In an interview with CNET, IDC analyst for tablets Tom Mainelli has said harsh things about the state of Microsoft"s Surface Pro tablet in the market, saying that while the tablet is an "interesting product", "it"s just not there yet" in terms of overall execution. This follows the news yesterday that, according to IDC"s research, Microsoft shipped 900,000 Surface units for the first quarter of 2013.
Mainelli complained of the drawbacks associated with the Surface Pro:
The battery life"s not there. It"s too heavy. [...] While it performs like a notebook, Surface Pro is always going to be compared to other tablets, and tablets really need to run 8 to 10 hours. [Surface Pro"s] four hours is a nonstarter
He hopes that a second generation Surface Pro will address some of the issues with the current model, saying that with Intel"s upcoming Haswell chip and "additional improvements", the Surface Pro "is still viable". Mainelli also believes the Surface Pro would be a lot more successful if it had the form factor and price of the Surface RT; a tough ask when Atom-powered tablets (as opposed to Ivy Bridge-powered, like the Surface Pro) occupy Surface RT price points.
Another point raised by Mainelli is Microsoft"s flawed marketing strategy, highlighting how it"s hard for Microsoft to recommend Windows RT over Windows 8 when the former lacks compatibility with x86 desktop applications. "Ultimately", he says, "Microsoft needs to decide on one operating system for tablets" so that Microsoft isn"t "pitting [their] own operating systems against each other".
Microsoft may announce a second-generation Surface in June - potentially at BUILD - that addresses some of these issues, if a Digitimes report is to be believed. While Digitimes is known to be inaccurate, we"ll be at BUILD just in case a new Surface is announced.
Source: CNET