices differences that were way skewed from reality – on user trued to support that a comparable MacBook Pro Retina and bas iPad Air was a mere $100 more than the Surface Pro 3 – more like $570. Even then, my point wasn’t so much the pure price difference, but the fact that a Mac supporter was dissing the Surface Pro 3 because it was TOO expensive, while lauding his preference for a MacBook and Air combination…
@dksmidtx Im a huge Apple fan, but I always read the comments on stories like this to see watch people damage control and justify things to themselves :)
@Cameron Saemann > Ehm, what’s that “damage control” you’re talking about? Where’s the damage? Last time I checked sales of iPads and Macbook Airs are doing just fine – something that can’t be said for Microsofts tablet/laptop Surface product. In fact MS has lost $1,7 Billion on the dud so far, according to some estimates. So who’s in need of damage control again?
You’re right, Apple users are insanely jealous of a product so poorly designed and and such weak sales that nobody owns one. Literally, nobody.
Value?
The base 128gb MacBook Air is $899. A 128gb Surface Pro 3 with keyboard is $1129 and the MacBook Air will run circles around it. You can buy a MacBook Air AND a iPad Mini for about the same price. Or just save the $230 and have a more productive machine that doesn’t get malware and viruses.
For the price of a fully decked out Surface Pro 3 ($2180) you can save $800 (!!!!) and buy a 512gb MacBook Air ($1400). Or the MacBook Air AND an iPad Air ($500) AND still save almost $300 while not having malware, viruses.
Microsoft has the ability to make great products. Instead they react, years later, to innovative products with poorly designed products. Name the last thing Microsoft did that was a success, including operating systems? XP, 13 years ago. Zune. Kin. Surface. Surface RT. Vista. 7. 8. 700 versions of Windows Phone. Paid a fortune to buy Nokia and cancel all products while firing most of their employees. They are a very poorly run company that has no clue what they’re doing.
I stopped reading right after your first paragraph. I’ve seen people own and use the Surface Pro in the wild. If you say literally no one owns one, you are saying 0 people own it. You lied. :)
There are dozens of us!
(Disclaimer: not “us”; I don’t have a Stylus Pad.)
Did the same thing. What do we do in a world where people say “literally” and it means whatever they want it to mean
I’ll make a comparision in a different way to try to reduce uninformed anti-Apple arguments.
1. One computer I use is a Sony Viao laptop.
I have used a Surface and because if its basic design I would never use it to replace my laptop.
– A key part of a laptop is its clam shell design. That allows carrying around the laptop by the keyboard and tilting it at all angles.
The Surface keyboard is just an attachment which is designed to come apart and has limited viewing angles. It’s not a laptop replacement.
2. I typed on a Surface keyboard for a while and it was like typing on a flat piece of plastic.
That trackpad also was not good.
In no way could the Surface keyboard compare to a good laptop keyboard such as with the Sony Vaio.
3. Now I’ll look at the Surface as a tablet.
– Does a person need a tablet with a full version of Windows? I think this would be a very small market.
Tablets are mostly limited use consumption devices.
– Tablets are getting lighter and the Surface lags compared with the competition in getting its weight down.
– Surface Pro uses regular Windows with routine Windows updates and Windows software updates for desktop software. And Windows should be using antivirus software.
This is the advantage of iOS where updates are not nearly as intrusive and antivirus software is not necessary.
– And I have an iPad with a Zaggfolio keyboard. And that keyboard is much better than the Surface keyboard that I used.
Bottomline;
– The Surface / keyboard combination design does not compare favoarably with well designed clamshell laptop, including a good quality Windows laptop.
– As a tablet the Surface is overkill for most users and has the baggage of full version Windows interms of malware risks, antivirus software and intrusive updates.
– And the Surface is also too heavy compared with typical media consumption tablets.
– I won’t get into the price of the Surface Pro but several here have explained that it is more expensive compared with laptops.
@bb1111116 – This all day!!
