The 512 GB Surface Pro 2 is the only one of Microsoft"s new tablets you can buy from their own site at the moment.
While the Microsoft Store website is once again selling the Xbox One after weeks of showing the console as "out of stock", the same is not true for most of the company"s Surface 2 tablets. In December, one week before Christmas, the site showed that all of the Surface 2 models were "out ot stock" but today, three weeks after Christmas, the $1,799 Surface Pro 2, with its 512 GB of storage, is the only one that consumer can actually purchase via the site.
While the site itself is lacking any way to buy most of the new tablets, the situation isn"t any better if you try to call a local Microsoft Store retail location. Neowin attempted to do so and got a message stating that the company could not guarantee availability of any of the new Surface tablets at their retail stores over the phone. In other words, if you want to see if your local Microsoft Store has Surface tablets in stock, you have to drive over to the store to see for yourself.
Neowin contacted Microsoft to see if they could give us an update on Surface 2 shipments to the Microsoft Store website and why it is still nearly sold out well after the busy holiday shopping season. Unfortunately, the company didn"t offer us a solid explanation. Instead, it sent over the same comment that the company offered Neowin when we asked about the same situation a month ago:
The public response to Surface has been exciting to see. It is our primary goal to get Surface 2, Surface Pro 2 and new Surface accessories into the hands of all people who want the most productive tablets on the planet. We’re actively working with our manufacturing teams and retail partners to get Surface in customers’ hands as soon as possible.
The situation isn"t much better at Staples.com, which currently only has the 32 GB Surface 2 and the 128 GB Surface Pro 2 available for shipment. BestBuy.com seems to be the best bet for online ordering at the moment; only the 256 GB Surface Pro 2 is shown as out of stock but that could change quickly.
Unlike the Xbox One, which Microsoft recently said has sold over 3 million units worldwide from launch until the end of 2013, the company has never offered any shipment or sales figures for its Surface tablets. However, the lack of availability of the new models could turn into a liability for Microsoft as it tries to compete with Apple, Samsung, Google, Amazon and others in the already crowded tablet space.
Microsoft is supposed to reveal its fourth quarter 2014 financial results on Thursday, January 23rd and we hope the company will offer some color on the sales of the Surface 2 tablet family at that time.
Image via Microsoft