Under the Surface: Windows OEMs say Microsoft spied on their products while developing a tablet in secret
Has Microsoft alienated some of its Windows OEMs with the announcement of Surface? As impressive as Microsoft’s Surface announcement was, questions came up that very night as to what impact it would have on the Windows ecosystem. Acer has already gone on record criticizing Microsoft's for their shift in strategy, and now Forbes is reporting that not only were Windows OEMs in the dark until shortly before the announcement, but Microsoft apparently took advantage of their relationships to get a good look at all of the Windows tablets in development before deciding to go ahead with the final Surface announcement.
PC OEM consultant Patrick Moorhead spoke with several Windows hardware vendors, and they are apparently not pleased at all. According to Moorhead:
“Privately, PC OEMs are enraged about Surface, and not necessarily why you may think. Sure, they are angry that their partner is now their competitor, but they are angrier about the way Microsoft did it. It gets back to Microsoft’s access to OEM tablet designs. I am told Microsoft had early access to OEM’s Windows 8 physical designs, so they reportedly knew exactly what OEMs were to launch. Apparently, a few weeks ago I am told, Microsoft held executive- level reviews with Windows 8 tablet OEMs to get even further details on OEM launch and marketing plans and pricing. Then a few weeks afterward, the Surface launch occurred which to most industry observers looked professional, but rushed.”
Google will still have to walk a tightrope of its own if it’s going to court OEMs that feel jilted by Microsoft, and they will also have to demonstrate that Android tablets and/or Chromebooks can be a market success before a mass exodus could materialize. But at the least we imagine that Windows OEMs may be very interested in what gets announced at Google I/O this week.
source: Forbes via Cnet
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