And, soon to follow those other sellouts by going down in flames. Some might aver that it is too early to call the Surface RT an abject failure, but that “sell out” only sold 900,000 units in the Christmas quarter. If for no other reason than guilt by association, the Windows Surface Pro’s future is, real sell out or not, dubious at best.
What could be bad about the news that Microsoft’s Windows Surface Pro 128GB has sold out? Frankly, it is all about the spin, which has a very, very familiar look and feel:
• Surface RT also sold out and then failed to sell a million units
• Microsoft’s 2009 Zune HD sold out at launch, yet was quietly discontinued two years later
• Windows 8 Phones of varying descriptions also sold out at launch, but cumulatively failed to deliver even 5 percent of the smartphone market
• Palm’s last gasp at relevance, the Palm Pre running the now open source webOS, sold out and withered to irrevelance within a year
• Google’s no longer extant Nexus Q sold out
• Sony PS Vita sold out a year ago and has been hardly heard of since
• Google’s Nexus 4 sold out, but first quarter sales only totaled 400K units
— The Nexus One died quickly after selling out at launch
So, what are we to think of the the Blackberry Z10’s recent UK launch sellout? Ask the question again in three months.
That said, like the Surface RT, Microsoft’s Surface Pro has received brutal reviews. Of course, the former failed spectactularly — launch to flame out in just one quarter.
What chance does the Windows Surface Pro really stand? Better to spend your money on a MacBook Air or 128GB iPad 4 (at the very least you get good resale value)…
What’s your?