New Multimillion dollars in-store displays place Microsoft products ahead of brands that for years have delivered software revenue for Microsoft.
Now Microsoft wants to strip revenue away from their partners with their new Surface Pro 3.
Since the launch of the original Surface in 2012, Microsoft has lost $1.9 billion dollars on Surface and Surface Pro.
At retail stores in Australia Microsoft has not only purchased store within a store floor space, they have been incentivising retail sales staff to sell their product ahead of their competitors.
A senior executive at a Japanese PC Company said “We have no choice but to accept that the Microsoft hardware offering and their Surface Pro 3 is set to get priority because they are trying to buy success”.
Another Asian Manufacturer said “We have supported Microsoft for years and we are now being screwed by them in retail stores. Their products are now taking pride of place at mass retailers and we have no choice but to go along with what is happening”.
A US PC Company said “We are getting out of retail sales, the cost of doing business with retailers is getting far too expensive especially as there is very little margin in a PC product today”.
They added “PC Companies are being hit by Microsoft who in a token gesture is displaying competitor’s products on their in store displays, the only problem is that competitors are at the back of the house while Microsoft has all the front row seats and the support of retailers because they are bribing them with financial incentives to recommend Microsoft hardware products ahead of other PC makers trying to sell Windows based hardware”.
The $1.9 Billion dollar loss that Microsoft has racked up to date does not take into account the money that they have spent buying business in Australia or what they have spent on marketing their Surface hardware.
Microsoft will not say how many Surface Pro 2 products have been sold in Australia.
With the Surface Pro 3, Microsoft is hoping to strip business away from the likes of Toshiba, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, HP and Acer as well as arch rival Apple.
The Surface Pro 2 was highly criticised for being heavy, under performing and being based on Windows 8.
The new version is thinner and lighter and has a larger display screen. It also has a new kickstand, improved cover and tighter Pen stylus integration.
Criticism in the past included that the Microsoft product was bulky to use as a tablet and too small to use as laptop.
The new model is 9.1mm thick which is thinner than the MacBook Air.
It is also lighter by 100 grams.
Despite all of this chopping of weight the Surface Pro 3 is almost twice as heavy as the iPad Air or the Samsung Galaxy Tab S which when you are holding in your hand for a reasonable period of time becomes a real pain.
|
