Smaller Surface Tablets May Arrive in June

News
By Kevin Parrish
published

Although we already assumed that Microsoft would reveal next-generation Surface devices at BUILD 2013 in June, upstream supply chain sources are now backing up that assumption, claiming that they have already shipped components for 1 to 1.5 million Intel-based units since the end of 2012. They also confirm that this next wave will include form factors ranging from 7-inches to 9-inches in size.

Sources told DigiTimes that Microsoft has retained most of its component suppliers for the second-generation wave. Pegatron Technology will continue to manufacture the Surface devices while Ju Teng will provide the chassis, replacing China-based Chungnam Precision Casing who provided the chassis for the first-generation units.

Also on board is Samsung Electronics and LG Displays who are providing the displays, Corning for the protective glass, and TPK and Youngfast for the touch panels. LG Chem is providing the batteries, Intel and Nvidia are providing the SoCs, and Chicony Electronics and Ko Ja (Cayman) are supplying the keyboards.

Naturally the suppliers have declined to comment about Surface shipments, and Microsoft takes the "we don't comment on rumors and speculation" stance. Regardless, sources claim the Redmond company will be more cautious with the new Surface units given that the first generation fell short of its expectations of selling 3 to 4 million units. The first Surface RT tablet reportedly only sold 1 million units whereas the Surface Pro tablet, which launched earlier this year, has only sold around 500,000 units.

Outside the North American market, Microsoft continues to expand its tablet reach. The Surface RT tablet has already landed in Malaysia, and is expected to arrive in Mexico by the end of May, and in Korea and Thailand in June. Meanwhile, the Surface Pro tablet will arrive in Australia and Austria in May, and in Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore and Thailand in June.

Microsoft's BUILD Developer Conference will take place on June 26 – 28, just weeks after the company will fully reveal its Windows 8-powered Xbox Infinity console. The company is expected to launch a number of new ARM-based and x86-based Surface tablets during the conference along with solutions provided by ODM partners. The company is also slated to reveal more about its "Blue" rollout which includes Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows Server 2012.

Kevin Parrish
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • weierstrass
    Because a smaller version of a failed product is a win?
    Reply
  • g00fysmiley
    price it right for the market and it would have done well. I was ready to pick one up if it was in the $200-$300 range which given the hardware should have been the price point, then the prices were revealed, I laughed and figured it would flop... lo and behold
    Reply
  • CrArC
    10753038 said:
    price it right for the market and it would have done well. I was ready to pick one up if it was in the $200-$300 range which given the hardware should have been the price point, then the prices were revealed, I laughed and figured it would flop... lo and behold

    Yep. I was all ready for Surface and super excited. Then the price was revealed... the useless RT version was extortionate and the one I really wanted (Pro) was priced so unrealistically that my wallet shrank four sizes and tried to hide in my underwear.

    So never mind that, then. I anticipate these will be no different.
    Reply
  • damianrobertjones
    People still buy the expensive models of the iPad and the premium Android tabs so in all honesty the prices of the RT and Pro weren't really insane.
    Reply
  • vmem
    Hmm, SoCs from Nvidia and Intel... if it's Tegra3 still, it may be DoA unless it's cheap enough. and Atom based 7" or 8" tablet could be interesting tho
    Reply
  • koss64
    If they made a HP slate 7 with even Windows RT I would pick that up for my fiance(with a slightly more expensive version that runs windows pro and stylus support for me) in a heartbeat.
    Reply
  • koss64
    If they made a HP slate 7 with even Windows RT I would pick that up for my fiance(with a slightly more expensive version that runs windows pro and stylus support for me) in a heartbeat.
    Reply
  • Asok Smith
    If the new 7.5" Surface, reputed to sell for $400.00, runs Windows RT, it's obviously DOA, since total worldwide sales of ALL RT devices in 1Q2013 was only 200,000 from ALL vendors.
    If the 7.5" Surface runs Windows 8, then it will be underpowered for that price, and most likely the true cost for a functioning unit will be $500.00 with necessary "upgrades". It's very unlikely there will be a compelling reason for very many people to want to buy such a device at this price point.
    Even worse, massive advertising won't help Microsoft sell either of these things, because their previous ridiculous Surface ads and the subsequent failure of the Surfaces being advertised are still fresh in the minds of anyone who was paying attention.
    The most interesting part of this will be whether Microsoft DOES in fact offer an RT version, because if they DON'T, then that signals they've given up on RT.
    Reply
  • Asok Smith
    weierstrass: "Because a smaller version of a failed product is a win? "
    Exactly. New Coke in regular sized cans was a disaster, right? So let's try smaller cans! Smaller cans should make people love New Coke! Right?
    Reply
  • somebodyspecial
    Put a T3+ 1.7ghz in RT or T4i/T4 and they will start to sell. Any of these would alleviate the SLOW reviews. I still can't understand why they shafted users out of 400mhz on T3 regular with worse battery than T3+@1.7 with a faster gpu. NV sells T3 for $20-25. Would it have been so bad to include the better chip? $2-3 more tops right? If it's that big of a deal offer both with the 30% faster one going for $3 more...LOL. The slow one would NOT sell one unit more. No user would turn down a measly $3 charge for so much more perf. MS is dumb.
    Reply