The real answer is probably somewhere in the middle to be perfectly honest with you. LG did not do well in the tablet market and even their smart phones are not top sellers. Still this is an effect that we will see with many of the smaller tablet makers especially the second round market (the ones that Microsoft would not allow make a tablet for launch like HTC). Many of these will not want to try and compete head to head with Microsoft, Samsung AND Asus on this playing field.

Remember, one of Microsoft’s biggest advantages against Apple is that they are not confined to a single vertical. By having multiple partners making products for them they can bank on their (the partners’) consumer trust and acceptance. The surface might look like a great product and it very possibly is, but again Microsoft does not have the consumer trust. This is on top of their horrible marketing department.

We expect to see some pretty serious backlash on this including the possibility that Microsoft may price their products slightly cheaper than their partners (which is sure to annoy everyone involved). Within an hour of the launch the analysts were already starting to question Surface’s impact on Microsoft’s partners. So while they were impressed with the hardware and the design, they quickly remembered what this will actually do in to the market.

Remember, Microsoft is not Apple; they do not have the same presence, the same personality and they absolutely lack the needed trust from consumers to make something like this work. The surface will still sell a few, but it will not have the intended impact that Microsoft thinks it will of that we are pretty certain.

Discuss this in our Forum