@bb1111116 The Surface 3 has a continuous kickstand that has a range of 22 degrees to 150 degrees. The surface only had one position and the surface 2 had two positions, but this version has a great stand that feels pretty natural and when extended all the way down makes a very nice, natural writing angle. Here’s an image of its range of motion: http://www.techfaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Surface-Pro-3-Kickstand.png
As for the keyboard, did you use the Touch cover (which is a flat, non mechanical keyboard that just goes on touch) or the type cover (which is an actual mechanical keyboard)? From your description, I would think you used the non-mechanical one. The trackpad isn’t great, you’re correct, but the trackpad on the Surface Pro 3 is leaps and bounds better than the one on the 2. I tend to use a mouse on my MBA and my Surface Pro 2 anyway.
As for your questions about the need for a full OS on a tablet, all I can say it that I absolutely love having a full fledged OS on my tablet. I bought an iPad 3 for a productivity device (for writing notes in class, reading journal article pdfs and taking notes in them, etc.) and it was a terrible device for that. Using any of the many expensive stylii I bought flat out sucked because I am left handed and every app had a terrible workaround for not having palm rejection. I ended up giving up on using it for productivity and it is now used as a device to browse the internet by my girlfriend. I couldn’t be happier with the Surface Pro 2 as a productivity device. I can’t say whether or not there is a huge audience for a tablet as a productivity device, but there definitely is an audience and I could see industry finding a lot of use for it.
As for its weight, it weighs 790g (1.76lb) without the type cover where as my ipad 3 weighs 652g (1.44lb). That weight difference is negligible and the 3 has a full OS with a digitizer and much larger screen. I think that difference is negligible for the extras you get. Now it’s true that the iPad air is ridiculously light, but you have a lot of reduced functionality when compared to a full fledged computer. As said before, the masses may want a consumption device to play candy crush and browse facebook, and the iPad fills that need very well, but there are those who want a lot more productivity out of their devices.
The price point people are making here is ridiculous. They are lying. The Surface Pro 3 i5/8GB ram/256gb SSD is the exact same price as a MBA that is an i5/8GB ram/256GB SSD. That price is $1299. The Surface Pro 3 has a lot more to offer than the MBA as well (much better resolution, touch screen, pen with digitizer, etc.). Don’t get me wrong, I love my MBA, but my Surface Pro 2 is also fantastic and more versatile than either my MBA or my iPad 3. By the time I will want to upgrade, however, the Surface 4 will probably be out, so we will see what happens there.
@thejuanald who wrote;
* “I bought an iPad 3 for a productivity device (for writing notes in class, reading journal article pdfs and taking notes in them, etc.) and it was a terrible device for that. Using any of the many expensive stylii I bought flat out …”
– The iPad is not designed for handwritten note taking (including with converting handwriting to text).
– Sorry you didn’t know that.
– MS has had the best general use handwriting software for over 10 years.
If I needed a portable computer for handwriting recognition I would go with Windows but I’m not sure I would buy the Surface Pro.
Why? Because I’m not convinced that the Surface Pro is superior as a general use laptop.
– And I’m not the only one.
Here is an article from laptopmag titled;
“5 Reasons Surface Pro 3 Shouldn’t Replace Your Laptop”
http://blog.laptopmag.com/surface-pro-3-laptop-replacement
It goes into detail about the weaknesses of the Surface Pro. (BTW this website mentions some competing Windows laptops.)
Quotes from the laptopmag article;
“Improved kickstand still more hassle than a clamshell…
Keyboard not as good as traditional laptop…
Touchpad still too small…
Shorter battery life than competing laptops…
It’s pricey when you add it all up”
* “Now it’s true that the iPad air is ridiculously light,…”
Let’s stop right here.
– When the iPad 3 came out, it was criticized for not being lighter than the iPad 2.
In the consumption tablet market, very light weight is a crucial feature for most people.
– The iPad Air is lighter than the Surface Pro 3 (by about ~ .75 lbs).
For its target market the iPad Air being lighter means that in this area it is better than the Surface Pro 3.
* “As said before, the masses may want a consumption device to play candy crush and browse facebook, and the iPad fills that need very well,”
Yes. The iPad Air fills the need of its target market better than the Surface Pro 3.
It is also good for e-mail, shopping, typing short documents (with a keyboard), and for reeading ebooks.
For many people an iPad can be a casual use laptop replacement.
* “but there are those who want a lot more productivity out of their devices.”
– Of course there is a niche market for the Surface Pro 3.
You fit in that niche, especially in the area of your need for good handwriting recognition for taking notes. (About 10 years ago I would have been in that niche.)
