Web traffic research reveals the Microsoft Surface isn't selling very well

posted by Ray S.

Dec 11, 2012, 8:28 AM

Web traffic research reveals the Microsoft Surface isn't selling very well

Research firm Chitika has come up with a new report that shows just how insignificant the sales of the Microsoft Surface RT have been, at least judging by the web traffic generated by the device.

Chitika has measured that for the period between November 12 and November 18, the Microsoft Surface RT has accounted for just 0.13% of all web traffic generated by tablets in the US. Now, on one hand, that sure is one very discouraging figure, but on the other, the device hasn't really been available for too long. The combined share of Google's Nexus 7 and Nexus 10, which stands at 0.91%, is currently much bigger, but it's really not much more significant if we look at the bigger picture. In comparison, the iPad is said to be responsible for 88% of all tablet web traffic in the US.

Of course, having in mind the short period observed by Chitika makes us think that the research might not be entirely trustworthy, but it's a fact that there's still a long road ahead of Google, let alone Microsoft in the tablet race. Who knows, maybe people are waiting for the Surface Pro?

source: Chitika via AllThingsD

Related phones

View Full specs

PhoneArena Rating:

8.5

Read Full Review

Display 10.6 inches
768 x 1366 pixels

Camera 1 MP (Single camera)
front

Hardware NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30, 2GB RAM

Storage 32GB, microSDXC

OS Windows RT

FEATURED VIDEO

Options

39 Comments

37. MC1123

Posts: 1256; Member since: Nov 12, 2012

wish or to be price lower!!! this it's an awesome device but not for everyone to get!!

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:07 PM 1

32. joex2

Posts: 22; Member since: Nov 23, 2011

"Web traffic research reveals the Microsoft Surface isn't selling very well" Sure. The Surface is only available in MS stores.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 3:05 PM 0

38. jroc74

Posts: 6023; Member since: Dec 30, 2010

I just checked Amazon, they sell em there.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:30 PM 0

26. tbar

Posts: 34; Member since: Jan 18, 2010

If it is not trustworthy, then why report on it like it is????? Good grief! Journalism in 2012 is a joke.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 10:55 AM 1

23. Thephonegeek

Posts: 118; Member since: Nov 22, 2012

I smell another Hp touchpad. Surface pro has an overpriced tag. You can buy a Nexus 4, a Nexus 10 and a Samsung chromebook with that money. It's obvious that surface pro won't sell good at all.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 10:26 AM 3

27. pfroo40

Posts: 28; Member since: Jun 12, 2012

All of those products combined cannot replace the functionality of a full windows tablet. Not a good comparison. A good comparison would be with the MacBook Air, or any other ultrabook with similar specs, in which case the Surface Pro wins given that it's also a full touch screen tablet and is lighter/thinner.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 11:39 AM 1

31. InspectorGadget80 unregistered

don't forget the NEXUS 7

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 12:46 PM 0

18. pfroo40

Posts: 28; Member since: Jun 12, 2012

Either drop the price $100 or bundle your choice of touch cover. Improve distribution, get it into retail stores, Best Buy at least. Pay people to train the sales people properly or invest in a high profile display in the retail locations. It baffles me that Microsoft can invest so much in advertising but fail at actually getting the product where people can see/touch it.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 9:55 AM 0

15. kamen

Posts: 103; Member since: Jul 18, 2011

Is it Surface or is it Windows RT the source of this? We cannot draw conclusions at least until more RT tablets and Surface Pro come out.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 9:33 AM 1

12. ultimatebatman

Posts: 52; Member since: Dec 04, 2012

This is so misleading. iPad web traffic is calculated by viewing mobile sites, is it not? In that case, Android users can easily view desktop versions of their favorite sites, which contributes to these skewed numbers.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 9:09 AM 4

11. gazmatic

Posts: 822; Member since: Sep 06, 2012

it is too expensive.... Microsoft should not be competing with apple on price.... apple has drones and drones of fans ready, willing and able to camp out for days to shell out $600+ for a reiteration of an old device... Microsoft doesn't... this was very bad strategy... it should have been priced to compete with android... trust me... a surface for $300, only a die hard android fan would still buy a nexus 10... dumb dumb M$.... this is not how to sell devices...

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:55 AM 10

30. InspectorGadget80 unregistered

it's because Microsoft have a dumb marketing manager

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 12:45 PM 1

34. Droid_X_Doug

Posts: 5993; Member since: Dec 22, 2010

Sure you don't mean dumb CEO?

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 5:54 PM 1

7. lee480 unregistered

USA =/= World

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:38 AM 9

3. eisenbricher

Posts: 973; Member since: Aug 09, 2012

Surface Pro will sell better than this. Much better IF PRICED RIGHT. MS made a mistake pricing the RT version so steep.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:32 AM 13

4. TROLL

Posts: 4851; Member since: Apr 13, 2012

It will make no diffrent™®©

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:34 AM 3

6. eisenbricher

Posts: 973; Member since: Aug 09, 2012

Care to explain why?

