Ballmer says Surface sales off to "modest start"

That's the problem with the Surface RT, it's too expensive for what you are getting.

It should've been $100 cheaper, it's not worth the same price as the iPad at this point. Microsoft needs a break, I really admire what they're doing.

I really want good for Microsoft :/

It's both an over-sized tablet and an under-powered laptop, both of which having a limited app selection, being sold at a premium price.

Stunned to hear that isn't flying off the shelf.

Microsoft has never understood the tablet market, and they missed it again...

thewitt said:

Microsoft has never understood the tablet market, and they missed it again...

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Unfortunately I have to agree with this. RT was just a huge mistake, MS attempt to compete on the ipads level, even if they wanted to push RT they needed to entice consumers to its lacking ecosystem by making it cheaper than the ipad. RT either should have never existed outside of the phone world, or it should have been a cheaper than the ipad option.

Now Pro is another story, after using a Pro tablet for a couple of weeks it is single handedly the most incredible tablet experience I have ever had in my life. What's nice also is that they are priced about the same as the ipads, at least the Atom ones are, which have more than enough horsepower to do most PC type functions. But unfortunately MS created a lot of confusion by introducing RT, they should have just introduced Windows Pro and that's it. RT is going to be an anchor for Pro IMO, it's a shame.

spinedoc77 said:

Unfortunately I have to agree with this. RT was just a huge mistake, MS attempt to compete on the ipads level, even if they wanted to push RT they needed to entice consumers to its lacking ecosystem by making it cheaper than the ipad. RT either should have never existed outside of the phone world, or it should have been a cheaper than the ipad option.

Now Pro is another story, after using a Pro tablet for a couple of weeks it is single handedly the most incredible tablet experience I have ever had in my life. What's nice also is that they are priced about the same as the ipads, at least the Atom ones are, which have more than enough horsepower to do most PC type functions. But unfortunately MS created a lot of confusion by introducing RT, they should have just introduced Windows Pro and that's it. RT is going to be an anchor for Pro IMO, it's a shame.

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Wait, how did you get a Pro tablet? The Surface Pro isn't even out yet.

identity said:

Wait, how did you get a Pro tablet? The Surface Pro isn't even out yet.

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I've had a Samsung 500T Windows Pro tablet for a couple of weeks, Staples had them on sale for $599. I used it for a couple of weeks and actually returned it, I didn't like the 11.6" form factor and decided to either get the Lenovo 10.1" Pro tablet coming out this week or I may wait for the Surface Pro from MS.

spinedoc77 said:

Unfortunately I have to agree with this. RT was just a huge mistake...

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Ballmer said he was expecting to sell 3 to 5 million Surface RT units by years end, certainly modest by iPad measures. None of you actually own a Surface, so how can you state that it is not an iPad replacement? Since owning my Surface RT I've had no reason to turn on my iPad 2. This all sounds like the early Schadenfreude that follow the original release of the XBox.

jry said:

Ballmer said he was expecting to sell 3 to 5 million Surface RT units by years end, certainly modest by iPad measures. None of you actually own a Surface, so how can you state that it is not an iPad replacement? Since owning my Surface RT I've had no reason to turn on my iPad 2. This all sounds like the early Schadenfreude that follow the original release of the XBox.

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Don't get me wrong, the RT in terms of hardware is certainly worthy to put up against the ipad. I just think, and certainly it's my personal opinion, that RT will just 1) confuse consumers and 2) not offer enough to entice people away from iOS or even Android. MS either has to appeal to consumers thru pricing, which is Googles strategy, or by touting the ability to run a real OS instead of a watered down OS, but the RT cannot brag about this other than the ability to run Office, which iOS and Android will have by next spring.

RT will end up being a very very niche device and eventually fade from existence, especially as the Atom processors continue to get better and better with Haswell next year and baypath after that and they offer true desktop performance. This is where MS needs to concentrate its efforts and let RT die quickly and quietly.

Rogifan said:

Yes RT is a confusing product. It will be interesting to see how the Pro fares. Personally I'd rather use a laptop for real work and a tablet for more consumption stuff. MS might be able to make this hybrid thing work. I'm skeptical though because ultrabooks never really took off and this will have Ultrabook like pricing. It seems in the PC space the majority just want cheap, budget friendly laptops.

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This is where I'm peeved at Microsoft for confusing consumers so much. The Windows Pro tablets with the Atom processor will be priced about the same as the ipads, ie: my Samsung windows 8 pro device with 64gb HD but no cellular cost $599. They are as thin as the ipads, have the same if not more battery life and cost about the same. The performance is very good for any ipad like function, it's also very good for Office, things like photoshop, desktop functions, etc. The Atom processor is slated for a huge/major upgrade next year, this will make this a monster but keep the battery life.

The ivy bridge windows 8 pro devices will cost about the same as an ultrabook, these are the slightly thicker units with fans, higher resolution, larger hard drives, etc. IMO these are the units which will become niche units for the truly hard core units. Preliminary reports are that they are monsters, but the battery life is only slightly better than an ultrabook.

Like the Zune I think it is simply too late for them to put a dent in the market despite being a good device.

They are at best a year too late to the game. I welcome competition especially since Apple has played the coaster game for the last few years.

Non-existent distribution network will clip your sales potential big time

Technarchy said:

Non-existent distribution network will clip your sales potential big time

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Yeah, exactly. For example, here in Australia, MS has been advertising the Surface quite heavily... yet you can't buy them instore, only online. For those who like to try something before they buy, that's a real barrier to entry.

I just came back from the Microsoft store and i was impressed by the surface. Even though its pricey, I'm going to be buying it instead of iPad 4 since the other functionalities like USB port and SDXC port will come in handy now that I'm making a startup company and the bigger screen is way better for movies.

Rogifan said:

I'm skeptical though because ultrabooks never really took off and this will have Ultrabook like pricing.

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What? The whole laptop industry is moving towards this model. Cost of Ultrabooks will come down dramatically over the next year or two until they are pretty much the standard.

A "modest start" isnt enough to dethrone the android and apple tablet giants.

The device will likely be a victim of a catch 22. It needs a big library of great software to succeed and sell millions of units. But it won't get a big library of great software until it sells millions of units.

zbarvian said:

Microsoft needs a break, I really admire what they're doing.

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I concur.

The challenge is that the new trio of Nexus devices offered in the Google Play Store are just what Android enthusiasts have been waiting for. I work for a multinational tech company that has thousands of employees, a vast number of engineers etc. The buzz in our company is at fever pitch regarding these new offerings.

Not because we believe that Android is the holy grail, but rather because of the enjoyment we've all experienced from the current crop of Galaxy models, prior Nexus models, and the like.

Then once we factor in the very reasonable pricing, it's easy to see the lure of Nexus.

I do think if Microsoft continues to work aggressively to debug and improve the interface, the Surface has a future, the only question is how relevant they may be. It does seem like there's a place for them if they can avoid major mistakes and setbacks.

Rodster said:

That's the problem with the Surface RT, it's too expensive for what you are getting.

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So is the iPad mini but that's selling...although it's been slow by Apple standards.

Microsoft so dumb. Decided to sell at a higher profit margin than Apple