Microsoft’s Surface announcement packed a one-two punch. Of course, the big surprise was that Microsoft would compete with its OEM partners in its central revenue source of Windows–licensed devices. But it also seemed clear that the Surface introduction brought to the fore many aspects of Windows 8 and RT that are not germane to Surface, such as the idea that a device could be considered a tablet and a PC (the main rationale of Windows 8’s design).
It is primarily that desktop mode – whether fully vested in backward compatibility as with Windows 8 or provided as a conveyance for Office in the case of Windows RT – that will drive the development of a slew of tablets that expand the tablet market. As noted in our Connected Intelligence report, Tablets: Resizing the Smartphone, Redefining the Notebook, a far higher percentage of these tablets will boast strong ties to keyboards via docking solutions a la the ASUS Transformer line or via Bluetooth connections as with the Brydge clamshell or Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad.
But as that report notes, Microsoft faces a tablet marketing challenge that lies below the surface. When consumers who owned both tablets and notebooks were asked why they prefer their notebooks for productivity applications that are in the Windows’ wheelhouse, a greater percentage of consumers cited the presence of a keyboard as an important factor than the operating system or the applications. Microsoft’s bundling of a keyboard may give it a leg up via the iPad for many consumers. Microsoft’s Windows Division President, Steven Sinofsky, claims that typing on Surface’s Touch keyboard is, on average, twice as fast as typing on glass. But the lack of key travel on such a keyboard may not result in the kind of satisfying tactile feedback that we often associate with a good experience on such an input device, at least out of the Surface’s box.
Beyond the input debate, the presence of Windows may not be enough, particularly in Surface’s early days when relatively few Metro-style apps will be available. Backward compatibility may be important to upgraders, but Microsoft has yet to show off apps that show off the power of the PC in the Metro environment. Without that, it comes down to factors such as distribution and differentiation. The former is Microsoft’s key to competing with Android tablets while the latter holds its hope against Apple.