8 ms·

Microsoft reveals $900M write-down on Surface RT tablet

wingspan 13y ago
Is it just me, or was that article constantly confusing million and billion?
- jpreiland 13y ago
  Yeah they have 4.97M in large bold letters and then 4.97 billion shortly after. Also in the last paragraph they do it again with the $19x and $20x figures.
  - jussij 13y ago
    Yep, as you point out the figures are all over the place. The last error is a real clanger: > Revenue grew 10 per cent to $19.90 billion, also below the $20.72 million expected. Based on those figures revenue was in fact up by about 20,000 per cent.
mikestew 13y ago
The Surface RT experience was summed up best for me by the wife of a Microsoft employee and friend of mine: "it makes me feel stupid". I guess she'll be sticking with her iPad. Me, I didn't think it was that bad. Though I, too, wondered "why wouldn't I just buy and iPad?" Seems that's a question everyone else asked themselves.
- mjn 13y ago
  Not sure it'd be sufficient, but the entry-level model is considerably cheaper. $350 for a Surface, $500 for an iPad.
  - cclogg 13y ago
    But then you have the iPad Mini too...
  - rgbrenner 13y ago
    Isn't the $350 figure after the recent price cut?
  - anigbrowl 13y ago
    They should have launched Surface as it sown OS instead of trying to be Windows. I actually want an Intel Windows tablet because there's a bunch of audio software I'd use that will never be available on the iPad and it would be great to have a touch interface for my-obscure-applications. but Windows RT was the worst of both worlds - since it doesn't do anything in particular, I might as well just buy an iPad (if I want groovy, albeit somewhat limited, apps) or a Kindle Fire (if I just want to surf the web and consume content).
    - rbanffy 13y ago
      Microsoft is relevant because of Windows. Windows is relevant because of its market share. Fragmenting the market, for them, is suicide.
      - anigbrowl 13y ago
        You could have said the same thing about MacOS before they launched iOS.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - honestcoyote 13y ago
    That might help now, though I suspect it won't help much, but at release, and for a long time afterwards, the Surface was $599.
  - shinratdr 13y ago
    As of a couple days ago, and you're choosing to ignore the true entry level device in the iPad line, the iPad mini which can't match on specs but does beat it on price, portability and form factor. I can't think of a single person I've talked to about purchasing a tablet that considers specs except for myself so that's hardly the motivator some would make it out to be.
    - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
      High resolution screen on the iPad 3 was great. That was one important spec.
- zmmmmm 13y ago
  > "why wouldn't I just buy and iPad?" There's exactly one answer to that question: office. 9 hours of office in a device the size of a pad of paper. But the problem is, the exact people who would buy RT for that reason cannot use it or would not want it for a range of other factors (for example, it cannot join a domain). And now with the new Intel chips there is no reason at all, because you can get 9 hours of office from a full Win8 tablet.
  - mtgx 13y ago
    But it wasn't optimized for tablets. It's the same experience you would've gotten with Office ten years ago on "tablet PC's". And why would you want real Office on a tablet anyway? Fost most of the stuff you'd be doing on a tablet, you're probably better off with a free/much cheaper Office alternative that's also touch-optimized.
    - mdmarra 13y ago
      Office 2013 is touch optimized.
      - shinratdr 13y ago
        Like Windows 7 was "touch optimized". In other words, it isn't.
      - binarycrusader 13y ago
        Oh really? The reviews seem to disagree: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/07/why-bother-the-sad-state-of-office-2013-touch-support/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/07/why-bo...
      - workbench 13y ago
        http://cdn.arstechnica.net//wp-content/uploads/2012/07/touch-outlook-2013-ribbon-composite.png http://cdn.arstechnica.net//wp-content/uploads/2012/07/touch... lol
    - olegbl 13y ago
- MatthewPhillips 13y ago
  I own a Surface RT and don't particular like it. I could list all of the reasons (it's slow, most of the software is bad, the corners are sharp, etc) but I don't think they have anything to with why it didn't sell well. Probably price is the only thing that matters here. Price and exposure. You can't compete with name brand -- no matter the merit -- if you can't beat them in price.