– Glad you got the device that works for you.
But from personal experience there are relatively few people who need very good handwriting recognition.
And so as a percentage of the total tablet/laptop market imo relatively few people will choose the Surface Pro 3 as the best portable computing device available.
You silly people.
People have been complaining about the “misuse” of the word “literally” for literally hundreds of years. Considering we, y’know, normal people who speak words define what words mean through our use, I’d say it can officially and literally mean “not literally, but in a manner of speaking.”
The desire to go completely paperless is a big one for me. I could type notes relatively well but as an engineer, writing is much easier when it comes to writing out differential equations, chemical mechanisms, drawing figures, schematics, etc. Having great pen technology is necessary for me. Well, I guess we will just agree that the iPad is great for casual use. I believe the Surface is also great for casual use, but it’s also great for things that are a bit more involved.
actually you can turn the iPad into a laptop. There’s special cases built for it and you use bluetooth to make it work.
I have a bluetooth keyboard for my iPad but I regret buying it because I rarely use it.
of course, you can already draw on the screen; with the track pad. And you don’t need to carry around another thing…
Although, If I’m being honest, they are good ads, and I think they will find a market for the SP3 with these ads. I think Apple’s vision of productivity and what these devices are supposed to accomplish is slightly different than Microsoft’s, and that’s fine, but I bet after six months or so Full Photoshop runs like an anchor on that thing.
Full photoshop does work for the Surface and it takes advantage of the pressure sensitivity of the pen. They are in the process, however, of making a more touch friendly version
It will be a niche product for the next couple or so years. That until, Microsoft decides to discontinue it.
I think Microsoft made a good keyboard once.
All the other hardware ventures have been debacles, this is no different.
If I wanted to use a stylus I would go back in time and use a PDA. MicroLAME.
@Cocacolakid – Maybe a little less caffeine? Comparing a modern capacitive stylus device to the stick from an old PDA is the only thing that is “lame.” After keyboards (surprise?) the second most pervasive accessory for the iPad are capacitive styluses – somewhat akin to drawing on a Big Chief tablet with the eight pack of large crayolas…
And those styli are absolutely disgusting. I bought an iPad 3 with the main purpose of using it as a note taking device/journal article reader/textbook replacement. iAnnotate was a pretty great tool for reading pdfs, but the note taking was terrible due to the horrible styli. All of the note taking apps were also really bad because of how terrible the styli are and the lack of palm rejection. The iPad has since become an internet browsing device for my girlfriend. I feel like that (and playing really awful ‘games’) is the only thing an iPad is really good for.
As to this guy’s remarks. He obviously doesn’t understand the desire to use a tablet as a productivity device. Wanting to be able to write notes and draw is truly totally lame. That’s why Wacom Cintiqs are the tool of most illustrators, designers, artists, developers, etc. who use digital media.
MSFT never disappoints when the question is how low can they possibly go THIS time…
Mac vs PC ads were FUNNY, and TRUE. These are bogus. You can’t run ANY MAC software on a pathetic ‘surface’. MSFT fanboys don’t get humor just like they don’t get computing.
Really? Mac vs PC ads were true? I have a MBA and I have to restart my Mac after tons of installations, just about, if not more than on a Windows machine. That was a huge portion of the Mac vs PC ads. Those were the most lie filled ads I have ever seen when it comes to computers.
Why would anyone want to run any of the horrible iWork software when there are way, way, way better alternatives that are every industry standard? If you want to compare Pages, Keynote, and Numbers to Word, Powerpoint, and Excel, you’re insane. Numbers is an absolute joke and Pages and Keynote are light years behind Word and Powerpoint.
Wrong, plenty of people use iWork for all kinds of things. It’s just office software, it’s not rocket science. It’s no real standard, just default since MSFT is fond of bundling it with the OS (to push the monopoly, as always).
Numbers sucks? Get a grip, man. It really doesn’t, and Keynote has been far better than PowerPoint for ages (no big accomplishment). MSFT pushed nearly all competitive sw out of the market long ago, but are losing the swagger now.
