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Acer delays Windows RT tablets amid mixed Surface reviews
John259
03-11-2012
http://www.itproportal.com/2012/11/0...urface-reviews
Helbore
03-11-2012
Acer pretty much guarantee themselves a failure, then. If Windows RT takes off, Acer will be behind on everyone else's offerings. The only chance they'd have then would be their usual "race to the bottom" approach and try and undercut their competitors.

Anyone who has ever used cheap Acer kit knows its not worth the cheap price they charge for it.

If it doesn't take off, they've already wasted time and money prototyping devices for Windows RT.
Lyricalis
04-11-2012
Seems like a potentially costly way of taking a strop with Microsoft because they dared to release their own hardware.
That Bloke
04-11-2012
Originally Posted by Lyricalis:
“Seems like a potentially costly way of taking a strop with Microsoft because they dared to release their own hardware.”

That was my feeling really. It may well backfire though because I have a feeling (based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever other than having worked for an OEM in the past) that Microsoft have deliberately pitched their Surface tablets at the high end of the market to leave space for partners to come in at the mass market price points.

If Microsoft see RT having problems because there's nothing available at those prices then they may decide to bring Surface down to that price level which will make it very hard for people like HTC to compete. Hopefully other OEMs will come into the market soon enough that it won't be an issue though.

Personally, I think RT is likely to be a year to 18 months away from being mass market. In my opinion the Surface Pro (and others) is likely to be popular which will start to drive the Windows 8 application development which, in turn, will start to make RT viable.

All of that's just conjecture and gut feeling though
TheBigM
04-11-2012
I generally agree ThatBloke. Whilst general Windows 8 PCs will drive the install base, the Surface is acting as a hero product that is drawing attention to the entire platform and ecosystem.

E.g. "ok look new surface...what is it? Oh I see Windows with tablet interface that still runs my old software too? Hmm bit expensive but let's see if any other Windows 8 tablets at better price".

I think this is a space HTC could do well in, they were initially denied entry by Microsoft but if RT devices remain lackluster, it's a market space for HTC to potentially do well in since they seem to have renewed their relationship with MS.

I'll be buying a Windows 8/RT device soon but I will probably start recommending them in about 8 months once the app store improves and the apps start getting towards version 2.
Red Arrow
04-11-2012
The actual review of the article is misleading. The reviews of the Surface have been mostly positive, with the majority praising it's build quality.

The problem people are having is the lack of apps, but as MS pointed out non of the competitors had a massive app store to begin with.
John259
04-11-2012
Originally Posted by Red Arrow:
“The actual review of the article is misleading.”

The article says:
Quote:
“Early reviews of the Surface tablet praised the hardware but noted there were far fewer apps available for it”

which seems identical to what you're saying.
John259
04-11-2012
Originally Posted by Helbore:
“If it doesn't take off, they've already wasted time and money prototyping devices for Windows RT.”

True, but they can only proceed from where they are now. If they've concluded that RT is unlikely to generate significant hardware sales for the foreseeable future, better to decide now not to go into production rather than going ahead and ending up with stock that cannot be sold at a profit.
Red Arrow
04-11-2012
Originally Posted by John259:
“The article says:

which seems identical to what you're saying.”

Sorry, I meant the actual headline of the article
CoolboyA
04-11-2012
I like the idea of Surface but at the minute, it does very little... I have a Windows 8 AIO PC and the marketplace is pretty sparse at the minute. Until that gets going nobody will want a Surface as it won't do anything in particular.
John259
04-11-2012
Is there any way to browse the Windows Store for RT apps to see what's available without using Windows 8? http://www.windowsstore.com appears to be purely marketing technobabble for potential developers. Apologies if I've missed the obvious, it wouldn't be the first time.

BTW the contents of the Apple and Google app stores are easy to browse from any device which can access the Internet.
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