Surface Pro: an in-depth look at Microsoft's super tablet
Microsoft might not be at CES this year, but that hasn't stopped the company's CEO jumping on stage to pass the annual keynote responsibility over to Qualcomm. While its OEMs are out in force with crazy Windows 8 designs and unreleased hardware …
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft's June 2012 Surface debut was framed as a challenge to a PC industry that had ceded momentum in tablets, with the launch event emphasizing the company’s return to first-party hardware. That earlier Surface critique provides the backdrop for a closer assessment of the Windows 8 device.
The stakes extend beyond a single machine: Microsoft had said it was rethinking Windows, while December data cited in the corpus showed non-iPad tablet web traffic remained small relative to the iPad’s share. CES also put a range of Windows 8 designs from Microsoft’s OEMs on display.
First-order effects
- Microsoft gets a flagship tablet through which to test whether its Windows rethink can compete for usage in a market where iPad traffic still dominates.
- Windows 8 OEMs exhibiting at CES face a Microsoft-branded benchmark for how the new operating system is presented in tablet hardware.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft’s hardware role raises the competitive bar for OEM Windows 8 designs, shifting differentiation toward industrial design and the quality of the Windows tablet experience.
- A credible Surface Pro gives Microsoft a more direct way to connect Windows adoption with its wider software and services strategy, including Bing’s iPad-facing social search efforts.
Third-order effects
- If first-party Windows hardware becomes a durable part of Microsoft’s strategy, the PC market shifts toward platform owners using their own devices to set product direction rather than relying solely on licensees.
- Tablet competition is increasingly a contest between integrated hardware-software experiences, not merely a race to add more device form factors.
The trend: Surface Pro is one data point in Microsoft’s effort to pair Windows with first-party hardware as tablet usage remains concentrated around Apple’s ecosystem.