{"id":1011,"date":"2013-02-12T11:09:31","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T16:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=1011"},"modified":"2013-02-12T11:09:31","modified_gmt":"2013-02-12T16:09:31","slug":"128gb-surface-pro-sells-out-high-demand-short-supply-or-both-ars-technica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/02\/12\/128gb-surface-pro-sells-out-high-demand-short-supply-or-both-ars-technica\/","title":{"rendered":"128GB Surface Pro sells out: High demand, short supply, or both?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost as soon as it went on sale on Saturday morning, the $999 128GB versions of Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet sold out. Whether buying online from Microsoft or from the Microsoft, Best Buy, Staples, or Future Stops bricks-and-mortar stores, the devices are unavailable, with no estimated availability. You can’t even put your name down for a pre-order.
\nSign of a successful launch? That’s harder to say. Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet reports that some stores received just a single device to sell. With stock that thin on the ground, even idle curiosity would likely cause the Surface Pro to sell out. Other stores certainly had more stock: one Ars reader reports the Westfield San Francisco Centre Microsoft Store had dozens of 128GB units, with one person buying 23 of the machines in a single transaction. So Microsoft has certainly sold a bunch of the 128GB Surface Pros\u2014but whether that represents thousands, tens of thousands, or even more, we don’t know.
\nWe do know that 64GB Surface Pros, however, still seem to be relatively abundant, with stores still having stock and Microsoft’s online store still taking orders.
\nWe also don’t know is whether this means that supplies of the 128GB unit are healthier, or that demand for the cheaper unit is lower. One would suspect early demand is tilted in favor of the more expensive device. 64GB just isn’t that much space on a new machine bought in 2013, especially for technically minded early adopters. Add to this the concern about the amount of disk space actually available on the 64GB Surface Pro and it’s plausible it’s simply not that popular.
\nWe also don’t know why the 128GB units are so hard to come by. It’s possible Microsoft has been taken by surprise and is facing higher than expected demand; it’s also possible that its supply chain, which is still pretty new, simply couldn’t produce enough units to cope with even modest demand.
\nOne thing, however, is clear: would-be buyers aren’t happy about it. The comments on Microsoft’s official Surface blog about the lack of availability are increasingly hostile. Commenters note the same low stock levels, with some claiming their local stores received not a single device. In the commenters’ views, Microsoft’s handling of the launch is nothing short of incompetent.
\nEven if the company has been caught off-guard by demand substantially higher than anticipated, there should at least be the ability to register interest and get in line. People could then know when new hardware does roll off the production line and buy systems on a first come, first served basis.
\nWith Microsoft not taking pre-orders or giving any indication of when the systems will be back in stock, prospective buyers are already looking elsewhere. While nothing else on the market offers quite the same design approach or features of the Surface Pro, if you’re willing to accept slightly different form factors, there are viable alternatives from Samsung (the Ativ Smart PC Pro), Lenovo (the Yoga), or even Apple (MacBook Air). Microsoft can’t afford to leave potential customers hanging for too long or there’s a good chance they’ll go for one of these competing systems.
\nWhile the Surface Pro launch is proving frustrating to those interested in the product, there are, for Microsoft, worse outcomes. A glut of Surface Pros sitting unloved and unwanted on store shelves and warehouses would have been even worse than a shortage. Retailers may be frustrated at the lack of stock, but not as frustrated as they’d be with stock they’d have to give away at a knock-down price (as happened not so long ago with the HP TouchPad).
\nMicrosoft could, and should, be doing more to keep potential buyers engaged, and the criticism on this point is well-deserved. But if the company opted to play it safe and go for a more conservative launch rather than flooding the market, that’s an understandable\u2014and arguably even sensible\u2014decision.
\nvia 128GB Surface Pro sells out: High demand, short supply, or both? | Ars Technica<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Almost as soon as it went on sale on Saturday morning, the $999 128GB versions of Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,5,11],"tags":[603,1054,1065],"class_list":["post-1011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hardware","category-microsoft","category-windows","tag-laptops","tag-surface-pro","tag-tablets"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-gj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6660,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/10\/17\/microsoft-rolls-out-surface-2-firmware-updates-promises-wi-fi-update-for-surface-pro-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":1011,"position":0},"title":"Microsoft rolls out Surface 2 firmware updates, promises Wi-Fi update for Surface Pro 3","author":"NCCT","date":"October 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Microsoft may well be close to launching a new version of its Windows RT tablet, but it's continuing to roll out improvements to its current one in the meantime. The company has today begun pushing out a bunch of firmware updates for the Surface 2, bringing a range of fixes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5864,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/07\/01\/some-surface-pro-3-users-complain-of-wi-fi-woes-after-first-day-firmware-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":1011,"position":1},"title":"Some Surface Pro 3 users complain of Wi-Fi woes after first-day firmware update","author":"NCCT","date":"July 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Ten days after launch, Microsoft is still trying to squash the bugs in its Surface Pro 3 tablet. As Ed Bott at ZDNet reports, some users have been complaining of connectivity problems over 802.11ac Wi-Fi networks. 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The new prices are in effect at retail stores worldwide as well\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6149,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/08\/05\/the-laywomans-review-of-the-surface-pro-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":1011,"position":3},"title":"The lay(wo)man’s review of the Surface Pro 3","author":"NCCT","date":"August 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Reviewing gadgets is a lot of fun but it can be an overwhelming experience too. The amount of time that goes into using a product and then thinking through all the use-cases and trying to simulate (or at least try to empathize with) those can be cumbersome and frankly, it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6348,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/09\/03\/oops-microsoft-accidentally-teases-windows-9-coming-soon-on-social-media\/","url_meta":{"origin":1011,"position":4},"title":"Oops! Microsoft accidentally teases Windows 9 ‘coming soon’ on social media","author":"NCCT","date":"September 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Microsoft's internal censors seem to be sleeping on the job this year. In June, the Surface Pro 3 manual included several references to a small-screen Surface Mini despite the fact that a small-screen Surface Mini was never actually released. And now, as rumors of Windows 9 swirl, Microsoft China\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8708,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/11\/05\/new-windows-10-beta-build-is-all-about-bug-fixes\/","url_meta":{"origin":1011,"position":5},"title":"New Windows 10 beta build is all about bug fixes","author":"NCCT","date":"November 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Blair Hanley Frank | PCWorld Microsoft on Thursday launched another beta build of Windows 10 to public testers that's crammed full of bug fixes and performance improvements. 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