Surface 2.0 now shipping
I spent a lot of time with Surface 2.0 last week and from this morning onwards, other can begin to have the same pleasure - the SUR 40 is now shipping and available through Samsung channel and reseller partners. Samsung announced the news this morning …
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft's Surface line has until now meant bespoke, high-cost multi-touch units sold into limited installations; the SUR40 changes the distribution model, putting Surface 2.0 hardware into Samsung's ordinary channel and reseller network rather than a direct-sales pipeline. A positive hands-on review circulated ahead of general availability, giving the launch a soft landing.
For Samsung, this lands amid a busy stretch: the company is fresh off a confirmed $539 million settlement with other LCD makers over panel price-fixing claims agreed in December 2011, and it is simultaneously deepening its Android commitment through the Galaxy Nexus built with Google. Shipping Microsoft's flagship touch platform makes Samsung a hardware partner to two rival software ecosystems at once.
First-order effects
- Samsung's channel and reseller partners immediately gain a new commercial product to sell, moving Surface 2.0 from demo units into purchasable inventory for retail, hospitality and corporate buyers.
- Microsoft gets its Surface 2.0 platform to market without carrying the sales burden itself, outsourcing reach to Samsung's established enterprise distribution.
Second-order effects
- Rivals selling touch-enabled commercial displays now face a standardized, channel-available alternative and must respond on price or capability rather than relying on custom-install lock-in.
- Samsung's own LCD panel operations sit upstream of the product, so its display cost position — scrutinized after the December 2011 price-fixing settlement — directly shapes the SUR40's margins.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, commercial multi-touch shifts from one-off engineered installations toward OEM-built standard hardware sold through ordinary IT channels, commoditizing what was previously a specialist category.
- Samsung's simultaneous role building Windows-based Surface hardware and Google's Galaxy Nexus points toward OEMs hedging across competing mobile and embedded ecosystems rather than committing to one.
The trend: Commercial multi-touch computing is moving from custom-built installations to standardized OEM hardware distributed through mainstream channels, with Samsung straddling both Microsoft's and Google's ecosystems.