Surface Pro 3 and scrapping Lumia?
So, I had a chance to spend some decent time with a Surface Pro 3 over the past week, and I have to say, I am impressed. And that comes down to two things; The kickstand and touch cover.
I've owned and played with a few hybrids now and I can seriously say that it is those two things in combination which are magical. The screen is nice and the core i5 in the model I have are nice. But wouldn't ever be enough to justify calling it a superior device. Obviously, the kickstand and keyboard cover make for a great combo while on a desk, but just about every convertible can claim being more than sufficient on a desk. At least as far as the typically smaller devices can be.
Right now I'm on a Lenovo Yoga 11s, and the thing works just fine on a desk. And it should as it really is just a laptop when not folder all the way back. It works ok on a laptop. It is after all a laptop first. But it falls flat on its face as tablet. It folds back 360 degrees, which puts things like vents, volume rockers, and power switches in all sorts of weird places, it is also thick and feels less solid than it actually is because the two halves separate fairly easily.
And the story is generally the same for most hybrids. They excel at one, or most two of desk, lap and tablet modes but never all 3. Some fail at all three. Some are only half decent at one. Dell's 1st attempt tablet with a similar keyboard cover has a shoddy connection and too few means of propping up the tablet. It fails entirely on the lap and usually fails on the desk, so my wife uses it exclusively as a tablet. Ones with heavier keyboard that snap in generally work better as desktops, but the weight distribution is usually all wrong for use on a lap.
Enter the Surface. Prop the kickstand as far open as it will go, set it on your lap and watch TV. Even without a keyboard attached it blows other pure tablets out of the water for usability. And the kickstand will snap at any angle between that and closed and hold there reasonably well. What this means is that you don't need to hold the tablet up with one hand when it's on your lap to get the ideal angle for just about anything. Which already makes it more productive than anything else out there.
But, as amazing as that experience is, it just makes virtual keyboard usage better. Most tablet tasks are really geared at 1-handed use. So freeing up the hand does little else. And lets face it, that still doesn't make touch keyboards better than physical. The real magic is holding those angles while being able to snap a properly usable keyboard to the device without making it feel like either a laptop or a tablet while succeeding at being both. The connection is strong and the keyboard always seems to just work.
The cover without the kickstand would, of course, be useless however. And the kickstand without the cover would just have made this a better tablet.
Honestly, I hope they keep making new Surface Pro devices, because while I can't justify replacing my Yoga 11s just yet, I can now say that I see the value in Microsoft's devices.
Which brings us to the next story. Nadella's email seems to indicate some more job cuts and perhaps even cutting off certain parts of the company. Many are wondering if this means Lumia and/or Surface could be under the axe. People are also taking a new Surface Pro 3 instead of a Surface Pro 4 to be a potential indicator.
Frankly, I think the SP4 rumors are non-sense. And I hope to Lumia fears are unfounded.
On the Lumia side of things, the market has declined, so there is a good reason to suspect this one. But as I've said before, they really need to release another flagship device before thinking about axing anything. The last few years have just contained wave after wave of budget devices. Even the 830 failed on critical components like the processor. There has been no new Windows Phone devices that could really generate any excitement in the platform. It would also be a harsh move after the recent Nokia layoffs. But, of the 2, if one of them is being cut, this is the most likely.
I have a hard time believing they will cut it however. At least, not yet. A lot of effort has gone into Windows 10 for mobile, especially into the Lumia line specifically and devices are still showing up in tests lately. I'm more likely to believe that further cuts are coming to that division and that the Lumia line and engineers and all will become part of the Surface team.
Which leads full circle back to Surface. Unlike Windows Phone, Surface sales are picking up momentum. It isn't fast, but it is momentum. Each iteration has been more successful than the last. The devices do generate excitement for the platform and they serve as proper "hero" devices. All of Microsoft runs on Windows effectively and these devices are used extensively within the organization, so it serves as an internal morale booster and a productivity tool as well as a consumer product and a template for what the hardware and software can be.
If I were to speculate on the recent addition to the SP3 lineup, it is simply filling a void in the product lineup. The SP4 is probably not planned for a few more quarters. It may also refresh other internals to make it better work with Windows 10. I don't think that the Surface lineup is going anywhere just yet.
I don't know what the future holds. But, I actually kind of hope that Microsoft kills off the Lumia brand, stops focusing entirely on the low end market and just makes Surface phones instead to follow in the steps of their tablets. In reality, such a move likely would mean job cuts. It would mean far fewer units produced in addition to fewer models. It would mean intentionally shrinking demand in, or even exiting, smaller markets.
But, it wouldn't mean any need to scrap the current batch of devices being tested, which by all means appear to be well equipped, high spec'd phones. It also reduces the degree to which they are in direct competition with their OEMs. Right now, lower end Lumia's dominate the market and there are Lumia's in at many price points. Focusing instead on high end "hero" phones gives their hardware partners a better chance of making a name for themselves.