The MacBook Air can also run Windows 8.1 under BootCamp if that’s the case. Anyway, Microsoft has a valid case against the MacBook Air but that’s for consumers to decide. I’ve got no problem with Microsoft running these ads if that’s the best they can do. Microsoft is only hurting its own business partners by also competing against them. If a company sets out to design a product feature by feature to beat a rival’s product it definitely is easy to make a lot of claims how their product is better because it can do more. Microsoft desperately needs to get consumers to buy that Surface Pro 3 so let them give it their best shot. Microsoft seems to be set on building a single product that can do everything better than multiple Mac products, so let’s see if they can convince consumers it’s possible. It’s been shown how consumers can be easily fooled by snake oil claims, so maybe it’ll work for Microsoft.
Based on how many ads Microsoft has made that pit their products against Apple’s, in the same boring manner no less, is proof that they’re giving it their best shot and it’s still not working. They’ve tried kids dancing in the street, 20-something’s dancing in boardrooms, a short, fat, bald guy walking up to (seemingly) random people on the street; they’ve also attempted to have ambulance drivers and café owners to shill their devices with very little success.
The difference in the “Hi, I’m a Mac…” ads was the comedy, the play on words and metaphors conveyed through the actors. You didn’t need to see the product at all to understand Apple’s message and Mac (Justin Long) was almost always humble and inquisitive leaving PC (John Hodgman) to self-depricate or realize his deficiencies in interesting and entertaining ways.
Apple didn’t need to show a Windows machine with a virus they just needed Hodgman to sneeze uncontrollably then eventually collapse because he had to… crash.
Are you kidding? Apple set the benchmark in “misleading” with its PC-Mac ads several years ago.
I’ll bite. Provide an example of a misleading ad during that campaign’s run.
Okay, how about the lies about having to restart all the time? I have to restart my MBA all the time due to updates and even from installing simple software.
How about the lies about how Windows has the pop ups asking if you want to authorize something? Every single time I use the App Store on my MBA I have to type in my password to install it. The same goes with every program that I install. Now, before you say you can turn that off, guess what? You can turn it off on Windows as well and you have been since the ads ran.
Also the ad about all the blue screens of death. I haven’t seen one of those in several years. And when that happened all I had to do was restart my computer and it was fine. I’ve had my large share of kernel panics and spinning rainbow balls of death on my MBA.
What about the ad that says that macs get all their hardware and software from one place? That’s not true.
@thejuanald; Mark Langston wrote “during that campaign’ run”.
The “Get a Mac” (Mac vs PC) ads ran from 2006 to 2009.
* So, any complaints about the Mac in reply to Langston MUST HAVE BEEN HAPPENING BEFORE 2009.
– Any complaints about events that happened after the ads were done, 2009, are irrelevant.
So, your claims about “lies” are not correct. Your are a college student. You should be able to understand the concept of time.
1. The Mac App Store was released in 2011. It is irrelevant to this discussion.
2. The requirement for alerts about the installation of software on OS X is also a newer feature on the Mac. Again irrelevant to the topic.
3. The blue screen of death Windows did happen years ago. (I saw it at my company.)
But the Get a Mac ads were released years ago. The ads were correct in describing what was happening with PCs at the time of the ad campaign.
4. As for a kernel panic on OS X, that was extremely rare prior to 2009. I don’t recall seeing this on an OS X Mac and I’ve used/seen several.
You know, I was gonna buy an MBA, but now I’m convinced. I’ll go for tablet/notebook combo that has *dozens* of apps available, runs a shitty OS that nobody wants to buy (allowing me to finally be the snowflake my mother always told me I was), an inferior keyboard that I’ll forget at home, a touchscreen that does what the MBA’s trackpad does, only less comfortable and a kickstand it wouldn’t need if it actually were a notebook. Oh, and A PEN.
The Wall Street Journal confirms: Microsoft got a real winner on their hands with this one.
I wonder who popularized the name ‘Mini’ in consumer electronics…. I think it was Samsung with the Galaxy S4 Mini, or was it HTC with the one mini? For a tablet that is trying to get people to see tablets differently, “Surface Mini” may have been a poor choice of name.
So now they are trying to say that the Surface Pro is a laptop? And that the Macbook Air isn’t a tablet. Duh!
