Microsoft Surface tablet: Hits and misses

BANGALORE, INDIA: Microsoft has finally ventured into the tablet market with the introduction of its Surface tablet. It is already being compared with Apple's iPad and analysts are terming it as a true converged device, but with the company not being forthcoming on the price front, it is difficult to whether it will take on the iPad.

There have been mixed reaction to the device, which has 10.6 inch optical display while the iPad has 9.7 inch. Unlike in the iPad, Surface has a full-sized USB port and can connect with printers too.

Al Hilwa, an analyst at IDC, said the combination of PC and tablet features makes surface a "true converged" device.

But without the pricing information, it is said it's impossible to judge for certain what the market impact will be. "Windows does have a huge installed base, and to the extent that IT managers see this device in one of its versions as a replacement for the Windows computer it should see some decent desktop adoption. But whether it sees much consumer interest will depend entirely on price and whether Microsoft will be able to fix the poor UI experience in Windows 8 and RT," says Jan Dawson, Ovum’s Chief Telecoms Analyst said.

Going a step forward, he says in theory, the tablet delivers all the benefits of both the tablet-optimized environment and the classic desktop approach and apps. "But in reality, the versions available to try at the moment are a horrible mishmash of the two worlds that is likely to be confusing for the consumer," he says.

The Surface has been launched in two versions. The smallest Surface tablet weights 1.49 pounds and is 9.3 millimeters thick - that's 0.1 millimeter thinner than the new iPad. The iPad is slightly lighter at 1.44 pounds.

The version running Windows 8 will run chips from Intel Corp and the versions running Windows RT will be powered by chips from Nvidia Corp based on designs from ARM Holdings PLC.

As far as memory is concerned the tablets are available in 32 GB or 64 GB for the Windows RT version and 64 GB or 128 GB for the Windows 8 Pro version.

"Microsoft's move to make its own tablet comes with consequences, which is complicating choices for consumers and complicating relations with third-party manufacturers," said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst with Forrester Research Inc.

On the hardware front, Microsoft is seeing from its OEM partners as it gets ready to launch Windows 8. Either they are not happy with the devices out there, or they are not satisfied with only taking a licence fee from selling Windows-based tablets. "There are no surprises in the software — the Surface tablet uses the same two desktop and RT versions of Windows 8 we've been hearing about. As such, nothing has changed there and it still looks like a huge break with the past on the surface but with a jarring switch back to the old desktop world hidden beneath," says Jan.

Ray Wang, Principal Analyst and CE, Constellation Research commented that "Surface" is the future for Microsoft.  The move to tablets has shifted and PC's will no longer be the mainstream.  The industrial features, viewing angles, and pros and consumer models show a wide range of use cases. The challenge will be what pricing premium Microsoft can command, he added