- gcb0 13y ago
  wow. and the ipad doesn't? i'm shocked. really. i'm not trolling, belive it or not, but i fell like in a straight jacket using any iOS device.
  - Zarel 13y ago
    I think what mikestew means is that the Surface RT makes her feel stupid because she can't figure out how to use it.
  - mikestew 13y ago
    Correct, the iPad apparently does not make her feel stupid. Hence my following comment about how she'll probably be keeping her iPad. It would seem my wording made the answer obvious, but I'm open to suggestions on how it could have been more clear.
- tootie 13y ago
  "why wouldn't I just buy and iPad?" Because they are expensive and completely locked down?
  - CamperBob2 13y ago
    As opposed to a Surface?!
  - rbanffy 13y ago
    Unlike the Surface RT?
- kabdib 13y ago
  My wife got one, and the first week she had it she was surfing forums and mucking around with the task monitor and RegEdit (!) in order to deal with some runaway process caused by an errant app. Maybe a game. We never found out. It's supposed to be designed so it can't go haywire that way, but it does. Fail. Never heard of such a problem on an iPad. The Windows division might think it knows how to deliver a tablet-friendly OS, but really, it doesn't. It's clownville; they don't understand how to do box-level security (as on consoles) and they don't know how to do stability at the level required by a "mom" consumer product. (The Xbox group took Win8 and had to do extensive modifications in order to make it play well -- the original mandate from the execs were "run Win8 without any changes" and /that/ would have been a fucking disaster). If Microsoft is serious about putting a real "tabletized" version of Win8 in consumer hands, they need to do a bunch of housecleaning and internal education. It's a mess.
  - ghshephard 13y ago
    "Never heard of such a problem on an iPad." My iPad has now reached the point where, if I don't carefully set it into Airplane mode, Battery drains in 24 hours, even when asleep. I don't know if it's my mail client, or a background task being woke up by a geofence, or one of the GPS/WiFi radios - but I can't reliably leave it sitting around for several days anymore. So, now I get into the game of "Disable Location Services for All applications, Disable Notification Services for All Applications, Turn off all Radios - NOW, turn on a small handful of services, and observe for a week - if everything looks good, turn on some more - keep doing so until the battery starts draining in 24 hours, and then try and identify the errant applications" My #1 gripe about the iPad continues to be battery draining because of background tasks. If I could only "Force" the iPad into NO MULTITASKING, Single Damn Application at a time and NOTHING else mode, Don't Check Email, Don't Check GPS, Don't play music, Don't Download - I'd be happy. The only reliable way I've found of guranteeing this is to power it down - but it takes a long time (90+ seconds) to power it up each time I want to use it, which kind of detracts from the device... So, no - iPad is not perfect. I would say 50% of my time this trip, when I went to use it, battery was completely dead so I ended up with my MacBook Air sitting on my chest to do reading.
    - 13y ago
- mistermann 13y ago
  The iPad interface makes me feel like the general public is stupid. It is so terribly inefficient and dumbed down in so many ways that I have a huge incentive to use anything else.
  - workbench 13y ago
    The general public ARE stupid
sleepybrett 13y ago
The 'iPad Killer' folks.
anigbrowl 13y ago
This is sort of beside the point, but I've realized who Steve Ballmer reminds me of; it's Gru in Despicable Me. I feel like this might be part of Microsoft's problem; I definitely do not want to buy anything from that angry guy in the photo, even though I consider myself something of an MS fanboy.
gtani 13y ago
and... the 8" win8 tablet is here. The first reviews are... consistent! http://www.seattlepi.com/technology/businessinsider/article/People-Are-Totally-Bashing-The-Newest-Windows-8-4673037.php http://www.seattlepi.com/technology/businessinsider/article/...
- reiichiroh 13y ago
  Is it bashing if its deserved?
- shinratdr 13y ago
  Acer just doesn't get tablets. I can't think of a single Acer tab worth owning, the entire Iconia series is a joke, cranked out to be $20 cheaper than the next guy at the expense of everything that matters. Screen quality, network connectivity, build quality, all complete crap. Letting them launch the first diminutive Surface tablet and allowing that thing past Microsoft QA is a huge mistake on the part of Microsoft. I can't believe they allow their hardware partners to screw them that badly when they have facilities in place to stop it They can't do much about some terrible laptop that shouldn't exist, but the licensing for RT is far stricter. How about using that ability and keep crap like this off the market.
