One of the chinks in Apple’s armor is the iPad. While the iPhone has contributed mightily to Apple’s runaway earnings last quarter, the iPad has actually been hemorrhaging Apple’s footprint in the highly competitive global tablet market. Maybe, it’s the fact that the iPad is hundreds of dollars more expensive than other tablet models. Maybe, it’s the fact that the iPad has a lot of crossover appeal with the larger iPhone. Whatever the reason, it appears that Apple is beginning to struggle in the tablet market.
This is a serious opportunity for Microsoft’s Surface line of tablets. One key market differentiator that isn’t being talked about too much is the fact that professionals really can’t use the iPad. It’s lightweight and it’s not robust enough. However, the iPad does bring an unprecedented level of mobility to the table. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a tablet that is as powerful as a laptop, but gives you all the freedom and mobility and chic appeal of a tablet?
This is where the Surface 3 comes in. The Surface 3 is a non-professional but it has enough processing power and features to fill the needs of professionals. As more and more people switch from notebooks and desktops to tablets, this is a serious competitive opportunity for Microsoft. If there’s one company that might be able to pull this off, it would be Microsoft.
All told in the past quarter the Surface line of Microsoft’s Surface line produced 1.1 billion dollars in sales. This is a big number, but it only accounts for about 4% of Microsoft’s total revenues. If Microsoft’s is able to knock the ball out the park with the upcoming Windows 10 launch, Surface pro 3 and the Surface series in general might be the winning product line Microsoft needs to establish a solid foothold in the tablet market. This is a serious gamble because Microsoft is known primarily as a software company. Its only major hardware success is, of course, the Xbox. Still, if it’s able to win big in the tablet market, this might pave the way of a massive turnabout for the software giant.
Comments are closed.