1

Microsoft's Surface demand is 'disappointing,' says analyst

view story
linux-howto

http://www.zdnet.com – If analysts are right, the reason Microsoft is being coy about Surface tablet sales is because they are more subdued than even Microsoft's own conservative predictions. (General)

hwq123's picture
Submitted by hwq123 on 12/04/2012

Stories similar to Microsoft's Surface demand is 'disappointing,' says analyst

The Microsoft Surface RT is a PC. It’s not a mobile device and it’s not a tablet, it’s a PC. And Microsoft’s first self-branded computer. It is, in short, the physical incarnation of Microsoft’s Windows 8. The expectations and competition for the Surface are daunting.

Microsoft's decision to create an information vacuum with regards to Surface tablet sales is leaving a void that analysts are more than willing to fill with bad news.

In what has the look and feel of dueling Surface Q4 sales outlooks—with the over/under set at 1 million units—the stage is being set to label Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) tablet as either a dud or a reasonable, measured success for the period.

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) might be planning to sell its Surface for Windows RT tablet for $199, a staggeringly low price to potentially counter Google Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire tablets. Is Microsoft ready to make some Surface tablets loss leaders, figuring to make up the shortfall on application and media sales, according to a published report?

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has told a French newspaper that sales of Redmond’s shiny new Windows 8 tablet PC, Surface, have gotten off to a modest start.

Inasmuch as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) isn’t saying much about Surface RT unit sales to date, the vendor has left itself wide open to speculation, estimates and educated guesses about how the tablet is doing with consumers.

The gap between a full-fledged PC and a touchscreen tablet has finally found a bridge in the Microsoft Surface Pro. The Windows 8 device will be available for purchase on February 9, but we got a sneak peek with the Surface Pro and took it for a test spin in the Fly Or Die studios. So what’s the verdict?

Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) only has sold about 1.5 million Surface tablets to date—some 1.1 million Surface RTs and approximately 400,000 Surface Pro’s—according to “people with knowledge of the company’s sales” cited in a Bloomberg published account. But what do the figures really mean?

Microsoft may launch a Surface tablet channel partner program at Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2013 (WPC13). Will such a move trigger more Surface tablet sales?read more