Microsoft is preparing a rival for the Nexus 7 and iPad mini - Vedomosti

Microsoft is preparing a new line of Tablet Surface, including smaller 7-inch version, according to The Wall Street Journal. According to the publication, the mass production of the product will be launched later this year. WSJ message appeared after Microsoft recently changed the specifications of Windows 8, adding support for a small tablet with a screen resolution of 1024 × 768 pixels.

According to one source WSJ, on the release of the mini-version of Surface Microsoft inspired competitors – Google, which released Nexus 7 and Apple’s iPad mini. According to IDC, the size of half of the sales in the IV quarter of 2012 tablets does not exceed 8 inches.

In the February interview on CBS ex-CEO Microsoft, Bill Gates declared that unhappy steps that Microsoft is doing in mobile. Despite the release of Windows 8 tablet and Surface, the company did not respond quickly enough to changes in the market, Gates said.

Global sales

Surface began in late October 2012 in IV quarter 2012, according to research firm IDC, in different countries has been sold under 900,000 Surface RT and 22.9 million iPad. In Russia, during the same period, according to « Euroset” bought about 1.6 million tablets: 79% of them are running the operating system Google Android, and 21% – for iOS ( Surface runs on third platform – Windows). Tablets based on Android and iOS is sold « Euroset” ten times more than the analogs on Windows, recognizes Representative « Euroset.” Selling the first tablet from Microsoft, Russia launched only last week and were failures: four days retailers managed to sell only 300 units. Surface RT interesting, according to the representative « Euroset”, two categories of customers: or to those who ar e used to working with Microsoft Office applications and does not want to change the operating system to any other party or lovers test the new items.

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