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:36 AM 4

13. pongkie

Posts: 663; Member since: Aug 20, 2011

its 900+ bucks plus 5 hour battery life, the acer iconia w700 has 8hrs battery

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 9:14 AM 3

14. TROLL

Posts: 4851; Member since: Apr 13, 2012

LINUX VS UNIX lockdown vs freedom

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 9:14 AM 2

8. TylerGrunter

Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012

Surface Pro price is already known even if not official. And at $900 the cheaper option (64 GB) I doubt it has any real chance of success. Not to mention that the battery lasts less than 4 hours, which (IMO) it's a "no deal" for a tablet.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:43 AM 5

17. OHaZZaR

Posts: 131; Member since: Aug 19, 2011

That's very true. However, it is not meant to be a tablet exactly. Microsoft is selling it at a very competitive price for ultrabooks, especially since it's backed up by 4GB of RAM and Intel's 3rd Gen i5 processor. It is significantly more powerful than the most powerful tablet on the market. It is confusing however because of it's tablet form-factor. Microsoft's marketing isn't helping either. People will automatically see that the iPad or the Nexus 10 are significantly cheaper. They'll see that the Surface RT is cheaper also, so why don't they opt for that. Well if the Pro is priced at a premium, why would they want to settle for second best. They will quickly assume that microsoft prices it's products higher. For the average consumer, this is extremely confusing. Btw, 4 hours is great battery life, considering it's basically a laptop with a touchscreen and no keyboard.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 9:49 AM 4

19. TylerGrunter

Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012

Not to discuss most of what you said, but there are some holes there. Ultrabooks have quite limited sucess (21 millions in a year last time I checked) so if it competes on a market that has already low volumen, the doom is pretty much garanteed. The other issue that I see with the "tablet" is the form factor: a) Too heavy and bad battery for a tablet b) Not comfortable for an ultrabook (you can't use it in you lap while traveling as I'm doing with my laptop right now) So it may be just me, but I find it overpriced and with no real use case to sell in volume.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 10:04 AM 1

24. OHaZZaR

Posts: 131; Member since: Aug 19, 2011

Finally, someone that makes sense! Some users from phonearena and many users from cnet think it'll be a commercial hit because they think that it brings the best of the tablet and the best of the ultrabook and combine them. They fail to understand that this is more of an ultrabook with a touch-screen rather than a tablet with the power of an ultrabook. A tablet is a tablet because of it's portability, weight, and battery life. If you sacrifice in any one of these components, then you either have a bad tablet or the device ultimately fits in another category. The thing is with the surface, you can't really use it as an ultra book, especially with it's lack of a sturdy and inflexible keyboard (who thought their keyboard was a good idea?) and it has mediocre battery life for a tablet, so it brings the worst of both kinds. Since it's more ultrabook than tablet, this won't appeal to the mass-market. I expect it to be DOA

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 10:34 AM 1

28. TylerGrunter

Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012

Your comment made me smile. I actually was going to say "it brings the worst of both worlds instead of the best" in my previous comment.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 12:34 PM 1

20. phonegeek2

Posts: 12; Member since: Oct 22, 2012

You make a good point about the Surface tablet running windows RT vs the Pro running Windows 8. However, i thought the Pro would just be running 2 gigs of RAM. I am happy about this though, and do plan on buying a 128 gig Surface pro when they come out. I like the idea of the removable keyboard plus the ultrabook and portability of it.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 10:09 AM 2

22. squallz506

Posts: 1075; Member since: Oct 19, 2011

There will be better more affordable windows 8 tablet/transformer tabs made by other companies. Why do you prefer microsofts?

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 10:18 AM 1

25. OHaZZaR

Posts: 131; Member since: Aug 19, 2011

It would be a shame if it ran anything less than 4GB, especially since most laptops at that price have 4GB and even more at times. I do suggest that you wait to see some other options, especially when lenovo already introduced a better laptop, the lenovo thinkpad twist (check it out). Unless you really do prefer the keyboard to be removable. then you should opt for the Surface but I do believe that if I were a fan of windows 8, the Lenovo thinkpad twist is the laptop to get for now. Looks like Asus is going to release something better than both of those tablets so you probably should hold off and wait a couple of months or so.

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 10:38 AM 0

2. TROLL

Posts: 4851; Member since: Apr 13, 2012

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:31 AM 3

5. eisenbricher

Posts: 973; Member since: Aug 09, 2012

Seriously, why are you getting all tingly because of someone's failure? I'm not taking side of MS or anything but whole basis of your comments is Hate. Don't you care how silly you look to the people while posting such comments? Are you a kid?

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:35 AM 5

10. TROLL

Posts: 4851; Member since: Apr 13, 2012

posted on Dec 11, 2012, 8:48 AM 3

view all comments

Latest Stories

View more news