Can you add an external hard drive, DVD player/writer to that Surface? Oh to bad, you can’t. And that i5 edition is $1428.00 with the extra cost of there keyboard at $129.00 for the Surface Pro. The Macbook Air 13″ i5 is $999.00 with a keyboard and the screen is an inch bigger. And the keyboard will last a lot longer than that rubberish they call a keyboard.
Why do you guys have to spread FUD to support your Apple passion? That $999 model of the MacBook Air does NOT include 8gb ram; 265gb SSD; high resolution (ne -“Retina” to you guys); touch screen; nor active pen. It is unbelievably obvious you have never even touched the Surface keyboard in real life. On the pricing scale, the MacBook Air configured the same as the Surface Pro 3 you quote is $1299. Add the lowest end iPad Air, for $499, and you are up to $1798. Like I said “fear much I think”?
PS – that “inch bigger” screen is only 1440×900 – so last decade…
The fan boys have to make things up to satisfy the dissonance they feel.
I’d bet most have never used anything but Apple, yet claim its products are the best. When you ask them to reveal their products history they wimper and go away. Or curse in capital letters, like Edison.
Both you and herb REEK of Microsoft fanboyisim and you need to leave this site, this is 9to5Mac, not 9to5Microsoft.
I have to deal with crap PC’s coming to my desk DAILY, and the Surface Pro series is no different. I have a Surface Pro 2 on my desk that’s running like a turd because it’s been hit by 40+ viruses that I’m having to clean off for a user. MBA’s and iPad’s don’t suffer from that vulnerability.
Also, the SP3 is a “jack of all trades and master of none”, whereas the MBA and iPad is a master of all trades and jack of none. I would take one of those ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. And guess what, I have a MBP and iPad Mini, love them, never have issues with them, and just walk by the all the sorry PC users constantly suffering with issues, Surface Pro users included, and laugh.
You PC people keep trying to shove this erroneous notion that PC’s with Windows are where it’s at, when they are yesterday’s news that just keeps giving its owners more and more issues.
Edison Wrzosek: You do understand that viruses are written for PC’s because they dominate the market, right? Windows controls nearly 92% of the market, while OSX has about 4%. It’s not that OSX is some magical land that can’t be exposed to viruses, people don’t write viruses for OSX because it commands such minute market share that it wouldn’t be worth it to the virus writer. There have been viruses made by people that take advantage of lots of vulnerabilities of OSX, but those were made as proof of concept to show how OSX isn’t some magical walled garden that many people like you believe. Also, there have definitely been trojans and other malware that have been released, the problem (or good thing for people like you and I who own macs) is that hardly anyone owns them, so it’s not a big deal.
@thejuanald : “You do understand that viruses are written for PC’s because they dominate the market, right?”
If market dominance and popularity is the primary factor for viruses than iOS users should be swimming in viruses and malware.
I also find it amazing that you believe viruses are written for Windows because it’s on most PC’s rather than the fact that Windows is flawed by design. Windows updates and security patches are more frequent than Kim Kardashian selfies.
But you have to find ways to justify the fact that a “tablet” needs virus and malware protection software.
As requested by Mr. Wrzosek, I will leave 9to5Mac now, but I hope just one of you Apple supporters will honestly answer my original two questions: (1) why are these ads “attacks” or “disses” on the MacBook, and (2) how do you ever come to the conclusion that a MacBook (of ether strip) plus an iPad (whether Air or Mini-R) is less than or equal to the price of a similarly equipped a Surface Pro 3 and Type Cover?
“… I will leave 9to5Mac now, but I hope just one of you Apple supporters will honestly answer my original two questions…”
If you’re not here then we don’t have to do anything but thanks for playing. Oh wait, he’s gone. No what’ll we do?!
@markrlangston iOS doesn’t have that problem because they can’t run unsigned code, and all apps have to go through the walled garden experience that Apple wants you to have. There have been apps that have slipped through Apple’s review process that have stolen user information, and when people jailbreak their devices, they are open to lots of malware. So no, it isn’t the wonderful design of the operating system that prevents malware, it’s the fact that Apple allows only apps that they want to pass through the review process. Stop being obtuse.
By the way, my MBA has to restart due to updates fairly regularly, and even has to restart from installing simple software. I’d go so far as to say that it has to restart more often than my Surface Pro 2.
TV ads are very expensive, and these Surface ads are just “throwing good money after bad”.
