Microsoft still barely scratching "Surface" with tablet sales
Summary: A new Bloomberg report says approximately 1.5 million Surface RT and Surface Pro models have been sold, but Microsoft had ordered 3 million of the devices.
Despite a massive push into the surging tablet market, Microsoft does not appear to have a runaway success on its hands with its Surface devices. Previous sales figures have been lackluster, and now a new Bloomberg story suggests that things haven't improved much with the launch of the Surface Pro.
According to the report, Microsoft has sold about 1.5 million Surface tablets since the launch of the Surface RT last fall. That includes roughly 400,000 sales of the pricier Surface Pro model that debuted in February. Unfortunately for the company, Bloomberg's sources say Microsoft ordered 3 million Surface units, and the amount it has sold pales in comparison to sales of Apple's iPad models in the same period.
Analysts are now lowering sales expectations for the Surface, with Pacific Crest Securities now projecting sales in this quarter of 600,000 units instead of 1.4 million. Meanwhile, Microsoft's partners are showing a reluctance to offer their own tablets based on Windows RT and Windows 8, with Samsung having already announced that it would not bring its Ativ Tab to the U.S. (It has since stopped selling it in Europe.)
The Bloomberg report also says that Microsoft is working to reboot marketing for the Surface line, and some discounting has emerged that makes the tablets more price competitive. Microsoft may still have an opportunity to make some headway with enterprise clients, though that may be thanks to Windows 8 tablets from other vendors and not necessarily due to the Surface Pro.
The Pro does have the benefit of the full Windows 8 OS, giving it enterprise-friendly security options as well as full versions of Microsoft Office apps. The Surface RT, however, may have a tougher time, given its iPad-like price, and the fact that smaller, cheaper tablets are in vogue. It also doesn't help that analysts are finding that consumers aren't warming up to the new Windows 8 experience, which Windows RT is based on.
Do these latest sales numbers suggest that Microsoft's tablet hardware experiment is doomed? Or is it just a tough launch that will be forgotten as Microsoft continues to push the Surface into new markets and the corporate world? Let us know your thoughts in the Talkback section below.
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Talkback
Need to ask?
In any case two questions really remain, first when is Microsoft going to acknowledge the mess they are in and what can they do to get out of it.
Ah hold on, I know…up the license prices on any software businesses do use to scare them off.
True
RT is simply expensive
I wonder if it is simply just the OS?
Surface PRO is a big mistake
- Very Expensive $889 or 999
- real bad battery life
- A tablet with no GPS, no 3G, no NFC, ...all for the low price of $889 !!
- windows uses more than 30 GB 64 GB
-the tablet has cooler
desktop applications do not work perfectly on touch screen
does not work like tablet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1zxDa3t0fg
Yeah, touch on the Surface Pro desktop is IRRITATING
In general, you can touch and do things with your finger like you do things with a mouse. HOWEVER, if you try to work with a cursor in a text box using your finger, FORGET IT. You don't get a larger target tag underneath the cursor for you to move the cursor (like you do on Android or iPhone), so you are left trying to tab the screen trying to get the cursor in the right spot.
I mean, really?! They couldn't add that little bit of usability improvement to the desktop?!
Then just plug in a keyboard and mouse
Your complaining about a desktop interface not being suitable to a touch device? And how is this any different to any other touch device that would try to emulate a desktop environment?
Hang on... they can't even emulate a desktop environment can they!
So just plug in your keyboard and mouse and use it the way it was meant to be used. The point is you CAN do it, unlike other devices that don't even give you that option
Yes, Yes, Yes, Henrique Dourado
Who are you trying to convince? Us, or yourself?
the numbers
I understand that Ms does not receive much love these days and that's to bad because people are missing the point about this product.
The minimalistic approach is...
ok, here is the reality all of you heaters
You want to talk reality
Here's the thing
Not real enough
Once business embeds it, people using it at work will start to say "hey this works great, I should get one for home", EXACTLY the same way that it went with the PC in the beginning, and before you know it, iPads will be in serious decline because they just don't have the same features and flexibility.
You are forgetting that this is a tablet saturated environment where people have already invested in their choice of platform. Breaking into that market was never going to be easy and was never going to be immediate. It was always going to be a hard slog to get a foothold.
Whats more, one of the largest sector of the programming workforce (who do .Net programming) will continue to develop software at a greater rate than those who work with iOS (objective-C is far more irritating to use and takes longer to develop), and before you know it it is starting to shine.
Here is a glimpse of the future for you. Games are coming out now (Galactic Reign, Skulls of the Shogun) which can be played on Surface, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. Not different games... the SAME game. Thats right... sit at your desktop and start playing, then move to the lounge, pick up the surface and CONTINUE PLAYING THE SAME GAME, then hop on the bus with your phone and KEEP PLAYING THE SAME GAME.
Do you see iPads doing that? Android devices? Nope...
But not only do these Microsoft devices do it, but they are also now integrating with the largest selling console (yes, there are more Xbox 360's out there than PS3s) and the console is becoming one of the largest entertainment devices in the home.
If you cannot see that things like the iPad which is poorly integrated and very closed off from other devices, or android which is far too fragmented (my TV runs jelly bean, my galaxy runs ice cream, and the fridge runs honeycomb to actually make a dent, then I wonder where you are basing your idea of reality on?
Do you see iPads doing that? Android devices?
My 4 years old son keeps going form one mobile to the other (we do have 3 Android devices and 1 iPhone) with his "Playmobil Pirate" game.
This is driving his mom crazy...
Oh!!
"or android which is far too fragmented"
The 3 Android devices are running different Android version...
And like if it wasn't enough, all Android devices are FULLY compatible with MS, Apple and Linux OS. Something that MS can't even get close to achieve (even Apple products are better on that bit compared to ANY MS products).
Bottom line, I don't really get what you are trying to say.
Wrong. Win8 desktop is DOA.
Win7 is the next XP. Folks will stick to Win7 and simply skip Win8. And perhaps skip Win9 too.
How can you know that?
if Blue...
People no longer have good will for Microsoft to abuse. Not most people, that is.
While Microsoft continues to make big promises and deliver nothing, others do not sit still and usually deliver more thanks promised.
This all is sad, because Microsoft does indeed have some good products and designs, but - Windows is not one of these - and their greed and ignoring what users *need* will fail them.
If what you were saying was true...
Guess what? They aren't.
@danbi
Have a look at this video and tell me in "honesty" if you believe it is a failure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnbl_3PDmG4
If you still think it is after watching (assuming you do) then say something constructive and state where you feel it is no good or doesn't deliver. Most people make vague statements and can't back them because they are clueless how to use Windows 8. Most people say there are too many clicks to get somewhere, but that video proves them wrong.