  - fdm 13y ago
    >the licensing for RT is far stricter The OP and the article are talking about the Acer Iconia W3 that runs full Windows 8, not Windows RT.
elorant 13y ago
Well the good news are that now we could get a SurfaceRT really cheap considering that sooner or later all the retailers would try to dump their stock.
reiichiroh 13y ago
Office 2013 (desktop mode in general) is most certainly not optimized for touch. Its touch targets in menus, dialog choices, radio buttons and ribbon items are teeny tiny on my Surface Pro.
hbharadwaj 13y ago
Opinion: RT was an interesting strategy and most people in Steve Ballmer's shoes would have taken the same bet. It came at a time when Microsoft didn't have a tablet to compete with iPad. So, what did they do? They converted their existing Start interface to occupy the entire desktop into Metro Mode. If you think about it, the desktop was always a huge waste of space. After they converted, Microsoft had couple of major issues - if they allowed for tablets running legacy apps or forced x86 on tablets, people would ignore the new interface and continue building legacy apps. The new metro was going to be used by their phones and game consoles in a one screen, 3 devices policy and in case they didn't have metro apps, their phones and consoles would suffer. Windows was always the driver - it had to be. So, they decoupled desktop from their new interface and put it in a new set of devices supporting low powered ARMs. And as such, current Office is never really meant for Touch. So, I am guessing they were forced to bundle a pseudo-desktop along with RT to support Office which is also a cash cow. Would they have loved to remove Desktop completely? I would bet so. Maybe Microsoft foresaw that x86 prices would fall, power would increase and battery life would increase etc., but they had to continue down this road and take a hit because they needed metro apps. My bet is that they were willing to take the hit. I don't think anyone in Microsoft had the impression that RT would come save the day. It is a necessity because of their new direction. If RT designs in app interest being generated, I would say that it did it's job to some extent. Of course, I don't know how this will play out but according to me, these are some very daring decisions being played out at MSFT and I would say better than Google.
- maskedinvader 13y ago
  I agree with everything you say ! I am no fanboi, I use whatever works for me best, I own an iPod touch (for the music), the galaxy s4 (running touchwhiz flavor of jelly bean v4.2.2) , own the xbox360 and a win 8 desktop PC, New Lumia phones and win 8 pro tablets have impressed me.I think the new xbox and how surface pro and rt have seen Microsoft going for those 3 segments and almost inevitably converging to a single os that runs them all ! I wouldn't be surprised if windows 9 or 10 perhaps would have you writing code once and deploy them to your new xbox, new PC, new surface, new Lumia and new smartwatch and who knows maybe even some sort of kinectified glass you wear all the time, Imagine the big win for hitting so many screen sizes with one codebase.
Mikeb85 13y ago
The surface was always destined to fail. People tolerate Microsoft because it's been the de-facto standard for so long, Apple hardware and Google services are what people enjoy. For higher end tablets the iPad is the winner, for the lower end the Nexus 7. For open-source junkies the only real choice is Google, regular consumers can use either (based on the popularity of Android). Where does MS fit in? From their lousy image, to their WTF? commercials, their archaic business model and poor services, no one wants an MS product.
- purplelobster 13y ago
