![]() ![]() I've not heard why, nor have I heard about any more recent plans, but I suspect it has to do with Windows RT. Windows RT-based) Surface mini alongside the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 last year but pulled back at the last minute. I know that Microsoft planned to deliver a Qualcomm-based (i.e. Microsoft has to address the mini tablet market, and they will. Those trends are amplified in Windows 8.1 Update 1, of course, with Windows now free on small screen devices and a host of new improvements aimed at traditional PC users. ![]() With Windows 8.1, first, the firm made it possible and inexpensive for hardware makers to create Windows-based mini-tablets, and it took the first steps towards making this new Windows more usable by traditional PC users. So far, Microsoft has addressed both of these needs in Windows. They want a Windows that is tailored to their needs, not to some imaginary market of hipster tablet users. They're not hugely interested in touch, nor are they happy about all that Modern UI getting in their way while they're trying to get work done. Meanwhile, a considerable percentage of the Windows installed base-about 1.5 billion people, according to Microsoft-simply rebelled against Windows 8. And the version of Windows that specifically targets iPad, Windows RT, is dead in the water. As Apple accounts for less and less of this market, aping their strategy with Surface makes less sense. That iPad challenge has evolved into a predominantly Android tablet challenge and, more to the point, one in which the volume part of the market is in fact mini-tablets with screens in the 7-to-8-inch range. The two big trends since then are:Īn evolving tablet market. Surface hasn't sold very well, and as noted things have changed. By creating a tablet lineup that highlighted the strengths of Windows 8-such as they were-Microsoft was providing its PC-centric audience with a real alternative. In mid-2012, the PC was getting smacked around by the iPad, and Windows looked a bit long in the tooth. It's just two years after Microsoft announced its plans for Surface, and the market has already shifted. And I'm starting to think that maybe it's time to reassess this product line and realign it around the new strategy for Windows. One important Microsoft product that wasn't discussed at all last week at Build is Surface. ![]()
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