Microsoft Surface

Topic Selection Microsoft recently unveiled its prototype, Surface, their version of a tablet or alternative device to a personal computer. It is questionable how Microsoft, a known software company, will be able to manufacture and sell a tablet device that is a contender in the marketplace against devices such as the iPad. Thesis: It is critical that Microsoft produce a device that overcomes the limitations of its competitors and adds features that set it apart, in order to define itself in the tablet market.
Background Information Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the company’s new tablet Surface, at a press event in Hollywood last week. According to Ballmer, “Surface is a PC, the Surface is a tablet and the Surface is something new that we think people will really love” (Austin, 2012). Reviews of the device were generally favorable, describing Surface and beautiful and “very Apple-like” (Ray, 2012). Microsoft is introducing Surface to the market as two separate tablets aimed at two completely different types of users. The first tablet is Surface RT or Surface. The basic version, which weighs 1.5 pounds and is only 9 millimeters thick, is designed to run on a low-power version of Windows 8, called RT (Stern, 2012). It is the equivalent to Apple’s IOS that runs their mobile devices. The Surface RT will come preloaded with Microsoft’s Home and Student version of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote). This software accessibility on a tablet makes it instantly more productive for Windows users that live in a Microsoft Office world (Colburn, 2012). The company took a completely different approach with Surface Pro. This tablet is Microsoft’s way to hedge against the creation of apps being their only platform to gain traction against Apple and Android (Colburn, 2012). The two-pound Surface Pro will use more powerful Ivy Bridge processors from Intel.