Microsoft: Surface a failure? No, it made us STRONGER Microsoft's Surface fondleslabs haven't been selling as well as it or its retail partners would have liked, but top execs say that building hardware in-house is an essential part of Redmond's strategy, and one that has already paid off. Speaking at a meeting with financial analysts on Thursday, Microsoft chief operating …
"By building its own hardware, Turner said, Microsoft has gained a far better insight into what he described as the "seams" between hardware and software, which have often been a weakness for PC makers when compared to more tightly integrated vendors, such as Apple.e"
...........but what he is saying (plus Ballmer's pretty objective assessment of where MS are in mobile) may indicate they have learnt something. Hmm? Although I realise of course that is the last thing that some here want to hear. Icon? Chosen deliberately, I do assure you.
It doesn't matter what's in the Surface Tablets if they screw up the price point. That's the primary reason why they didn't sell. No one is willing to over pay for a Microsoft Surface Tablets. By pricing them above Apple iPads, this guaranteed no one would buy them. Even without a bluetooth keyboard, the iPad mini sells. Surface needs to be priced lower than Apple in order to even attract interest, much less sell in any quantities. Why do you think Microsoft finally started ad campaigns comparing the price of Acer Windows 8 Tablets to iPad minis? They need to lower the price of the Surface from the start, or they will not sell.
There was no primary reason they didn't sell. Surface is a textbook example of design by committee where everyone on the committee has different and opposing views. They tried to create a new product category, a new operating system and to develop an ecosystem around it all. The result is a steamy pile of shit that can't do anything well. You can see this in their App system where there's no core driver (iTunes for example and the delivery system for apps are built around music, and expanded from there) with MS it's just blarrrrgh everywhere. They attempted to create a new planet and populate it without first building houses or even determining if those houses would be suitable for occupation.
The whole thing was fucking stupid. Price isn't a good thing to manage too and is easily overcome if the product delivers what customers want. A retail price of $100 is too much for these things. The two Surfaces we got for spec are now the official bathroom readers here. I got tired of people taking good, and expensive, tablets into the shitter at the office.
I think the problem MS seem to have in the mobile space is the same issue my mildly creepy uncle has. MS seem unable to understand the market's perception and expectation of them and continue trying to be "down with the kids" (the ads for Kin are a great example). I'm sorry, but no one under 30 wants an MS device unless it's Xbox branded. Now, if they targeted business users that might be a different story. The world sees MS as boring, but that can also be written "a known quantity" and "trusted". MS should stop worrying about the kids, get over their midlife crisis, and embrace their status as an established member of the business community.
That happens in most gigantic organizations, private sector and government. The decision makers are so incredibly removed from their customers that by the time information gets to them it has been twisted, spindled, folded and urine soaked by all the people in between that it is useless.
Business leader meetings are like those of Congresspeople or Parliament. They (honestly I think) believe that what they're discussing is the view of the masses. In reality their idea of 'the masses' are people who are their social equals or betters. The closest decision makers of any large body come to the masses is when someone throws a bag of shit at them in protest or breaks into their house. They're pretty disconnected from their bases.
...so they can flood the market with Win8 based fondle-bricks. But no-one's told them they're not the only brand out there.
Plus, they've got a public image problem, which is somewhere around - 'out of touch bearded nerd that likes to confuse ordinary people.' Microsoft's scary and cryptic error messages are a great topic for some stand-up comics.
"There are 2 error(s)" was always a pet hate for me, I'm mean, how lazy is that?!? :) But that's OT.
All companies go through ups and downs. I give Microsoft credit for trying with Windows 8 and the Surface. Apple back in 1990s tried with the Newton Message Pad and that failed too. Microsoft was on a run in the 1990s with Office and Windows 95, 98, and 2000. Now the situation is somewhat reversed with Apple dominating tablets and their computers being used by many more people. Microsoft has had a lot of flops lately in my opinion such as the TIFKAM user interface and also the "fluent user interface" aka tabbed interface of Office. Microsoft still sets the standards for which most desktop software is measured and still has enough of a cash cow to make mistakes like the Surface. The idea of a computer, phone, and tablet all working the same isn't a bad one but Microsoft could have implemented it better and instead of shoving it down people's throats could have had a more gradual implementation or offered users a choice.
To me, Microsoft's failure is very simple to explain - they tried to enter a market that has a premium product with a mass device at premium prices.
Microsoft are big enough to run a division at a loss; they even did this once already with their Xbox division. So why did they not do this with their tablets?
The Surface RT is massively popular in one segment now - the education market, as they reduced the price so much that you can get a class set of their tablets for the same price as half a dozen iPads!
Imagine how well they'd be doing if their RT had been sold at £199 or less. They'd get a decent marketshare, people would be creating apps for them, and they'd be able to increase prices in the future when people are willing to pay for them.
The sad thing is that Microsoft's hardware is usually of a very high standard. Think of the mice and keyboards that just worked and still work, and the game consoles. Had they not locked in the RT tablets with this secure boot nonsense, they'd probably have sold a lot more of them, even if most people removed Windows and installed Android or Linux instead.
Well, they say they learned about hardware and software integration, and they learned they have some things to improve with that... Fine.
From the article, it would seem that they haven't learned that it's Windows8 itself. They hardware was fantastic... Windows... Not so much.
Will they learn to respect developers?
Have they learned that they can't build an app store by themselves?
Doubtful.
"they would tell you the progress we've made in [Windows] 8.1 – because we have a first-party product at Microsoft – is far superior to anything we've ever delivered"
No. They wouldn't. They would tell you that the market wants Windows 7 with a touch screen overlay. I've got Windows 8, I've even tried convincing myself to like it, but after nearly a year of using it I have to say it's crap. It's Windows trying to be Android and ending up as neither with a closed eco system with bugger all worthwhile apps and could very well be the last, broad-reach OS they ever produce.
Not to mention they have vendors putting Windows 8 on non-touchscreen devices! You have to SERIOUSLY have a screw loose to buy one of these products (I seem to be doing a lot of "downgrades" to Windows 7 for people at the moment who have bought new laptops that have come with Win 8 and can't wait to get it off). It's like buying a non-touch screen phone and putting Android on it and then wondering why it's difficult to use. Windows 8 is a non-starter, and instead of listening to the people who actually buy and use it they are listening to their own marketing bullshit and developing business strategy on the back of that. Doomed to failure, it will just take a long time due to thier massive bank balance and patent trolling, which is about the only profitable part of the business they have left for the future.
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