Apple : What does Microsoft's special invite to Apple's iPad Pro event mean for the Surface Pro?

What does Microsoft's special invite to Apple's iPad Pro event mean for the Surface Pro?

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Microsoft was the surprise guest at today's Apple event in San Francisco with Kirk Koenigsbauer, Corporate Vice President for Office 365 Client Applications, extolling the virtues of Office and the Edge browser on the new iPad Pro tablet.

What made that surreal is that both companies have had a chequered relationship over the past 30 years, often regarded as being archrival with competing products.

Nearly 20 years ago, Microsoft bought $150 million worth of shares in Apple, a move that many said saved Steve Jobs' job (although that has been being hotly debated).

The deal was announced by Gates with the then-Microsoft CEO saying that it was "very exciting to renew our commitment to Apple".

YouTube : youtubeurl

More importantly perhaps, Microsoft promised to deliver Office for Mac and Internet Explorer for Mac for five years.

Fast forward to 2015 and Apple has the upper hand and Microsoft is the one who has not been able to flawlessly execute its plans over the past decade.

The company is now worth more than $640 billion, making it nearly twice as large as Microsoft; the iPad, iPhone, MacBook family and the iMac are the industry benchmark when it comes to profitability and sheer volume sold.

With hundreds of millions of devices worldwide running in a tight, controlled operating system, Apple's installed base simply cannot be ignored; likewise, while Apple has the likes of Pages and Numbers to rival Microsoft's Office, they simply cannot compete, especially as Microsoft made these free for mobile devices.

So what's it all mean?

So, the appearance of Microsoft at Apple's event means that the frosty relationship between the two companies is starting to thaw. Microsoft is convincing itself that it is becoming more of a software/infrastructure vendor and leaving Apple to be the main driver for hardware.

Could Microsoft be looking to dilute the value of the Surface Pro 4, accepting that the iPad is the superior product when it comes to market penetration? It seems that Microsoft and Apple have decided to settle on their consumer positions for now with B2B being the next battleground.

Apple has already teamed up with Cisco and IBM to beef up its presence in the enterprise market and Microsoft announced yesterday that it has enrolled Dell and HP to become resellers for Surface Pro 3. Coincidence? Surely not.

The iPad Pro: Everything you need to know about it.

Updated: Buying Guide: 10 best laptops for students 2015

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Best laptops for students

Even for those who feel at home with their nose in a textbook, the end of summer break (or Winter recess) is a big bummer. But as much as it's a return to school and schedules, it's an opportunity. This is a fine excuse to invest in some fresh tech to make the coming academia-addled year a little more bearable.

If you're still reliant on a desktop, or if your laptop winces at the sight of a high-definition video lecture, it's time to look into an upgrade. And thankfully if you know where to look, it's possible to get a sleek and impressive notebook without blowing through your savings (or student loans).

We've pored through our archives from the past several months and picked the best laptops for school. Our short list spans a variety of budgets that range from power-sipping Chromebooks to help you with that 1,000 page dissertation to more powerful machines that'll do better at a dorm room lan party.

Update: In addition to our hands-on with the IdeaPad MIIX 700, be sure to check out our previews of the IdeaPad 300 and ThinkPad Yoga 460 from Lenovo. In addition to Lenovo, Acer also made an impressive showing at IFA 2015, refreshing many of its notebooks and convertibles with Intel's latest Skylake architecture.

Lenovo ThinkPad E555

1. Asus Zenbook UX305

A most affordable and excellent Ultrabook

Solid performance

Incredibly thin and light

Wonky video driver

Tinny speakers

Call it a MacBook Air knockoff all you want, the Asus ZenBook UX305 is one of the best and most affordable Ultrabooks available now.

Read the full review: Zenbook UX305

Best laptops for students

2. Acer Chromebook 15

Chrome OS comes to the big screen

Absolutely radiant display

All-day battery life

Sudden crashes

Tinny but serviceable speakers

The Acer Chromebook 15 asks if you need a big machine to just run a Chrome browser, and I say 'oh, yes.' The Chromebook 15 takes Chrome OS to new places as it's the first device to arrive with a 15.6-inch display and the first to come with Intel's newest Broadwell processor.

Read the full review: Acer Chromebook 15

Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display (early 2015)

3. Apple MacBook Pro 13.3-inch with Retina Display

The fastest small MacBook Pro yet is a force of nature

Retina Display

Faster processor

Force Touch underdeveloped

Unchanged design

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is an excellent option for students who may need more power than a Chromebook or a MacBook Air without sacrificing portability thanks to its long battery life, relatively light weight, and high resolution display. Students on a budget will be happy to know that they can get started right away as the MacBook Pro with Retina display ships with free copies of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote out of the box as well as iMovie, Photos, and GarageBand for basic, creative projects.

