GreatWindows
New Member
The iSheep will never go away.
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 using Board Express
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 using Board Express
do you think the covers are rip-offs?
- Thread starter badham21
- Start date
windows8nation
New Member
forgive me, but i am of the strong opinion that a cover should be a cover alone and a keyboard needs to be at least wider than the one on the screen. If you type at a rate more than 40 wpm, the touch cover is useless as a keyboard. The chicklet style of the type cover is yet another story.
All in all, i see both applications of the keyboard cover to have missed their mark and well overpriced. I dont see why they dont make a cover thats just a cover, forget al the Keyboard cover hype and create a proper dedicated docking station based on the magnetic connector...I have both the type and the touch covers and i hate both of them for different reasons. Luckily, thats the only thing i dislike about the SP three months in..
Just my two cents..
All in all, i see both applications of the keyboard cover to have missed their mark and well overpriced. I dont see why they dont make a cover thats just a cover, forget al the Keyboard cover hype and create a proper dedicated docking station based on the magnetic connector...I have both the type and the touch covers and i hate both of them for different reasons. Luckily, thats the only thing i dislike about the SP three months in..
Just my two cents..
Mr.NK
Super Moderator
You're welcome and sure not alone with your opinion. However I'm loving the typecover for beeing a perfect add-on for using the rt as a productive mobile unit. Yes the Touchpad is not the best, but i can easily type for 2-6hrs without problems - although i switch to a normal keyboard at home, because it's there and a little bit more comfortable. The price is the only real negative point, but atm it's given away for free at MS Store in Germany 
mad.
Still - it's light, so it keeps the rt portable, it's useful and the quality is not bad either. Screen/Touchcover maybe ok for writing mails etc, but for anyone who's tending to write long emails or anything likely it's perfect. I don't need two covers, or an extra keyboard (not even one with a battery, but with the form-factor of the SP it could be more acceptable/useful) - i just need a small workhorse.
mad.Still - it's light, so it keeps the rt portable, it's useful and the quality is not bad either. Screen/Touchcover maybe ok for writing mails etc, but for anyone who's tending to write long emails or anything likely it's perfect. I don't need two covers, or an extra keyboard (not even one with a battery, but with the form-factor of the SP it could be more acceptable/useful) - i just need a small workhorse.
Russ
Active Member
Mr. NK --
Same here, except mine is the Touchcover. I'm not a touch-typist anymore, so the Touchcover is perfect for me. And, as its name suggests, it functions as a cover for quick moving around.
At the known risk of being labeled a smartass, my suggestion for those who think it is a rip-off is: Don't buy it! Don't be ripped off!
In the wonderful world of a technological free market, there are other solutions. Of course, those solutions also have prices, and they may not be as convenient, but, at least, you will have the smug satisfaction of not having participated in a rip-off scheme just to further enrich Bill Gates (and other MS shareholders, like me).
Russ
mitchellvii
Well-Known Member
When deciding whether something is a ripoff you need a basis of comparison. What else is there which offers the exact same form and functionality as the type cover for less? Right, there is nothing to compare it to. That's not to say MS wouldn't have sold a hell of a lot more Surfaces had they included the cover in the price, but that's not a ripoff, just bad marketing.
Russ
Active Member
Mitchell --
I'm not sure either is the case. Since we don't know how many Surface tablets have been sold without keyboards, It's only a guess.
Regards,
Russ
J515OP
Super Moderator
mitchellvii
Well-Known Member
Every decision is a guess to some degree is it not? It is impossible to ever have complete information prior to making a decision, and even then, you are guessing how to interpret that information.
I think based upon the information available that MS would have sold many more Surface tablets had the keyboard been included. Why? Because as a tablet it was already much more than people were accustomed to paying, so when they saw they didn't even get the keyboard for that price, people on the fence otherwise chose not to buy. This is especially true of the Surface Pro as I can't imagine someone wanting something this powerful without a keyboard.
