Hasta La Gadget!

In an episode of Elementary, a TV reinvention of Sherlock Holmes, there is an audacious product placement for the Microsoft Surface tablet. Holmes, a techno-adept detective working in New York, whips out a Surface to do some quick research. He snaps on the keyboard with the same hearty click made famous in Microsoft commercials. Then the kickstand! The patented three-step maneuver is so distinctly set apart within the scene, there might as well be a blinking “Advertisement” notice across the sequence. (Holmes follows up by searching on Bing, turning the product placement into an ecosystem placement.)

I don’t know whether seeing a fictional genius using Surface helps sales, but if so, it’s not helping enough. The Surface slate is on the skids in retail, as are Windows 8 computers. It is perhaps not surprising that Microsoft’s retail users are slow to migrate from the familiar (PCs running Windows 7 and XP) to the unfamiliar (PCs running the radically different Metro interface, and a new product category in Surface). But swampy sell-through is definitely surprising financial analysts, some of whom are cutting Microsoft’s revenue forecasts.

Microsoft is doing a lot right in placing its long bet on ecosystem coherence. But along the way it is making unnecessary mistakes.

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Warranties have their place, but there’s no shortage of techies who prefer to do their own device repair when something goes awry. Unfortunately, no matter how technically inclined you are, some devices seem built specifically to make the task as difficult as possible. The folks over at iFixit have released their Repairability Guide, which shows Dell’s XPS 10 as the easiest to repair, and Microsoft’s Surface Pro as the worst of the bunch.

According to the Tablet Repairability Guide, the Dell XPS 10 is the best option for those who plan to crack their tablet open and do some tinkering, with it being rated as easy to open, with labeled cables, color-coded screw, and an easy-to-remove battery. The only complaint listed was the fact that the LCD is fused to the display glass.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire comes in second, also being easy to open with standard Philips-head screws and no proprietary fasteners to deal with. Dell makes the upper list again at number three with its Dell Streak tablet, which is simply listed as being easy to open with an easy-to-replace battery, but marred by the same LCD-fused-to-glass issue. The Kindle Fire’s negative mark is that its glass is fused to the device’s frame.

Dropping to the bottom of the list, we find a lot of Apple and Microsoft products, with the Surface Pro coming in dead last. While the battery is not soldered to the motherboard, that is the only positive aspect that is listed, with it’s negative marks being comprised of “tons” of adhesive to keep the components in place, as well as DIYers risking severing the wires when opening the device. Next up, in order, is Apple’s iPad Mini, iPad 4, iPad 3, iPad 2, and then Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet. A consistent problem with the iPads is the risk of cracking the glass while taking it apart, as well as too much adhesive. The Surface RT is said to be hard to open with a fused LCD.

[via iFixit]

Dell XPS 10 and Kindle Fire are the most repairable tablets, Surface Pro and iPads come in last is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The Microsoft Surface Pro was officially released on February 9, to which it immediately sold out. It’s been two weeks since the Surface Pro sold out, but it looks as though Microsoft has finally supplied additional units to its stores, both online and brick & mortar.

Both the 64GB and 128GB versions were reported as being available for sale yesterday, although Microsoft’s online store is currently showing the 128GB version of the Surface Pro as being out of stock. As for Microsoft stores, a number of them reportedly still have units available for sale, but supplies are limited.

Customers who have been wanting to buy a Surface Pro have been having a rather difficult time since it sold out on February 9, but Panos Panay, who is the head of Microsoft’s Surface team, has said “We’re working with our retail partners who are currently out of stock of the 128GB Surface Pro to replenish supplies as quickly as possible.” It only has been two weeks since the Surface Pro went on sale, but we hope Microsoft can stock its stores with additional units sooner than later.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Supplies iOS Developers With Updated Maps SDK, iPad 5 Out This Q3 (Rumor),

On February 9, we reported that Microsoft’s Surface Pro 128GB model had sold out soon after becoming available, with both Staples and Best Buy running out of stock in addition to Microsoft’s online store. The company responded shortly after, saying that stores could expect more Surface Pros by Saturday. As of today, buyers can order the tablet and will receive it within the next 2 to 3 weeks.

Buyers who want the 128GB Surface Pro can head over to the Microsoft online store and place an order. The purchasing option will only be available until the latest round of inventory is depleted, at which point the store will once again say “Out of Stock.” For those who want to, Microsoft has also detailed how to reserve a Surface Pro at a retail store.

Reservations can be placed with both Best Buy and Staples, depending on inventory. Best Buy will accept reservations if its store in your area doesn’t have any of the devices in stock. According to Microsoft, the reservations will only be placed if the store knows that it has inventory coming in; in the event that there isn’t any incoming inventory, or the incoming inventory is reserved, the store will say that it is sold out and will not allow an order to be placed.

For those who want to purchase from Staples, a reservation can be made for the 64GB version of the Surface Pro, but it would appear the store isn’t taking reservations for the 128GB model until it has the item in stock. Buyers in Canada can reserve the 64GB version of the Surface Pro in Future Shop and Best Buy; Microsoft says that more information will be given when the 128GB Surface Pro is available in the country.

[via Surface]

Microsoft accepting orders for 128GB Surface Pro, will ship in 2 – 3 weeks is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I love the idea of the Surface: compelling hardware, striking form factor, and, in the case of the Pro, smart compromises to offer a good value. But the products fail to live up to their promise. They have first generation bugs. But maybe a low-priced Surface with a smaller screen could finally help bring the Surface promise to life. It just better run Windows Phone 8 and not Windows RT.

Yesterday at Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference on Wednesday, Microsoft CFO Peter Klein spoke to the Surface and Microsoft’s ability to scale to different form factors. As John Paczkowski lays out, Microsoft could build a Surface Mini.

Both Windows 8/RT and Windows Phone 8 could handle the task. With both options comes compromises, though.

“We can have the same core code base driving form factors from four inches all the way up to 27-inch ones and everything in between,” Klein said. “So I think we are well set up to respond to demand as we see it. We can deliver a versatile set of experiences across form factors, whether they’re four-inch, five-inch, seven-inch, 10-inch or 13-inch.”

Windows 8 requires beefy hardware but can run any Windows application. Windows RT has an extremely limited marketplace of apps and it doesn’t seem to be improving with time. The task seems best suited for Windows Phone 8 even though it’s far from a blockbuster hit yet.

Microsoft’s latest mobile OS is still struggling. It’s fighting for third place against BlackBerry. Android and iOS are simply out of reach. Consumers might not be buying the smartphones en mass, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fantastic user experience.

I love Windows Phone 8, but I wouldn’t use one as a daily driver. The user experience is beautiful. It’s slick, intuitive, and would scale nicely to a larger screen. It doesn’t require serious computing hardware, allowing for tablets with thin form factors and longer battery lives.

Microsoft might not be alone in developing a 7- to 8-inch tablet. Nokia has been said to be working one as well with its reveal coming as soon as next week at MWC.

Even with a beautiful hardware and wonderful OS, it’s pretty clear that a Windows Phone 8 tablet would struggle to gain traction. Even though WinPhone 8 is growing, the platform’s app ecosystem is pretty weak. Developers are not flooding the Store with apps. The platform is relatively unknown to most consumers. And another Microsoft-made tablet platform could be detrimental to the entire operation.

Microsoft is in a precarious situation. It can no longer rely on third parties like HP and Asus to advance its software. The company clearly feels its hardware needs to lead the charge. The first generation Surfaces are good, but not good enough. A smaller form factor model could help rejuvenation the brand once it goes stale in a few months.