Next gen Surface in testing !!!

[Spaniard]

Ballmer states that Windows is not selling well enough, next gen Surface in testing - Neowin

On Microsoft’s campus today, Ballmer held a ‘rally the troops’ type event where they typically go over the quarterly earnings report and attempt to boost/keep the good vibes flowing within the company.

During his internal address, Ballmer stated that Windows is not selling well enough, which shouldn’t come as a major surprise, as the company has blamed just about everything under the sun for the slower adoption of Windows 8.

Other tidbits from the address are that Microsoft is hoping to carry the third quarter momentum into Q4 and that, like many organizations, they will be investing heavily into professional services in the next fiscal quarter. Other obvious talking points included the fact that Windows 8.1 was heavily shaped by user telemetry and was why Microsoft reintroduced the Start button back into Windows 8.

Ever wonder what Microsoft’s top subsidiary was for the past fiscal year? Wonder no more, as for the first time in eight years, the US subsidiary was the top performing entity for Microsoft.

As for the next Surface? The device is currently in testing and will feature ‘typical improvements’ which is likely a spec bump. Internal response to the next gen Surface has been positive.

Microsoft also reiterated that getting Instagram is more important than landing 900,000 apps; it’s clear they know that quality is better than quantity. Considering that the highest level of the food chain wants the app on Windows Phone, you do have to wonder why Facebook/Instagram is holding back.

That’s all of the interesting tidbits that were discussed at the event. It’s clear that Microsoft knows it has a lot of work to do to meet next quarter's expectations.

 

[kristalsoldier]

"Internal response to the next gen Surface has been positive."

Seriously, MS!!!! Internal response is NOT what is going to generate sales and widespread acceptance. Internal response while important also runs the risk of being an expression of "group think" which, after a US$900 million write-off, is a rather risky affair to crow about!!!!

 

[mitchellvii]

Surface not Surface Pro. There will be no SP II.

P.S., Why is MS ALWAYS late to the party? Icebergs move faster. Everyone else is either putting out their Haswell devices or announcing them for the holidays. MS is still doing "internal testing". Also, he makes the next gen of Surface sound about as exciting as dirt.

 

[Nuspieds]

As for the next Surface? The device is currently in testing and will feature ‘typical improvements’ which is likely a spec bump. Internal response to the next gen Surface has been positive.

That better be an understatement!

I'm expecting fundamental and significant improvements. Merely adopting Haswell or improved screen resolution/display won't cut it for me. I'm also expecting it to be thinner, with leading/up-to-date standards (DisplayPort, Wireless, Bluetooth, ...), new Type Cover, and definitely an end to the USB 3 hub cable tangle! MS definitely knows that a lot of SP users have replaced our laptops with the SP, so they must address that consumer segment as well. It's time for them to introduce some sort of real docking functionality.

 

[kristalsoldier]

That better be an understatement!

I'm expecting fundamental and significant improvements. Merely adopting Haswell or improved screen resolution/display won't cut it for me. I'm also expecting it to be thinner, with leading/up-to-date standards (DisplayPort, Wireless, Bluetooth, ...), new Type Cover, and definitely an end to the USB 3 hub cable tangle! MS definitely knows that a lot of SP users have replaced our laptops with the SP, so they must address that consumer segment as well. It's time for them to introduce some sort of real docking functionality.

Actually, Mitch has a point. If MS does make improvements to the Surface Pro, then what they will end up doing is creating a very thin and light laptop (if the TYPE cover is included, that is, which it would be). Why would MS want to do that? If that was indeed their goal, then why not design an ultrabook (of the ultra-ultra thin and svelte variety). If you stop to think about it, for MS the market that the Surface Pro addresses is pretty much handled by its OEMs. But this is not the case with a pure tablet, which in the form of the Surface RT is a tablet+ experience (when the covers are factored in). This segment is where MS is at its weakest and where it goes heads-up against Apple and Google (and maybe Ubuntu/ Canonical and Firefox in the medium term). It also allows MS to push their Modern eco-system.