  To each his own, but I just bought a Surface Pro and love it. It replaces a laptop and tablet and more, it's my main (and only) device from now on. Windows 8 makes total sense for a tablet, and is not in the way when I'm coding (hooked into a real keyboard/mouse/display). The killer feature for me though is the Wacom pen which is absolutely fabulous. I have like 10 notebooks spread out at work and at home with my notes, thoughts, diagrams, illustrations etc. Writing notes and todos in a text-editor feels like a straight jacket, but with the Surface it's even better than paper. I have an infinite drawing surface, I can zoom in and out, move stuff around, mix drawing with typing, draw diagram boxes, circles, insert images, copy and paste, undo, erase, share digitally etc. Now I can keep my notes all in one place, backed up and searchable. Writing with it even feels better than paper for me (not sure if being left-handed has anything to do with it), it's very responsive, has a sharp tip (unlike any pen you'll find on capacitive screens like the iPad). It just all fits together very nicely. This is the new PC, this is the productivity device I've always wanted. Being the Surface 1.0, it's not perfect, so I'll be transitioning to the Surface 2.0 when it comes out so that I'll get 9-10 hours of battery life instead of 5-7 now. Would also like to clarify that the Surface RT is as useless as the iPad, if not more because of the lack of apps. Having Office on it might make it worth it for some people though.
  - pelemele 13y ago
    1. Nobody cares about handwriting all day long, quite a niche use (the same as for Tablet PC 8 years ago). 2. Nobody cares about MS Office anymore. There are alternatives (and free) for regular folks. 3. There is no new PC coming and MS learnt that today. 4. I have a feeling that this post is a well prepared marketing pitch... Peace!
malkarouri 13y ago
I wonder if such things should be evaluated in terms of the knowledge and experience they gained the company. I would say the Surface RT experience has reflected a lot on their experience and strategy developing Windows 8 and Phone. If (say) the experience is reflected in the level of success of Windows Phone 8, then may be overall it is a net success for Microsoft. I think every company (like Microsoft, Apple, Google did) need to maintain software and hardware divisions, if only to get the feeling what are the software current needs in an evolving hardware profile.
gcb0 13y ago
isn't the RT already the cheaper option? they should lower the $1k pro so then ipad and air would have decent competition.
- teamonkey 13y ago
  The RT was released very slightly cheaper than the iPad but the hardware specs were miles behind the iPad. It's not a bad device, there's just no real reason to own one over the competition at that price. If they'd thrown in the keyboard case AND Office for the price they launched at, I think they'd have got a lot of traction. Maybe also fixing VPN so it's useful for business users.
nickfromseattle 13y ago
They are basically giving these away at Microsoft conferences. The last three I attended had them for sale at: RT w/ keyboard for $110 (retailed at $699) Pro for $399 (retails at $999). I tried picking up a couple to resell for profit but there is zero demand. Nobody responded to my ads on Craigslist, Facebook or Twitter. Ended up selling them for cost.
- hollerith 13y ago
  I would've bought one of your Surface Pros for $499 or even $599.
- Everlag 13y ago
  If they could sell them at those prices, because of course resellers would be quite unhappy, I could imagine just about anyone making an effort to integrate them into their workflow. The surface would no longer be something to work into a routine because it was a big expensive toy but rather a system that has a genuine use case. Hell, if they could get the worst rt into the ~300$-~350$ range Microsoft could compare an rt to a nexus 7 and that would be their best bet to get the most sales.
- fumar 13y ago
  I would more than gladly purchase a pro.
locusm 13y ago
Windows 8 Metro Apps on the desktop warned me off ever buying a tablet. The apps feel fisher/price, noddy apps and "good for demos" - not for getting stuff done. If you don't believe me just start with a fundamental app like email. Ill wait for you here with a box of tissues...
iyulaev 13y ago
I paid about $600 for a Samsung 500T and I think it's a great device, albeit for a small market. I bought it because it was effectively a 1kg netbook with a 10 hour battery and a stylus. It's not as good of a tablet as the iPad but it's a real computer, which makes it great for running office, gcc, CAD programs, and all that "on the go." When I need to do some reading I pick up my iPad, but as my super-portable meeting/lunch/whatever computer the 500T is a big winner. Given that an x86 processor (Atom) can get 10 hours in a tablet I'm not sure what the point of RT was though.
fludlight 13y ago
Commercials with dancing people might sell clothes and booze, but they don't work for technology. I could barely tell what the product was until the end. And I still don't know why a Surface is better than an iPad.

