If you are a MacBook Air user, chances are you are pretty happy with your device. It may not be the fastest or the lightest laptop around, but it has a great keyboard, gets amazing battery life, is more affordable than ever, can run Windows, and, thanks to iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite, works great with iOS 8 devices. Even Microsoft is impressed, calling it "great" and "delightful".
Microsoft, however, believes you can do better. In a new video ad made for this holiday season, the software giant once again aims to make MacBook Air users finally see the light, and realize that the device they should be using is Surface Pro 3. But if MacBook Air is already "great" and "delightful", why would someone want to switch?
According to Microsoft, Surface Pro 3 is better -- and worth switching to -- because it is "just as powerful", packs a pen, kickstand, touchscreen, detachable keyboard, and USB port. Forgive me if I am not impressed by what I'm seeing and hearing.
Just as powerful is a pretty lame argument as to why one should lose money in an upgrade for something that is just as fast. The USB port? MacBook Air actually has two, both usable. The kickstand? Well, it is there because it has to be, to allow Surface Pro 3 to work as a laptop (nearly) as well as an actual laptop.
How about the pen? Well, that certainly adds value and is definitely nice to have. Same with the touchscreen and detachable keyboard. But are those good-enough reasons to switch? I do not think so. Like I said, MacBook Air users have to be willing to lose money in an upgrade just for such features. And I do not see that happening, when, as Microsoft puts it, what they have is already "great" and "delightful".
The question in the second paragraph is the same one I asked right after Microsoft unveiled Surface Pro 3. As a MacBook Air user myself, I do not believe that Microsoft has a great chance in convincing existing MacBook Air users to switch. No, my opinion has not changed since. It is not the right audience to pitch Surface Pro 3 to. As I said before, it is a mistake. It is time to stop, Microsoft.
Do not get me wrong. Surface Pro 3 is actually better than MacBook Air. I like it more. I think it is the more rounded device. I would see myself using Surface Pro 3 over MacBook Air. Surface Pro 3 is futuristic. MacBook Air is not. There is no doubt in my mind about it.
However, the real value in switching to Surface Pro 3 will come for those who are switching from an old Windows laptop. That is a huge, huge market, much larger than the one MacBook Air users make and with more potential. Those folks have dated devices, that are nowhere near as fast, nowhere near as long-lasting on battery, nowhere near as light, nowhere near as portable and so on. For that crowd, the upgrade will be huge. For us MacBook Air users, we win some, we lose some.
Photo Credit: Art_girl/Shutterstock
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire