Surface RT sales are probably quite good, you just don't know it
The "Microsoft tablet is a failure meme" was old from the start. Every day there's some new blog based on rumor or innuendo assuring everyone who pays attention that Surface is doomed and sales are this side of worse than terrible. There is so much nonsense punditry, I don't know where to start. DigiTimes has unnamed channel sources saying Microsoft cut orders for the tablet by half. The report got widespread attention, despite the publication's record for getting this kind of story wrong. Along come the analysts. DFG slashed shipment estimates to between 500,000 and 600,000 from between 1 million to 2 million. Number was way too high to start. Now Tim Worstall, a Fellow at Adam Smith Institute, whines that Surface RT is way overpriced. It's not.
If Microsoft's tablet has a sales problem -- and let's strut that I-F again -- distribution is the reason. The product isn't overpriced or flawed. Microsoft only sells Surface through the company store; that's online and (by my count) 66 retail shops. Sixty stores are in the continental United States, five in Canada and another in Puerto Rico. There are only a limited number of places anyone can buy the tablet, which limits how many the company can sell. What matters more is how many Microsoft sells per store. Pundits crying "fail" are nincompoops of the nth degree. If any of them bothered to look at Apple Store, they would understand.
Will you buy Microsoft Surface Pro?
Last week, Microsoft released pricing on Surface tablets running Windows 8 Pro: $899 (64GB), $999 (128GB). Controversy followed, with the Apple Fan Club of analysts, bloggers, reporters and other writers fanning the flames of misinformation (as they so often do). These nitwits say Surface Pro is overpriced, because iPad costs so much less. But iPad is the wrong comparison to make. I say Microsoft prices Surface Pro against MacBook Air and ultrabooks, which makes loads of sense when looking at the chip architecture (x86, not ARM), configuration (similar to MBA for cost) and operating system (developed for desktop PCs not mobile devices).
I rebutted loony iPad comparisons with post "Microsoft Surface Pro is NOT overpriced". Compared to MacBook Air or ultrabooks, Surface is competitively priced, which was my point -- that and getting sensible analysis out there. But properly priced against competing devices isn't the same as being right for your budget or what you're willing to spend. Apple commands a premium brand, for which people pay more, happily. Then there is ultrabook, which didn't lift PC sales during second and third quarters as Intel and its OEM partners hoped. The costlier laptops simply aren't selling well. Ultrabooks' failure to wow foreshadows big, potential sales problems for Microsoft, which brand doesn't carry the same price premium as Apple's.
Eight things Microsoft should be thankful for in 2012
Another Thanksgiving arrives here in the United States, and some people consider what they have to be grateful for. I celebrate by talking turkey, not just eating it, about the companies I cover. It's tradition, going back to 2006, that I present the things Microsoft should be grateful for.
Last year, 11 items made the list, keeping with the 2011 theme. For 2012, I reduce the list to eight; my hat tip of respect to Windows 8, which launched nearly a month ago. There are many more things Microsoft could be grateful for, but I chose some that might not readily come to mind. The list goes from least to most important.
Microsoft Surface review for real people
I’ve spent the past couple of weeks reading review after review of Microsoft Surface. I feel like 90-percent of them were not written for me. You see, I’m your average user. I’m the average Joe user with a strong interest in the field of technology. I don’t care about pixel densities, or all the other niggles on performance tech geeks fight about all the time.
What matters to me: Does a particular device allow me to not only consume content but create it as well. And Surface accomplishes those two goals tremendously well. I write this review on a Surface RT using Microsoft Word in Office 2013.
Microsoft Surface makes a good first impression
This afternoon I got my first look at Microsoft's Windows RT tablet at the company store here in San Diego. I wanted to drop by for two weeks, but simply couldn't make time. Today, my daughter needed a ride to Fashion Valley Mall; she's got a new job there. That gave me 90 minutes free time for Microsoft Store -- oh, and four doors down Apple, too.
I am pleasantly surprised by my initial reaction, which quite simply is "wow". This starkly contrasts with my negative response to iPad mini. (But the Apple Store jaunt to see the tablet can wait a few paragraphs.) Surface's display is bright, clean, clear and crisp. Font rendering is superb, particularly given resolution is only 1366 by 768. The tablet is fast and touch-response exact and fluid. Presentation of default apps, such as MSN and weather, pop. They look exceptionally good, and Microsoft serves up lots of rich touchy, feely additional content throughout. Presentation gets A-plus.
If you're looking for Windows 8 PCs, don't shop Microsoft Store
I simply don't know what to say. Some things are so perplexing, so exasperating no description makes sense. In writing a story about Windows 8 PC deals, I naturally called several Microsoft Stores. None have systems for sale. Same goes for the company's online shop. It's ore-order only, baby. What the frak?
I'm confused. Didn't Windows 8 launch today, with Microsoft spending beau coup bucks marketing the operating system? Currently, Microsoft operates 27 permanent stores, with another opening in Toronto, Ontario November 16. Shops are also planned in Ohio and Puerto Rico, but dates aren't officially disclosed. Thirty-two holiday stores opened today. With nearly 60 stores open, in 27 states and three Canadian provinces, shouldn't Microsoft have PCs to sell on Windows 8's launch day?
Where can you get a good deal on Windows 8 PCs?
