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    Microsoft redefines the laptop with Surface Book, ushers in new era of Windows 10 devices.

    Discussion in 'Notebook News and Reviews' started by Ian Debevoise, Oct 6, 2015.

  1. Ian Debevoise

    Ian Debevoise Administrator Staff Member

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    NEW YORK — Oct. 6, 2015 — Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday unveiled new Surface, Lumia and Microsoft Band devices, taking advantage of powerful and versatile hardware to unlock new Windows 10 experiences, including fast and secured login with Windows Hello1; new Cortana2 experiences that turn Windows 10 devices into a personal assistant; improved touch and pen experiences on Surface; and Continuum for phones, which enables the new Lumia 950 and 950 XL phones to work like PCs3. Showcasing the innovation possible with Windows 10, Microsoft also shared new gaming experiences from Xbox and new details on Microsoft HoloLens, the first fully untethered holographic computer.

    Now running on 110 million devices around the world, Windows 10 is off to the fastest start in history — seeing upgrades at three times the rate of Windows 7 in the same time period. With more than 1.25 billion visits to the Windows Store, Microsoft announced all-new universal apps for Windows 10, including Box, Facebook, Instagram, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Flipagram, Uber, and others. These apps add to the existing Windows 10 experiences that will be available on the new Microsoft devices.

    “With Windows 10 and these new Microsoft devices, you are at the center of magical new experiences,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. “We’re moving people from needing to choosing to loving Windows, and these devices promise to fuel even more enthusiasm and opportunity for the entire Windows ecosystem.”

    Surface redefines the laptop

    Building on its track record of pioneering new categories, Microsoft is redefining the laptop with the new Surface Book — a powerful, high-performance laptop with stunning craftsmanship and incredibly accurate and responsive pen and touch support. Ultrathin, Surface Book combines the impressive power of 6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 and Core™ i7 processors with up to 12 hours of battery life4. The 13.5-inch optically bonded PixelSense Display delivers a high-contrast 267 dpi display with improved latency and parallax, making it not just beautiful to look at but natural and fluid to write on. The screen also detaches, so it can be used like a clipboard to sketch, take notes and benefit from Windows programs like Microsoft Edge. An optional discrete GPU allows Surface Book to harness the full power of hardware-accelerated graphics for seamless video editing, fast rendering or immersive gaming. Surface Book starts at $1,4995.

    The tablet that can replace your laptop just got thinner, lighter, faster

    Microsoft also introduced Surface Pro 4, the thinnest, lightest and most powerful tablet that can replace your laptop. At only 8.4 mm thin, it features a stunning 12.3-inch PixelSense Display and 6th Generation Intel® Core™ m, Core™ i5, and Core™ i7 processors, enabling everyone from students to professionals to get more done on the go. Starting at $8995, Surface Pro 4 is not only 30 percent more powerful than Surface Pro 3 but also quieter, runs cooler, and is even more efficient with up to nine hours of battery life4. The new Surface Pro 4 Type Cover6 takes Surface Pro 4 from tablet to laptop in an instant and features a redesigned mechanical keyboard with optimal key spacing for fast and fluid typing. Backwards compatible with Surface Pro 3, the new Surface Pro 4 Type Cover comes with an optional fingerprint reader, bringing the convenience and enterprise-grade security of Windows Hello to existing customers. The redesigned Surface Pen packs 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, letting you write, draw and mark documents with precision ink on one end and an eraser on the other.

    Surface Book, Surface Pro 4 and new accessories are available for preorder in select markets Oct. 7, then for purchase in Canada and the United States on Oct. 26, with additional markets to follow. Full device and accessory specs are available here, here and here.
     
    Ian Debevoise, Oct 6, 2015
    #1
  2. Templesa

    Templesa Notebook Deity

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    @downloads @Ethrem

    Maybe you guys know, is there an actual dedicated section to the Microsoft / Surface products? And with the release of the Surface Book, they're no longer weird hybrid notebooks but an actual notebook, will they get their own forum space?
    Sorry if you're the wrong mods to ask, but I'm sure you'll both know who would know the answer to this.
     
    Templesa, Oct 6, 2015
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  3. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

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    3000x2000 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio) in a 13" laptop with a dedicated GPU. Should make a lot of people here happy?

    Technically-speaking the Surface Book is still a "hybrid" in the traditional tablet PC sense: the keyboard/GPU unit detaches from the screen/CPU unit.

    That said, with TabletPCReview going the way of the dodo, making a dedicated subforum on NBR for Surface devices (Surface, Surface Pro, and Surface Book) just makes sense.
     
    Mitlov, Oct 6, 2015
    #3
  4. Ethrem

    Ethrem Notebook Prophet

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    For now I don't think there has been enough interest in such a forum to be created. As interest goes up, the likelihood of a new forum being created increases but for now I think we can house it here.
     
    Ethrem, Oct 6, 2015
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  5. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

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    Not even a subforum in the "other manufacturers" section like Vizio and iBUYPOWER get?
     
    Mitlov, Oct 6, 2015
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  6. Ethrem

    Ethrem Notebook Prophet

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    This is the first thing that could in any way be considered a laptop. It seems like we would want to make sure it doesn't fall flat on its face before making a dedicated subforum but that's not up to me.
     
    Ethrem, Oct 6, 2015
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  7. RS4

    RS4 Notebook Consultant

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    I agree, Microsoft devices/ Surface should get its own sub-forum, I was looking for a Surface Book thread and found 2 separate threads in two completely different sub-forums, this just creates confusion and it would be much better to have a single sub-forum to discuss Surface/Microsoft devices. Attaching the video from surface youtube channel:

     
    RS4, Oct 6, 2015
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  8. Samunosuke

    Samunosuke Notebook Guru

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    Came in here to post the same suggestion. Microsoft products should have their own sub-forum, at the very least in the "other manufacturers" section (Although, personally I think it should be standalone). Searched all over but couldn't find it and this news section was my last port of call. Maybe it's just me but since the redesign, I haven't been coming here as much again. Every little helps.
     
