Posted on 06/23/2012 7:18:05 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
Many have scoffed at the idea that Redmond's tablet will succeed. But there are three crucial reasons to take the effort seriously. By Don Sears
FORTUNE -- Do not underestimate Microsoft's Surface tablet move. Its gambit to design and build its own hardware is a bold play to develop a thriving ecosystem of new products. It is centered on Microsoft's dominant property: the operating system. Monday's flashy Surface launch may have felt like an Apple event with its bright, pastel-colored keyboard, slick introductory videos and breathless hyping from little-known engineers. But, in fact, Microsoft's play is anything but Apple-like. The company is clearly trying to make tablets into hybrid PC-mobile devices, something its California rival has said is a bad idea. We don't yet know all of Surface's details -- battery life, pricing, official release dates are all to-be-determined for instance. But here are three important reasons Microsoft's Surface is likely to be anything but dead on arrival:
Reason #1: Microsoft can build an ecosystem
Microsoft (MSFT) has had success in the consumer market with the Xbox and most recently with the Kinect motion-control devices. The Xbox has become a household name with major brand extensions as an entertainment device. Microsoft disrupted gaming, and it can disrupt hardware.
Microsoft has serious engineering chops. Josh Topolosky, Editor-in-Chief of The Verge and not exactly a fanboy, was blown away by a visit to Microsoft's R&D in 2011. He wrote of that visit: "[MS] showed me a project … which would allow you to create a virtual window from one room to another, utilizing a variety of display, motion sensing, and 3D technologies… dubbed … the 'magic wall.' It was nuts. It was awesome. It was ambitious. The whole time, all I could think was: where has Microsoft been hiding guys like this?"
(Excerpt) Read more at tech.fortune.cnn.com ...
Reason #3: Microsoft's targets are the laptop and Google, not just the iPad
More at link.
Beneath Microsoft's Surface, a New Tablet and Bold Strategy
I’m looking forward to seeing one of these. At the very least it will push Apple and android ahead.
Probably already comes with all the viruses per loaded.....
Informative article. Thanks for posting.
“We don’t yet know all of Surface’s details”
Typical Micrososft. The proof is in the pudding. Anyone can ship spec sheets
They call it "Surface", because it's all surface, there is nothing underneath.
Still one can hope for a rip-roaring success, one that drives down prices and improves capability across the board.
Then we'll see about the pricing. I never owned an Apple gadget until 3 years ago and now I'm a believer. MS sucks compared to Apple. Pure and simple, you can do more, perhaps, but it is a hellacious ride to stable functionality. The Apple equipment had worked, unceasingly since it came out of the box.
Then we'll check out the pricing. At $250 I'm willing to investigate an MS gadget. At a comparable price with Apple, I'll buy the Apple. I know it works.
MS has to enter the market at a reasonable price, then build on reliability and innovative utility.
As I said, I'll believe it when I see it.
Until then, I approach this like I approach a used, union made GM.
That's just the reputation they've earned. Skepticism.
And yeah, we own Xboxes in this house. The original machines were a POS. Red ring of death anyone? It's become a common cultural meme because the hardware sucked so bad.
Why would I expect anything more?
Hope I'm surprised, but I doubt I will be. They have to come in at a lower price or they won't bring in anyone but the MSbots. If they come in too low of a price, chances are the units will be garbage.
The second happiest day of my life will be the day I never have to deal with MicroSoft or any of its bullshit software ever again and that day is coming, in about two years.
Those of us heaviy invested in having to use/teach/configure Microsoft products call the glitches "Undocumented Features".
“Reason #1: Microsoft can build an ecosystem”
ecosystem???????
Wimp.com has a video of the Surface freezing
during the presentation.
It does look promising,but I don`t know if I`m
gonna dump my iPad tho
If MS wasn’t around, you’d still be using stencils. MS bashers are whiners.
If MS wasn’t around we’d be using LINUX, OS2, WordPerfect, Borland development tools, QuattroPro, Mozilla browsers and any number of similar superior products and all of those products wold be 30 years further down the road than they are now. MicroSoft is in the basic business of locking down 80% market shares with fascist marketing and 3’rd rate software.
I had been thinking “ecosystem” was a new corporate babble word but you may have it with “full of bugs”..
Competition = good.
(I must admit MS isn’t noted for their “user friendly” designs. It will be interesting to see if their hardware is similar)
Microsoft can't necessarily build an ecosystem. Remember PlaysForSure for music? Yeah, those people got reamed when Microsoft dumped it. And not many besides Zune owners have heard of its incompatible successor, the Zune Marketplace.
2 and 3 are reasonable, especially 2. Microsoft has traditionally been pretty good at leveraging customer bases to enter others -- look at the illegal leveraging of desktops to get into the server market. Now they'll be going the other way. Microsoft can really do this right in the enterprise. Within the next couple months, before the Surface is out, they need to release a free update to SCCM that fully controls both Surface editions. If that update isn't already beta, some manager somewhere needs to be fired.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.