I've owned and played with a few hybrids now and I can seriously say that it is those two things in combination which are magical. The screen is nice and the core i5 in the model I have are nice. But wouldn't ever be enough to justify calling it a superior device. Obviously, the kickstand and keyboard cover make for a great combo while on a desk, but just about every convertible can claim being more than sufficient on a desk. At least as far as the typically smaller devices can be.
Right now I'm on a Lenovo Yoga 11s, and the thing works just fine on a desk. And it should as it really is just a laptop when not folder all the way back. It works ok on a laptop. It is after all a laptop first. But it falls flat on its face as tablet. It folds back 360 degrees, which puts things like vents, volume rockers, and power switches in all sorts of weird places, it is also thick and feels less solid than it actually is because the two halves separate fairly easily.
And the story is generally the same for most hybrids. They excel at one, or most two of desk, lap and tablet modes but never all 3. Some fail at all three. Some are only half decent at one. Dell's 1st attempt tablet with a similar keyboard cover has a shoddy connection and too few means of propping up the tablet. It fails entirely on the lap and usually fails on the desk, so my wife uses it exclusively as a tablet. Ones with heavier keyboard that snap in generally work better as desktops, but the weight distribution is usually all wrong for use on a lap.
Enter the Surface. Prop the kickstand as far open as it will go, set it on your lap and watch TV. Even without a keyboard attached it blows other pure tablets out of the water for usability. And the kickstand will snap at any angle between that and closed and hold there reasonably well. What this means is that you don't need to hold the tablet up with one hand when it's on your lap to get the ideal angle for just about anything. Which already makes it more productive than anything else out there.
But, as amazing as that experience is, it just makes virtual keyboard usage better. Most tablet tasks are really geared at 1-handed use. So freeing up the hand does little else. And lets face it, that still doesn't make touch keyboards better than physical. The real magic is holding those angles while being able to snap a properly usable keyboard to the device without making it feel like either a laptop or a tablet while succeeding at being both. The connection is strong and the keyboard always seems to just work.
The cover without the kickstand would, of course, be useless however. And the kickstand without the cover would just have made this a better tablet.
Honestly, I hope they keep making new Surface Pro devices, because while I can't justify replacing my Yoga 11s just yet, I can now say that I see the value in Microsoft's devices.
Which brings us to the next story. Nadella's email seems to indicate some more job cuts and perhaps even cutting off certain parts of the company. Many are wondering if this means Lumia and/or Surface could be under the axe. People are also taking a new Surface Pro 3 instead of a Surface Pro 4 to be a potential indicator.
Frankly, I think the SP4 rumors are non-sense. And I hope to Lumia fears are unfounded.
On the Lumia side of things, the market has declined, so there is a good reason to suspect this one. But as I've said before, they really need to release another flagship device before thinking about axing anything. The last few years have just contained wave after wave of budget devices. Even the 830 failed on critical components like the processor. There has been no new Windows Phone devices that could really generate any excitement in the platform. It would also be a harsh move after the recent Nokia layoffs. But, of the 2, if one of them is being cut, this is the most likely.
I have a hard time believing they will cut it however. At least, not yet. A lot of effort has gone into Windows 10 for mobile, especially into the Lumia line specifically and devices are still showing up in tests lately. I'm more likely to believe that further cuts are coming to that division and that the Lumia line and engineers and all will become part of the Surface team.
Which leads full circle back to Surface. Unlike Windows Phone, Surface sales are picking up momentum. It isn't fast, but it is momentum. Each iteration has been more successful than the last. The devices do generate excitement for the platform and they serve as proper "hero" devices. All of Microsoft runs on Windows effectively and these devices are used extensively within the organization, so it serves as an internal morale booster and a productivity tool as well as a consumer product and a template for what the hardware and software can be.
If I were to speculate on the recent addition to the SP3 lineup, it is simply filling a void in the product lineup. The SP4 is probably not planned for a few more quarters. It may also refresh other internals to make it better work with Windows 10. I don't think that the Surface lineup is going anywhere just yet.
I don't know what the future holds. But, I actually kind of hope that Microsoft kills off the Lumia brand, stops focusing entirely on the low end market and just makes Surface phones instead to follow in the steps of their tablets. In reality, such a move likely would mean job cuts. It would mean far fewer units produced in addition to fewer models. It would mean intentionally shrinking demand in, or even exiting, smaller markets.
But, it wouldn't mean any need to scrap the current batch of devices being tested, which by all means appear to be well equipped, high spec'd phones. It also reduces the degree to which they are in direct competition with their OEMs. Right now, lower end Lumia's dominate the market and there are Lumia's in at many price points. Focusing instead on high end "hero" phones gives their hardware partners a better chance of making a name for themselves.
Comments
Post a Comment