Latest on Microsoft's Surface  Gates sticks to company line on tablets, knocks iPad
Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates today stuck to the company line on tablets, and disparaged rival Apple's iPad for its lack of a keyboard and its inability to run Office. Microsoft to drive Windows tablet strategy with smaller devices, OS rebates
Microsoft's chief financial officer yesterday confirmed that the company and its hardware partners would ship smaller, lower-priced Windows tablets in the next months. Windows 8: How to free up disk space on Microsoft Surface tablets
One beef against Microsoft's Surface devices is that they have less usable disk space than the advertised disk size would indicate, but there is a relatively easy way to free up as much 7GB of disk space: Create a USB recovery drive and delete the Windows 8 recovery partition from the hard drive. Microsoft signals push to smaller, lower-priced Windows tablets
Microsoft has relaxed a Windows 8 certification requirement to allow devices with lower resolutions, a move analysts said means Microsoft could soon join the shift to smaller, less expensive tablets. Microsoft to expand Surface Pro sales to China next week
Microsoft will start selling the Surface Pro tablet in China next week, the company said yesterday. Microsoft collects 13 design patents for Surface, keyboard covers
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office yesterday awarded Microsoft 13 design patents for its Surface line of tablets, including their innovative Touch keyboards-slash-covers, according to published documents. Surface Pro again out of stock; Microsoft underestimated demand, argues analyst
Less than a week after Microsoft began taking reservation orders for its 128GB Surface Pro tablet, the company has again slapped a sold-out sign on its website. Surface Pro flops in repairability test, says iFixit
Popular do-it-yourself website iFixit today gave Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet the lowest-possible repair score, just 1 out of a possible 10, after spending hours getting the device open. Microsoft pitches Surface Pro with Mac-iPad price comparison
Microsoft made the clearest case yet for its Surface Pro tablet when a top Windows executive said it should be compared with not one, but two Apple devices. Microsoft sold 900K Surface RT tablets in face of muted demand
Microsoft shipped an estimated 900,000 Surface RT tablets last quarter, barely missing the top five device makers, but illustrating that demand was "muted at best," IDC said today. Microsoft teases Surface Pro as 90-day deadline nears
Microsoft teased the Surface Pro today, hinting that the company will soon announce an on-sale date for its second tablet. Windows RT: Bug not a bug?
Microsoft and a respected researcher disagreed this week about whether a bug in Windows RT is actually a security vulnerability that should be patched. Windows 8, Surface Tablets to Lead Microsoft's Fight for Relevance in 2013
Microsoft made big bets on Windows 8, Windows Phone and Surface tablets in 2012, and now it needs to make those bets to pay off. As more consumers and businesses go mobile, 2013 will be Microsoft's most challenging year yet. Microsoft's Surface RT getting a tiny share of tablet Web traffic
Sales of the Microsoft Surface RT tablet are hard to measure, but one study indicates the new device is generating a tiny portion of Web traffic -- less than 1%. Microsoft to expand retail locations for Surface RT sales
Microsoft on Tuesday said the Surface RT tablet will be available at more retailers later this month and at additional Microsoft stores that will grow beyond temporary holiday stores into permanent outlets. Microsoft's Surface Pro highlights flawed two-for-one strategy
Microsoft's upcoming Surface Pro tablet sums up the company's seeming strategy with Windows 8: That business users can do with one device what they currently accomplish with two. The approaching BYOD wave
This holiday shopping season is being powered in part by demand for electronics, including boatloads of new tablets and smartphones, most of which will wash into enterprises in early January in a veritable bring-your-own-device (BYOD) tsunami. Microsoft promises to support Surface RT for 4+ years
Microsoft will support its Surface RT tablet with updates, including security patches, until April 2017, or nearly four-and-a-half years after its launch. The new business model: Competing with partners!
Whether you blame Google, Microsoft or Apple, the old way of doing business in the mobile market is falling away. Mike Elgan explains why that's not necessarily bad. After Sinofsky, Microsoft must stop the secrecy, say analysts
The best move Microsoft could make after Steven Sinofsky's departure is to ditch the culture of secrecy he brought to Windows, analysts said today Surface's high profit margin reveals Microsoft's ape-Apple strategy
Microsoft makes more than $300 on each Surface RT tablet it sells, showing that the company has adopted the business model of its rival, Apple, analysts said. Microsoft Surface RT: First impressions
We finally go hands-on with the Surface RT. Here's our first impressions. Windows RT tablets and hybrids coming soon
Microsoft will open the floodgates for Windows RT tablets at a release event Oct. 26 in New York City. The Surface tablet from Microsoft will be available on launch, with more tablets from Asus, Dell, Samsung, Lenovo and Acer coming in the following weeks. Seven things to consider for a Windows tablet
Come Oct. 26, when Microsoft is set to stage a release party in New York City, consumers may have to choose between a tablet with Windows 8 or Windows RT. The operating systems look and feel the same, but devices will differ on performance, price, battery life, usage and application support. QuickPoll: Is Microsoft's Surface tablet pricing competitive with the iPad?
