Microsoft’s Surface tablets have caught a lot of unwanted attention recently during the AFC championship game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. It was reported that the tablets on the Patriots" sidelines had temporarily failed, keeping them from accessing necessary photos for players and causing much frustration for the team.
While it was initially unclear what the cause of the issue was, it turns out that it wasn’t the tablet’s fault at all. Microsoft has decided to clear its name in a statement made on its website.
“Microsoft Surfaces have not experienced a single failure in the two years they’ve been used on NFL sidelines… On rare occasions like we saw on Sunday, the stadium has network issues that prevent the delivery of images to the Surface devices.”
The network issues resulted in the team having to hardwire the tablets to get them to work. The NFL also made an official statement corroborating Microsoft’s claims. “Our team on the field has confirmed the issue was not related to the tablets themselves but rather an issue with the network,” the company stated on Sunday.
Putting the Surface tablets to blame was definitely not good publicity for Microsoft, and the company wanted to make sure everyone knew the facts. In their statement, they made sure to mention how Surface use throughout the NFL continues to grow, and that their tablets help teams to be more efficient by providing high quality images and information much faster than before.
Source: Windows Blog