News Microsoft sees strong sales for Surface successor

Microsoft is predicting strong sales of the Surface 2 with several models on back-order already.
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2013/10/03/surface-2-sales/1

 

Surely the assertion that the Surface 2 is selling faster than the original Surface is based entirely assumption initial production volumes were equal (which isn't stated in either article). Is it possible these anonymous inside sources are actually PR men, spinning the facts to inflate the perceived popularity of the device?

 

I am confident that the Surface 2 and Pro 2 will sale well.
It's not going to be Apple sales, but I expect it to be miles better than the first.

And it seams to do so:
http://blog.surface.com/b/surface/a...rder-your-surface-device-and-accessories.aspx

Why?
-> Every, single, issue that either devices had has been fixed with version 2.
-> Windows RT got much more polished, and actually runs well even on the version Surface 1. So with Tegra 4 now on board, the device is expected to be butter smooth even on intense situation, something that even Android tablet can't really do for many models out there.
-> Full range of accessories., and improved current ones.
-> "Pass the test of time". Gen 1, and fairly new territory for Microsoft, the end product problem free. This is big. Usually you always have some big issue. This shows that Microsoft actually did its best, serious about it, and makes a solid product. Basically, people will have more faith toward it.
-> Proper "global" simultaneous release.

 

I know Microsoft are damned if they do and equally damned if they don't. However, I think the recent changes made not only to Surface have been well thought out and the feedback taken onboard fully.

I've seen a lot of sniggering at them for making the changes people have asked for, even ridicule that they've made massive "U-turns" which other companies like Google and Apple just wouldn't do.

Whether that's right or wrong, I'm probably not the best to answer that. All I'll say is, I own a SurfaceRT and the changes I've read about although I never really felt were urgent and priority, I'm surprised they've done them so quickly and thoroughly.

 

The first Surface (RT) was also on back order, but initial sales weren't particularly good. They just have a low quantity available prior to launch so that all the press reports say it's already sold out. Job done.

That said, the Pro was already a nice product, the battery life improvements make it more attractive. I'd never buy the RT as the whole point of Windows is that it's Windows.

 

Well if the initial production run was only a 100 units then that's really bad, on the other hand if it was 1-2 million that's really good. Sadly with out actual numbers, being sold out means nothing.

 

One of the problems MS has that RT doesn't have any advantages really over the ipad than Office which for most people doesn't matter as a 10.1" screen and a pretty naff keyboard hardly adds up to a productive tablet.

If they'd used a intel bay trail processor then I'd imagine it would sell even better as people could run current windows programs on it, something the ipad can't do (without streaming).

 

You are comparing Apples and Oranges which has been discussed over and over since the launch last year. If you actually used both you would see the advantages.

 

Actually, it's ideal for school and work.
You have the full Office suit including OneNote and Outlook. Both are used in business environment, and Onenote for school (for student that know how to take notes, in any csase, you have Word), all full version.

The 1080p screen allows you to actually do work done. And the keyboard, based on user feedback of the Surface 1, is not bad (type cover). Many assume that it will be like Netbooks, but from what I tried at the store with the type cover, it felt way better then a netbook, because: the keyboard is of way better quality than netbooks. And the device is a bit bigger than most netbooks (at the lest the one I touch), as it's not the device that is 10.6inch, but the screen... the device is more of an ~11inch, so the keyboard is large, and edge to edge, which helps having a decent typing experience. Now, i have to admit, the size comparison is visual, I didn't check actual dimensions and compared side by side, so I could be wrong, and fell into some sort of optical illusion, just something to keep in mind. Not to mention, the screen resolution, where even if you put 150% DPI setting on the Surface, it's still larger work area than netbooks.

Also, Snips is correct.

 

I met up with a colleague at Uni last week for a 1 day conference and he was 100% paper free with a Surface (1) pro. He had spent the time to learn Metro, knew all the tricks in terms of touch interface and I felt like a dinosaur. So I am extremely tempted by the Surface 2 pro. The only thing holding me back is the mark up on the larger SSDs and the difficulty of replacing them myself. Well done MS - Apple is quickly going to lose a lion share of its iFad market (business) plus its phones sales will stay stale with little growth.

 

I own a Surface RT and I disagree. The screen is ideal for side-by-side multitasking, and the right ratio for video. In portrait mode you can see a full A4 page and have room left at the bottom for on-screen text input (handwriting recognition means I simply scribble on that area and it appears as printed text in the document above). The TouchCover works well enough for typing on the go.

This morning I took it into work. I tethered it to my mobile and worked on documents that are stored in SkyDrive. Came back home, and picked up right where I had left off, on my desktop machine.

Throughout, I'm enjoying 100% compatibility with all office files. Since I have jailbroken my Surface, I am also running desktop programs, including 7Zip, Audacity (good for recording sessions) and Paint.Net for image processing.

Of course it has a full browser with Flash, and with Windows RT 8.1 also WebGL, so you can play games inside the browser. It has email, and since RT8.1 full-fat Outlook. What more do you need? Sure, iPad has a lot of shiny apps and games, and they are all very pretty. But the Surface RT? For me it's the best of both worlds: the light-weight, compact, instant-on all-day-battery life convenience of a tablet with the sit-down-to-work practicality of a laptop.

 

I agree. I saw 2 student at university, one with the Surface 1, and the Pro 1, and they their notes looked kick-ass, clean and super organized. I never saw them fight with the interface, or have any issue with either device. This is where it made me sold on the idea even further, making me assured that I really need this device.

 

Or do you, did they ?
Microsoft: Surface 2 and Pro 2 'close to selling out' -- but is it really?

 

I have actually had the chance to use both and I stand by my opinion. While I do agree that the surface pro is a fantastic product, the surface (RT) is hardly an exact opposite to the iPad.

iPad has onenote, and all iWork apps are fully compatible with office documents. One thing iOS surely needs is multitasking support but the new version in ios 7 is better as you can see into each app in the multitasking view which helps.

What I'm trying to say really is that you can get tablets like the asus vivopad that run non RT windows and is the same price, the only thing it lacks is a HD screen but I saw somewhere that there are similair tablets coming with hd screens and bay trail processors for a similair price.

http://www.asus.com/uk/Tablets_Mobile/ASUS_VivoTab_Smart/

 

I'm not convinced. On the Surface RT I have the full experience: Office as I'm used to using it. Keyboard. Trackpad. Mouse if I want it. No worries about compatibility, or how formatting translates. It's Office. The real deal. It's no different from working on my desktop PC.