Read the full review: MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina display

Acer Chromebook 15 C910

4. Acer Chromebook 15 C910

The colossus of Chromebooks

Fast processing speeds

Long battery life

Too heavy

Awkward keyboard

Don't be fooled by this fatso. The Acer Chromebook 15 C910 is a durable workhorse that will reward you for looking past its size in favor of its performance, long battery life and stylish good looks.

Read the full review: Acer Chromebook 15 C910

Best laptops for students

5. Apple MacBook Air 13-inch

Finally, battery life within our grasp

Fantastic battery life

Haswell processors

No Retina screen

Not user upgradeable

While it has yet to make the leap into Retina, this is still the laptop that the ultrabook aspires to, thanks to incredible battery life and AC Wi-Fi.

Read the full review: MacBook Air 13-inch

Best laptops for students

6. Asus ROG GL551

The best entry-level gaming laptop available

CPU: 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-4710HQ Processor (quad-core, 6M cache, up to 3.5GHz with Turbo Boost) | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 860M (2GB GDDR5 RAM); Intel HD Graphics 4600 | RAM: 16GB DDR3L (2x 8GB at 1600MHz) | Screen: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080), matte finish | Storage: 1TB HDD (7,200 rpm) | Connectivity: 802.11g Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0 | Camera: 1.2MP, 720p webcam | Weight: 6 pounds | Dimensions: 15.0 x 10 x 1.3 inches (W x D x H)

Impressive performance

Solid build

Finicky screen

Rather thick

With a surprising amount of horsepower under the hood, you couldn't ask for more from the Asus GL551, save for maybe a better screen.

Read the full review: ROG GL551

Best laptops for students

7. Acer Aspire V7

Offering great all-round performance this is ideal for a student

CPU: 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.60 GHz with Turbo Boost) | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GT 750M (4GB DDR3 RAM); Intel HD Graphics 4400 | RAM: 8GB DDR3L RAM | Screen: 14-inch, 1920 x 1080 glossy IPS touchscreen | Storage: 500GB (5400 rpm with a 16GB SSD cache) | Connectivity: 802.11n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0 | Camera: 720p webcam | Weight: 4.41 pounds | Dimensions: 13.4 x 9.4 x 0.9 inches (W x D x H)

Seamless design

Gorgeous screen

Rough trackpad

Short battery life

A short battery life and an obnoxious amount of bloatware hold back this otherwise excellent notebook that tows the line between Ultrabook and gaming laptop.

Read the full review: Aspire V7

Read: Acer Aspire V7 review

Surface 3

8. Microsoft Surface 3

Thinner, lighter, quieter, cheaper

CPU: Quad Core Intel Atom x7-78700 processor (2MB Cache, 1.6GHz turbo boost to 2.4GHz) | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics | RAM: 4GB | Screen: 10.8-inch ClearType Full HD Plus Display (1920 x 1200) | Storage: 128GB | Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0 | Camera: 3.5 megapixel front-facing camera; 8.0 megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus | Weight: 1.37 pounds | Dimensions: 10.52 x 7.36 x 0.34 inches (W x D x H)

Display

Design

Keyboard

Storage

If you want the cheapest and most portable Surface tablet money can buy for lightweight computing tasks, the Surface 3 fits the bill. Power-hungry users should consider the low-end Surface Pro 3 instead.

Read the full review: Surface 3

Best laptops for students

9. Microsoft Surface Pro 3

Thinner, lighter, quieter, cheaper

CPU: 1.9GHz Intel Core i5-4300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost) | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4400 | RAM: 8GB LPDDR3 | Screen: 12-inch, 2160 x 1440 multi-touch (ClearType, 3:2 aspect ratio) | Storage: 256GB | Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0 | Camera: Two 5MP webcams (1080p HD video) | Weight: 1.76 pounds | Dimensions: 7.93 x 11.5 x 0.36 inches (W x D x H)

Sharp display and design

Huge Type Cover upgrade

Runs hot at times

Type Cover still optional

Not without its drawbacks, this is the brightest shining example of not only Microsoft's vision of a laptop-free future, but the entire laptop-tablet hybrid category.

Read the full review: Surface Pro 3

Lenovo ThinkPad E555

10. Lenovo ThinkPad E555

A ThinkPad, but without the price tag

Great keyboard

Decent performance

Poor battery life

Heavy

Forget Lenovo's Essentials range, the ThinkPad E555, bears all the qualities (well, almost) of the legendary ThinkPad family but without the price tag.

Read the full review: ThinkPad E555

Originally contributed by Joe Osborne and Kevin Lee.

Yahuui Blog

Wednesday, September 9, 2015