It's here! Today Windows 8 launches around the globe, and Surface tablets, too. For years, I've said nobody partners like Microsoft, and the company is front and center promoting retailers and PC manufacturers. That's good for you, if you waited for the OS to take advantage of some of the most interesting new computer designs to hit the market in years. Not surprisingly, the company has posted a list of some of the deals available starting today.
Windows 8 is Microsoft's most important product launch ever. It's a defining operating system, as the company seeks to maintain computing relevance during the shift from the PC era to cloud-connected devices. "What you have seen and heard should leave no doubt that Windows 8 shatters perceptions of what a PC now really is, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer boasts". "We truly re-imagined Windows, and kicked off a new era for Microsoft, and a new era for our customers". He spoke yesterday during the pre-launch event in New York City.
Surface available at Microsoft retail stores in Canada and United States
Microsoft officially launched Windows 8 and Windows RT across the globe today. Along with the new operating systems, the Redmond, Wash.-based corporation also makes its branded Surface tablet available at all Microsoft 27 retail, 34 holiday and online stores across United States and Canada.
Microsoft Surface starts at $499in the United States, AU$599 in Australia, CDN$519 in Canada, EUR479 in Germany, EUR489 in France, and GBP399 in the United Kingdom for the 32GB version without the Touch Cover.
Microsoft retail stores giving away Xbox Music Pass to first 100 Surface buyers
Microsoft obviously wants Surface to be a home run, and to encourage prospective buyers to queue up for the October 26 launch of Surface alongside Windows 8, the Redmond, Wash.-based company is throwing in a nice bonus for the first hundred Surface buyers at its retail stores.
These select customers will get a one-year Xbox Music Pass valued at $99.99; Microsoft's way of ensuring that its Surface tablet will get public attention on launch day and rewarding those waiting to purchase the not-so-cheap Windows RT-powered devices. Because after all, long snaking queues are indicative of a company's ability to drum up excitement for a new product or event, and that is a sign of overall popularity.
Microsoft debuts Office 365 for students, $79 for 4 years of college
Microsoft is taking its subscription-based productivity suite Office 365 into the realm of higher education in the first quarter of 2013 with a new package called Office 365 University.
At just $1.67 per month, college students can get Office 365 for their entire four years of undergrad for just about $80. The subscription includes the usual Office Home and Student Gang: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, plus Outlook, Access, and Publisher which aren't available in the $119.99 desktop version (but are only available to Windows PC users.)
Microsoft reveals Surface tablet pricing, starting at $499, then pulls pre-order page
Almost a month ago I wrote "Steve Ballmer hints at Microsoft Surface costing $300-$800" and he was (obviously) right on the money as the Redmond, Wash.-based corporation introduced Microsoft Surface with Windows RT for pre-order today with delivery on October 26. No, it doesn't start at $199, nor at $300 either, but it's close. HOWEVER, while I wrote this post, the pricing page disappeared from the Microsoft Store and now redirects to its home page.
The base 32GB model without the Black Touch Cover, which is Microsoft's name for the OEM keyboard, comes in at $499 and at the time of writing this post is the only model available for pre-order (whenever it resumes). The keyboard can be purchased separately for an additional $119.99 or $129.99 for the white or black model, respectively. The 32GB model with the Black Touch Cover included runs $599, while the larger 64GB Surface with the same add-on will set you back $699. Again, like Steve Ballmer hinted, price range is $300-$800, though it comes closer to the upper end.
Microsoft Store is EVERYWHERE
There is no appropriate way to express how aggressive will be Microsoft's retail blitz to support the launches of Surface, Windows 8 and Windows RT (on October 26) and Windows Phone 8 (on October 29). In 18 days, the software giant will have retail shops open in 27 states and three Canadian provinces. Many of the locations will be what Microsoft calls "holiday stores", which are more kiosks than shops but retail presence nevertheless. The company announced the pop-up shops about a month ago, but as important product launches approach the sudden retail blitz takes on looming significance.
The stores' importance cannot be understated, and their value is much bigger than selling new products. The shops will create big brand presence during the holidays and give many shoppers reasons to buy something with a Microsoft logo rather than the bitten fruit. (Say, if there's a bite out of the Apple, shouldn't that make it forbidden fruit in the classical biblical/literature sense or used goods from a purely commerce perspective. I certainly wouldn't pick a bitten apple from the grocery store. Funny that Apple's partially eaten logo doesn't put off more people.)
Microsoft's $99 Xbox 360 bundle: what a rip-off!
Last week, we heard rumors that Microsoft would be releasing a Xbox 360 console with Kinect for $99, subsidized by a two-year Gold subscription commitment to the Xbox Live service, in a fashion similar to mobile phone subsidies.
Monday, the offer went live on the Microsoft Store site, and the plan, which got us excited here in the BetaNews news room, turns out to be no deal at all.
Microsoft expands epic retail war with Apple
It's grand opening weekend for Microsoft's 14th retail store, and first on the East Coast, at Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va. The company pulled back the curtain yesterday at 9:30 am ET, just down the way from Apple's first-ever retail shop.
I was there when Apple Store opened in May 2001 and regret missing Microsoft Store's debut there. I lived in the Washington, DC area for 23 years before moving to San Diego in October 2007. Tysons Corner is my favorite of the Beltway malls.
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