4 ms·

> If Microsoft is actually releasing their own tablet hardware as a long term strategy for extending an existing franchise (such as Xbox), it's probably because

> If Microsoft is actually releasing their own tablet hardware as a long term strategy for extending an existing franchise (such as Xbox), it's probably because their is little interest in Windows Tablets from existing hardware manufacturers. Current Windows tablet makers may infer that investing money on Windows 8 tablets is as likely to pay off as the last round. The story there is similar to the iPod natural monopoly -- no one made any money on any of those cheaper-but-not-cheap-enough hard-drive-based portable music players. What is needed is an optimal hardware+software combo, plus a different business model. Following Amazon's lead, it might make sense to sell a Win8 tablet at cost and make the profit on cloud-based subscription services.

brudgers 14y ago
Who is in a position to follow Amazon's lead? The list of hardware manufacturer's is pretty short: Sony. Given the existence of a Games Hub focused on Xbox Live, even that seems somewhat problematic. The second thing I see is that the idea of a media consumption device is somewhat antithetical to Microsoft's culture of treating computing devices as computing devices. Going to the roots of the Courier concept, it was about productivity not entertainment and Microsoft traditionally pushed productivity applications down onto mobile devices as a matter of course - I wouldn't be surprised to see Office on any tablet they provide. Finally, one of the Metro red threads is that devices are occasionally connected, not permanently connected to the cloud like Chromium.