Articles about Surface Book

Microsoft is keen to get its Surface tablets in the hands of business users. This is one of the reasons why it increased the number of Surface sales partners back in July. And in September it launched the Surface Enterprise Initiative allowing Dell and HP to resell the product.

Now following the launch of Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book earlier this month, the company is making renewed efforts to crack the business market with new service offerings.

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The new baby in Microsoft's Surface family is the Surface Book. The convertible device has a striking look, as well as a striking price -- particularly if you opt for the newly announced 1TB model -- but Microsoft has been keen to promote performance.

At launch, the claim was made that the Surface Book is twice as powerful as a MacBook Pro. When the $3,199 1TB model was announced, Microsoft repeated the claim. Being quite a fan of evidence, I was intrigued by the fact that the claims were not being backed up with raw data from benchmarks. I asked Microsoft for more details, and found the company to be really quite cagey (and repetitive) in what it had to say.

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When Microsoft unveiled the Surface Book recently there was surprise that the largest capacity hard drive was just 512GB -- as intakes of breath at the breath-taking price. Now this has been rectified with the addition of a 1TB model to the line-up.

Of course, upping the hard drive from 512MB to 1TB involves paying a premium, and Microsoft is charging an extra $500 for the privilege. The new top-of-the-range model pushes the top price of the Surface Book to $3,199 and if you are interested, you'll have a bit of a wait on your hands.

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While 1080p is probably "good enough" for many consumers, you never want technology to get stagnant. Manufacturers pushing the envelope benefits us all. Even if 4K isn't a need, it is surely an amazing luxury.

Today, Toshiba announces the pricing and availability of Satellite Radius 12. This svelte 2-in-1 Windows 10 convertible features a 12.5 inch 4K display, which the company claims to be the world's first. Amazingly, this Windows 10 computer is aggressively priced and chock full of the latest features. Is the Surface Book killer already here?

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"Out of stock". These are familiar words to diehard Apple fans. They go to a web site and select their preferred combination of features from a configurator page only to discover that the product they really want is "temporarily unavailable".

Such manufactured scarcity is de rigueur for customers looking to buy the latest shiny object from Apple's toy chest. However, as sales and marketing tactics go, it’s a fairly new concept for would be Windows device owners. Which is why many will be surprised to encounter an unfamiliar message when trying to buy the highest-end model of the recently announced Surface Book laptop.

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Microsoft's Windows 10 hardware event has been an impressive tour de force, as we have seen the company reveal a significant number of exciting new products. The focus has been on Surface and Lumia devices, but we have also seen Band and HoloLens pushed into the spotlight. And we cannot forget about the news surrounding Windows 10.

Since it can be hard to keep track of everything that Microsoft has talked about, we have crammed everything you need to know about its Windows 10 hardware event into a single article.

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The newly-announced Surface Book feels like it's something I should love. I'm a big Surface Pro fan and I still use my first gen Pro as my daily driver. But there's just something about the Surface Book that grates. The price is not in any way attractive, but there's something else that's rather ugly: the hinge.

The Surface Book's hinge is something that Microsoft seems quite pleased with. Proud of, even. Microsoft calls it a 'dynamic fulcrum hinge', but it looks like a cross between a caterpillar track and a rubberized bendy drinking straw. For what is described as a 'meticulously crafted' device and 'the ultimate laptop', it's not a good look -- and it could be a serious problem.

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At today's event in New York, Microsoft put on an impressive show. We were -- ironically -- expecting some surprises, and the announcement of the Surface Book meant we weren't disappointed; this is, after all, "the ultimate laptop". The looks are striking. The specs are impressive. The price tag is... eye-watering.

In a way, we should have expected some expensive hardware to be revealed today. With its Surface Pro range, Microsoft showed that it is not afraid to push up the price, but the Surface Book takes things a step further. $1,499 is the starting price. Make a few tweaks to the specs and you could find yourself relieved of a buttock-clenching $2,699. Is there any way to justify this price?

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That grinding against wood and dirt you hear is the sound of Steve Jobs rolling over in his grave. Microsoft is back! And badass! Today's Surface event in New York City outclasses Apple by every measure that matters: Aspiration, innovation, presentation, and promotional marketing. Microsoft proves that it can build end-to-end solutions—hardware, software, and services—as good as, and better than, the company cofounded by Jobs. Even more importantly: Present the new wares well. Today's event was exceptional.

But there is a shadow looming in the brightness that will matter to some Microsoft customers and not to others: Cost. Surface Book, for all its seeming greatness, is a budget-busting laptop for the majority of potential buyers. The low-cost config, at $1,499, comes with 6th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and 128GB storage. To get the discreet graphics demoed today, with i7 chip, 8GB memory, and 256 SSD, you will spend $2,099. Doubling RAM and storage raises the price to $2,699.

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The Surface computer line has revolutionized portable computing -- it reinvented the PC. Want proof? Both Apple and Google have arguably copied Microsoft's now-iconic hybrid PC with the iPad Pro and Pixel-C, respectively. This mimicry, plus solid sales of the Surface Pro 3, solidifies Panos Panay's vision as both worthwhile and successful.

Today, Microsoft unveils the newest member of its hybrid family, the Surface Book. While competitors thought they were catching up, Microsoft has suddenly left them in the dust. Yes, the company has reinvented the PC once again, but this time, with a laptop -- you can finally use a Surface on your lap. It is twice as fast as the MacBook Pro!

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