Microsoft Surface users facing audio and Touch Cover issues

It’s just been a couple of weeks since the Microsoft Surface went on sale and as usual for any new product we have started hearing complaints from the early adopters. The two most prominent issues for now relate to the sound and the optional Touch Cover.

According to The Verge, who experienced these issues first hand, the audio occasionally stutters or mutes when the Surface is in use or in standby. As for the Touch Covers, some users are experiencing fraying around the edges.

Microsoft is reportedly receiving “a lot of” Touch Covers returns according the a company spokesperson and the company is replacing them for free.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Delivery of cheapest Surface slips to three weeks, Touch Cover rejected by consumers?

Of the various Surface models currently available, it appears the early adopters have been most taken by the cheapest, $499 32GB version. And that's the one without the Touch Cover keyboard, an accessory which Microsoft has been promoting hard since the tablet was first unveiled.

Anyone considering placing an order for the least expensive version of Microsoft’s new Surface tablet (ie. the $499 32GB model running Windows RT that comes without the ultra-thin Touch Cover keyboard) might have to wait as long as three weeks to receive the device, according to its page on the Microsoft Store website. It originally showed October 26 – the day the tablet officially launches – as the delivery date.

The $599 32GB version with the Touch Cover, and the $699 64GB version also with the Touch Cover, are, at the time of writing, still showing a “by October 26” delivery date.

It’s tempting to think there’s been an early rush by consumers for Microsoft’s new tablet, but as noted by Cnet (via Neowin), without knowing exactly how many of the tablets are built, boxed and ready to ship, it’s hard to accurately gauge how much demand there really is for the device at this early stage.

It does appear, however, that the early adopters are ignoring the Touch Cover, opting for just the tablet. If they change their mind at a later date, they can of course pick up a Touch Cover for $119, or a Type Cover, best described as a more conventional keyboard compared to the Touch Cover, for $10 more.

This may be of some concern to Microsoft, which has been making a big deal of its accompanying cover/keyboard since it first unveiled the Surface back in June – indeed, an ad for the new tablet, shown for the first time Monday night, featured the cover/keyboard as much as the tablet.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the computer giant has placed orders to manufacture between three and five million Surface tablets from now until the end of this year. But whether Microsoft can persuade people to part with their cash for one of them is what industry watchers are waiting to find out.

One thing’s for certain though – consumers looking to purchase a tablet this holiday season will be spoilt for choice, with big-hitters Microsoft, Apple, Google and Amazon, as well as a slew of other tech companies, all set to battle it out in the coming weeks in what has suddenly become an incredibly busy, as well as crowded, tablet market.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

TaskRabbit offers people to stand in line for you on iPhone 5 release day

For early adopters that absolutely despise having to stand in line for new gadgets, there's an easy way to pay someone to do it for you.

Detailed in a TaskRabbit blog post, the service networking company launched a new task today in conjunction with Apple’s iPhone 5 announcement. For a price of $55, anyone can pay a TaskRabbit representative to stand in line in front of an Apple store on the release date of the new iPhone 5. Easy to identify in a TaskRabbit shirt, the representative will stand in the line for up to four hours on the morning of Friday, September 21. TaskRabbit has setup an iPhone 5 hub page for people around San Francisco and New York City, but anyone can setup a similar TaskRabbit task at Apple stores around the United States. 

After someone interested in purchasing the new iPhone 5 schedules the task through the site, an assigned TaskRabbit representative will contact the user within the next 48 hours. The user can specify timing in addition to model information like the iPhone 5 color as well as the size of the internal storage drive. Model information is required since Apple store employees typically walk through the line to assign inventory in order to cut the line at a specific point. 

At this point, the representative will show up at a specific time to stand in line. Hypothetically, someone that’s been standing in line since midnight for a spot much closer to the Apple store could schedule a TaskRabbit representative to come relieve them for a few hours. After the task has been completed on September 21, the user will be charged the $55 fee for the TaskRabbit service. TaskRabbit is also offering the opportunity for two people to win a new iPhone 5 if they schedule a TaskRabbit representative prior to September 20. 

In order to become a TaskRabbit representative, an interested party has to fill out an application in addition to submitting to a criminal background check through a company called Acxiom. Beyond the application, a video interview is also required to be hired.

Approval is based on the location of the applicant, skill set and needs for different services within the community. When an applicant is approved to become a TaskRabbit representative, they have the ability to dictate their schedule in addition to setting their own rate. According to the TaskRabbit FAQ, some representatives make upwards of $5,000 per month through the site.

When the iPhone 4S was launched on October 14, 2011, an eight-block line formed outside an Apple store in Tokyo and some people attempted to sell spots in line on Craigslist. Lines around the United States started forming within six to twelve hours prior to the opening of each Apple store. Stores in Paris and London also saw a significant number of people standing in line many hours before stores opened. At the Apple store in Los Gatos, Steve Wozniak landed the first spot in line and happily took photographs with many Apple fans as well as reminisce about the late Steve Jobs. In order to snag the first spot in line at that Apple store, he arrived a little more than eighteen hours before the store opened the day that the iPhone 4S officially went on sale.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com