The biggest reason Microsoft has started targeting the MacBook Air

[dgstorm]

Here's an interesting BGR article on why Microsoft is targeting the MacBook Air with the Surface Pro 3,

In case you haven’t been paying attention, there’s been a noticeable shift in the wayMicrosoft has been promoting its Surface line of tablets — instead of pitting it against the iPhone like it’s traditionally done, it’s started pitting it against the MacBook Air. This may seem a bit puzzling since Apple sells more iPads every year than it does MacBook Airs but it actually makes all the sense in the world, as an excellent analysis by ZDNet’s Ed Bott makes clear.

While Apple doesn’t sell very many MacBooks per year when compared to Windows PCs, the ones it does sell are hugely profitable for the company. MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros are pricey items but Apple fans have shown again and again that they’re willing to pay more for what they consider to be a superior computing experience.

“Apple is aiming quite deliberately at the one segment of the PC market that matters, what Gartner calls ‘premium ultramobiles,'” Bott writes. “That growth is why you see Windows PC makers falling over themselves to deliver products in this category, with Microsoft’s Surface Pro line and Lenovo’s Yoga series the best examples. All of the Windows-based products include touchscreens, and most can be converted to a tablet by either detaching and stowing the keyboard or flipping the screen over.”

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[PhilBiker]

No link. I'm interested in reading!

 

[wynand32]

As much as I can't stand BGR, they make a decent point here. The higher end of the PC market does seem to be the one that continues to grow.

Of course, they're wrong in that Microsoft isn't _just_ positioning the SP3 against the MacBook Air. That's a fallacy that most tech pundits have glommed onto.

Really, the SP3 is naturally positioned against the iPad; there's no reason for Microsoft to make that connection. Rather, they're going after the MacBook Air _as well_, in combination with the iPad. That's why they're constantly talking about replacing two devices at once, the notebook and the tablet.

I don't know if it's working in general, although it certainly works for me. I'll be interested in hearing about SP3 sales in their next financial report.

 

[GreyFox7]

Well lets see... who are they going to go after??? Lenovo, Dell, HP, ... you know, their partners??? Nope! Who does that leave?

Oh yeah and their partners are said to be nervous about the Surface. Well, they should be, after the lame approach they have taken which stagnated the PC market. The extremely slow pace of upgrades they were on was like Chinese water torture... drip, drip, drip.