Say, is Telugu bidda Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s new CEO, a closet masochist?
Why?
Because the buzz is that Microsoft’s top honcho will launch Surface Mini, a smaller version of the disastrous Surface tablet, on May 20, 2014 at an event in New York City.
Microsoft has flushed over a billion dollars on its large screen (10.6-inch) Surface gamble.
And 18 months after launch, Surface shows few signs of winning favor of consumers.
Hell, the company is not even among the top five tablet vendors.
Surface revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2014 were a piffling $494 million compared to $7.61 billion for Apple iPads in the same period. Mind you, that was a slow tablet quarter for Apple!
Plus, the tablet market has slowed down lately as consumers are sticking with their older tablets.
And Nadella wants to launch a new version of the Surface!
Somebody, tell me I’m not dreaming.
Surface Mini
If the rumor mill is right, Surface Mini will sport an 8-inch display compared to the 10.6-inch display of its older, larger sibling.
Or Surface Mini could be 7.5-inches. Maybe, even smaller at 7-inches.
It’s likely to sport an ARM processor and run Windows 8.1. Or it could be an Intel chip.
Maybe, it’ll be Windows RT although I’m inclined to believe Microsoft will go with Windows 8.1.
A lot remains unknown about the Surface Mini.
But whatever the eventual screen size, processor and OS, Microsoft’s new tablet will be a mini. That much seems certain.
As I’ve said from Day One, Microsoft has no hope in the tablet segment.
I can’t for the life of me fathom what unique features Surface Mini will bring to the market to make it a compelling purchase option for potential tablet consumers.
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The surface!!
It’s not as convenient as a laptop. Contrary to what my tech guys keep saying, it’s definitely not as fast as my 4 year old dell which the fuckers took away. It’s not slim n sexy like my iPad. It’s too heavy to carry around to meetings. There’s an ugly adaptor with many wires running all over my desk connecting this and that. The only saving grace is. …. Wait! There’s no fucking saving grace. Just waiting to throw this piece of shit out and get me a kickass good old fashioned laptop.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
I suppose they want to see how much money the Mini will lose!
Microsoft has always invested in markets that other companies invented and tried to grab them, gaming consoles for example.
Some worked and some did not.
I am sure they sincerely believe that search, smartphones and tablets markets belongs to them and they just have to be patient for a few years before they can make it their own.
The real tragedy is that for all their money and the brain power they assembled they can’t think of some new markets to go after or create new ones.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
I suppose when a company (Microsoft) has $87 billion in the bank, it can afford to squander a few billion here (tablets) and a few billion there (search) without the company becoming much poorer for the bad decisions.
One consolation – MSFT is creating some jobs (design, software, manufacture, retail etc) via the Surface gamble.