Over the past weeks we’ve heard a lot of criticism brought to both Windows RT and the Surface Tablet, plus grim predictions for this device’s future. Well, said predictions are now turning real, since UBS analyst Brent Thill is estimating that Microsoft only moved 1 million Surface RT slates over the last quarter.
To make matter worse, the previous estimate was 2 million and also this all happened during the holiday shopping spree. In order to put this number into context, Apple is said to have sold over 20 million iPads in the same time frame. Thill says that people prefer the iPad over the Surface and narrow distribution is also to blame for the Surface low sales. Microsoft was only content with selling the product via its stores over the last quarter and it was very hard to convince to move to retailers, which they did eventually.
However, there’s a silver lining, according to the same analyst, who has faith in the performance of the Surface Pro, especially when it comes to sales to corporations, as the product offers a good iPad alternative. It’s got an Intel chip, it offers the full Windows 8 experience and allows users to do some solid work. However, once Office hits the iPad, it’s hard to tell who will win corporations over.