The concept behind these ads rest on the basis that Microsoft thinks consumers are dumber than they really are, which is insulting to the viewer… That is losing proposition #1.
Losing proposition #2 is that any (very expensive) product advertising that compares your product with a specific competitor’s product is instant failure, because a) it shows that the product can’t stand on its own merit, but MUST compete with a competitor’s more success product, and b) it displays and talks about the competitor’s product, giving it free advertising.
So is losing proposition #2 why OSX controls 4% market share and Windows 92%? Because, you know, those completely false Mac vs. PC ads a) showed that their product can’t stand on their own merit, but MUST compete with a competitor’s more success (sic) product, and b) it displays and talks about the competitor’s product, giving it free advertising
“…OSX controls 4% market share and Windows 92%”
And yet isn’t it amazing that Microsoft bothers to recognize Apple at all with such a infinitesimal marketshare?! By that logic Google, with a commanding 69% of global search traffic, should start making commercials that showcase how much better they are from the gigantic 6% marketshare Bing holds. And I doubt we’ll ever see a derogatory commercial from McDonald’s disparaging people from eating from food trucks.
There’s also not one iota of comparison that can be made between the supremely memorable and clever ads from Apple and what Microsoft is doing. Besides, Apple’s already played that hand and they won. If Microsoft wants to truly stand out they need a different angle beyond a white background and petty dialog.
For all of Samsung’s shameless and misleading ads their portrayal of devoted Apple fans really resonated with consumers. The marketing was brilliant, no two ways about it. I hated the ads but there’s no arguing their effectiveness.
By contrast Microsoft is doing nothing but throwing marketing ideas against the wall and nothing is sticking. The Apple vs. Android commercials were actually pretty clever but for some reason they shut down that campaign. We won’t talk about the cringe-worthy video of them poking fun at a typical Apple meeting.
Quite arguably their lowest point and saddest attempt at trying to make fun of Apple. A company they’re now desperately trying to emulate.
Yup, making an all in one device that has loads of functionality that the MBA and iPad can’t replicate is total emulation.
Just a general note: while vigorous disagreement between commenters is absolutely fine, it would be appreciated it people would refrain from name-calling and accusations of dishonesty – thanks!
If MassiveSuck wants to hurt MacBook and iPad sales they should make an ad showing Steve “Monkey Boy” Ballmer jumping up and down in his own gravy ranting about how much he loves Apple products. Everything that guy touches goes to shit, so that may work.
Okay, Microsoft seriously?
i think the fundamental problem with the Surface is actually the software. Looking through the Windows app store on my new Surface Pro 3, seeking to find what I thought were logical things, led me repeatedly to scam apps. Looking for ‘Google Chrome’ and other software without a listing in the Windows App Store would have listings with prices even!
I’ve never encountered this phenomenon in all my years of using the Apple Store. It’s truely buyer beware in the Windows store. My Surface largely acts as an extended desktop for my MBA (Synergy ftw). I use it for the Breaking News metro app, sometimes for One Note, but thats about all that matters. Anything productive is done on the MBA.
Tablet = using it any where.
Laptop = using it on a desk.
I don’t see the point Microsoft is making in these commercial, because I still consider the Surface Pro as a laptop. You have 2 interfaces where you have to switch back and forth with which I believe is just a way to confuse you. Not all applications take advantage of the Metro interface which kills the whole tablet feature.
In the commercial Microsoft shows off their tablet running Photoshop and tried to make it that the MacBook Air doesn’t LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQcl-Zmkg34 (which is considered false advertising, because you CAN run photoshop on the Air too!) If you want to get into detail then why must they leave out the multi gesture touchpad that the Mac has? Oh… That’s right… They want you to believe that you can’t do most the same things on a Mac and what I mean by “most” is the touch pen and the kickstand.
The pen is only useful to draw or write with and it’s a STUPID idea to use it to navigate through the OS. Just my opinion though.
It’s an “attack ad” because it points out the detachable kb, stylus and touch in a blatant attempt to mock or discourage Apple purchasing as a foolish decision.
It’s the plethora of entities that Apple has that MS’ lacks, but isn’t mentioned that accurately portray these ads as desperate or attacking.
