Acer Reacts, Calls Microsofts Surface Tablet Just a Ploy

[Guest]

Surface is just a clever maneuver to pitch Windows 8 and Microsoft has no real intentions of selling its own tablet, says Acer's founder Stan Shih.

Acer Reacts, Calls Microsofts Surface Tablet Just a Ploy : Read more

 

[nbelote]

Microsoft took massive losses in the video gaming hardware industry in order to push themselves way ahead in the market. By the end of that time, they were making money hand-over-fist even with the losses. The ploy is a lie.

 

[erunion]

"Shih concluded that it would make no sense for Microsoft to move from the software business with big profit margins to the hardware business with tiny margins."

Lets see, profitable software company that handles its own hardware? Nope can't think of a single....Apple!

 

[sixdegree]

Perhaps it was Shih's ploy not to appear upset over Microsoft Surface tablet?

Just look at his face. That is all.

 

[phatboe]

While I do not believe Surface is a ploy at all, I do agree with Mr. Shih that what MS is doing doesn't make sense. Sure they can follow in Apple's lead and start creating their own hardware but that will upset MS's partners. Instead I don't understand why MS didn't license the surface design out to partners who agree to sell the surface based designed notebooks with Win 8.

 

[DRosencraft]

This logic from Acer is one of the strangest I've heard in a little while. If I'm getting this right, MSFT made a huge deal about making a tablet running a software that isn't out yet in hopes of driving up sales of that software, that would come on the device in the first place? How does this help push sales of Win8? Why make a public press announcement of the tablet and not at a developer conference, if this is just to boost enthusiasm? Is Acer saying they were thinking of making a tablet that doesn't run Win8? This statement from Acer just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

 

[Guest]

It is all these "partners" fault anyway. They put bloatware on computers and dive them in to the ground from day one. Follow that up with crap hardware just to underprice apple products and that is what you get... apple gaining ground on microsoft. Microsoft reacted. Well played

 

[bspatial]

Just looking at that man's face makes me hate Acer products more.

 

[belardo]

They publicly said they would release this product to the market in a few months... to not do so, would look like they are crazy. But yes, their partners cannot compete against the MS branded tablet, which looks somewhat like a Nokia... with Nokia colors.

[citation][nom]erunion[/nom]Lets see, profitable software company that handles its own hardware? Nope can't think of a single....Apple![/citation]
Errrr. no. Apple was born a hardware company, they sell hardware. They make their own software for their hardware. Here are some examples you seemed to not understand:
- Apple II (Since the 1970s)
- Macintosh
- Mac II
- PowerPC Macs
- iMac
- notebook computers
- Intel powered Macs
- Lisa
- Newton (first tablet, before the Palm Pilots)
- Monitors, keyboards, mice
- Drives
- Servers (yes, they made big box servers, they make little ones now)
- iPod (some sort of MP3/music player of some sort)
- iPhone (some awkward phone-like device, I doubt anyone will buy it)
- iPad (a modern tablet that nobody ever heard of)


Microsoft is a software company. Their early products? BASIC (used to make programs). They bought and re-sold "MSDOS". Windows, MS-office, Internet Explorer, etc... these are what is called SOFTWARE.

The only hardware they make: keyboard & mice... and of course the game consoles.... so much for being the serious business company.

MS makes money selling software FOR the xbox through licensing.

Apple makes money on every piece of hardware they sell, its profit. They make more profit with iTunes selling music, books and movies... on top of their hardware.

 

[Guest]

I think the "surface" Tablet is just microsoft's way (*Hopefully*) of getting the industry to go in this new direction. No one has build a tablet with a cover/keyboard and they wanted to do a mock up/ example ? I can't think of any other way of them doing that. No other way to express this idea. HOWEVER I realize this may be them trying to become a "hardware company" to that I feel very starnge about becuase they are gonna screw alot of things up. I hope thats not so. But hey we need more american companies doing hardware. Or at least making money from it.

That being said. Acer Stop useing Alps Trackpads in your laptops! I returned mine becuase of it.

They should get a better picture of that guy unless that was taken when he made that announcment even then I think a better picture is needed. It makes them look bad. Almost purposely.

 

[alextheblue]

It's just a ploy? That's what Shih said.

/couldnotresist

 

[u_hsen]

apple doesn't make hardware. they contract people to make hardware for them.

if you ever crack open an imac or macbook pro or ipad..

Foxconn makes majority of apple motherboards inside apple products
various hard drive companies makes the hard drive for iMacs/Macbook pro
Liquidmetal makes the aluminum body for the macs/macbook pro
Intel makes the processor for the macbook/macbook pro
nVidia makes the Processor for iPhone, iPod Touchs, iPadss (nVidiaTegras)
apple is just a brand.

 

[hp79]

I would buy Surface even if it didn't have that cool keyboard/cover. I want to see a high quality tablet that runs Windows and Onenote with good pen input. Samsung Series 7 Slate was close, but they messed up on build quality.

