New Surface tablets bodes unhealthy relationship between Microsoft and hardware vendors – Part 1

Microsoft is taking a stab at the tablet market and most probably the smartphone market next year with a different strategy. Although we have seen the original version of this strategy at Cupertino with Apple, Microsoft face a different scenario altogether.

The Windows makers are taking a plunge into the hardware business with the launch of their own branded tablets called Surface. This is Microsoft’s take to keep the hardware and software in close proximity for possible synergy.

However, this strategy comes with a pun. Though there has been no official statement from Microsoft’s hardware partners with the likes of HP, Dell, Acer and Samsung, the aura suggests that all of them have been intimidated by the upcoming tablets.

Experts speculate Microsoft might be pulling an Apple strategy to bring the hardware and software closer to each other. Ezra Gottheil, a senior analyst at Technology Business Research thinks otherwise.

“I don’t think Microsoft wants to pull an Apple,” Gotthiel says, referring to Apple’s strategy of tightly coupling its hardware and software products.

“I think Microsoft faced what looked like a tepid launch going through [HP and Dell] both of whom were burned in the past by the great tablet hysteria of last year — and said to themselves ‘we can really jump start this market.’”

Some of these companies are solely dependent on Windows in the personal computing market. The likes of HP and Dell are very closely related to MS and have a number of ultrabooks in the pipeline expected hit the shores come fall. What aggravates the relation is that both of these companies have Windows 8 tablets in the forthcoming half of the year.

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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.