It’s a straw-man fallacy because overwhelmingly Apple makes a better device as evidenced by sales, customer satisfaction and loyalty – the addition of a stylus, detachable screen and touch don’t even put a dent in the disadvantages, impositions and hardships associated with ownership of the SP.
i have a 2009 MBP and just purchased a MS SP. its actually really nice hardware and a tank of it. Does replace my MBP from 2009??? NO WAY IN HELL!!!!
I used to rock a MacBook Air and an iPad, but when windows tablets came out I retired my prehistoric iPad to my 2 year old where it belongs and sold my MBA. After various windows tablets now I currently own a surface Pro 3, what an amazing piece of technology. It absolutely trounces the iPad as a tablet, I know these are not meant to be directly compared but I just could never see going backwards to iOS ever again. I keep hearing the app ecosystem as the main differentiator and I call BS, the major iOS apps all have windows app counterparts, in a few cases legacy apps or web based apps/solutions to counter them. This may have been an issue a year ago, but today it’s just hogwash. Having a real digitizer, being able to run legacy programs like CAD, Photoshop, software programming, desktop video games, etc etc is the most liberating experience, especially after years of using iOS toy OS.
Of course the idea of a perfect tablet is different from person to person. The SP3’s larger size makes it a better tablet the way I use it, understandably this may the be opposite for other consumers. The kickstand makes it MUCH more useful as a tablet. The digitizer/stylus make is a much better tablet than the iPad. I think the amazing thing is that MS actually fit a real PC into something very close to the size and weight of an iPad Air, that’s just amazing. While Apple keeps chugging along with an OS which was created to convince consumers they needed a tablet AND an iPad MS has actually done something to help consumers consolidate. Apple is definitely a smart company with that business model.
As a laptop I’ll say it goes head to head with the MBA quite handily. The ONLY valid complaint is the keyboard, but in my opinion this is quite overblown as the MBA keyboard is about the same level of functionality. Otherwise I have not seen a valid laptop complaint against the SP3.
In the end having a tablet which can turn into a real laptop in half a second, and vice versa having a laptop that can detach into a tablet in half a second is the most powerful paradigm I’ve ever owned considering both the categories of tablet and laptop.
Steve Jobs once said if you have to use a pen on a touch screen, you’re doing it wrong.
You can turn the iPad into a so called Surface Pro…
Get a bluetooth keyboard designed for the iPad. some have cases for iPad that have a keyboard attached.
If you think that Jobs’ quote is worth a damn, you’re crazy. Have you ever tried writing notes without a stylus or any of the capacitive styli that Apple has? It’s horrible. Or how about drawing? All those professional illustrators, designers, computer aided drafters, etc. much be doing it wrong because they all own pro level Cintiq (or some other equivalent) tablet screens that shockingly use pen input with a Wacom digitizer.
Now you may come and say “I can type faster than write,” and while that’s good and all, you can’t type equations, draw mechanisms, write out chemical reactions, sketch graphs, 3D graphs, etc. with a keyboard. The Surface is a fantastic mobile form of those tablets that I mentioned in the previous paragraph, and professionals agree.
Not gonna like though, I like the concept of Surface Pro of having an “all-in-one” device. Just imagine, instead of having an iPad, Macbook Pro, and an iPhone, you have one device you can carry around that does it all.
next they will diss the iPod. oh wait the Zune is already dead.
If Apple fans were intellectually honest and the fans of innovation that they claim to be, they would applaud MS for taking the PC form factor into areas that no one has ever explored. Apple makes the same stagnant form factors over and over again and doesn’t dare step into the arena of device convergence because that would mean fewer devices handling more tasks and that would mean fewer sales. With each iteration the Surface, MS gets closer to the ideal 2-for-one solution, and for those who don’t want any compromise at all, MS’s partners will still sell you a PC in any shape and form factor you could want. It’s the ultimate in choice and options. As someone who is truly a fan of innovation and not a butt-boy for one corporation or another, I find MS’s efforts to think outside the box very admirable. The point of the commercial is that the hybrid device is in the exact same league as the non-hybrid MBA, yet has number of very important features that the Mac painfully lacks. AAAaand to top it off it can become a tablet if you ever want if it to be. No need to carry 2 separate devices and charger(s) in a trendy man-purse.
