Who will buy Microsoft Surface RT? Could be you
Poll results to question "Will you buy Surface RT?" are in, and the numbers are surprising. Among the 1,530 respondents so far, 43.46 percent won't buy the tablet. That's actually a considerably lower number than I expected for a new device running a new operating system from an old technology company. Just shy of 24 percent of you already pre-ordered -- and good thing. Microsoft apparently already sold out the entry-level, $499 model, which delivery date is now "within 3 weeks". The other two tablets still deliver by October 26, launch day.
Another 18.1 percent of respondents plan to buy within three months, which works out to 41.84 percent between now and the end of January. If Surface really does that well, Microsoft will have helluva hit. If. What people say they will do isn't often what they do. Buying polls reflect intentions, which can change for all kinds of reasons. Little things, like early reviews, social media buzz or cash to spend.
Microsoft's new video showcases the strengths of Surface
Microsoft Surface is available for pre-order, and to attract future buyers that have yet to be mesmerized by the new Windows device class, the Redmond, Wash.-based corporation released a new video that does quite a good job at showing off some of its key features.
Unlike the previous promo that was more about giving Surface a "coolness" factor, the latest spot titled "Learn more about Surface" takes various people using Microsoft's tablet from the moment it is powered on to finally folding and carrying it, while highlighting some of its distinctive features such as the Touch Cover that is available in five distinct colors.
The debate is now Chromebook vs Surface, not iPad, for K-12 education
The cat's out of the bag, and we can all stop guessing as to what the Surface RT will cost. Microsoft confirms many things, namely that Steve Ballmer was spot-on with his estimates on Surface pricing roughly a month ago. The Surface RT is going toe-to-toe with the iPad down to the very last penny. That's a good thing.
One thing I'm curious about is how Surface will change the way K-12 looks at computing devices for the next generation of students. I've already penned my thoughts on why I believe the Surface could very well outshine the iPad in education. A big part of this winning equation has to do with the ecosystem that surrounds a given technology.
Microsoft Surface RT doesn't compete with iPad
Microsoft revealed pricing for its long awaited Surface RT yesterday. Starting at $499 with 32GB of storage and going up to $699 for the 64GB model with Touch cover included, the devices are priced in about the same price range as Apple's new iPad. It feels natural to compare Microsoft's entry into the tablet market with the leading product that is already there, and many have done so. Joe Wilcox, for instance, believes that Microsoft prices Surface RT to go head to head against Apple.
There is certainly some truth to that, but it may be a different truth than what seems obvious.
Microsoft Surface can act as a skateboard, sadly can't be pre-ordered as one
Microsoft yesterday opened up pre-ordering for its controversial Surface tablet and before, the President of the Windows and Windows Live Division, Steven Sinofsky decided to literally take it for a spin... as a skateboard.
Even though you and I can't pre-order the Surface as a skateboard, the 10.6-inch tablet was strapped to two pairs of trucks and wheels and turned into one. Why?
Will you buy Surface RT?
Today, Microsoft started taking pre-orders for Surface RT, one of its two branded tablets. The other, which isn't formerly priced, will cost more and comes with Windows 8 Pro. RT prices range from $499 to $699, on par with the new iPad. Microsoft chose not to sell the tablet against lower-cost Androids, such as Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, which Amazon has for $359.
Surface marks Microsoft's first real push into the tablet market. True, the company released Windows XP Tablet Edition a decade ago but OEMs shipped hardware. Now Microsoft competes with them, by offering its own device, which is optimized for its software and services and ships free of bloatware.
Microsoft's Surface town hall meeting: All the questions, All the answers
Tuesday afternoon, seven members of Microsoft's Surface team, led by General Manager Panos Panay, fielded questions from the public in an "ask me anything" (AMA) forum on popular Web community Reddit.
In the two-hour session on Reddit, the team was hit with several hundred questions about Surface; of which, about 50 were directly addressed. Like the United States Presidential debates, there is a considerable amount of equivocation and evasion involved in this sort of question and answer session, so some questions get glossed over with no mention. This happened quite frequently with two questions in particular: Why is there no NFC (near field communications) and why does it cost as much as it does? Neither was directly answered.
Apple hosts October 23 'screw you, Microsoft' media event
The invitations are out, and rumors proved true. Apple will hold a special press event, presumably for iPad mini, on October 23 -- that's three days before Microsoft launches Windows 8 and Surface tablets. Talk about party crashing. Apple almost surely will steal much of its rival's thunder, splitting media coverage and assuring that most every Windows 8 or Surface blog post or news story will mention Apple and iPad mini.