PC manufacturers should try to keep up with better hardware. They should be able to make better hardware than MS since they have the experience. I say MS did a nice job to kick other manufacturers butt. They really needed it. Apple and MS is now pushing them towards a better product, which is a good thing.

 

[u_hsen]

i would still play games on pc computers
yes, macs can offer up to 2000X1800 resolution on their screen, but it's going to be laggier than on a pc.

macs are stuck with mid-end graphics and you can't even upgrade them

 

[keepinitrealz]

U_hsen, apple does indeed design their hardware. Doesn't matter who makes the components used (Intel chips, etc), the end product is designed by them. When designing systems, you use components from all over the place. FYI, Tegra SoCs are not used in any ios devices. Apple has their own ARM based SoC.

 

[avjguy2362]

The "Ploy" here by Microsoft was NOT to tell the consumer what the prices will be. This will make most people who were ready to spend $400ish or more dollars on a tablet to hold off on their purchase until they know whether or not the Surface tablets will really be that much better than what they were going to spend their money on.
In a slightly different way, Nvidia did the same thing with their 680 GPU's. Even though they only had several hundred ( just guessing, but not many! ) to sell at launch, they had to get all the reviewers to get the consumers to know that they had a better card for less money than AMD. This caused most people who were ready to shell out more than $500 for an AMD 7900 GPU to hold off on their purchase and wait for Nvidia to have more cards. This marketing definitely hurt AMD's sales even though Nvidia had almost nothing to sell for quite a while.
Microsoft is quite geniuos IMO for this tactic, but is sure to piss off everyone else.
The speculation creates the excitement and most consumers are probably willing to wait to see just how good these tablets really are..... or are not!

 

[AndrewMD]

Apple was correct in controlling all aspects of their products. Microsoft is now going to take control of their product line and should leave the partners behind because of their inability to create products that best represent Microsoft.

Let's see if Google can learn from this and take control of Android...

 

[belardo]

@AndrewMW : As long as Steve Jobs was at Apple, its always been their (his) way... He was still a jerk, but he did create various markets that people did follow... even if he/they didn't originally create it.


[citation][nom]u_hsen[/nom]apple doesn't make hardware. they contract people to make hardware for them.if you ever crack open an imac or macbook pro or ipad..Foxconn makes majority of apple motherboards inside apple productsvarious hard drive companies makes the hard drive for Macs~~[/citation]
Uh... that is pretty much any major company, silly child. Acer is perhaps the only PC company that makes its own computer... as they own and re-badge Gateway, Packard Bell (Yes, a major brand in Europe) and eMachines). Open up a ThinkPad computer.... foxconn. HP, Dell, Sony, Lenovo, etc... all made in China from the same 1-2 companies. Nvidia and AMD GPUs coming from the same factory. Most PSUs are by name - hundreds of names most likely, but only 5 or so Chinese companies make them.

So yes, Apple is a hardware company as much as Dell and HP is. They engineer their the designs, and have companies like Foxconn make them. Foxconn is not really a hardware company. They are a manufacturing factory. They do sell some low-end stuff under their name for some reason.

 

[molo9000]

[citation][nom]erunion[/nom]"Shih concluded that it would make no sense for Microsoft to move from the software business with big profit margins to the hardware business with tiny margins."Lets see, profitable software company that handles its own hardware? Nope can't think of a single....Apple![/citation]

Microsoft earns the bulk of it's money from selling Windows and Office at monopoly prices. That's their main business.
It's unlikely that they are going to turn a noticeable profit on the Surface tablet. They compete with all other Windows 8 tablets, Android tablets and the iPad. Microsoft has no interest in entering such a highly competitive market.
What they want is to establish their software platform so they can make money from it.

btw: Apple is primarily in the business of selling hardware. Making their own software is just a way to differentiate themselves from the competition.

 

[shqtth]

Microsoft could make their own tablet, they already make xbox. They *could* make the tablet that works with the xbox to me an extension of the xbox and multimedia/entertainment. Hmm they already have an in, due to windows/pc and/or the xbox and zune video/music.

 

[Bloob]

I think Shih is right. Surface will be released, but it will most likely be a limited release ( maybe MS stores only ).

 

[The_Trutherizer]

Surface smurface. There's nothing really 'surfacy' about these tablets anyway. Surface was meant to be something else completely.

 

[gtvr]

Let's assume he's right, and MS isn't going to make this. Here's the problem: They say they are going to, partners decide not to compete in that space, and then MS doesn't actually ship. No Win8 tablets... ooops.

 

[back_by_demand]

Sounds like sore grapes by Acer, as a hardware company they should be in the business of trying to make better and more advanced products to woo the purchasing public into choosing them above competitors. They should have been amongst the first to say they would be making a product that was equally good if not better.

But no, they have had years to push a good product and instead have sat back and tried to make a business on mediocre hardware

Acer, pull your act together

 

[RADIO_ACTIVE]

[citation][nom]sixdegree[/nom]Just look at his face. That is all.[/citation]
I just blew Rockstar out my nose reading your comment lol

I am really interested in the MS tablets, they have got my attention can't wait to see comparison benchies.