    Samunosuke, Oct 6, 2015
    #8
  9. RS4

    RS4 Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, the same thing happened with me, took me some time and effort to find threads on Surface devices, Microsoft devices/ Surface deserves a proper standalone sub-forum.
     
    RS4, Oct 6, 2015
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  10. IKAS V

    IKAS V Notebook Prophet

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    Love the new Surface Book but man that price!
    Hopefully the DGPU is at least a 950M anything less will be disappointing considering the high price.
    Agree with all we need at least a sub forum to discuss these new MS products.
     
    IKAS V, Oct 7, 2015
    #10
  11. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    We're going to have a Microsoft forum created soon, hopefully today/tomorrow.
    Charles
     
    Charles P. Jefferies, Oct 7, 2015
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  12. IKAS V

    IKAS V Notebook Prophet

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    Definetly need a MS section now that they branched out to notebooks, at least a subsection .
    Surface Book looks amazing but man for that price the DGPU better be at least a 950M.
     
    IKAS V, Oct 7, 2015
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  13. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    Charles P. Jefferies, Oct 7, 2015
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  14. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    The Surface Book looks interesting, but costs about twice as much as I'd pay for a notebook. You can buy a nice notebook and tablet if that's what you're after for less, and each will likely be better suited to its tasks. I thought the most interesting thing was being able to hook a LCD to your phone.
     
    ZaZ, Oct 8, 2015
    #14
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  15. vinny3

    vinny3 Notebook Consultant

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    Looks like the GPU VRam will be 1 GB. Microsoft also said it's a totally new GPU special for this laptop. I'm thinking somewhere between a 950m and 960m.

    Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
     
    vinny3, Oct 8, 2015
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  16. Ramzay

    Ramzay Notebook Connoisseur

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    Indeed, $2700 for the "top end" model is steep, especially considering its specs are pretty average.

    Core i7
    NVIDIA GPU
    512GB SSD
    16GB RAM

    You can get that in a MSI or Clevo machine for about half the price, and I'm pretty sure the dGPU would be much more powerful.

    Pricing is way off. Heck, the new Dell XPS 15 is priced far more attractively.
     
    Ramzay, Oct 8, 2015
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  17. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

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    Of course you can get more hardware for less if you don't go ultraportable, don't go premium-materials, don't go convertible, etc. The pricing is very fair though for what it is (other entries historically to this segment have been the VAIO Z and Macbook Pro, and neither of them bring convertible form-factor to the table).
     
    Mitlov, Oct 9, 2015
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  18. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    I'm thinking you can pick up a Dell Latitude in the Outlet plus an iPad for less.
     
    ZaZ, Oct 10, 2015
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  19. RS4

    RS4 Notebook Consultant

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    It is idiotic to even think about Clevo and Surface Book in the same sentence, why not compare it to a desktop, a desktop will be cheaper and more powerful LOL.

    Microsoft Surface Book is a premium product with premium components like Magnesium chassis, Dual-use 2 in 1, 360 degree hinge, lightest i7 U computer, awesome 3:2 aspect ratio display whch everyone was crying for, 1024 pressure point screen, pen included and it is not going to compete with Clevos or even corporate machines like Elitebook or Latitudes.

    Also, for further discussion please use the newly launched Microsoft forum: http://forum.notebookreview.com/forums/microsoft.1123/
     
    RS4, Oct 10, 2015
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  20. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

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    Totally apples-and-oranges comparison to the MSI or Clevo though. This is an ultraportable convertible device, not a bulky desktop-replacement laptop. If you're willing to live with the downsides of a bulky DTR, you will always get far more bang for the buck performance-wise with that form factor.

    The XPS 15 and Macbook Pro 15 are closer in concept to the Surface Book, but neither offers a convertible form factor.
     
    Mitlov, Oct 11, 2015
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  21. Ramzay

    Ramzay Notebook Connoisseur

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    Several MSI models are quite thin. Same thing with certain Clevo models (not as thin and light as certain MSI models though). Though admittedly not thin convertible machines.

    Not sure how familiar you are with MSI and Clevo offerings these days. My guess is not a lot, given you immediately thought of bulky DTR when thinking of MSI or Clevo.

    Regardless of form factor, those Surface Book prices are beyond ridiculous.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2015
    Ramzay, Oct 11, 2015
    #21
  22. Ed Hardy

    Ed Hardy Notebook Enthusiast NBR Reviewer

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    We have what you're looking for on NotebookReview's sister sister site TabletPCReview.com: a forum dedicated to Microsoft's Surface products:

    http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/forums/microsoft.1062/

    Our discussion of the Surface Book is running hot and heavy.

    ​
     
    Ed Hardy, Oct 22, 2015
    #22
  23. Templesa

    Templesa Notebook Deity

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    Thanks, @Ed Hardy ! We also appear to have opened a new section of the forum per the request - there's now a Microsoft sub-section and we've been posting away there too!
     
    Templesa, Oct 23, 2015
    #23
  24. LightspeeDLee

    LightspeeDLee Newbie

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    For a full spec'ed Surface book... price in Aust dollars = $4,199 AUD.
    Core i7, 16Gb RAM, NVideo GPU 1Gb, 1Tb SSD.
    The price is high for what u get. I guess magnesium alloy cost's alot more than alluminium. Plus add a big premium for the Microsoft label and it's first true Notebook.
     
    LightspeeDLee, Nov 8, 2015
    #24