Business strategy changes: Microsoft jumps into hardware business with new Surface tablets – Part 1

Microsoft is clearly revamping its long-held strategy: Produce a software and let others handle the hardware. Of late, the company has shown some activities including this week’s conference in Hollywood that bodes a different Microsoft in the coming years.

The Windows-makers plunged into the hardware business as well, as they showed off their first line of Windows tablets in a conference in Los Angeles. The mobile devices are divided into two main segments.

As it is not unknown to even a layman that the tablet market has been segregated into two modes of use, a normal way to read books and browse web or may be listen to music, and the other to create documents, media files and play rigorous games.

Amazon reigns over the former and Apple sits the throne on the latter. Microsoft is planning to play both with the same hand. The company launched two tablets under the main header, Surface. The first, Surface RT, will use the entry-level specs, as the company says, with an ARM CPU from NVIDIA and excerpted version of Windows 8. The next iteration, Surface Pro, is a full-fledge Windows 8 equipped with an Intel Ivy Bridge processor.

According to the company, the first will cater to the contemporary tablet market in direct competition with the likes of Apple (iPad) and Asus (Transformer Pad TF300). The Pro version is slated to be an alternative to the ultrabooks. Clearly, the company is planning to literally bring the PC world to a crossroads. It seems that the much touted Post-PC world is knocking at the door step, should the Surface succeeds it will be let inside in a snap.

But it seems not enough for the software goliaths. Rumour has it Microsoft is planning to launch its own branded smartphone. Although it is not expected to hit the consumer market any sooner than 2013, Microsoft’s recent activities suggest that a new Microsoft smartphone is in the making.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=26770

Posted by Usman Khalid on Jun 23 2012. Filed under Sci-Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.