Has Microsoft themselves said anything publicly about a Surface Pro II?

I did a search this morning for "Surface Pro 2 rumors" and got pretty much that - rumors. Not a peep from anyone actually at MS. Hmmm. Yes, lots of talk about smaller tablets but no SP2. BUILD came and went and not a word.

The Surface Pro 2 is starting to seem a lot like vaporware. Microsoft is a "software and devices" company in the same way that Amazon is a "content and devices" company. They sell devices (at a loss) to sell software/content. Now that MS's hardware partners are stepping to the plate with some truly impressive devices (XPS 11 and ATIV Q), what's the point of MS trying to compete in the high-end space? As a matter of fact, did MS's hardware partners come to MS and say, "Ok, we will invest in exciting new Windows 8 hardware but YOU need to BACK OFF!" Since no one else seems to want to build RT devices and MS still wants to sell RT, it makes sense that MS is announcing new RT devices, but no high-end hybrids.

Think about this from the other end. If MS released the SP2 and it became a runaway best seller cannibalizing sales of their hardware partners, wouldn't they be shooting themselves in the foot? Wouldn't MS be better served by leaving the hybrid business to their partners and keeping them motivated to make product?

From a pure business economics standpoint, a Surface Pro 2 makes no sense at all. It won't introduce Windows 8, it won't make a profit and it will alienate their partners. Sometimes you don't do something just because you can.

 

The Surface Pro was only launched in some countries as recently as May (here in the UK for example) - so I don't think Microsoft are going to be launching anything new just yet. That said, it was over a year ago (June 18th) that Microsoft originally announced the Surface RT & Pro, so you might think that we'd be hearing something by now? On the other hand, that announcement was very much wrapped up in the launch build-up for Windows 8 that Microsoft were trying to generate, whereas this time round Microsoft might be more likely to keep things under wraps until they are closer to a launch.

It should also be noted that Microsoft aren't as adept at some of these things as the likes of Apple, despite their 'years of experience' in hardware, Microsoft are likely taking a slightly more cautious approach given they're not distributing the Surface very widely. I'd be surprised if you saw anything less than 18 months time elapse between announcements, which would mean you might -at a pinch- see a Surface 2 lineup come in time for the Holiday season, perhaps tied to a Windows 8.1 launch/re-launch.

Time will tell, but I think it's a bit early to prejudge Microsoft's position. The existence of the Surface has always been difficult to understand. Are they serious about being in the tablet market, or did they just want to produce a reference tablet to light a fire under their OEM partners? Even if it's the latter, there is definitely a reason for the Surface to still exist, and for a Surface 2 to be developed. Ultimately, I've been very pleased with my Surface RT - so whatever the reasons for Microsoft's choices, if it results in this kind of a great product, I'm happy!

 

I don't know if it will be the SP II or not, but I was at a Verizon store yesterday and the tech there told me that MS plans on putting a radio into the Surface tablets (with the Verizon service of course) and start selling them through Verizon. He mentioned that this was suppose to occur sometime this winter (but he did not have a firm date).

 

Yeah that's probably the smaller RT tablets.

 

There's no way that Microsoft is opening Microsoft Stores just to exclusively sell OEM PC hardware and its own XBox. That doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

I, for the life of me, cannot believe that in this great US country alone--and the entire world, for that matter--that there is no room MS to produce its own tablet. I absolutely do not believe that for one single nanosecond!

What is it about the Surface that an OEM cannot make a better, more competitive version? I do not buy any of the cries from the PC hardware partners. As the keyboard and mice vendors have done, just compete and build a better product. They're already in the advantageous position of having established channels and outlets to sell their existing PC hardware, so there should be no issue with them adding another product into that existing pipeline.

No matter how great the Surface is/can/will be, I also do not believe that all of a sudden the PC industry will turn into an Apple-like industry where everyone only buys the hardware from one and only one vendor. No way.

 

I don't see the big rush for a Surface Pro 2. The current Pro just released this year in Feb. I know everyone wants the Haswell chip, but even that was just released last month or so. I say, get the current Surface Pro and enjoy. We deny yourself from a great device.

 

Check this out...Microsoft News | Qualcomm Windows RT Reference Tablet Includes NFC, 4G Support, 12MP Camera, Quad Core CPU & More

 

I don't think MS is going to go for incremental increases with their Surface lineups. They will have significant changes, which will include Haswell, 3G/ 34G radios, a better display (at least for the RT) and a more stable and capable OS (again for the RT). In fact, I think they will put most of their development energies into the RT platform than in the Pro. Why? Because of Win 8 - the Modern UI. For this reason, they will probably announce their new lines sometime early next year with a reworked Pro coming soon after - similar to what they did this year. If MS is going to yield space to its OEMs, I think they will do so on the Pro line rather than the RT.

 

ok, so why can I buy a MacBook air with half a terabyte of storage and haswell, but spro only w/128 + ivy bridge? lame-o.

 

How long has the MacBook air been out as compared to the Surface Pro?

 

From Wikipedia:

January 29, 2008 (2008-01-29) (original release)
June 10, 2013 (2013-06-10) (current release)