14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has already launched the Surface tablet and, just as we told you a few hours ago, long-time partners aren’t quite pleased with the Redmondians’ efforts in the hardware sector.
Sadly for some companies, the Surface RT was much more than an appealing product, it was actually a tablet that destroyed their business.
It appears that Nokia wasn’t the only company that canceled plans for a Windows RT tablet because of the Surface, as Digitimes writes that some other OEMs decided to stay away from this particular industry sector because of Microsoft’s arrival.
It’s not yet confirmed, so we’re not sure that this information is accurate, but it appears that Sony, HP and Toshiba also had plans to develop Surface RT rivals, but due to Microsoft’s very own device, they decided to cancel these projects.
Other companies, on the other hand, continued the development, so end-users now have a chance to buy several other Windows RT tablets beside the Surface.
Dell, Samsung and Lenovo have all created this type of tablets, but they’ve already lowered expectations, as the Surface seems to completely cannibalize the market.
Unsurprisingly, the Surface is selling like hot cakes and the cheapest version, the one delivered with 32 GB of free space, is already sold out in most of the countries worldwide. The same happens with the other two more expensive versions, even though the top-of-the-range model costs $699 (€580).
The Surface is Microsoft’s first player in the tablet industry and although it’s not quite an iPad killer, it still manages to sell impressively well all around the world.
The company has yet to release official sales figures but, given the fact that some models are still unavailable, millions of units are likely to be delivered before year-end.