USA: Microsoft debuts a larger and lighter version of its Surface Pro tablet to compete with Apple's iPad and MacBook Air laptop, while China bans the use of Microsoft's Windows 8 on government computers
Record ID:
452082
USA: Microsoft debuts a larger and lighter version of its Surface Pro tablet to compete with Apple's iPad and MacBook Air laptop, while China bans the use of Microsoft's Windows 8 on government computers
- Title: USA: Microsoft debuts a larger and lighter version of its Surface Pro tablet to compete with Apple's iPad and MacBook Air laptop, while China bans the use of Microsoft's Windows 8 on government computers
- Date: 20th May 2014
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 20, 2014) (REUTERS) MICROSOFT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER SATYA NADELLA WALKING ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICROSOFT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER SATYA NADELLA, SAYING: "We are not building hardware for hardware's sake. We want to build experiences that bring together all the capabilities of our company from our cloud infrastructure to our application services, to our hardware capability to build these mobile first productivity experiences. That's the mission." NADELLA SHAKING HANDS WITH PANOS PANAY, CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR SURFACE COMPUTING AT MICROSOFT (SOUNDBITE) (English) PANOS PANAY, CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR SURFACE COMPUTING AT MICROSOFT, SAYING: "I am sure that this is the tablet that can replace the laptop." PANAY ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PANOS PANAY, CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR SURFACE COMPUTING AT MICROSOFT, SAYING: "Surface Pro 2 packs a ton of punch. It has all the performance that you need in your full laptop. We then took that product, we took that exact same performance, increased it, pushed it from the 10.6 millimeters it started at and pushed it down to the 9.1 millimeters you see on stage. It's pretty incredible." PANAY ON STAGE PANAY DEMONSTRATING THE LIGHTNESS OF THE SURFACE PRO 3 COMPARED TO A MAC BOOK (SOUNDBITE) (English) PANOS PANAY, CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR SURFACE COMPUTING AT MICROSOFT, SAYING: "On this 12-inch screen you get 6 percent more content than on this 13-inch screen. That is a factor of the ratio of three by two as well as the scaling. It is gorgeous. But to be super clear, we want you to take both those devices out of your bag, so you have to think about all the weight that happens with these devices." PANAY LEAVING STAGE WIDE OF MICROSOFT SURFACE DISPLAY DEMONSTRATION ON SURFACE MICROSOFT SURFACE DISPLAY WITH KEYBOARDS PERSON TYPING ON COMPUTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) AVI GREENGART, RESEARCH DIRECTOR OF CONSUMER DEVICES AT CURRENT ANALYSIS, ON CHINA BAN, SAYING: "There are two elements here, one is technical, whatever the specific reason the Chinese have, and one is political. When you're dealing with China and large multinational organizations like Microsoft, there's always a political angle. Microsoft is going to have to work with the Chinese government to get these restrictions lifted so that it can continue selling in the country." WINDOWS 8 ON TABLET SCREEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) AVI GREENGART, RESEARCH DIRECTOR OF CONSUMER DEVICES AT CURRENT ANALYSIS, SAYING: "Microsoft has long fought copyright violations in China and in some cases tried to lower the price of Windows dramatically so that it could at least get some legitimate sales. But China is one of the largest economies in the world and it's growing extremely fast, the computing business there is extremely important and Microsoft is a computing player and is going to want to maintain its growth in China." WINDOWS 8 ON TABLET SCREEN
- Embargoed: 4th June 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Science / Technology
- Reuters ID: LVAB8ZR75MWY70808OU049FO1HHX
- Story Text: Microsoft Corp unveiled a larger but lighter version of its Surface Pro tablet on Tuesday (May 20), as it ramps up efforts to make an impact on the mobile computing market and counter the popularity of Apple Inc's iPad and MacBook Air laptop.
At a presentation in New York, new Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella made it clear that Microsoft, which recently acquired Nokia's handset business, is committed fully to making its own devices, despite a lack of success for its phones and tablets so far.
"We are not building hardware for hardware's sake," said Nadella, at the event. "We want to build experiences that bring together all the capabilities of our company."
Microsoft, which is recasting itself as a 'devices and services' company, has not made much headway on the devices side, except for its Xbox game console.
The Surface, launched in October 2012 and refreshed last year, has about 2 percent of the tablet market, failing to make a dent on Apple's iPad. Microsoft has only 3 percent global share in smartphones, chiefly through Nokia.
Microsoft is hoping that the new Surface Pro 3, which runs the full Windows operating system, will be the device consumers and companies go to when they are replacing laptops.
"I am sure that this is the tablet that can replace the laptop," said Panos Panay, corporate vice president for Surface computing at Microsoft. "Surface Pro 2 packs a ton of punch. It has all the performance that you need in your full laptop. We then took that product, we took that exact same performance, increased it, pushed it from the 10.6 millimeters it started at and pushed it down to 9.1 millimeters."
The new device has a 12-inch screen, slightly bigger than its last model, but is thinner and weighs less. It comes in three models, starting from $799, and will be available to order on Wednesday (May 21).
China has banned government use of Windows 8, Microsoft Corp's latest operating system and which the newest Surface Pro uses, a blow to a U.S. technology company that has long struggled with sales in the country.
"There are two elements here, one is technical, whatever the specific reason the Chinese have, and one is political," said Avi Greengart, research director of consumer devices at Current Analysis. "When you're dealing with China and large multinational organizations like Microsoft, there's always a political angle. Microsoft is going to have to work with the Chinese government to get these restrictions lifted so that it can continue selling in the country."
The Central Government Procurement Centre issued the ban on installing Windows 8 on Chinese government computers as part of a notice on the use of energy-saving products, posted on its website last week.
The official Xinhua news agency said the ban was to ensure computer security after Microsoft ended support for its Windows XP operating system, which was widely used in China.
China has long been a troublesome market for Microsoft. Former CEO Steve Ballmer reportedly told employees in 2011 that, because of piracy, Microsoft earned less revenue in China than in the Netherlands even though computer sales matched those of the United States.
"Microsoft has long fought copyright violations in China and in some cases tried to lower the price of Windows dramatically so that it could at least get some legitimate sales," said Greengart. "But China is one of the largest economies in the world and it's growing extremely fast, the computing business there is extremely important and Microsoft is a computing player and is going to want to maintain its growth in China."
Last month, Microsoft ended support for the 13-year-old Windows XP to encourage the adoption of newer, more secure versions of Windows. This has potentially left XP users vulnerable to viruses and hacking.
Doing business in China could now get even tougher for American companies in the wake of the U.S. government's decision to charge five Chinese army officers with cyber spying and stealing trade secrets. Experts say U.S. technology executives are unlikely to publicly complain about the decision to indict these five members. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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