Is it just me, or was that article constantly confusing million and billion?

jpreiland 13y ago
Yeah they have 4.97M in large bold letters and then 4.97 billion shortly after. Also in the last paragraph they do it again with the $19x and $20x figures.
- jussij 13y ago
  Yep, as you point out the figures are all over the place. The last error is a real clanger: > Revenue grew 10 per cent to $19.90 billion, also below the $20.72 million expected. Based on those figures revenue was in fact up by about 20,000 per cent.

The Surface RT experience was summed up best for me by the wife of a Microsoft employee and friend of mine: "it makes me feel stupid". I guess she'll be sticking with her iPad. Me, I didn't think it was that bad. Though I, too, wondered "why wouldn't I just buy and iPad?" Seems that's a question everyone else asked themselves.

mjn 13y ago
Not sure it'd be sufficient, but the entry-level model is considerably cheaper. $350 for a Surface, $500 for an iPad.
- cclogg 13y ago
  But then you have the iPad Mini too...
- rgbrenner 13y ago
  Isn't the $350 figure after the recent price cut?
- anigbrowl 13y ago
  They should have launched Surface as it sown OS instead of trying to be Windows. I actually want an Intel Windows tablet because there's a bunch of audio software I'd use that will never be available on the iPad and it would be great to have a touch interface for my-obscure-applications. but Windows RT was the worst of both worlds - since it doesn't do anything in particular, I might as well just buy an iPad (if I want groovy, albeit somewhat limited, apps) or a Kindle Fire (if I just want to surf the web and consume content).
  - rbanffy 13y ago
    Microsoft is relevant because of Windows. Windows is relevant because of its market share. Fragmenting the market, for them, is suicide.
    - anigbrowl 13y ago
      You could have said the same thing about MacOS before they launched iOS.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- honestcoyote 13y ago
  That might help now, though I suspect it won't help much, but at release, and for a long time afterwards, the Surface was $599.
- shinratdr 13y ago
  As of a couple days ago, and you're choosing to ignore the true entry level device in the iPad line, the iPad mini which can't match on specs but does beat it on price, portability and form factor. I can't think of a single person I've talked to about purchasing a tablet that considers specs except for myself so that's hardly the motivator some would make it out to be.
  - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
    High resolution screen on the iPad 3 was great. That was one important spec.
zmmmmm 13y ago
> "why wouldn't I just buy and iPad?" There's exactly one answer to that question: office. 9 hours of office in a device the size of a pad of paper. But the problem is, the exact people who would buy RT for that reason cannot use it or would not want it for a range of other factors (for example, it cannot join a domain). And now with the new Intel chips there is no reason at all, because you can get 9 hours of office from a full Win8 tablet.
- mtgx 13y ago
  But it wasn't optimized for tablets. It's the same experience you would've gotten with Office ten years ago on "tablet PC's". And why would you want real Office on a tablet anyway? Fost most of the stuff you'd be doing on a tablet, you're probably better off with a free/much cheaper Office alternative that's also touch-optimized.
  - mdmarra 13y ago
    Office 2013 is touch optimized.
    - shinratdr 13y ago
      Like Windows 7 was "touch optimized". In other words, it isn't.
    - binarycrusader 13y ago
      Oh really? The reviews seem to disagree: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/07/why-bother-the-sad-state-of-office-2013-touch-support/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/07/why-bo...
    - workbench 13y ago
      http://cdn.arstechnica.net//wp-content/uploads/2012/07/touch-outlook-2013-ribbon-composite.png http://cdn.arstechnica.net//wp-content/uploads/2012/07/touch... lol
