14 DAY TRIAL // With Microsoft choosing to remain tight-lipped on Surface RT sales, consumers have no other option than to trust unofficial reports claiming that early figures are rather disappointing, mostly due to the parent company’s decision to sell the device via its very own stores.
A new research made by Twitter user A.X. Ian suggests that Microsoft’s own Surface RT has once again failed to impress during Christmas, while the Apple iPad topped sales in the tablet industry.
Ian analyzed the number of tweets posted on Christmas Eve and comprising the “first tweet” tag, thus trying to determine how many tablets have been sold during the holiday season.
According to the chart, a total of 1,795 people have tweeted about their new iPads, while Amazon’s Kindle was the second most popular tablet with 250 tweets. The Google Nexus arrived third with 100 tweets, while Microsoft’s Surface RT accounted for only 36 tweets.
While such a research can’t be too accurate, it’s yet another indication that the Surface RT is far from becoming a real threat for the other tablets on the market.
Of course, there are several reasons why the Surface RT recorded only 36 tweets and some of them are unrelated to its sales performance.
For example, there’s no official Twitter application for Windows RT, while iOS users already have one, so posting on Twitter from a Surface RT could be quite a challenge. There are several third-party Twitter clients available in the Windows Store, but some are fairly useless.
In addition, the Surface RT is currently arriving at non-Microsoft stores across the United States, so the iPad is clearly better in terms of distribution.
And last but not least, some people may still wait for the Surface with Windows 8 Pro, the upgraded Surface tablet that will be able to run legacy Windows apps and scheduled to hit the shelves in January.