SP2 still hardly available in stores

[reach]

Hi there!
Not sure how it's in US, but here in Europe it's still almost impossible to buy an SP2.
I have mine already, but I still check availability from time to time and it seems like my batch was the last one that arrived here in Austria (some 3 weeks ago). Looks like there were only 2 major shipments since the release.

How can MS be so stupid? It's Xmas!!! I guess Apple sells more iPads in an hour than SP2 are sold in a month and they have their stuff available almost from day 0. Not comparing the iPad here with the SP2, I'm just saying that manufactoring the right amount of devices isn't rocket science.

Looks like MS doesn't get ANYthing right these days...

Cheers!
reach

 

[oion]

Hi there!
Not sure how it's in US, but here in Europe it's still almost impossible to buy an SP2.
I have mine already, but I still check availability from time to time and it seems like my batch was the last one that arrived here in Austria (some 3 weeks ago). Looks like there were only 2 major shipments since the release.

How can MS be so stupid? It's Xmas!!! I guess Apple sells more iPads in an hour than SP2 are sold in a month and they have their stuff available almost from day 0. Not comparing the iPad here with the SP2, I'm just saying that manufactoring the right amount of devices isn't rocket science.

Looks like MS doesn't get ANYthing right these days...

Cheers!
reach

All Surface Pro 2s are shown as out of stock on MS' U.S. website as well.

What I don't understand is that Microsoft should have figured out from Surface Pro 1 sales that the Pro line is a lot less controversial than the RT line; there weren't overproduction+undersell problems for Pro 1. I can understand why MS would be more conservative with Surface 2, but whoever is deciding the supply side of things seems to have really overreacted and made things scarce (maybe internal political climate, what with Ballmer "retiring" theoretically due to Surface 1). The other theory is that Microsoft purposefully throttled supply to create artificial demand, but that's just stupid at this stage.

There have been cases of supply/logistical mismatching as well. The dock wasn't supposed to be released until early 2014, for example, yet during launch week, people were finding and buying them. Overall, it seems like a case of the three right hands not talking to the two left hands, or something ridiculous.

Ironically, what Microsoft did get right (model upgrades and mostly-better advertisement) has seemingly created enough demand to outstrip the supply decisions, which then backfires... However, even if potential buyers cannot get their hands on a Surface, they have a lot more choices now in the Windows tablet space. That means that ultimately, so long as the potential buyer picks Windows over Mac/iOS/Android/Chrome-Linux, Microsoft still wins.

This latest news bit is about the Surface 2, but is interesting for the topic.

Microsoft?s Surface 2 may be a holiday hit - MarketWatch

 

[SEANT]

I wonder if that means they met the goal they set early November.
Microsoft wants to sell 16 million Windows tablets during the upcoming holiday season | WinBeta

Hopefully, that’s true. It is unfortunate, though, if they are missing further sales. I certainly understand a prudent level of caution. I guess we just have to hope they’ve got the assembly lines cranking 24-7.

 

[oion]

I wonder if that means they met the goal they set early November.
Microsoft wants to sell 16 million Windows tablets during the upcoming holiday season | WinBeta

Hopefully, that’s true. It is unfortunate, though, if they are missing further sales. I certainly understand a prudent level of caution. I guess we just have to hope they’ve got the assembly lines cranking 24-7.

I suppose we won't see any official released numbers until after the holiday season. The only data points from MarketWatch above--the #1 best-selling item at Best Buy during Black Friday was the Surface RT 32GB followed by #2 something by Apple (I forget the exact model ). But that's the first gen; maybe MS is thinking about both--clearing RT inventory as a quantity supplement to second gen stock limits. The first gens aren't bad machines, after all.

 

[reach]

However, even if potential buyers cannot get their hands on a Surface, they have a lot more choices now in the Windows tablet space.

That's an interesting Point I haven't even considered yet. When the first SP2 hit the shelves, the Sonys and Dells weren't available yet. Now they are. I'm pretty sure that drives many potential buyers in the arms of the competition. As I said - just stupid!

 

[SEANT]

That's an interesting Point I haven't even considered yet. When the first SP2 hit the shelves, the Sonys and Dells weren't available yet. Now they are. I'm pretty sure that drives many potential buyers in the arms of the competition. As I said - just stupid!

On the broader concerns for Microsoft, customers buying into Windows tablets of any sort is still good news.