Microsoft says competitors’ tablets not as compelling as Surface

OTTAWA—Microsoft Corp. is not concerned about entering the tablet market now to compete with rival company Apple Inc., said Mario Coculuzzi, director of sales for Microsoft Canada’s Eastern region. At a device demonstration event in Ottawa Thursday, Coculuzzi said in an interview that competitors do not have as compelling a product as Microsoft's new Surface tablet. When asked whether Microsoft is concerned about a possible late entry into a tablet market dominated by Apple, Google Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., Coculuzzi said, “Absolutely, not.” According to data released Monday by IDC, Apple, which launched a smaller, less expensive iPad mini last month, shipped 14 million tablets worldwide in the third quarter of 2012, up from 11 million in the same period of 2011. Samsung, whose devices are powered by Google’s Android operating system, shipped 5.1 million tablets worldwide in the third quarter, up from 1.2 million in the same quarter of 2011, IDC said. In Canada, the smaller Apple iPad mini sells for $330 while a regular 9.7-inch iPad starts at $399. A seven-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 retails for $249 and the 10-inch model is $349. Microsoft’s new tablet became available for pre-order in Canada this month for $519 to $719. The company said it will be available for purchase at the Yorkdale Toronto Microsoft Store starting Nov. 16, 2012. The device operates on Microsoft's new Windows 8 platform and features a 10.6-inch screen, a USB port, attachable keyboards and a kickstand. The Surface is available with 32 GB or 64 GB of storage. Victoria Kerr, senior product marketing manager for Windows Canada, said one of the Surface's attributes is that it's durable. “You can drop it 76 different ways before anything will happen,” she said at the demo event. Rami El Bayadi, director of the Windows business group at Microsoft Canada, said the Surface is unique because it provides the convenience of a tablet with the functionality of a PC. "When you think about our competition, I don't think they have as compelling a story as we do with Surface. There's no question about that," Coculuzzi said. “The productivity of that device with the USB port allows you to connect to peripherals, either printers, or hard drive, you name it,” El Bayadi added. “So I wouldn’t compare apples to oranges basically.” Coculuzzi then said, “Or Apple to Surface.” El Bayadi said Surface comes with Microsoft Office, differentiating it from competitors as a “productive” device for work or play. “We’ve never had anything as strong as this before,” he said. “We’re very proud of what this could offer to the consumer and commercially.” Apple CEO Tim Cook last month compared the Surface to a confusing product that tries to do too much. "One of the toughest things you do with product to make, is to make hard trade-offs and decide what a product should be, and we've really done that with the iPad, so the user experience is incredible,” he said during a conference call for the company's fourth-quarter results. “I suppose you could design a car that flies and floats, but I don't think it would do all of those things very well." Coculuzzi said Microsoft launched its Xbox gaming console in 2000 in a market dominated by Nintendo Co. Ltd. and Sony Corp., yet it persevered and succeeded in the market. “Netscape was there before we got in with Internet Explorer look who’s leading the market today,” Coculuzzi said. Coculuzzi said Microsoft continues to innovate and that he expects Surface to be as successful as other products. “There’s a certain pride with working at Microsoft and we love competition,” he said. dgrenier@thewirereport.ca

Microsoft says competitors’ tablets not as compelling as Surface

News | 11/08/2012 8:52 pm EST

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