Microsoft Surface and Surface Pro tablets. A big kick in the arse to Wintel hardware partners

After almost two years of Windows Phone failures, it seems that Microsoft had it enough relying on the hardware partners to break in to the new post PC device markets. So it decided to make the whole thing itself and created Surface – Windows 8 based 10.6” tablet.

Actually two of them. One running Windows RT on an ARM CPU and one with Windows 8 Pro – on Intel CPU. We do not know the exact device specs and prices yet – they are months away from shipping. But what we’ve seen so far looks pretty impressive:

Microsoft Surface comes with:

	Win RT	Windows 8 Pro
Display:	10.6” ClearType HD	10.6” Clear Type Full HD
Connectivity	USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2×2 MIMO antennae	USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2×2 MIMO antennae
Storage	microSD, internal: 32 GB, 64 GB	microSDXC, 64 GB, 128 GB
Battery	31.5 Wh	42Wh
Thinkness:	9.3mm	13.5mm
Weight	676g	903g

 

Both tablets will have a set of interesting accessories/extensions – a built-in kickstand, a cover that doubles back as a multi-touch keyboard and/or the cover with an actual tactile keyboard on the other side, and a stylus. They will also have full Microsoft Office versions, and the Intel one can act as a full laptop replacement, running all traditional Windows applications.

The devices themselves look very interesting, but even more interesting question is – why?

Why did Microsoft decide to get into the hardware business, thus royally screwing all the Wintel hardware partners, who are working on Windows 8 tablets themselves?

My guess is – it all comes down to Windows Phone. As Microsoft sees it – the big part of their failures in the smartphone market over the last 18 months – was the fault of its vendor partners. None of the partners who released the first generation of Windows Phones, made Microsoft OS a priority. So WP smartphones got second-hand hardware from earlier Android releases. Partners also took Microsoft marketing money, and added little of their own for the introduction push, preferring already proven Android 2.x. And Google got another year of explosive growth to establish almost unassailable lead for its mobile platform.

Microsoft simply can not risk the repeat of the smartphone story in tablets. And guess what? Most of the biggest Microsoft PC hardware partners – Acer, Asus, Samsung, Dell – they are all already making Android tablets. What if Google nails it with Android Jelly Bean? What if the sales of Android tablets actually start to take off and Microsoft partners start pushing Google’s tablets before Microsoft’s?

And there is another dimension to Microsoft’s decision to get into the tablet hardware biz. Apple’s iPad. To succeed where everyone else failed so far – you have to offer something that is in some tangible way better than iPad. And hardware is a big part of it. Microsoft (most likely) has seen every single partner produced Windows tablet device in the pipeline. And it is not happy about them. Thus the kickstand, emphasis on design, new materials and all those cool accessories that make the Surface into the first true laptop replacement in tablet form factor.

It’s a bold statement and a hard kick in the arse to all Wintel partners by Microsoft:

“Get off your butts, the world has changed and you are not in the beige box commodity business anymore. You are in hardware business – so start innovating in hardware and making great stuff. And if you won’t – we are gonna do it all ourselves, leaving you to fight it all out in shrinking PC market, and screwing you along the way. ”

It’s kinda the first Google Nexus on steroids. The main difference being – there’s no carriers to screw it up, and, through the Xbox franchise, Microsoft has a big part of infrastructure to pull it off.

Let’s see what happens next.

If you liked the post, you might find these interesting too:

• Hey Acer, if Microsoft is no good at making tablets – why do you care?
• Microsoft already working on Surface 2, Surface Pro 2, and Surface Book for next year, details leak
• Microsoft sold 1.5 million Surface tablets so far, 400,000 of those being Surface Pro
• Microsoft’s Surface for $499 is a statement they won’t Nexus 7 their partners, unless forced to by low sales
• Surface RT orders cut in half by Microsoft, Surface Pro may arrive in December

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