No.
Microsoft is hoping for a Grand Slam with this product. But, unless I'm much mistaken, they've managed (at best) a sacrifice fly. Its a shame, because MS has done some cool things with these products (there's one problem..more on that later) and they are to be applauded for not simply slavishly copying the iPad the way some companies (cough, cough, Samsung) have done. But there are some real problems.
1) Price. "Competitive with other tablets" means starting at $500. But the fact that Microsoft didn't come out and say exactly when the things were going on sale, and for how much, is an indication that it a) won't be soon and b) is likely to be more than the $500 of the intro iPad.
2) Retail. There is now a worldwide network of Apple stores, perfectly set up to demonstrate and sell the latest Apple products. Microsoft has, at most, a handful of retail stores. Instead, the heavy-lifting of selling the Surface is going to be left to the delights of Best Buy and PC World. Good luck with that.
3) Bifurcation. We consumers are simple folk. And too much choice confuses and scares us. And so bringing out both Intel and ARM versions of this device, at wildly different price points, and with wildly different capabilities, is going to confuse a lot of people. Do I need a $1200 Surface version of an iMac or do I need a $600 Surface version of the iPad? One name - two products. Not a good idea from a marketing standpoint.
4) Software. If MS is hoping to steal consumers away from the iPad, they left one huge topic completely off the Agenda today: Apps. There are now over 200,000 iPad-optimized Apps, with a healthy developer/consumer ecosystem growing like a weed. Unless Microsoft can make the Surface ($600 ARM version) appealing to the developer community, its going to be plagued by the same lack of software that has relegated the Mac to perpetual after-ran status in the PC market.
5) Size: Lets just say this one more time: The widescreen 10.1 inch form factor is horrible to carry. Looks goofy in portrait mode. And doesn't fit well in backpacks. Its good for ONE thing, watching movies.
On the plus side? The kickstand is a neat addition, but not a deal maker. The stylus integration is nice, but it (apparently) only works on the $1200 version.
The Surface will probably sell in the millions. But the problem (and why I described it as a sacrifice-fly) is that these sales will essentially cannibalize PC sales. People will buy a Surface instead of a new PC. Maybe not a disaster for Microsoft, but hardly a threat to Apple.
Microsoft is hoping for a Grand Slam with this product. But, unless I'm much mistaken, they've managed (at best) a sacrifice fly. Its a shame, because MS has done some cool things with these products (there's one problem..more on that later) and they are to be applauded for not simply slavishly copying the iPad the way some companies (cough, cough, Samsung) have done. But there are some real problems.
1) Price. "Competitive with other tablets" means starting at $500. But the fact that Microsoft didn't come out and say exactly when the things were going on sale, and for how much, is an indication that it a) won't be soon and b) is likely to be more than the $500 of the intro iPad.
2) Retail. There is now a worldwide network of Apple stores, perfectly set up to demonstrate and sell the latest Apple products. Microsoft has, at most, a handful of retail stores. Instead, the heavy-lifting of selling the Surface is going to be left to the delights of Best Buy and PC World. Good luck with that.
3) Bifurcation. We consumers are simple folk. And too much choice confuses and scares us. And so bringing out both Intel and ARM versions of this device, at wildly different price points, and with wildly different capabilities, is going to confuse a lot of people. Do I need a $1200 Surface version of an iMac or do I need a $600 Surface version of the iPad? One name - two products. Not a good idea from a marketing standpoint.
4) Software. If MS is hoping to steal consumers away from the iPad, they left one huge topic completely off the Agenda today: Apps. There are now over 200,000 iPad-optimized Apps, with a healthy developer/consumer ecosystem growing like a weed. Unless Microsoft can make the Surface ($600 ARM version) appealing to the developer community, its going to be plagued by the same lack of software that has relegated the Mac to perpetual after-ran status in the PC market.
5) Size: Lets just say this one more time: The widescreen 10.1 inch form factor is horrible to carry. Looks goofy in portrait mode. And doesn't fit well in backpacks. Its good for ONE thing, watching movies.
On the plus side? The kickstand is a neat addition, but not a deal maker. The stylus integration is nice, but it (apparently) only works on the $1200 version.
The Surface will probably sell in the millions. But the problem (and why I described it as a sacrifice-fly) is that these sales will essentially cannibalize PC sales. People will buy a Surface instead of a new PC. Maybe not a disaster for Microsoft, but hardly a threat to Apple.
