Longevity of the Surface product line

[Brad]

More so trying to get people's thoughts on this...

Recently there have been more articles published about whether or not the devices division of Microsoft will continue down the path with the Surface product line. This seems to be based on the sell-through of Surface/Surface Pro as well as how Microsoft has somewhat admitted to the fact that their OEM partners are irritated that Microsoft is competing against them with the Surface.

Professionally I'm a SharePoint/.Net Developer. Personally I love Apple products. I have a house full of iPhones and iPads. But I gave up my Macbook Pro for an original Surface and I recently picked up a Surface Pro 2 8gb/256gb and I don't miss my Mac at all especially after getting the dock.

My only concern comes in the form of my first point; Am I investing in a hardware platform that may have a limited lifespan? Or was I better off sticking with a Mac and virtualization? If I need a new Type Cover in a year and a half will I struggle to find one? Or will this follow the path of Xbox and have a "rocky" beginning that develops in to a product with deep consumer roots? I know these are specifics that no one has an answer to but I was curious what people think.

 

[GreyFox7]

I think Surface is probably the Rocky XBOXer type. it fights and keeps getting up, getting better, stronger, and more capable. I don't know if MS has ever had an instant success or an easy road to anything. They have had many hard earned successes even it they still have the Rodney Dangerfield aura.

Windows Desktop, Windows Server, Office but individually (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote), Exchange Server, SQL Server, IIS, Xbox, Office 365, to a lesser degree: SharePoint, Lync. no overnight sensations in the litter.

 

[lparsons21]

It is certainly something to give consideration to. The financials around the Surface line are not good at this point. So how long will MS be willing to lose money is a valid question. Of course, if they can somehow get some sales traction and get to at least a break-even point, it won't be an issue.

As it is right now, there is a certain amount of risk.

 

[ivan99]

So far MS claims sales of $409MM in USA alone in SP3, assuming $1000/unit they must've sold at least 400,000 units! Later this month sales of SP3 will commence for the rest of the world! Guys all these comments are totally premature in my opinion! Let's give MS a shot and judge maybe in Dec after holiday sales! Out there, there are almost 1/2 million units in consumers hands and only very few complaints about heating/wifi etc...I think they are doing their best to fix these rogue units issues! Yes they can tighten QA but better is to build in the Quality before the name goes on! Even Toyota hadQA issues and they'rethe pioneer in Process Quality!! my 2c worth!

 

[leeshor]

You also may have noticed, if you looked at the news page, that the SP3 has really been in a limited release. That is changing on the 28th.

 

[dleuen]

I think the confusion of Surface (Surface vs. Surface Pro 1/2/3) permeates all these articles. From what I can gather out of many of these poorly written articles, Surface Pros are selling quite well. But the articles always lump Surface, Surface 2, and all the Surface Pros together. To me it is entirely conceivable that MS would stop making Surface tablets and continue to produce Surface Pro, if indeed that product is making money. It is too bad MS named the two device types with the same name.

 

[malberttoo]

I think the confusion of Surface (Surface vs. Surface Pro 1/2/3) permeates all these articles. From what I can gather out of many of these poorly written articles, Surface Pros are selling quite well. But the articles always lump Surface, Surface 2, and all the Surface Pros together. To me it is entirely conceivable that MS would stop making Surface tablets and continue to produce Surface Pro, if indeed that product is making money. It is too bad MS named the two device types with the same name.

Agreed. How in the world anyone on the Microsoft team thought it would be a great idea to just call them ALL "Surface", just makes me shake my head.

 

[grumpy]

Personally, I think that MS made a mistake with releasing the non-pro surface. There are enough ARM based tablets with limited OSes. Plus, being so late to market, the Windows app store is not able to compete with the Apple and Android alternatives. The non-pro Surface just dilutes the brand and adds confusion. They would be wise to drop the non-pro Surface and concentrate their efforts on improving the Surface Pro line.

The thing to keep in mind is that the Surface is as much (or more) about branding than actually selling hardware. They want Windows to be the future of mobile computing and the Surface line is the reference hardware to showcase that functionality. So, I don't see the Surface going away anytime soon, and MS is nothing if not stubborn.

 

[GreyFox7]

Since the Tegra K1 has excellent performance a Surface 3 with this would rock! especially if they slim it down and give it the rumored surface pen. You can do more with a Surface than you can with an iPad and I've quit using mine.

 

[malberttoo]

Personally, I think that MS made a mistake with releasing the non-pro surface.

So do I. I think it was a complete disaster that did nothing but create huge amounts of confusion for the consumer.

 

[Nuspieds]

So do I. I think it was a complete disaster that did nothing but create huge amounts of confusion for the consumer.

They obviously believe that there's a market for Modern UI apps only.

I'm still too Windows Desktop-dependent to opt for the Surface, but just by reading posts here, you can tell that those who don't need or want Desktop for their use cases and chose the Surface over the Pro really love their devices like those of us who love our Pros.

 

[malberttoo]

They obviously believe that there's a market for Modern UI apps only.

I'm still too Windows Desktop-dependent to opt for the Surface, but just by reading posts here, you can tell that those who don't need or want Desktop for their use cases and chose the Surface over the Pro really love their devices like those of us who love our Pros.

Oh I definitely think there is a market for Modern. I was referring to Surface Pro, Surface, Surface 2... no way at all for the uninitiated to distinguish between which is which. The RT devices should have been their own brand, called something completely different.