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Microsoft’s 128GB Surface Pro Sells Out At Online Store Just Hours After Launch
- jmduke 14y agoThis is kind of empty without knowing how much the online store stocked.
- rm999 14y agoAlso the RT saw 'very high' rates of return, the pro may have similar issues. I think the most useful measure will be the number sold (after returns) after a a few months. http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57566759-75/microsoft-surface-sales-well-below-shipments-says-isuppli/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57566759-75/microsoft-surf...
- Livven 14y agoIt's safe to assume that the overwhelming majority of those returns are because of buyers who saw "Windows" and thought it'd run existing desktop applications.
- rm999 14y agoI wouldn't call that a safe assumption, but I can see how that would be part of it. From the article: >Why the high return rates? "It seems to be linked in a lot of cases to a steep learning curve of the [Windows 8] OS -- which is not necessarily intuitive," she said. As I understand it the full version of Windows 8 is even more complex and less intuitive. Surface pro is in a tricky spot because it's competing both with traditional tablets and laptops, both of which consumers are entirely used to.
- anonymfus 14y agoHalf of laptops now ships with Windows 8, there are no reports about high return rates of them. >As I understand it the full version of Windows 8 is even more complex and less intuitive. The only difference in UI for regular customer is that Windows 8 can run third-party desktop applications.
- dotjosh 14y agoThis sounds like the technique that bands use when they first come to a new city. Use a smaller venue so everyone hears the show was sold out.. then the next time they come back, they can play a bigger venue and fill it.
- PedroBatista 14y agoAll 30 of them? It would be nice that these "news" sites refused to publish this kind of information unless Microsoft (in this case) revealed the number of units sold.
- UnoriginalGuy 14y agoYeah. Or at least gave us a ballpark figure. I mean if they said "over 30K units" for example, that is good enough for me.
- Ralz 14y agoIt probably was around that number, I doubt MS would make 300 units for their launch.
- jiggy2011 14y agoIt's a shame the keyboard cover isn't stiff enough to not require the stand. In that picture the stand makes it look sort of awkward.
- tcdowney 14y agoUnfortunately I don't think there is enough mass in the keyboard to allow for any amount of stiffness make a difference.
- jimbobimbo 14y agoThis is a feature of this particular device. Keyboard doubling as stands are offered by other OEMs.
- Encosia 14y agoYou don't spend any time looking at it from that angle when you're using it, but the stand and cover make it just as usable as a real laptop as long as you've got a tabletop. I'm able to type as fast/accurate on my RT with the Type Cover as I can on my MacBook Air.
- brentsota 14y agoI checked online inventory at all Minnesota Best Buy and Staples locations at 8:30 and all were out-of-stock for the 128. I was also at the Microsoft store this morning in Minnesota for the 'launch'. There were about 40 people in line before the doors opened. Even before the doors opened, they came to each of us and told us that the 128 was already sold out and that we would be 'first' in line on the waiting list. It seems to me that the only 'stock' at any of the stores were the display models.
- jonknee 14y agoYes it would be better if there were inventory figures, but that doesn't stop the exact same stories to come out about Apple launches.
- Scorponok 14y agoWhich are usually followed by Apple saying "We're delighted to have sold [a crapload] of [whatever] this weekend, a record amount etc etc". That's why Apple sellouts are interesting, because they actually tell you how many they've sold. If Microsoft does the same thing, kudos to them, but for the surface RT launch they didn't (IIRC).
- chmars 14y ago1. Buyers apparently know that they have to go for the 128 GB version if they want to have sufficient storage for their own data. 2. The headline reminds my of book editions: '1st edition sold out!' 'Interesting, how many books were printed for the 1st edition?'
- UnoriginalGuy 14y ago#1: Or just install an SD card...
- codinghorror 14y agoPerf will not be great to the card though. Depends what you install or store there, or if it even can be installed there. SD cards are fine for general media storage, but anything perf intensive you don't want there.
- pbhjpbhj 14y agoPresumably the SD port will cope with Class 10 or UHS-I and so transfer at HD video rates. There can't be much call for higher rate transfers for most users; it's not like you're going to use it for data gathering from a hadron collider.