Paying extra for the keyboard may not have scared off the dedicated buyer, but I promise you it scared off many marginal prospects. How many times were the words, "You mean for $1000 I don't even get the keyboard?!" uttered in the aisles of Bestbuy?
I think based upon the information available that MS would have sold many more Surface tablets had the keyboard been included. Why? Because as a tablet it was already much more than people were accustomed to paying, so when they saw they didn't even get the keyboard for that price, people on the fence otherwise chose not to buy. This is especially true of the Surface Pro as I can't imagine someone wanting something this powerful without a keyboard.
Paying extra for the keyboard may not have scared off the dedicated buyer, but I promise you it scared off many marginal prospects. How many times were the words, "You mean for $1000 I don't even get the keyboard?!" uttered in the aisles of Bestbuy?
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J515OP
Super Moderator
Um, nope that price doesn't even get you a keyboard, not to mention a less powerful device though it does have data and GPS but the data will cost you monthly. $929.99
Oh and you wanted a cover? $50
And a keyboard? $99
I don't think people who were looking at Surface tablets were put off by the lack of a keyboard. Most tablets don't come with one unless you pay extra often in the $100 range for a nice keyboard. Now if you want to blame the lack of a Start button, well...
Oh and you wanted a cover? $50
And a keyboard? $99
I don't think people who were looking at Surface tablets were put off by the lack of a keyboard. Most tablets don't come with one unless you pay extra often in the $100 range for a nice keyboard. Now if you want to blame the lack of a Start button, well...
mitchellvii
Well-Known Member
Um, nope that price doesn't even get you a keyboard, not to mention a less powerful device though it does have data and GPS but the data will cost you monthly. $929.99
Oh and you wanted a cover? $50
And a keyboard? $99
I don't think people who were looking at Surface tablets were put off by the lack of a keyboard. Most tablets don't come with one unless you pay extra often in the $100 range for a nice keyboard. Now if you want to blame the lack of a Start button, well...
Lol, I just have to ask. What could Microsoft have changed about the Surface Pro to make it sell better or do you actually believe it is a perfect device?
J515OP
Super Moderator
No, of course it isn't perfect. It won't be perfect until they release another version that isn't the Surface version #x. When they come out with the "MS MUI Tab" then everybody will just want their perfect old Surface back because well, because it was perfect of course
Yes a lower price certainly would have helped sell more units and yes including the keyboard in the price would also have been awesome. As an individual I would have loved it if that was the case. As a corporation though I understand that they need to look at different things. In this case MS chose to go high end instead of aiming for volume. I don't know if that was the correct move or not but there are many good reasons people have put out for doing it that make sense. They didn't want to undercut partners. They wanted a premium reference device. They didn't have the manufacturing pipeline to get economies of scale a regular hardware maker can achieve, etc. Just because it would have been nice to have a lower price or an included keyboard doesn't mean that it is the only way MS should have played it. As it turns out they are in the ball park and at a reasonable price (thus the comparison above). They aren't a 7" Chinese no name tablet but they aren't as expensive as a Lenovo Helix either.
I think MS could have done a few things to improve sales. 1) If Windows 8 had been released enough ahead of the Surface so that Win 8 was out there and people had a chance to get to know it. Preview builds aren't enough for that and releasing Win 8 and the Surface at the same time probably didn't help sales any. 2) They could have done even more to get apps in the store ahead of time. Regular people seem to care about the total app count not the apps that count. 3) They could have had much better initial advertising. Maybe they were going for the wow followed by the function but it could have been more balanced. 4) They could have had more supply in the pipeline and a more stream lined roll out. I guess that just comes from lacking hardware roll out experience. 5) They could have done a better job on some of the core apps and drivers. Updates are fine but there a a few legitimate issues that MS should have taken care of (and they still are working on some) like mail, music and pictures apps and wifi and sleep issues. I don't know that this would have helped sales but there would be other things to talk about it these had all worked better out of the box.
JP
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