From the Forums: Surface Pro interest levels, Lumia camera comparison and gaming on Surface

By Rich Edmonds
last updated

Another week passes us all and more discussions are being published every day. We'll be bringing a handful of threads to your attention, some you may have missed. We understand how it's quite the task to remain up-to-date on everything that's happening, so allow us to help you out.

First up is TheGeekNextDoor who's quite simply amazed at how much interest for the Microsoft Surface Pro is being displayed. Popping into Best Buy, there was simply no opportunity to get near the Windows tablets (64GB and 128GB). It's interesting because this was the same case at Staples.

"Picked up a Pro 128 this morning at Best Buy. While I was there, I couldn't get near the two display models. People wouldn't stop touching them and picking them up. These were "normal" people. People like my parents and my the rest of my family. Went to another Best Buy and a Staples in an effort to find a type cover. The same scenario existed at both stores. Ordinary people looking at the Surface Pros...nobody paying attention to the Apple stuff across the aisle."

There's no denying that Windows 8 looks best on a touch display with all the available gestures. The Surface Pro tablet has experienced supply issues, but here's hoping Microsoft can produce enough units to meet the apparent demand.

Have you noticed similar levels of interest? Share your experiences in the "Amazed at the actual interest in the Surface Pro" thread.

Lumia 620 Image Sample

Comparing Lumia cameras against the SLR

The above shot was taken with a Lumia 620. Surprised? You should be as it's pretty good quality, especially since the Windows Phone is being sold as a low-end Windows Phone 8 device. Forum member sk1d_mark took a Lumia 620, Lumia 920 and a Canon 650 outside to see how they all performed. 

"Very unscientific and amateur test, but hopefully has some value, at least to me anyway. Thought I'd pop out tonight and compare my Nokia 920 against my new 650D. Took a couple on my Mums Nokia 620 to compare a cheap PAYG phone to them aswell. All pics take in night mode and with NO flash."

Head on over to the "Hello, and my Nokia 920 v Canon 650 test tonight" thread to see a more detailed comparison (including day shots).

Miscellaneous: Gaming on the Surface

Forum member TheAccuser has been trying to get Battlefield 3 working on the Surface Pro Windows 8 tablet. Even though the device sports an i5 CPU it doesn't have enough power to get through the latest games on high quality. Still, there's always the idea that you can run some modern video games with moderate settings applied. 

There are issues with gaming on the Microsoft Surface Pro. Battery would be drained rather quickly, as well as potential control issues with games not optimised for touch displays. With apps not found on the Windows Store being supported on the tablet, what would you like to play on your Surface Pro? Head on over to the "Battlefield 3 on Surface Pro" thread and share your thoughts.

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

23 Comments
  • Its not that my interest in the SP is low, its that it cost to damn much!!
  • Surface pro is priced similarly to other ultrabooks, and when compared to a MacBook Air (11-inch model) of the same memory sizes (64gb, 128gb), the surface is $100 cheaper (if you dont get a cover), has the same type of processor (1.7ghz i5), is lighter (2lb. versus the MBA's 2.38lb.) , overall smaller dimensions, same type of graphics and same resolution cameras (also has 2 compared to the MBA's one), larger battery (42wh versus the MBA's 35wh), not to mention a full touchscreen capable of 10-point multitouch, comes with a Waccom pen stylus, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and Compass, all which the macbook air do not have. So as far as the price, its actually quite competitive, as well as on par with other products its type (go to walmart and a ultrabook with an i3 processor will run you $800.)
    So you get what you pay for basically.
  • Lol!!! All those products you're comparing it to are to expensive as well!! Lol.. I guess I'm just bitching about the cost of living as a whole...
  • These things have up to 50% profit margin...and hence the price.
  • Don't you mean 100%??
  • Materials for a 11.6 inch ultrabook can be over $700. they are not making a %50 profit. Those cpu's dont come cheap (why do you think most low end PCs use AMD instead of Intel (exceptions being a few with pentiums and netbooks using the horrid atom processor)?) and nor do the more compact components that go into an ultrabook. Dont get me wrong, the Ultrabook market is still highly profitable (already you find PCs moving to ultrabooks, with "ultraportables" (budget, lower end ultrabooks, around the 300 - 400 range) appearing on the market), but they are not making such a large proffit as you suggest.
  • If you are going to compare it to an MBA, then you really should include the price and weight of the type keyboard to keep it roughly equivalent.
  • Yeah, and with that factored in it cost mucho mucho mas. Yep,, way to expensive.. I'll tell you guys what,, I want to compromise so if MS can drop the price down to $49.99 then I'll buy it.
  • Okay then.
    Price added (Touch Cover): 119 for a total of 1019 for 64gb Surface Pro vs. 999 for MBA. So $20 more (though after all the features the SP has over MBA, your still in a sense getting more for your money.)
    Thickness added (Touch Cover): 3.25mm for a total of .66 (rounded up) inches vs .68 for MBA
    Weight Added (Touch Cover): less than .46 (no exact weight listed) for a little under 2.46lb, vs 2.38 for MBA (approximately same weight, basically)
     
