It appears Microsoft's ambitions of becoming similar to Apple go beyond merely making own-branded tablets-- Bloomberg reports Microsoft kept its PC partners in the dark, keeping the Surface a closely guarded secret.
Which company has a reputation for shrouding all future plans under a thick veil of darkness, before announcing them in glitzy press-only events? Oh, right...
According to anonymous Bloomberg sources in the US and Taiwan, PC vendors were let know about the Surface tablet only 3 days before it was shown to the press, when Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky "made a round of telephone calls but gave only the barest details on Friday, neither revealing the name of the gadget nor its specifications."
Sources at Acer and Asus say they only learnt about the Surface at the LA news conference. Analysts at Ovum say Microsoft was giving hardware partners "a huge vote of no confidence" and they "rightly feel slighted".
Acer founder Stan Shih says Microsoft's tablet market entry is a ploy to "encourage vendors to offer Windows 8 tablet PCs and thereby help expand market demand for the product line."
Shih's reasoning continues that selling hardware makes less profits than software licensing-- meaning Microsoft would have no reason to continue making tablets once windows 8 adoption kicks off.
Microsoft still has to reveal all Surface details-- we do not know what resolution its "ClearType HD" display handles, the speeds the processors (either Intel or ARM) run at, or details regarding pricing.
An executive at a Chinese handset maker tells Bloomberg "it'll be a good strategy for Microsoft to focus on software development and leave its partners to make the hardware."
Perhaps unpredictably, Microsoft managed to upset its hardware partners by entering the tablet-making game-- and risks alienating OEMs even further should it push prices to lower than they afford.
Go Microsoft Kept PC Partners in Dark About Surface (Bloomberg)
Go Microsoft Own-Brand Tablets Ploy to Drive Windows 8 Adoption Says Acer Founder (Digitimes)