Amid all the Microsoft Surface vs. Apple iPad noise, The VAR Guy is closely watching Samsung’s endpoint and mobile device strategy — which includes smartphones, tablets, Google Chromebooks, Chromeboxes and perhaps even some cloud services. Here’s why Samsung demands The VAR Guy’s attention — and partner attention.
Let’s start with the Google Android market.
Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud service, may drive business demand for Microsoft Surface and Windows 8 tablet sales, The VAR Guy believes. Where’s the evidence? Just listen to Samsung, Lenovo and Seton Hall University. Here’s the update.
As reported, Seton Hall University is standardizing students on Samsung Windows 8 tablets and ultrabooks.
Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets were supposed to drive demand for Windows Phone 8 devices. The business plan went like this: Sell lots of touch-enabled tablets running Windows 8 Pro or Windows RT, and consumers would flock to similar smartphones and ultrabooks.
Seton Hall University is standardizing on Samsung Windows 8 tablets and Ultrabooks for students. Those Windows 8 devices will link to Microsoft Office 365 for education, the cloud service alternative to Google Apps. Why did Seton Hall choose Windows 8 tablets over Apple iPads, in particular? The simple answer is content creation. For Microsoft, it sounds like a huge Windows 8 mobile win.
According to a report in the WSJ, Microsoft is working on a new line-up of its Windows 8-powered Surface tablets that includes a seven inch version of the slate.
When Windows 8 Surface tablets launch this fall, maybe Microsoft should steal a page from the Google Nexus 7 tablet launch: Microsoft should sell Surface tablets mainly online and keep inventories low to ensure initial tablet shipments “sell out.” Here’s why.
Google’s 16GB Nexus tablet, which counters Amazon’s Kindle Fire, apparently is sold out.
Redmond is getting ready to go to war, tablet war against iOS and Android — with the looming launch of its Windows 8-powered Surface slate, due to get the final reveal on October 25. Yesterday Microsoft ramped up the marketing blitz with a new Windows 8 commercial. Today it’s pushed the button on Surface banner ads (h/t to the Verge for spotting).
The Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone apparently has sold 10 million units. Meanwhile, Samsung continues to build out its portfolio of tablets, ultrabooks, Google Chromebooks and Chromeboxes. Taken together, Samsung is starting to look like a complete hardware supplier across Android, Chrome OS, Windows 7 and soon Windows 8.
Written by: Alex Zaharov-Reutt | Published in: Home ITSamsung is reportedly ready to take on the Windows RT challenge, giving Microsoft an ARM-powered Windows RT tablet to compete with iPads and Android tablets, while clearly gearing up to make Windows 8 Pro tablets too, while HP says it is going 8 Pro only.
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