I was initially very excited by the idea of a Microsoft-made Windows tablet, the first new Microsoft-branded hardware product to come out in a long time, and even then, mostly just accessories. This isn’t the first tablet that Microsoft has explicitly shown to the press (see the aborted HP Slate 500 at CES 2010), but the Surface platform marks Microsoft’s intention to directly compete with Apple’s iPad and the various third-party Android tablets. It’s definitely going to be a necessary step to get consumers invested in their ecosystem of products that now share the Metro UI experience (Windows Phone, XBOX 360, Windows 8). For what it’s worth, Microsoft’s surprise event was on par with Apple’s product announcements that engaged the press and consumers with heartfelt stories of the creation process and future consumer user experience.
My problem, on behalf of consumers, is the fact that Microsoft didn’t announce one product - they announced two. Surface for Windows RT is the pure tablet, running on an ARM processor (Nvidia Tegra 3) and will not have any traditional desktop Windows functionality. Microsoft should be releasing a tablet version of Office, but after that you’re at the mercy of their mobile app catalog and third-party developers, which has yet to receive the adoption rates of iOS and Android. Surface Pro for Windows 8 will run on the Intel x86 architecture, and will run the full desktop version of Windows 8, which still pushes the Metro UI, but has a normal desktop and runs Windows apps just like your desktop/laptop. One tablet does so much, the other tablet does the same and more. So why would consumers buy Surface for Windows RT and will they know the difference? Apple has indirectly shown that giving consumers choice makes the purchase experience harder and more time consuming, so Microsoft will have to explain the difference to consumers, or leave that responsibility with the retailers.
Unlike at Apple product announcements, where the product launch dates are either announced or launched that day, Microsoft gave no release date details at all, but it won’t be until Windows 8 is actually released, and that will be at the end of the year. So, Microsoft just announced a first-party product, a pair of tablets that run their next operating system, that won’t be available for about 6 months. That’s too long of a wait and this time window gives Microsoft OEM partners a head start to make superior products. Third-party Windows tablets have been shown off (demonstrated, not sold) for almost a year now, but they haven’t received much attention. Microsoft already has a painful history of Windows tablets to escape and their only solution to get a Windows 8 tablet in consumer hands is to brand it with their name. Consumers are going to instinctively trust a product that is 100% made by one company, much like anticipation for a Google-made Android device. “Microsoft makes Windows, so they should know what kind of hardware to make and how to seamlessly blend the two together.” The logic makes sense and it’s reasonable to believe from the announcement event, but how will that affect OEM partners who also want to make Windows tablets and which CPU platform(s) will they support?
So did Microsoft really announce anything “new”? We already knew about Windows 8 and its tablet OS variation, but the Microsoft-branded tablets were a surprise, since they have never made their own computers before. Microsoft has always been a software company and relied on OEM partners to produce the diverse hardware ecosystem that we are familiar with to put Microsoft products on. This is going to result in either better third-party tablets competing at launch or Microsoft pushing third-parties out of the spotlight. No matter what, any outcome where Microsoft and other OEMs are directly competing will result in a polluted variety of Windows tablets to choose from, comparable to the PC buying experience we’ve known for years. Microsoft is betting heavily on the future of Windows 8 and getting consumers into the complete ecosystem, which they need to since Apple already has a foothold in both the home and business spaces. Both Surface tablets are going to have to be not only competitively priced, but will have to be given enough exposure to distract from Apple’s advertising. The headline honeymoon is over and I’m less excited for the product, but still curious to see how this will change the market. I’m still going to buy one, but even I don’t know which one I’m going to buy.
Like Robert I was initially very excited for the Microsoft Surface. But once I came down to reality I realized price and apps are going to be crucial to its success. I did however notice a very different strategy from Microsoft. Microsoft has been making various computing peripherals over the years mice, keyboards etc. But this announcement was different. To me Microsoft decided they needed to radically change how they communicated with their hardware partners. They put their money where their mouth is and they developed their own Surface prototype. And based on the presentation given, in my mind this product was designed to shake their partners awake from their design "daze" as it were in order to show them how they want the hardware to perform as opposed to just telling them nicely.
I also noticed while using Windows 8 consumer preview that Windows is becoming the operating system that I always wanted. I have envisioned for a long time a computer that would synchronize all my settings and files when I logged into that machine regardless of machine or machine form factor. And this is where I see the road dividing once again between Microsoft and Apple. Apple has wonderful industrial design, but I have never felt comfortable using a Mac OSX. Seeing the feature set of iOS 6 and the iOS evolution has shown me that Apple's innovation perspective revolves around hardware. And they are great at it. But I have always believed that non-technical people really don't care what device they are using, but in fact just want to get work done or play a game or write a paper. As technologists it is easy to fall in love with a piece of hardware. But normal people usually don't intrinsically love technology -- rather they see it as a tool that allows them to be productive or to have fun. I realized that Microsoft's strategy isn't to make the device you are using invisible which Apple is so great at but rather Microsoft is attempting to make all computing devices: phones, tablets, desktops, laptops disappear. They are saying: regardless of the device you are using or where you are using it -- the stuff you need to be productive in life is right at your fingertips.