    Overall, you pay $20 more than an MBA and get 2 cameras, larger screen resolution, touchscreen (10-point multitouch), Full Windows OS, Waccom Stylus (Plus for you artists and powerpoint users out there), Kickstand, Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, larger battery, the same integrated graphics and cpu, and smaller dimensions.
    It still holds up.
  • The Surface Pro is definitely an impressive device, and isn't really "overpriced", but then neither is the MBA in many ways. It's just a new device with new(ish) features, making it spendy. So yeah, you put it pretty well, Dustin.
     
    One note: the surface cameras are junk, from what I've read, just for what it's worth.
  • They are supposedly the same res as a macbook air webcam, so :P
    ...though if people judged the surface cams quality with the "camera" app... that was a mistake.
    The camera app on windows 8 for some reason makes cameras appear lower res then they are.
    My laptop's webcam looks great in skype but is grainy and very poor in Camera App (im using windows 8).
    So it may be that its cameras havent been tested in an alternative app... though i may be wrong. dont quote me, as the saying goes.
  • They cant move RTs and they cant make enough Pros. Pro interest is definitely incredible. This could well be the single best selling 'laptop' of all time. True, with so many laptop variants, that's not such a massive achievement, but it does show the direction of the modern postpc marketplace
  • That in itself shows what MS should have done from the start.  The should have never create an RT, they should have created Surface (Arm based running windows 8), and Surface Pro (intel based running windows 8 Pro) 
  • Surface is running an Arm based Windows 8. Thats what windows rt is. Its basically a tablet version of windows. Thing is, just like with the old macbooks when Apple switched to Intel from PowerPC, The software for windows is compiled for x86 architecture (Intel), not ARM. So Windows RT cannot run that software due to the processor itself, not the OS.
    So Microsoft did exactly what you are suggesting, only it doesnt work like you think it does.
    Also, Windows RT (or "Windows Tablet" as i call it, due to it being more of Windows 8's twin for tablets, then it is being an actual version of Windows 8) itself isnt bad. Its just not got very much major app support at the moment. But neither did iOS and Android when they first came out. Everyone seems to expect the apps to appear from the get-in-go, yet they dont understand that your major companies and developers usually wait till they see if the os will be profitable.
  • Amen to this. Love my Surface RT and what it brings to the table. The excellent battery life alone is worth it.
  • The wpcentral app doesn't have links or anything to get me to the relevant forum threads :(
  • I'm having the same issue. :(
  • Just slide over to where it says more and show in browser and get the links that way.
  • Anyone else think the guy trying to play battlefield 3 on a Surface Pro with high settings is a bit moronic? Even with my old Radeon HD 6850 I couldn't get that game to run on anything above high for graphics. The processor is only part of the equation! You'd be lucky to play with moderate settings on the Pro. Your best bet is to run games at 720p resolutions, not a full 1080p setup that the Surface can display. SMH
  • Good thing I got an rt, and just bought a vizio all in one with a quad core i7 processor and NVIDIA geforce 640. Was gonna wait for the pro, then my nice parents got me the rt for my birthday.
  • I'd play Space Rangers 2.
  • I'm not really surprised by the Lumia 620 image provided in the article. I tried it myself and it does some magic, too!
  • Seems it is available in Staples online 128gb Surface Pro with 2 day delivery for me.  GEt em while they last...