Microsoft Dives Deep to Surface a Hit
Nobody asked me about my Surface. I tried flashing it all over the place. But despite my best efforts, no one seemed curious. — At Victrola Coffee Roasters in Seattle, I sat in the front window, with a hot pink Touch Cover attached, intentionally conspicuous.
Context & Ripple Effects
Surface arrives after June coverage framed it both as a challenge to the PC industry and a test of Microsoft’s move into hardware. Microsoft is also preparing coordinated PC, tablet and phone releases around Windows 8, whose interface is designed for both desktop and tablet use.
The firsthand reaction here matters because the Surface’s conspicuous design is not automatically producing consumer curiosity. For Microsoft, hardware visibility has to translate into interest before the device can serve as a public showcase for its broader Windows transition.
First-order effects
- Microsoft faces a discovery problem for Surface: informal public exposure is not generating the consumer attention the device’s design appears intended to invite.
- Surface’s ability to demonstrate the tablet-facing side of Windows 8 is constrained when potential buyers do not engage with the product in the first place.
Second-order effects
- Microsoft’s coordinated 2012 PC, tablet and phone rollout has less room to rely on Surface as an attention-grabbing flagship, putting greater weight on its other launch and marketing channels.
- PC makers confronting the challenge posed by Surface must compete not only on hardware capability but on making touch-oriented Windows devices legible and appealing to buyers.
Third-order effects
- If integrated Windows hardware requires Microsoft to create demand as well as supply the device, the company’s platform strategy shifts toward owning the customer-facing product experience rather than relying solely on PC partners.
The trend: Surface is an early test of Microsoft’s shift from supplying PC software to pairing Windows with a tightly controlled hardware experience.