“There are no surprises in the software–the Surface tablet uses the same two desktop and RT versions of Windows 8 that we have 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,” commented Jan Dawson, Ovum’s Chief Telecoms Analyst.
“In theory, it 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 added.
On the hardware front, what does it say about the tablets Microsoft is seeing from its OEM partners as it gets ready to launch Windows 8, that they felt they needed to launch their own tablet? Either they are not happy with the devices out there, or they are not satisfied with only taking a license fee from selling Windows based tablets. Either way, it is a huge vote of no confidence in its OEM partners, who should rightly feel slighted. It is rarely a good idea for an OS owner to start competing with its OEM partners, and this does not feel like an exception.
The device itself looks compelling, but as usual we are left without pricing information, making it 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 is able to fix the poor UI experience in Windows 8 and RT.
