With today"s announcement that the Windows 8 Pro version of the Surface is coming on February 9th, Microsoft has released a similar video on YouTube. The tone of this film, however, is quite different. The Surface Pro is shown being used exclusively as a tablet made for work, specifically in a fictional eye glasses design company (55mm, to be exact)
The clip shows the workers at this design company looking at spreadsheets and designing new glasses with the help of the Surface Pro"s stylus pen; it"s also shown as a way to display presentations via its DisplayPort.
So what"s the story? It seems like Microsoft is pushing for the Surface RT version to be a "fun" consumer product, something like an iPad, Kindle Fire or a Nexus 7 tablet. The Surface Pro, however, seems to be marketed at the business customer, perhaps as a replacement for the normal laptop; the price for the Surface Pro starts at $899.
So, will this strategy work? That remains to be seen. The price of the Surface RT tablet is certainly cheaper than the Surface Pro but there are major drawbacks, most notably with Windows RT itself, which can"t run legacy Windows programs.
On the other hand, consumers who might be interested in the Surface Pro might be put off by its higher price. Businesses might also question why they should buy a Surface Pro tablet when they can get a touch-screen Windows 8 laptop for a price that"s cheaper than the Surface Pro.
While it"s still too early to pass judgement on the Surface Pro, Microsoft is looking like it is targeting the enterprise market for the tablet. Depending on its reception, that could be a brilliant move or one that could spell disaster for Microsoft"s new tablet lineup.