- chmars 14y agoThat's possible of course (well, 'of course' outside the Apple world) but not very convenient in my experience except if you use the same SD card all the time. Everything else doesn't fit well with a portable device. The question remains, however, how well the Surface manages data an SD cards, i.e., can you save everything you like on an SD card including apps?
- p3nt3ll3r 14y agoBetter build 10 more to sell. ;)
- frozenport 14y agoTheory: MS had low stock due to Surface RT sales.
- anonymfus 14y agoProblem is, RT had low stock at start too.
- Kiro 14y agoWhat's with the negativity? Nothing beats the Surface Pro at the moment so I'm not surprised it sells out.
- ChuckMcM 14y agoI see what you did there :-) I suspect the negativity is the non-news news (which is to say insufficient context to evaluate the story, sadly a common news problem these days). No doubt Microsoft will give out some more durable numbers of units sold at some point. We'll all compare them to the number of units of $favorite_product{$user} sold and then gloat or gnash our teeth. :-)
- mtgx 14y agoNothing beats it at what? As a tablet, it's not that useful. It's heavy, low battery life, and not even close to having many good "tablet" apps. As an ultrabook I suppose it's alright, but I wouldn't find it useful myself, as I watch movies from bed a lot with the laptop on a desk, and the angle of the Surface with its dock would make watching a movie on it like this impossible.
- ChuckMcM 14y ago"Nothing beats it" get it? If you've got "nothing" your in a superior position to someone who owns one. Wink wink.
- eurodance 14y agoTo me, this is a marketing tactic.
- 6ren 14y agoIt's hard to believe they sold both.
- Tloewald 14y agoWhether or not this represents a lot of sales, the fact is there are plenty of Microsoft fanboys. They don't get ridiculed by the press the way Apple fanboys do, but the fact that people would queue for a new release of Windows back in the day is testament to it. Just as Apple can sell a buttload of products on day one but ultimately have a flop product, although we haven't seen such a flop in some time, so can Microsoft (Vista!).
- bnegreve 14y agoWow, although I don't care much about the Surface (I use Linux and laptops) I am very surprised how fast everyone is at bashing the Surface. It looks like if was a lost cause before even it was lunch.
- nivla 14y agoIts the same old fanboyisms, brand loyalty, hivemind hatred all mixed into one, ie a weakness of human trait to look at things subjectively. Remember when Nexus 4 got sold out? You din't see comments like "ohh look they intentionally put < X units as a marketing strategy". Never make a hivemind decision the sole reason for buying or avoiding a product. Try them first, be it chromebook, macbook or a windows ultrabook, you will be surprised how reality differs.
- sigkill 14y agoI guess I'm the only one who isn't surprised that the 128GB sold out. Do you guys remember that when they made the Xbox 360 originally it launched in the Core and Premium (I had initially written Arcade and Pro here, but my intention was Core and Pro)versions with none and 20gigs HDD respectively? If my memory serves me right, they had higher sales of the 20 gig model rather than the arcade model. Holding that thought train did anyone else compare this to the Dan Ariely's 'Predictably Irrational' chapter of human choice. Given A, A-, and B, A looks better than B precisely because our minds compare A with A-, over which it's clearly superior and applies that to B as well. Only, here they don't need a B. They've made it work fantastically with just A and A- options.
- evoxed 14y agoIIRC the Arcade came about a year after the original X360. I had one of the originals, chrome disc drive and 10GB HD (maybe that was usable space). ... Okay, looked it up and you're right, except it was the 'Core' model. Arcade was two full years after launch. Difference: Premium cost only $100 more than the Core ($400 vs $300) but came with basically over $200 worth of upgrades incl. HDD, wireless controller, headset, and memory card. You also needed the HDD to play Xbox Live.
- sigkill 14y agoYes, my fault. I actually indeed meant Core and Pro. Totally slipped my mind that Arcade was actually an official edition and had 4GB SSD or something.
- petrel 14y agoNow or then, everyone will go to the surface, also those who make jokes out of it.
