Microsoft Surface tablet fails to make a big splash sales wise
Roughly a month ago Microsoft delivered their Windows 8 slate, the Microsoft Surface tablet, with hopes that the flagship device for Windows 8 would take the tablet space by storm. However it appears that sales of the Surface haven’t made a real big splash, although Microsoft hasn’t revealed any sales figures for the Surface tablet yet.
Although we say the Microsoft Surface tablet fails to make a big splash sales wise, one can’t really say the device has failed, as it is still early days. However, according to a report over on Android Authority, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, in an interview with French magazine Le Parisien, has stated that sales of the Microsoft tablet have been modest.
Of course one does have to remember that when Microsoft unveiled the Surface, both Apple and Google also had major announcements in the tablet space, which could be the reason behind why the Microsoft Surface has seen a slow uptake in the tablet arena.
Then again pricing of the Windows 8 slate could also be quite a big factor, and putting people off when you consider the the Surface tablet commands a price tag of $600 when compared to the new iPad price of $330.
There is also the smaller tablets to consider, which no doubt have also had an effect on Surface sales, especially with the likes of the Amazon Kindle Fire, or the Nexus 7 for a couple of hundred dollars.
But Microsoft might already be trying to turn the popularity of smaller tablets in their favour, as there are whispers that despite previous reports Microsoft wouldn’t deliver a smaller Windows tablet to take on the likes of the iPad mini, the company is rumoured to be working on a 7-inch slate called the Xbox Surface.
Are any of our readers contemplating picking up the Surface tablet this holiday buying season?
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4 thoughts on “Microsoft Surface tablet fails to make a big splash sales wise”
I am just waiting for surface pro to be released, and I definitely will be buying one… am running windows 8 on my almost 3 year old HP laptop perfectly using the touch pad and mouse, no effort ! Love it… Awesome work Microsoft ! Can we put to bed this apple rubbish Ipad stuff, that only allows you to surface the net and play children’s games tapping around meaningless apps.. all this talk of the windows store have few apps, well yeh presently it does, but most average humans only use a handful regularly anyway.. Microsoft is a device for those who want to play in the real world and get something done !
Several issues that need to be resolved. Fragmentation and focus: is it a slate or a surface? Does it really need two names? RT or pro? Are RT buys going to be angry when they find out their tablet is not really running windows 8, and it will not have the compatibility they expected? Is this a tablet or a laptop with a removable keyboard? Why in the world would Microsoft make both an Intel and a ARM tablet? Till the mini, Apple had basically one tablet. The surfaces are not even going to be comparable with eachother? Microsoft seemed to be unable to decide between a laptop and a tablet, to move to the energy saving ARM or stay with Intel. So they went with all four?
Several issues that need to be resolved. Fragmentation and focus: is it a slate or a surface? Does it really need two names? RT or pro? Are RT buys going to be angry when they find out their tablet is not really running windows 8, and it will not have the compatibility they expected? Is this a tablet or a laptop with a removable keyboard? Why in the world would Microsoft make both an Intel and a ARM tablet? Till the mini, Apple had basically one tablet. The surfaces are not even going to be comparable with eachother? Microsoft seemed to be unable to decide between a laptop and a tablet, to move to the energy saving ARM or stay with Intel. So they went with all four?
I just picked up my Microsoft Surface from the MS Store in the states and love the device. I have been both a Windows desktop user for 10 years and an Android tablet owner for almost 2 years now. Regarding the whole Win RT vs Win 8 debate, neither Android or iOS are desktop operating systems so Win RT is what levels the playing field. Comparing them to Win 8 Pro puts the devices in a different category. Adding a desktop mode to a tablet on ARM is a nice touch. Granted full-blown Win 8 tablets on Intel chips have yet to penetrate the market, I can see why MS went down the path that they did (Intel tablets will Mature once Haswell comes to fruition). Given their new approach, it’s very obvious that MS wants new apps to fit into the Modern-UI paradigm, giving the developers flexibility to write apps independent of architecture. Most applications are built for x86,x64, and ARM thus allowing the hardware vendors to be the real competition when it comes to new devices. While Win RT may be lacking in true desktop functionality, it certainly has jumped ahead of the curve in what Android and iOS have failed to achieve in that environment. Merging the Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile world is not an easy task and the MS surface is the first real step in that direction.