Microsoft's Surface tablet is suffering from weak sales, so much so that the company has halved its order from the supply chain, according to a report.
Taiwan's DigiTimes says Microsoft has slashed its Surface order from 4 million units to just 2 million. The Redmond-based company expected to sell the 4 million by the end of the year.
DigiTimes is a notoriously unreliable source, so it's worth taking this report with a hefty dose of salt. However, it does chime with what we've heard previously. One report claimed that internally Microsoft has described Surface's sales as "disappointing".
Steven Sinofsky, the man in charge of Windows, left Microsoft shortly after the release of Windows 8, too.
Beneath the Surface
Asus, Samsung and Dell's Windows 8 tablets also aren't impressing, the sources said, describing their sales as "weak". Asus' chief finance officer previously admitted that "demand for Windows 8 is not that good right now."
So far, Surface only runs Windows RT, with the Windows 8 version slated for a January release. That should boost sales, though going on sale at the start of the year isn't ideal. Especially in the middle of a recession.
Steve Ballmer has described Windows 8 as the company's biggest launch for a decade, saying it heralded "the launch of a new era at Microsoft." If this report is right, it looks like the same old Microsoft so far.
Via The Guardian