  - olegbl 13y ago
MatthewPhillips 13y ago
I own a Surface RT and don't particular like it. I could list all of the reasons (it's slow, most of the software is bad, the corners are sharp, etc) but I don't think they have anything to with why it didn't sell well. Probably price is the only thing that matters here. Price and exposure. You can't compete with name brand -- no matter the merit -- if you can't beat them in price.
gcb0 13y ago
wow. and the ipad doesn't? i'm shocked. really. i'm not trolling, belive it or not, but i fell like in a straight jacket using any iOS device.
- Zarel 13y ago
  I think what mikestew means is that the Surface RT makes her feel stupid because she can't figure out how to use it.
- mikestew 13y ago
  Correct, the iPad apparently does not make her feel stupid. Hence my following comment about how she'll probably be keeping her iPad. It would seem my wording made the answer obvious, but I'm open to suggestions on how it could have been more clear.
tootie 13y ago
"why wouldn't I just buy and iPad?" Because they are expensive and completely locked down?
- CamperBob2 13y ago
  As opposed to a Surface?!
- rbanffy 13y ago
  Unlike the Surface RT?
kabdib 13y ago
My wife got one, and the first week she had it she was surfing forums and mucking around with the task monitor and RegEdit (!) in order to deal with some runaway process caused by an errant app. Maybe a game. We never found out. It's supposed to be designed so it can't go haywire that way, but it does. Fail. Never heard of such a problem on an iPad. The Windows division might think it knows how to deliver a tablet-friendly OS, but really, it doesn't. It's clownville; they don't understand how to do box-level security (as on consoles) and they don't know how to do stability at the level required by a "mom" consumer product. (The Xbox group took Win8 and had to do extensive modifications in order to make it play well -- the original mandate from the execs were "run Win8 without any changes" and /that/ would have been a fucking disaster). If Microsoft is serious about putting a real "tabletized" version of Win8 in consumer hands, they need to do a bunch of housecleaning and internal education. It's a mess.
- ghshephard 13y ago
  "Never heard of such a problem on an iPad." My iPad has now reached the point where, if I don't carefully set it into Airplane mode, Battery drains in 24 hours, even when asleep. I don't know if it's my mail client, or a background task being woke up by a geofence, or one of the GPS/WiFi radios - but I can't reliably leave it sitting around for several days anymore. So, now I get into the game of "Disable Location Services for All applications, Disable Notification Services for All Applications, Turn off all Radios - NOW, turn on a small handful of services, and observe for a week - if everything looks good, turn on some more - keep doing so until the battery starts draining in 24 hours, and then try and identify the errant applications" My #1 gripe about the iPad continues to be battery draining because of background tasks. If I could only "Force" the iPad into NO MULTITASKING, Single Damn Application at a time and NOTHING else mode, Don't Check Email, Don't Check GPS, Don't play music, Don't Download - I'd be happy. The only reliable way I've found of guranteeing this is to power it down - but it takes a long time (90+ seconds) to power it up each time I want to use it, which kind of detracts from the device... So, no - iPad is not perfect. I would say 50% of my time this trip, when I went to use it, battery was completely dead so I ended up with my MacBook Air sitting on my chest to do reading.
  - 13y ago
mistermann 13y ago
The iPad interface makes me feel like the general public is stupid. It is so terribly inefficient and dumbed down in so many ways that I have a huge incentive to use anything else.
- workbench 13y ago
  The general public ARE stupid

