Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has told a French newspaper that sales of Redmond’s shiny new Windows 8 tablet PC, Surface, have gotten off to a modest start. Talking to French daily Le Parisien, published on Saturday, Ballmer is quoted as saying Surface sales “are starting modestly” but would not provide exact sales figures.

Ballmer reportedly put modest sales down to the slate only being available to buy online and in a few Microsoft stores in the U.S. We’ve reached out to Microsoft for more and will update with any response. Update: Microsoft said it has no further comment at this time. Microsoft has now provided the following statement regarding Ballmer’s use of the term “modest”

When asked about Surface, Steve’s use of the term “modest” was in relation to the company’s approach in ramping up supply and distribution of Surface with Windows RT, which has only been available via our online store and Microsoft retail and holiday stores in the U.S. and Canada.  While our approach has been modest, Steve notes the reception to the device has been “fantastic” which is why he also stated that “soon, it will be available in more countries and in more stores.

Surface RT — the lower end model of the two Surface tablets (Surface Pro being the forthcoming, higher end version, running full-fat Windows 8) — went on sale October 26. The Surface RT tablet starts at $499 for a 32GB version without the touch-sensitive keyboard cover, rising to $699 for a 64GB version with the keyboard cover included. Surface Pro has not launched yet.

Ballmer is also reported as telling the French newspaper that Surface Pro will launch within three months of Surface RT.

Asked about supply shortages of Surface, Ballmer told Le Parisien: “It’s a good sign,” adding that the company will “fix this problem quickly” — and noting that the increase in capacity is part of its strategy. CNET reported that the entry level Surface RT model was out of stock online for more than a week.

Ballmer’s modest assessment of Surface sales brings to mind his description of Windows Phone sales in July last year, when he described sales going from “very small to very small“. It remains to be seen whether Surface sales will outperform Windows Phone sales and ramp up quickly. Last month, the WSJ reported Microsoft anticipated selling as many as many as 3 to 5 million Surface tablets in Q4.

Touch cover problems

Responding to reports of early problems with the Surface’s Touch cover splitting — flagged up on this Surface forum, and via news outlets including the Guardian — Microsoft provided the following statement: “Microsoft makes every effort to ensure our customers receive a high quality product. We are in active contact with our Customer Support operations and are aware of a small number of instances of material separation. Customers can contact Microsoft Customer Support if they have any questions.”

Not every developer had the luxury of putting a flight to Redmond on the corporate tab so that they could attend Microsoft’s Build 2012 conference in person. Much to their delight, they won’t have to. The company has posted streaming video for every session addressing Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and beyond, ranging from the two keynotes through to nuts-and-bolts framework talks. Be warned: most programmers will want to know Visual Studio and similar tools like the back of their hand before tackling some of these sessions. If they emerge unscathed, though, they’ll be well-equipped to live in Microsoft’s Windows Store world.

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

Microsoft posts Build 2012 session videos for eager Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 coders originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 04 Nov 2012 03:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Ballmer announced first of all today at Build 2012 that they’d sold 4 million Windows 8 upgrades in the three days since it’s been launched. It’s no small number, of course, and for the developers seeing this system for the first time here in its final form at the developer conference we’re experiencing here this week, it’s nothing but great! Laptop sales are up 20% over forecasts, said Ballmer, and by the words of Ballmer, it would appear that Microsoft is doing better than they expected they would – imagine that!

The enthusiasm was addictive at Build 2012 right at the dawn of Windows Phone 8, Ballmer making it clear that his journey from his arrival in the USA in 1988 spanned the gamut: Windows 95, 98, the PC going big, and more. The message was clear: Windows 8 is the next generation, and with Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT the wave is coming in strong. Ballmer makes it clear that it’s not just about one screen, not just about one version of the operating system – it’s about everything, all of the displays, all of the form factors.

This kind of experience is “alive with activity”, said Ballmer, and every screen is “alive and active with information” from the cloud, through Microsoft. With the launch of Windows Phone 8, said Ballmer, “the phone launches in full fruition into the Windows 8 family.” Ballmer’s talk was more than just a primer for the event, it was a sell-point for investors as well.

“If you want the best experience with your Windows Computer, you will own a Windows phone.” – Ballmer

It was time to build not just a single standard phone for everyone, Ballmer said of the original launch of Windows Phone, it was time to build something personal for each user. That’s one of the big points being driven home with Windows Phone 8 as well – as evidenced earlier this week with the big Windows Phone 8 launch event as well with Jessica Alba and friends.

Stick around our Microsoft hub as well as the Windows Phone 8 tag for more information on Windows Phone 8 than you’ll be able to handle all week!

Steve Ballmer hypes massive Windows 8 launch numbers at Build 2012 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

After the announcement of Microsoft’s Surface tablet last week, company CEO Steve Ballmer spoke about the competition and what the Surface brings to the table for potential tablet buyers. Despite Apple selling over 100 million iPads, the Kindle Fire HD being Amazon’s best-selling product ever, and the Nexus 7 being UK’s best-selling tablet, Ballmer says these tablets aren’t what people truly want.

According to Ballmer, Microsoft’s new Surface tablet is the tablet that people really want, and it’s the tablet they’ve always wanted. Ballmer says that he doesn’t think “anybody has done a product that is the product that [he sees] customers wanting.” He continues by noting that no other tablet maker “has a product that you can really use,” directly referring to Apple, Google, and Amazon.

Ballmer says that the Surface tablet “is a first-class tablet that people can enjoy and appreciate. It’s a PC; it’s a tablet. It’s for play; it’s for work. It’s a got a great price. That product doesn’t exist today.” That is, until now. The Surface officially launched on Friday at a starting price of $499. Ballmer notes that the Surface is not a compromise, but rather a reimagining of the PC, Windows, and Microsoft, which he states is now a “devices and services company.”

Ballmer also took an old adage from Steve Jobs and spun it around to reflect Microsoft’s beliefs. Jobs always said that “people don’t know what they want until you show it to them,” but Ballmer says that people usually know what they want, but not until after a few years of using something else.

[via AllThingsD]

Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer: the Surface is what people really want is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Being the founder of Microsoft certainly has its advantages, as well as its downsides. Case in point: the video interview Microsoft released this morning, starring none other than Bill Gates himself talking about the world of Windows 8. On the positive side, Gates reveals he’s already got his own soon-to-be-released Microsoft Surface RT — he calls it “an unbelievably great product,” unsurprisingly — with a black keyboard. On the less than positive side, despite being out of the CEO seat at the company, Gates still has to do interviews like the one found after the break. You’d think he could just get Ballmer to put on his old Crazy Eddie’s impersonation! We’ve dropped that notorious video after the break as well, for comparison sake.

Continue reading Bill Gates already has a Surface and you don’t (video)

Filed under: Desktops, Tablets, Software, Microsoft

Bill Gates already has a Surface and you don’t (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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