Microsoft's pricing of its Surface RT tablet was called 'aggressive' by some analysts, 'mystifying' by others, even as they remained skeptical that it's low enough to make inroads on the dominant player, Apple's iPad. What do you think -- is Microsoft's Surface tablet pricing competitive with the iPad? Microsoft runs out of $499 Surface RT for pre-orders
Microsoft has exhausted its initial supply of the lowest-priced Surface RT tablet, which now is backordered by three weeks. Microsoft's Surface RT pricing 'aggressive,' 'mystifying,' say analysts
Microsoft's pricing of its Surface RT tablet was called 'aggressive' by some analysts today, 'mystifying' by others, even as they remained skeptical that it's low enough to make inroads on the dominant player, Apple's iPad. Ballmer: Microsoft's a 'devices and services' company now
Stop thinking of Microsoft as just a software company; it's not anymore, according to CEO Steve Ballmer. QuickPoll: What's this year's must-have back-to-school gadget?
Feel that chill? That's not the end of summer approaching; it's the beginning of another school year. With student budgets in mind, what's this year's must-have back-to-school gadget? Google to attempt to woo developers from Apple at Google I/O
Google is gearing up for its annual developers conference this week, and analysts say it's time for the company to deliver an ecosystem that can compete head to head with Apple. First release of Surface tablets to be Wi-Fi-only, sources say
The first release of the Surface tablet computers will be Wi-Fi-only, unnamed sources told the Washington Post. Microsoft Surface tablets may not match iPad battery life
Microsoft's new Surface tablets may not match Apple's iPad on battery life, according to estimates made by Computerworld based on comparable devices. FAQ: What we don't know about Microsoft's Surface tablet
Microsoft's introduction Monday of the new Surface tablet may have been dramatic, but the presentation left as many questions unanswered as it resolved. We offer some clues, based on what is known so far. QuickPoll: Can the Microsoft Surface successfully take on the iPad?
Apple has little to worry about from Microsoft's tradition-breaking move to sell its own tablets, analysts say. Can the Microsoft Surface successfully take on the iPad? Microsoft's Surface tablet no threat to Apple's iPad
Apple has little to worry about from Microsoft's tradition-breaking move to sell its own tablets, analysts said today. LG puts tablet development on hold
Following Microsoft's announcement of its new Surface tablet, LG Electronics said it has decided to put its tablet development efforts on hold in order to focus on smartphones. Pricing seen as key to success of Microsoft's Surface tablets
Microsoft needs to hook customers with better pricing if it wants to capture market attention with its new Surface tablets, analysts said. Microsoft is its 'own worst enemy' in bold tablet move, says analyst
Microsoft's venture into selling company-designed tablets is fraught with risk, and one analyst says the company is setting itself up as its own rival. First look: Microsoft Surface tablets
My quick hands-on with the new 10.6-in. Surface tablet at Microsoft's launch on Monday gave me a little surprise: The edges on all four sides are sharp. Microsoft makes 'radical' move by designing, selling own Surface tablets
Microsoft on Monday introduced its own line of tablets, dubbed 'Surface.' In doing so, the company broke its 37-year tradition of never competing directly with the hardware partners that have helped make Windows the most successful operating system ever. Microsoft launches own Windows 8 tablets, one a full PC
Microsoft launched two 10.6-in. tablet computers dubbed Surface on Monday, built on Windows 8, with two versions of unusual attachable Touch Covers that double as keyboards. By the numbers: Microsoft's Surface vs. Apple's iPad
While there's much more to both Microsoft's new Surface tablet and Apple's iPad than pure specifications, the physical and technological differences between the two are likely to play a part in which one buyers like. FAQ: All about Windows RT, the OS behind a Microsoft tablet
While Microsoft has aggressively talked up Windows 8, the company has been relatively quiet about Windows RT, the all-mobile OS destined for tablets. We fill in the blanks for you. Update: Microsoft-branded tablet 'makes sense,' analyst says
A Microsoft-branded tablet made by Barnes & Noble makes sense if the tablet is focused on the same market as the $200 Kindle Fire, analysts said Monday. Shape-Shifting Touch Screen Is on the Horizon
Microsoft applied for a U.S. patent covering a tactile, shape-shifting touchscreen that could replace mobile keypads. Microsoft pioneers tactile display technology
Microsoft is working on a display technology that shifts under the user's touch. Prototype Microsoft Mobile Surface PC one-ups iPhone
Microsoft Corp. researchers have shrunk down its Surface tabletop computer into a pocket-sized package that, with the aid of a few accessories, one-ups conventional touchscreen devices like Apple Inc.'s iPhone. Developers slowly rising to Microsoft's Surface
Microsoft remains optimistic that the Surface touch screen computer launched last year will generate interest among an increasing number of software developers. Give your computer the finger: Touch-screen tech comes of age
Touch interface technology has been around a long time, but it may be at a tipping point now. Move over, keyboard and mouse. Microsoft's CEO sets sights on advertising, devices
Steve Ballmer asked investors at an analyst day to be patient with the time it takes for innovation and technology changes at Microsoft. Will Microsoft beat Apple with its 'giant iPhone'?
