14 DAY TRIAL // Lenovo, one of the key partners for Microsoft in several markets, has recently announced that it’s dropping its small Windows tablet lineup in the United States, citing the lack of demand for such models as the reason.
Lenovo was selling two different models in the United States, namely the ThinkPad 8 and Miix 2, both of which are featuring an 8-inch display, but sales have so far been well below expectations.
Lenovo spokesperson Raymond Gorman told PC World in a statement that “in North America, we’re seeing stronger interest in the larger screen sizes for Windows tablets and are pleased with initial customer demand for the ThinkPad 10,” while the 8-inch models are no longer part of its local offering.
Lenovo’s decision clearly comes in as a big surprise for many, including for Microsoft itself, as the company was making efforts to encourage OEMs to build such tablets running its modern operating system.
Tablets with screens smaller than 9 inches are getting a free copy of Windows, so manufacturers building them would thus be able to keep prices lower and thus help Windows tablets compete with Android in several large markets.
At the same time, Microsoft was also considering its very own small tablet, but according to people close to the matter, the company shelved plans for a Surface Mini device only days before its public launch. The Surface Mini was expected to be launched in May, but the new CEO Satya Nadella and former Nokia boss Stephen Elop closely reviewed the product and decided to postpone its launch because it didn’t bring any major improvements as compared to devices that were on the market at that time.
However, Microsoft’s Surface Mini still has a chance to see daylight, with people close to the matter saying that the company is looking into ways to improve it and could launch the device later this year or in early 2015.
According to previous reports, the Surface Mini was expected to come in the form of an 8-inch note-taking device shipped with a digital pen like the one available with a Surface Pro 3. Microsoft was reportedly trying to make it very cheap, with some people pointing to a $250 (180 euros) possible price tag for the device.
But with Lenovo and others jumping ship, small Windows tablets are clearly losing ground, so Microsoft definitely needs to react quickly if it still hopes to increase its market share in this business.