Anyone who thinks the timing isn't deliberate lives in lala land. Capitalism is all about brutal competition, and if iPad mini debuts next week Apple will heap hot coals through Microsoft's Windows and onto its shiny Surface. InterWeb writers have obsessed about the rumored tablet for weeks. Its arrival will be almost as blah blah worthy as Steve Jobs returning from the dead.
Microsoft prices Surface RT against iPad
Well, file this in the don't believe anything you read on the Internet department. Contrary to relentless rumors that Microsoft Surface would start at $199, actual cost will be $300 more. Rather than price against tablets selling for $299 or less, Surface competes with iPad, while offering more storage for less cost. But iPad has the way upper hand on screen resolution, which is a compelling feature.
At Noon EDT today, Microsoft started taking pre-orders for Surface, following a gaffe that temporarily offered the tablet and revealed pricing -- $499 to $699 for three models. The entry-level 32GB tablet is $499, same as new iPad, which is 16GB. The $599 Surface adds detachable keyboard cover, and the $699 model bumps storage to 64GB. Pre-orders are for the model running Windows RT. Microsoft hasn't announced pricing or started pre-orders for the Windows 8 tablet. As previously reported, Surface RT launches alongside Windows 8 on October 26. Yesterday, Microsoft kicked off the tablet's ad blitz.
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.
No one can accuse Microsoft Surface marketing of copying Apple iPad
That didn't take long. A day after debuting the first Windows 8 TV commercial, Microsoft puts out another -- this one for Surface. There's a theater of the bizarre quality about the ad spot, which features lots of folks dancing with tablets. I half expected to see digitally-inserted cameos with Fred Alistair and Ginger Rogers. No one could accuse Microsoft of copying Apple iPad marketing, that's for sure.
The commercial focuses on Surface's attachable keyboard and pop-out stand and the click sounds they make. There is lots of action centered around clicking. You won't learn anything about what Surface does from the one-minute jig or how much the tablet costs (oh, do we want to know). But people will remember the commercial, the slate and the colorful Modern UI. That's the whole point of advertising: get people to remember something.
Microsoft releases Office 2013 gold code
Three months after offering a public preview, overnight, Microsoft announced that Office 2013 released to manufacturing. Development is complete. The timing isn't surprising, given the software is bundled with Windows RT, which will be available to purchase on new computing devices in two weeks.
However, Windows RT-based devices, and specifically the Surface RT, will come with a preview version of Office 2013 rather than the fully-developed final code, due to the time-frame between the device and the software suite launch.
Get a life! Microsoft isn't trying to be Apple
Yesterday's Steve Ballmer "devices and services company" letter unleashes a torrent of idiot punditry. I can only laugh at the sheer stupidity of writers infatuated with the idea Microsoft wants to be Apple, or putting forth such lunacy to sack pageviews.
Read Ballmer's 1,300-word missive again. Microsoft's focus on devices and services has little to nothing to do with Apple. The cloud-connected device era is here and Microsoft embraces it to maintain computing relevance. The company has been on this course for years. Research and development takes time, and the good ship Microsoft is too large to change course in a few months -- or even a few years. The sheer number of carefully coordinated new (and largely changed) products shipping simultaneously (or soon after) clearly indicates a massive undertaking long planned.
Steve Ballmer asks customers, partners and shareholders to believe in Microsoft
Today, Microsoft's CEO released his annual shareholder letter, which also is meant for customers, employees and partners. Steve Ballmer's looking back-peering ahead missive comes as the company stands on a precipice between the PC and cloud-connected device eras and seeks reinvention through an unusually strong late-year release cycle that includes Surface tablets, Windows 8, Windows RT and Windows Server 2012.
Under Bill Gates, Microsoft sought to put a PC on every desktop, with software innovation driving that effort. Ballmer describes post-PC Microsoft as a "devices and services company", which aptly describes the fundamental shift in progress. Services focus reminds of IBM, which dominated the mainframe era the PC displaced. This devices and services ambition "impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences, and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses".
Microsoft wants you to buy Surface but won't say for how much
Windows 8 officially launches in three weeks, and Microsoft has sent out media invitations for an event the day before. Surface sales start at Midnight on October 26 at Microsoft retail and pop-up stores. The Redmond, Wash.-based company has a full retail store here in San Diego, and I plan to be there.
But there's something strangely missing: Surface pricing. Microsoft promotes the tablet's launch but holds back pricing information -- even as some partners release theirs. Just yesterday: Acer revealed $799.99 starting price for the Iconia W700 tablet that goes on sale the same day. Isn't it about time to break the silence?
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