Microsoft Says Surface is Good for PC Ecosystem

News
By Zak Islam
published

Software giant wants to impact hardware market for the long haul.

Microsoft has said that its Surface tablet is "good" for the struggling PC ecosystem as well as for consumers.

"There are always things we can do like the Surface that's good for the ecosystem, good for customers," said CFO Peter Klein when responding to a question regarding vertical integration. The ecosystem he's referring to is effectively the PC industry, while "vertical integration" is likely attributed to creating both software and hardware.

Microsoft will "bring compelling devices [and] touch experiences at all the right price points. I think if we do that well," it'll help the PC market. "People really need to touch and see and play with it," he added when discussing Surface. Consequently, Microsoft is offering the device at more retailers through the Surface Pro launch (video demo can be seen here).

"There are certainly things we're doing now with Surface which gives us an opportunity to do some things in the tablet market that benefits that whole ecosystem. We've learned a lot from what we've done with Surface and can bring back that learning to the rest of the ecosystem."

As for Microsoft's intention to create hardware in the long term, he stated, "It will always be a balance," as well as stating that "there will always be a strong ecosystem play."

The Surface RT model shipped 720,000 units during the fourth quarter of 2012, while Microsoft recently launched Surface Pro, which delivers a more complete Windows 8 experience.

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Zak Islam
25 Comments Comment from the forums
  • neon neophyte
    although im inclined to agree, a small cheap touchscreen integrated into the pc would be nice i cant help but feel it will be gimmicky at best in execution
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    neon neophytealthough im inclined to agree, a small cheap touchscreen integrated into the pc would be nice i cant help but feel it will be gimmicky at best in execution
    They said that about the mouse
    Reply
  • derekullo
    Apple, Samsung, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Vizio, Asus and Acer disagree.
    Reply
  • dxwarlock
    I think they meant to say "Microsoft has said that its Surface tablet is 'good' for the struggling PC Windows 8 sales, as well as for consumers."

    Do they not realize that consumers will and do decide whats good for them, and what they like to use, and not the other way around? They can toss at me all kind of gimmicky devices with touch screens on it that run windows 8..it doesn't make me want or need a touch screen computer anymore than I did before.

    Telling me "This will help you in the long run", as I see it is them going "pleease buy these, we put a lot of money into them and we cant get rid of them now...really, they are a lot of fun!"

    I mean 90% of what I actually DO on my PC would be harder, more tedious, and cumbersome than what I can do with a mouse and keyboard now.
    About the only use for a touchscreen tablet/laptop thing I could think of is to check my mail when out and about..And I can do that on my phone now. I dont need a BIGGER device to carry with me to do that.
    Reply
  • dxwarlock
    apache_livesThey said that about the mouseBut the mouse for the majority of tech engineers I know that was around with me when they became popular, had the same mentality of "this is a LOT better way to do it than keyboard alone, this is a much needed option why wasn't it thought of before?"

    Touchscreens, not such much that feeling among the majority of engineers that need to use it as an input device.
    Reply
  • twelve25
    .......this commercial brought to you by Microsoft Inc.
    Reply
  • Soda-88
    dxwarlockBut the mouse for the majority of tech engineers I know that was around with me when they became popular, had the same mentality of "this is a LOT better way to do it than keyboard alone, this is a much needed option why wasn't it thought of before?"Touchscreens, not such much that feeling among the majority of engineers that need to use it as an input device.Maybe that's because mouse helps doing productivity oriented tasks whereas touch is purely for media consumption.
    Reply
  • ta152h
    Tablets will replace laptops, there's no question of that. Simply because they are laptops with more functionality, at least in the long run. The mouse is awkward with a laptop, and those touch pads are just lame. Tablets will continue to get more powerful and larger, and laptops will continue to disappear, because the touch screen does have value in mobile applications.

    However, the desktop is still the best device to compute on, and the mouse and keyboard are still the best interface. I'll be damned if I'm going to keep touching my screen while computing on my desk, as it's awkward and makes my screen dirty. It's also not as efficient.

    It kind of reminds me when it was said minicomputers would eliminate mainframes. Laptops would eliminate desktop PCs. Mainframes are around and doing well, minicomputers are extinct. Desktops will be around and doing well 20 years from now, laptops will be extinct.

    Although, the distinction between a laptop and a tablet, especially like Surface, are minimal anyway. Essentially, the new tablets will just be a tweaked laptop anyway.
    Reply
  • kitsunestarwind
    Basically trying to talk up sales, because frankly it's a let down
    Reply
  • Shin-san
    dxwarlockDo they not realize that consumers will and do decide whats good for them, and what they like to use, and not the other way around?Except that it worked well for Steve Jobs
    Reply