sleepybrett 13y ago

The 'iPad Killer' folks.

anigbrowl 13y ago

This is sort of beside the point, but I've realized who Steve Ballmer reminds me of; it's Gru in Despicable Me. I feel like this might be part of Microsoft's problem; I definitely do not want to buy anything from that angry guy in the photo, even though I consider myself something of an MS fanboy.

gtani 13y ago

and... the 8" win8 tablet is here. The first reviews are... consistent! http://www.seattlepi.com/technology/businessinsider/article/People-Are-Totally-Bashing-The-Newest-Windows-8-4673037.php http://www.seattlepi.com/technology/businessinsider/article/...

reiichiroh 13y ago
Is it bashing if its deserved?
shinratdr 13y ago
Acer just doesn't get tablets. I can't think of a single Acer tab worth owning, the entire Iconia series is a joke, cranked out to be $20 cheaper than the next guy at the expense of everything that matters. Screen quality, network connectivity, build quality, all complete crap. Letting them launch the first diminutive Surface tablet and allowing that thing past Microsoft QA is a huge mistake on the part of Microsoft. I can't believe they allow their hardware partners to screw them that badly when they have facilities in place to stop it They can't do much about some terrible laptop that shouldn't exist, but the licensing for RT is far stricter. How about using that ability and keep crap like this off the market.
- fdm 13y ago
  >the licensing for RT is far stricter The OP and the article are talking about the Acer Iconia W3 that runs full Windows 8, not Windows RT.

elorant 13y ago

Well the good news are that now we could get a SurfaceRT really cheap considering that sooner or later all the retailers would try to dump their stock.

reiichiroh 13y ago

Office 2013 (desktop mode in general) is most certainly not optimized for touch. Its touch targets in menus, dialog choices, radio buttons and ribbon items are teeny tiny on my Surface Pro.

hbharadwaj 13y ago

Opinion: RT was an interesting strategy and most people in Steve Ballmer's shoes would have taken the same bet. It came at a time when Microsoft didn't have a tablet to compete with iPad. So, what did they do? They converted their existing Start interface to occupy the entire desktop into Metro Mode. If you think about it, the desktop was always a huge waste of space. After they converted, Microsoft had couple of major issues - if they allowed for tablets running legacy apps or forced x86 on tablets, people would ignore the new interface and continue building legacy apps. The new metro was going to be used by their phones and game consoles in a one screen, 3 devices policy and in case they didn't have metro apps, their phones and consoles would suffer. Windows was always the driver - it had to be. So, they decoupled desktop from their new interface and put it in a new set of devices supporting low powered ARMs. And as such, current Office is never really meant for Touch. So, I am guessing they were forced to bundle a pseudo-desktop along with RT to support Office which is also a cash cow. Would they have loved to remove Desktop completely? I would bet so. Maybe Microsoft foresaw that x86 prices would fall, power would increase and battery life would increase etc., but they had to continue down this road and take a hit because they needed metro apps. My bet is that they were willing to take the hit. I don't think anyone in Microsoft had the impression that RT would come save the day. It is a necessity because of their new direction. If RT designs in app interest being generated, I would say that it did it's job to some extent. Of course, I don't know how this will play out but according to me, these are some very daring decisions being played out at MSFT and I would say better than Google.

maskedinvader 13y ago
I agree with everything you say ! I am no fanboi, I use whatever works for me best, I own an iPod touch (for the music), the galaxy s4 (running touchwhiz flavor of jelly bean v4.2.2) , own the xbox360 and a win 8 desktop PC, New Lumia phones and win 8 pro tablets have impressed me.I think the new xbox and how surface pro and rt have seen Microsoft going for those 3 segments and almost inevitably converging to a single os that runs them all ! I wouldn't be surprised if windows 9 or 10 perhaps would have you writing code once and deploy them to your new xbox, new PC, new surface, new Lumia and new smartwatch and who knows maybe even some sort of kinectified glass you wear all the time, Imagine the big win for hitting so many screen sizes with one codebase.

Mikeb85 13y ago

The surface was always destined to fail. People tolerate Microsoft because it's been the de-facto standard for so long, Apple hardware and Google services are what people enjoy. For higher end tablets the iPad is the winner, for the lower end the Nexus 7. For open-source junkies the only real choice is Google, regular consumers can use either (based on the popularity of Android). Where does MS fit in? From their lousy image, to their WTF? commercials, their archaic business model and poor services, no one wants an MS product.