- zalzane 14y agoThis is an interesting article, and I think it's the product of microsoft marketing. After the lukewarm sales of the surface last fall, I bet microsoft would be keen to stock stores with less surface pros on release to provoke articles like this. After glancing at this article title, the first thing I thought was "Maybe there might be something good about the surface that I had overlooked?". It's a bit of a stretch, but isn't unreasonable for a good sales team.
- firefoxman1 14y agoMy local Staples received a shipment of exactly two: One display model and one in box.
- mtgx 14y agoIt seems you're not the only person reporting that they've only had the display devices on stock. I wonder if they did that for most of the stores to say they sold out quickly. It's not easy to take Microsoft at face value these days. So I remain skeptical until we get more data.
- berntb 14y ago>>I think [the article is] the product of microsoft marketing. You're probably correct, re this sell out. Consider: The article noted that "The Surface RT sold out of the $500 32GB model within one day". Analysts have noted (a good deal after the launch) that the RT did not sell much at all -- so if even that one sold out initially, the initial "sell-out" is probably planned...
- seanmcdirmid 14y agoSurface RT sold out when it was released also. I wouldn't read too much into this.
- wilfra 14y agoThey learned from Apple to artificially limit supply so they sell out quickly, thus increasing demand in the long run. Not much else to see here.
- Samuel_Michon 14y ago"Apple [artificially limits] supply so they sell out quickly" Citation needed. Whenever Apple launches a new iDevice, it sells millions of units within days. When stock is depleted that fast, that means it could've sold more if they had the inventory, and they miss out on sales because of customers choosing something that is in stock at the time.
- pbhjpbhj 14y ago>it sells millions of units within days // How many of those are pre-orders? My point being if they sell out but only have a small % more products than they have pre-orders for then it suggests they are indeed using scarcity for marketing purposes. Like you note there's not real point in speculating on it without firm stats.
- Samuel_Michon 14y ago"if they sell out but only have a small % more products than they have pre-orders for then it suggests they are indeed using scarcity for marketing purposes." I don't think that's the case: * When Apple allows for pre-ordering, it's rarely more than two weeks in advance. * On launch day, there are always long lines in front of the Apple Stores, APRs and other retail stores that sell Apple products. The people standing in line haven't pre-ordered, since pre-orders are fulfilled by mail. * New iDevices are sold in only a few countries at launch. Other countries have to wait weeks (like mainland Europe) or months (like China and India) to get any stock.
- rednukleus 14y agoOh come on, Apple sell out every time they release an iOS product - even when they miss analysts' expectations. They are either really really bad at estimating demand (which I seriously doubt), or they are intending to sell out. It's a perfectly sensible thing to do.
- robomartin 14y agoOK, time to inject some reality here, particularly in light of comments akin to "they sold all <something less than 10>" on this thread. I don't own one but will buy one eventually. Surface Pro is a significant step forward in the world of tablets for a number of reasons. I won't go into all of them here --and I probably haven't recognized them all yet anyway. 1- it's a design that is far more open than iPad. You can move files in and out of it and have full control of the user directory structure. Want to move a bunch of your spreadsheets, recipes, python scripts and chess games into it. No problem. You don't have an Apple-like overlord prohibiting any of that. 2- Need to install XAMPP, Python and other dev tools? No problem? 3- Want to install VMware and boot Ubuntu 12.04 LTS on a VM for a full command-line dev environment and even virtual host a few sites? No problem. 4- and, after all that work, do you want to create a restricted user account for your 5-year-old to be able to play some games and educational apps? No problem at all. 5- How about accounts for guests and friends so that they don't accidentally mess with your stuff? Yup. 6- Need more hard drive space? How about attaching an external USB hard drive and, perhaps keeping all your dev work there for easy transport to your desktop? Yup. 7- Can you use that really cool RC Flight Simulator that comes with a custom USB interface to your JR9505 transmitter? Of course you can. 8- Or, how about that receipt or business card USB scanner? 9- That neat Logithech keyboard you use on all your PC's? Of course. 10- can you run SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Dreamweaver, CuteFTP, Komodo, WinForth, Keil, Eclipse, Photoshop, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Fritz and a whole host of other software you might already be using for fun and work? Sure looks that way. Yeah. Exactly. Just like an iPad.
