Microsoft’s Surface event got over few hours back. While everyone of us were expecting Microsoft to reveal a 7-8 inch Windows RT tablet based on Qualcomm processor, Microsoft revealed Surface Pro 3 device based on Intel Core CPUs. So, What happened to much rumored Surface Mini. Microsoft decided to delay it for now due to couple of reasons. Bloomberg reports that Microsoft was not confident that the product offered enough differentiation from the competitors to release in the market. Microsoft doesn’t want to do the same mistake it did with Surface RT.
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella and Executive Vice President Stephen Elop decided that the product in development wasn’t different enough from rivals and probably wouldn’t be a hit, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans weren’t public. Engineers had been working on the device and had planned to unveil it as early as today at an event in New York, two of the people said.
Instead, the company removed any references to Surface devices based on Qualcomm’s processors from the event and unveiled Surface Pro 3, an upgraded version of its pricier Windows-based tablet, which uses chips from Intel Corp. (INTC) and features a larger 12-inch screen. Microsoft is still working on smaller versions, Panos Panay, who runs the Surface business, said in an interview after the event. Panay declined to provide details on future products.
Microsoft however confirmed that they remain committed to the Windows on ARM project and as per report from Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft may be waiting for Office Gemini (touch based Office for Windows) and Windows 9 ‘Threshold’ release to release a fully optimized Surface Mini tablet.
Source: Bloomberg