purplelobster 13y ago
To each his own, but I just bought a Surface Pro and love it. It replaces a laptop and tablet and more, it's my main (and only) device from now on. Windows 8 makes total sense for a tablet, and is not in the way when I'm coding (hooked into a real keyboard/mouse/display). The killer feature for me though is the Wacom pen which is absolutely fabulous. I have like 10 notebooks spread out at work and at home with my notes, thoughts, diagrams, illustrations etc. Writing notes and todos in a text-editor feels like a straight jacket, but with the Surface it's even better than paper. I have an infinite drawing surface, I can zoom in and out, move stuff around, mix drawing with typing, draw diagram boxes, circles, insert images, copy and paste, undo, erase, share digitally etc. Now I can keep my notes all in one place, backed up and searchable. Writing with it even feels better than paper for me (not sure if being left-handed has anything to do with it), it's very responsive, has a sharp tip (unlike any pen you'll find on capacitive screens like the iPad). It just all fits together very nicely. This is the new PC, this is the productivity device I've always wanted. Being the Surface 1.0, it's not perfect, so I'll be transitioning to the Surface 2.0 when it comes out so that I'll get 9-10 hours of battery life instead of 5-7 now. Would also like to clarify that the Surface RT is as useless as the iPad, if not more because of the lack of apps. Having Office on it might make it worth it for some people though.
- pelemele 13y ago
  1. Nobody cares about handwriting all day long, quite a niche use (the same as for Tablet PC 8 years ago). 2. Nobody cares about MS Office anymore. There are alternatives (and free) for regular folks. 3. There is no new PC coming and MS learnt that today. 4. I have a feeling that this post is a well prepared marketing pitch... Peace!

malkarouri 13y ago

I wonder if such things should be evaluated in terms of the knowledge and experience they gained the company. I would say the Surface RT experience has reflected a lot on their experience and strategy developing Windows 8 and Phone. If (say) the experience is reflected in the level of success of Windows Phone 8, then may be overall it is a net success for Microsoft. I think every company (like Microsoft, Apple, Google did) need to maintain software and hardware divisions, if only to get the feeling what are the software current needs in an evolving hardware profile.

gcb0 13y ago

isn't the RT already the cheaper option? they should lower the $1k pro so then ipad and air would have decent competition.

teamonkey 13y ago
The RT was released very slightly cheaper than the iPad but the hardware specs were miles behind the iPad. It's not a bad device, there's just no real reason to own one over the competition at that price. If they'd thrown in the keyboard case AND Office for the price they launched at, I think they'd have got a lot of traction. Maybe also fixing VPN so it's useful for business users.

nickfromseattle 13y ago

They are basically giving these away at Microsoft conferences. The last three I attended had them for sale at: RT w/ keyboard for $110 (retailed at $699) Pro for $399 (retails at $999). I tried picking up a couple to resell for profit but there is zero demand. Nobody responded to my ads on Craigslist, Facebook or Twitter. Ended up selling them for cost.

hollerith 13y ago
I would've bought one of your Surface Pros for $499 or even $599.
Everlag 13y ago
If they could sell them at those prices, because of course resellers would be quite unhappy, I could imagine just about anyone making an effort to integrate them into their workflow. The surface would no longer be something to work into a routine because it was a big expensive toy but rather a system that has a genuine use case. Hell, if they could get the worst rt into the ~300$-~350$ range Microsoft could compare an rt to a nexus 7 and that would be their best bet to get the most sales.
fumar 13y ago
I would more than gladly purchase a pro.

locusm 13y ago

Windows 8 Metro Apps on the desktop warned me off ever buying a tablet. The apps feel fisher/price, noddy apps and "good for demos" - not for getting stuff done. If you don't believe me just start with a fundamental app like email. Ill wait for you here with a box of tissues...

iyulaev 13y ago

I paid about $600 for a Samsung 500T and I think it's a great device, albeit for a small market. I bought it because it was effectively a 1kg netbook with a 10 hour battery and a stylus. It's not as good of a tablet as the iPad but it's a real computer, which makes it great for running office, gcc, CAD programs, and all that "on the go." When I need to do some reading I pick up my iPad, but as my super-portable meeting/lunch/whatever computer the 500T is a big winner. Given that an x86 processor (Atom) can get 10 hours in a tablet I'm not sure what the point of RT was though.

fludlight 13y ago

Commercials with dancing people might sell clothes and booze, but they don't work for technology. I could barely tell what the product was until the end. And I still don't know why a Surface is better than an iPad.