- forman 14y agoIt's a compromise between an ultra book and a tablet. If you tout its ultra book qualities you can make it look like it trumps a tablet. If you tout its tablet qualities you can make it look like it trumps an ultra book. The real issue is that as an ultra book it compares poorly to other ultra books and as a tablet it compare poorly to other tablets.
- rlu 14y agoGonna go ahead and say that I've almost completely stopped using my Samsung Series 9 (amazing, beautiful ultrabook) ever since I got my Surface RT. It works fine on my lap and it's a great computer (Pro of course even MORE so). The only use case that a normal laptop runs circles around it is when you're laying in bed and need to use the keyboard. I agree with grandparent, though I do see what you're saying. Yes: there is compromise when getting a Surface. But, I honestly have a great laptop experience and a great tablet experience. I'm perfectly happy with it and wouldn't go back to using two separate devices.
- falcolas 14y agoMost of the physical stores (read the 4 major retailers I visited earlier today) in my town sold out as well.
- beagle3 14y agoSome people who actually asked in stores that have sold out were told that the store got 2 (a display item and an inventory item). It would not be surprising if this is engineered to make it sell out quickly and seem more desirable than it really is.
- dragontamer 14y agoI'm somewhat excited about the "Convertible" concept. But technically, I don't think convertibles are quite ready yet for mainstream adoption. Frankly, the real problem is that Intel / AMD chips are not ready to compete in this form factor. Intel is making bold new moves with Haswell however, and AMD is making big moves with Kabini, Temash and Kaveri. In this generation, the lowest TDP chips are 17-Watt Ivy Bridges and 10-Watt Atoms / AMD Brazos. For whatever reason, AMD Brazos aren't getting used in tablets (they seem like a nice chip though...), the Clovertrail Atoms are too weak (lacks out-of-order execution, performs mediocre even compared to ARM chips, extremely poor GPU performance), and the 17-Watt Ivy Bridges use too much power compared to the 5-Watt Arm chips competition. ( Part of the reason is that Intel Atom chips are second-class citizens of Intel. They don't get access to the latest process, and were instead seen as a cheap cost-effective chip for netbooks, as opposed to a premium power-efficient but powerful chip that you'd expect in a tablet. ) With a power disadvantage, this generation of convertibles just ain't gonna cut it in terms of battery life / portability / weight. The CPUs require too much power, which require bigger batteries. Next generation stuff from AMD / Intel however is looking quite exciting, and the potential standardization of widespread adoption of DDR4 for more power savings helps this form factor greatly. In fact, Intel has introduced new instructions to Clovertrail Atoms and Haswell specific to new low-power states of the CPU. Intel's willing to change their instruction set to get better power savings. True, Tablets will benefit from DDR4 (and already have the power-saving instructions Intel is only now implementing). But the real benefit of battery life stops being useful past around 8-hours or so. (With exception of e-readers and their 30+ days of battery life. Those things are amazing on vacation). Furthermore, ARM chips are growing in a different direction in the near future... they're aiming at the server marketplace. The innovations of ARM 64-bit don't really translate to smartphones / tablets. Exciting for the server market, but I don't really see major innovations occurring for Tablet-space ARMs in the near future. If the convertible concept survives till next year, then we'll see some real competition. In 2014, ARM chips will grow into the server market and attack Xeons / Opterons. And simultaneously, Intel / AMD solutions will have their first real salvo into the ultra-portable market. --------- That said, the Surface needs to be made. Microsoft needs to innovate from the software side and figure out how to update Windows 8 to be more palatable for everyone. So even if Intel / AMD chips aren't ready to compete, Microsoft gotta move forward here. They're clearly falling behind in this race and need to put something out there.
- MaysonL 14y agoInterestingly, the 128 gig iPad is not in stock in Apple's online store, various models indicating shipping in 1-3 or 3-5 business days.