First there was the command line, then the graphical user interface. Now, Microsoft has become the first company to announce a PC with a third-generation user interface. But will Apple be first to ship?
| Our bloggers on Microsoft Surface Can Microsoft's Surface Mini save Windows RT?
Reports say that Microsoft is readying a smaller, less-expensive version of its Window RT-based Surface tablet, and may announce it as early as June. Will that be enough to save the struggling Windows RT OS?
Windows chief: We're with ARM and RT for the long haul; Haswell-based tablets will be ready this fall
Windows RT tablets may have underwhelming sales, and some people believe RT is on a death watch, but a top Windows executive said today that Microsoft won't abandon RT-based tablets and the ARM platform on which they run. That being said, she pointed to this fall as the rollout time for full Windows 8 tablets based on Intel's low-power Haswell chips.
Go on Microsoft: Give Office for iOS, take iTunes for Windows 8
Microsoft is doomed in its attempt to slow Apple'siPad sales by denying iOS users a mobile version of Office as the iPad maker controls the most searched for app on the Windows 8 store -- iTunes. Surely there's a deal in that?
Windows tablets don't even rate a blip in the $64 billion tablet market, say report
The tablet market will grow this year by 38% to 150 million units, but Microsoft won't be a beneficiary, says a new report from ABI Research. Windows tablets, BlackBerry tablets and "unidentified OS implementations" currently make up only 3% of the total market, and don't show signs of significant growth.
Forget 7-inch Surface tablets, here's the fatal flaw in Microsoft's mobile strategy
Microsoft hopes that a 7-inch Surface tablet will help turn around its mobile fortunes, but the company has bigger problems than tablet form factors. Its entire mobile strategy has a fatal flaw: The company aligns Windows tablets and their apps to desktops and laptops rather than to smartphones. Unless that changes, Microsoft won't gain serious mobile traction.
Microsoft defends Windows RT. Did it do more harm than good?
Windows RT has taken a lot of hits lately, ranging from multiple hardware partners to analysts, with some calling for Microsoft to abandon the troubled operating system. Now Microsoft has come out in a full-throated defense. But some of what Microsoft said may make things worse, not better, for RT.
Nvidia CEO: Windows RT has been "disappointing," but will eventually succeed
Nvidia is the latest in a line of hardware makers who complain that Windows RT has so far been a bust. Nvidia CEO Jen Hsun Huang has called RT sales "disappointing," although he adds that he expects that eventually Microsoft will figure out a way to make it succeed.
Microsoft should kill failing Windows RT, and focus instead on full Windows tablets, says IDC report
Microsoft's Windows RT tablets are doomed to fail and are hurting Microsoft's chances of succeeding in the tablet market. So says an IDC report, which adds that Microsoft should kill Windows RT, and focus instead on improving Windows 8 in an attempt to make inroads with its tablets.
Samsung executive and IDC analyst agree: Windows 8 needs serious help
Windows 8 just received a one-two punch: The head of Samsung's memory chip division says it's no better than Vista, and an IDC analyst has called it "horribly stalled."
Financial analyst slashes estimates of Surface sales, warns it will affect Microsoft's bottom line
Here's more evidence that Microsoft's Surface tablets aren't selling well: Pacific Crest analyst Brendan Barnicle has cut his estimates for how many will sell for the year, and says that reduced sales will eat into Microsoft's bottom line.
Surface Pro availability: Sold out? Or not?
Surface Pro availability highly suspect. Sold out? Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is being accused of manipulating availability of its new Windows 8 tablet/PC hybrid. The company seems to be the latest playing the game of pretending to sell out of the latest shiny, in order to create buzz. But people are now wise to these shenanigans, it seems. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers are buzzkill.
Good news for Microsoft: 200 million information workers want a Windows tablet for their next work tablet, says Forrester
With dismal Surface sales, and the Surface Pro getting a pounding from reviewers, there hasn't been much good tablet news for Microsoft. But there may well be hope: A Forrester report says that 200 million information workers would prefer a Windows tablet over any competitor's for their next work tablet.
Dismal news for Microsoft's mobile efforts: Windows Phone and Windows 8 tablets sales are in the dumper
Microsoft just got hit with a double-whammy: Reports show that Windows Phone market share is in the very low single digits in the U.S. and have declined since the release of Windows Phone 8, and Microsoft's tablet share is scraping the bottom. Will Microsoft eventually be forced to run up the white flag?
New report shows Windows 8 sales remain sluggish; no significant growth in sight
That latest sales figures for Windows 8 are far from encouraging: It has only a 2.26 percent market share as of the end of January, trailing not just Windows 7, Windows XP, and Windows Vista, but even Mac OS X 10.8. So reports NetApplications. This doesn't bode well for the ultimate success of the operating system.
Why Windows RT will die
It should be no surprise that Microsoft's Windows RT Surface tablet sold only a million units in the fourth quarter, about a half of what analysts expected. Windows RT is an operating system without a future. Here's why it will die.
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