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Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2

arstechnica.com

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Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2

#21

Post by goostavos »

methodin wrote: post #3

Was it the device itself that caused such poor sales? I assumed all along it was a marketing/image problem which remains unsolved. Has relentlessness by a company ever overcome this issue in the past?

My opinion is that it's a combination of firstly a massive, massive marketing error, and secondly them shooting themselves in the foot a little bit by packaging a heavy app like word on the RT (which most early reviews I saw slammed it for its huge performance lag).

The Surface, to me, beats out all the other tablets. At its core, it's a tablet that made to do more than simply consume media (which is what drew me to it), but they did nothing to sell this fact. I mean, their launch commercial? Jesus.. people dancing to dubstep? It makes it look like just another ho-hum, late to market product.

Do you remember the commercials when Apple started using intel processors[0]? I would have loved to see Microsoft go in that direction and play to their image of "doing work." Finally a tablet that is built for people to do things, rather than consume things. Heck, go after the gaming crowd, play Civilization, do something!

[0]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prImvDVHzTM

Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2

#22

Post by programminggeek »

methodin wrote: post #3

Was it the device itself that caused such poor sales? I assumed all along it was a marketing/image problem which remains unsolved. Has relentlessness by a company ever overcome this issue in the past?

I think it's a long term problem. Microsoft and its partners trained customers to buy $300-500 PC's in volume (with razor thin margins). Now, they are trying to get people to spend 2-3x as much on what many of them see as a machine that "does the same thing".

Apple spent a decade getting people to understand that a $1,000 machine is worth the money. It is a lot easier for Apple to move downmarket than Microsoft to move upmarket.

The iPad is really Apple's $300-500 computer and it is cannibalizing the Windows machines because millions of people would rather use an iPad to do email and facebook and youtube than they would a junky $300 laptop that weighs 7 pounds, has a 15" display, and a 3 hour battery life.

Microsoft will probably figure out how to sell computers to consumers like Apple does, but it's a long road and it's not the bargain basement volume game that they're used to.

Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2

#23

Post by untog »

CodeCube wrote: post #20
untog wrote: post #15

The Surface Pro 2 could make for a really interesting developer machine. Plug it into external keyboard/monitor when you're at your desk, then just pick it up and take it on the road when you want to. I'm tempted, but part of me can't shake the idea that I'd be replacing my laptop with a tablet, even know I know that's not quite true. Also: Windows. I used to use it, but I've been working in OS X exclusively for a fe…

powershell ... seriously, it's really good. And Cygwin if you really want that unix shell experience :)

I don't doubt that Powershell is good, but it's different. I've grown to appreciate being able to use all the same commands on my dev box as I do on my servers, and while Cygwin covers the basics, it doesn't do it all.

Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2

#24

Post by enko »

Dear Microsoft: Out of ARM and x86, choose one. Just choose one. For the love of god, choose ONE.

Can you imagine Apple, or anyone else, deliberately releasing two different tablets, with the same name, which can not run each others' software? It is inconceivable, and for good reason.

MS cannot make decisions. That's what will kill them, long term. Just choose one!!

Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2

#25

Post by m_mueller »

rayiner wrote: post #11
methodin wrote: post #3

Was it the device itself that caused such poor sales? I assumed all along it was a marketing/image problem which remains unsolved. Has relentlessness by a company ever overcome this issue in the past?

Surface marketing was everywhere. I don't think it was particularly bad marketing at that. The devices were definitely to blame. Surface RT squandered Microsoft's ace in the whole in this space: Office + Outlook + Windows network integration. Not only did Office RT not ship in Metro form, but the product that shipped initially was a buggy pre-release. It was disastrous execution. Besides that, Surface RT sold for an…

I agree with your reasoning, but this actually rather points towards Software being the problem. Office in tablet mode is worse than what you get on an iPad, giving away the biggest advantage MS could have in that space - and this remains unresolved with the new generation, at least from what I get in this article.

Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2

#27

Post by corresation »

methodin wrote: post #3

Was it the device itself that caused such poor sales? I assumed all along it was a marketing/image problem which remains unsolved. Has relentlessness by a company ever overcome this issue in the past?

It was terrible marketing. Microsoft went through a period where they treated Apple as an ally instead of as the company that was eating their lunch, and it was reflected in their "just like Apple" advertising. Quirky music, aspiration lifestyle stuff -- that doesn't work when you're an underdog and someone else is owning the market. Microsoft seriously seemed to fear offending the Gruber and Sieglers of the world.

Their more recent advertising that goes directly at the iPad is much more compelling, and will have a very positive impact on their sales.

Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2

#28

Post by saturdaysaint »

tonydiv wrote: post #13

Better performance might help this sell, but the second I saw the "Surface Music Kit," I got excited. As a DJ, I need to carry around an expensive laptop to perform. The iPad does not have any impressive apps to DJ (at least not professionally), so I'd be VERY interested if they focused on the niche music market here. Surface 2 + Kinect/Leap + superb DJing app + Spotify-esque music supply = very happy musicians. Unfo…

There are plenty of quality DJing apps for PC - this seems like it would be more than adequate for Serrato/Traktor/etc.

Re: Microsoft’s Hardware, Round 2: Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2

#30

Post by jfoutz »

enko wrote: post #24

Dear Microsoft: Out of ARM and x86, choose one. Just choose one. For the love of god, choose ONE. Can you imagine Apple, or anyone else, deliberately releasing two different tablets, with the same name, which can not run each others' software? It is inconceivable, and for good reason. MS cannot make decisions. That's what will kill them, long term. Just choose one!!

Apple actually just made each executable have the binaries for both platforms. It's a good trick.
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