+1 100%
I don’t think that type of thinking runs rampant in Apple circles. When a person blindly professes undying allegiance to a company who’s number ONE concern is extracting as much money from that person as possible, well that’s when I have to really laugh out loud.
I’ve used Apple products and loved them, but when it’s time to move on, I move on. iOS was great and served a function when hardware probably would not have been able to push a full OS in that size of a tablet, but those days are gone.
The entire crying and moaning about MS insulting anyone is hilarious at best, but really it’s just sad. To point out differences and tout your own advantages is the hallmark of marketing, yet we have educated people having an issue with a company marketing. Imagine if Apple alluded to the PC being a doddering overweight stupid fool and the Mac as being a young, hip, intelligent person? Naahhh, that would never happen because Apple would never condescend to insult another company, especially as flagrantly as that.
The Microsoft paid shills are out in force! I guess it doesn’t matter how many times they get caught when they are that desperate.
Why not… Actually admit that the Surface Pro 3, along with the previous model, is quite a nice machine that ‘does’ offer that little bit more than the competition? Is your precious small mac machine that important to you that you’re blinded by what YOU own? This is straight forward playground stuff going on in here. Be impartial, be practical, open your mind and maybe be interested in something that isn’t coloured ‘white’.
I wanted to like both the Surface and Windows 8. I really did. I thought they were such brilliant and cool concepts. And I tried really hard to like them both…
But I guess it’s like a gay guy trying to be straight. It’s just not gonna happen. They’re both really terrible.
Oh, well. I figured, “Well, I tried guys. Nevertheless, Microsoft, kudos for taking the initiative. You’ve got a friend in me.”
Then they started their campaign railing against the products that I moved to using after being highly disappointed by their new stuff…
Aside from the obvious, I feel like most people who use Macs, regardless of how experienced of users they be/were on PCs and/or Macs, moved for the same reasons I did.
“We make shitty products. Then, when you use other products, we make fun of you for it.”
– Just another software company drone and power user :/
Honestly, I’m *slightly* intrigued by the Surface 3, but it was WAY overpriced. Also, if they want it to be a real tabtop then the keyboard should be included, not a $130 accessory.
Sorry @markrlangston – but I came back – just because of this continuing absurdity about the Surface Pro 3 being “WAY overpriced.” Beau – scroll back up towards the top; a review of the stores for Apple and Microsoft prove that the Surface Pro 3 i5/8gb/256gb with Type Cover is only the $130 more than the same MacBook Air, while including a high resolution (“retina” for you Apple fans) screen, full capacitive touch, full active stylus pen support, and kickstand for great video viewing in tablet mode (not to mention as a laptop). If you deck your MBA out with even a base model iPad Air (16gb – very minimalist) the Surface Pro 3 wins by $300, and if you stretch it to a high resolution screen on a comparable MBP 13″, you’ll go $500-$600 more.
I recommend all of you look up David Pogue’s video review at Yahoo News for an objective review of the Surface Pro 3 by an admitted Mac fan…
When Apple EVENTUALLY starts making two-in-one portables, and we all know they WILL, all you guys will be singing the praises of compromise that you now claim to disdain. Now you bash the idea of compromise for portability’s sake because Apple has zero response to this category of device.
No they won’t, for the simple reason that a large part of their business model is predicated on you buying 2 devices. But you are right, if Apple hung their shingle on a steaming piece of feces Apple fans would praise it as the 2nd coming. I’m not talking about the majority of rational consumers who buy whatever technology or company suits their needs, but those diehard guys who just put blinders on to other companies and technology. Reminds me of the people on Jimmy Kimmel who when shown a 80s Casio watch and told it was the iWatch said they would buy it immediately just because it was Apple branded.
I do not want my tablet to replace my laptop. My iPad is an entertainment device and my MacBook is a productivity device and never the twain shall meet. My car gets me back and forth to work or on the errands I run, my truck hauls stuff from Home Depot and tows my boat on weekends. The ridiculous pursuit of THE all-in-one device should be abandoned like the search for Eldorado. The reason Microsoft was able to win the PC war is because when people began to buy computers for their homes they, being good little corporate drones, bought them to be compatible with what they had at work, enabling them to extend their 70 hour work weeks to 90 hour work weeks by taking work home. Apple products have always been “personal” devices, designed to enhance people’s lives.