So, I think there is some merit to the argument that the revisions taking place are on the Surface RT front. Now, the question is what improvements can be made to the Surface RT - aside from the most obvious processor-related one?

 

[Nuspieds]

If you stop to think about it, for MS the market that the Surface Pro addresses is pretty much handled by its OEMs.

Well, I certainly can't speak to MS' market intentions but all I can tell you is that the need the SP addresses for me is that I want a Tablet PC, not a PC Tablet. That's the reason I purchased the SP.

I ditched the desktop years ago and starting this year, I no longer wanted a laptop or ultrabook. What I wanted was a Tablet PC, period, and that's what I found in the SP. I haven't seen any OEMs address this requirement of mine; I'd certainly love to see more compete with the SP, but I haven't seen it at all.

 

[mitchellvii]

Think about the economics of this. Sales for the entire Surface line have been an unmitigated disaster with one caviat. They did encourage MS's hardware partners to put out some damned sweet kit. Ok, to make the SP II competitive MS will have to add A LOT of expensive new technology but somehow keep the price low to stay in the "tablet + keyboard" market as opposed to full hybrid with a real backlit keyboard.

The economics just aren't there. SP II will never happen. The Surface's future lies in the small cheap (under $500) segment. MS won't dump Surface completely as they have invested a lot at this point and giving up totally would be very embarrassing.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Well, I hope MS does not kill the 10" Surface line - that would be really stupid. I hope they supplement the 10" line with smaller tabs. One thing that I really wish MS does (but which I am quite sure MS will never do given their Modern UI style) is to develop a 4:3 aspect ratio tablet, which would work wonders for reading. But then again, who in this day and age reads??!?!!!!

 

[Rvacha]

Someday we'll have a personal computing device (PCD) you slip in your pocket - a merger of smartphone, tablet (increasingly a personal consumption device) and a desktop PC (increasingly a productivity device - I include laptops and ultrabooks in this category because they too are increasingly becoming productivity as opposed to consumption devices). Walk in the office and the PCD will wirelessly connect to the corporate network, keyboard, monitor, etc. Walk into the home and it will wirelessly connect to the entertainment system. Need a larger display? Unroll a plastic sheet. But we are there yet. Right now the state of the art merges two of the three categories in phablet form (Smartphone + consumption) or two of the three in tablet form (consumption + productivity). From my viewpoint of this forum of others it is quite clear to me that some people don't need (or don't think they need) all three. Thus they don't "get" why a certain device is needed. BUT there are millions and millions of us that do need all three including myself and we want something that best executes the merger right now using currently available technology. For me the best combination is merger of consumption + productivity in one device and a smartphone as a second device. I don't think I am alone. By FAR the best currently available merger of consumption and productivity is the SP. I frankly do not understand the people that are declaring SP dead, who think there will never be an SP II, etc. Nor do I believe that the SP II needs to be improved leaps and bounds technology-wise to survive when it is starting from the position of best incarnation. All it needs to be is the best hardware incarnation available at any moment in time during the march towards the PCD. The OS side will also eventually see all three versions fully merge. WP8's kernel, security model, and networking stack are almost identical to Win8. Rumor has WP9 being exactly the same as Win8/9 in these respects. Personally I think short term we'll see MS kill RT in favor of using WP9 for phones, consumption tablets, and consumption phablets. A little longer term ("Win10") we'll see a single universal OS that does it all.

 

[lkailburn]

ugh I will be so sad if there is no SP2. I currently use mine for work and LOVE it..but would love it even more with a handful of changes which is what I had hoped would be SP2.

 

[curney]

there will be a sp2. don't worry. most of the r and d has been done. add a haswell chip and more memory and its most of the way there. bump up the camera, make it a little thinner, lighter and give the pen a silo and its off to production. They love having the sp shown of in the stores and they are great machines. no brainer

 

[apoc_reg]

To be fair this was an internal address

I love my surface pro and will be happy to get pro 2, I just htink their marketing sucks. So many people see my surface pro and are impressed... they have never heard of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Things id like other than an always welcome speed boot is a second usb port, lighter and thinner.