Tablets

Someoneelse_sl said:

Who in there right mind purchased RT anyways. Let them whine. Complete failure of an OS.

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Microsoft missed an opportunity to grab a large portion of the market and push the new OS. If they would have sold Surface RT a loss at like $199 I think they would have had great success and built up their ecosystem.

Zodiac_sl said:

Microsoft missed an opportunity to grab a large portion of the market and push the new OS. If they would have sold Surface RT a loss at like $199 I think they would have had great success and built up their ecosystem.

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Or bombed horribly and lost billions. Selling at a loss is always a risky proposition.

Grimmlokk_sl said:

Or bombed horribly and lost billions. Selling at a loss is always a risky proposition.

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Beats not selling at all. I wonder if there's any truth to the rumor that they only moved 1MM RT units so far.

http://bgr.com/2013/01/31/microsoft-...750000-312936/

Looks like not even.

Kedwyn_sl said:

http://bgr.com/2013/01/31/microsoft-...750000-312936/

Looks like not even.

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Balmer is one ugly motherfucker.

Selling at a massive loss like $199 would have created its own set of problems, mainly devaluing the brand and leaving Microsoft with very little room to maneuver in terms of scope with future Surfaces. They would have majorly pissed off every OEM that they work with, too.

750,000 is an absolute disaster, though. IIRC, Microsoft said they were spending $500 million advertising the Surface and they were hoping to shift 4 million units - they didn't get remotely close to hitting that target.

Microsoft is setting itself up, now, to remain a distant third in the tablet market, just like it has done in the smartphone market. Ballmer needs to be fired and replaced with someone competent.

Cor_sl said:

Selling at a massive loss like $199 would have created its own set of problems, mainly devaluing the brand and leaving Microsoft with very little room to maneuver in terms of scope with future Surfaces. They would have majorly pissed off every OEM that they work with, too.

750,000 is an absolute disaster, though. IIRC, Microsoft said they were spending $500 million advertising the Surface and they were hoping to shift 4 million units - they didn't get remotely close to hitting that target.

Microsoft is setting itself up, now, to remain a distant third in the tablet market, just like it has done in the smartphone market. Ballmer needs to be fired and replaced with someone competent.

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MS sold the first two Xboxes at loses just to get a foothold in the market. Beyond that, there aren't legions of OEMs pinching out RT devices, so who are they going to piss off by selling their own at losses?

Silence_sl said:

MS sold the first two Xboxes at loses just to get a foothold in the market. Beyond that, there aren't legions of OEMs pinching out RT devices, so who are they going to piss off by selling their own at losses?

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You think these tablets would still be selling with mostly the same hardware 6-7 years from now when it's cheaper to make? People will barely buy a one generation old tablet, much less years old version.

Silence_sl said:

MS sold the first two Xboxes at loses just to get a foothold in the market. Beyond that, there aren't legions of OEMs pinching out RT devices, so who are they going to piss off by selling their own at losses?

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Microsoft needs all the help it can get. They're in a bad, bad place right now. Consumers don't care about Windows RT, Windows Phone 8 is struggling in the marketplace, and Windows 8 isn't performing too well, either.

The same OEMs that made Windows RT tablets (Asus, Acer, Dell, Samsung etc.) are the same guys that are going to be building Windows 8 Pro tablets - they can't risk pissing them off too much. They need their support if they want to stay relevant.

The tablet market and the console market are completely different, too, so that's a pointless comparison. With the Xbox, it started off being sold at a loss but, over time, due to maturations in the manufacturing process, they were able to reduce the cost to manufacture it so that it could be sold at a profit. Microsoft also made a killing on Xbox software and Xbox live; they wouldn't be doing the same with Windows RT.

I don't think the Xbox is a massive success, either. Considering how much money Microsoft has put into the project, the return hasn't been especially great. They spent so much time and money with the goal of 'owning the living room' with the Xbox that they totally missed out on the growing smartphone/tablet market that Google and Apple are taking full advantage of. I don't think dedicated games consoles will be around for much longer, either. This upcoming generation might end up being the last.

IDC says Android is the new king of tablet market share
This has apple at 43.6% of the market. Android at over 50% but only as a combined share across all devices running Android and Microsoft at 1.7%, having shipped 900k units in the 4th quarter.

$199 is obviously too low given the price of every other 10" tablet, however they did need to release at a lower price than the iPad, particularly as they didn't include a keyboard in the box. A $399 price should have been the target.

(Although, I've always kind of wondered how 7" devices can be significantly cheaper than 10" devices, I wouldn't have thought that slightly more screen, case and battery would double the cost.)

Got drunk last night and ordered a Nexus 10

I ordered a Lenovo Thinkpad X230t (convertible tablet / laptop with a Wacom digitizer). I want to consolidate my devices that I use around the house and for work, since it was a bit irritating to have a laptop and desktop for looking at data, a tablet for quick browsing and referencing, a lab notebook for work, and spiral notebooks for miscellaneous notes. The Note 10.1 or the Surface Pro were my other two options, but I ended up going for the x230t because it was on sale (got the i5 Ivy Bridge version for $600) and I think the increased power, expansion slots for an SSD or more RAM, and the extended battery will give it an advantage. The cons are that it weighs almost 4 pounds compared to 2 pounds for the Surface Pro, and it's thicker.

I can post a quick review when I get it if anyone is interested. I know I'm in a niche market since I need a digitizer as well as full Office productivity and long battery life. Maybe in a couple years that package will be available in thin, light model. I'm leery of Surface Pro's battery life and keyboard for long work days with lots of Excel work. It'll be handy to have the option to plug in full size USB accessories as well.

I read that the nexus 10 is getting a refresh... should I wait to get one till then or is it worth it to pick up now?

Thanks.

There are rumors of one and it seems like if it were to happen it won't be for the next 6 months or so

Big Phoenix_sl said:

Consoles are a different beast altogether, and they are on their deathbed anyways.

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lol.

Cor_sl said:

The tablet market and the console market are completely different, too, so that's a pointless comparison. With the Xbox, it started off being sold at a loss but, over time, due to maturations in the manufacturing process, they were able to reduce the cost to manufacture it so that it could be sold at a profit. Microsoft also made a killing on Xbox software and Xbox live; they wouldn't be doing the same with Windows RT.

I don't think dedicated games consoles will be around for much longer, either. This upcoming generation might end up being the last.

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It's not at all a pointless comparison. Selling at a loss is better than not selling at all, because for tabs, the # of users is a concern for app devs. More users = more devs. More devs = more apps. More apps = more hardware sales. MS blitzed the market with consoles sellingeach at a loss to get afootholdin the market. That's the point, not about hardware maturation or anything else.