Microsoft stirs up war of the tablets

Microsoft gave, yesterday, a "restart" command in your tentative business of tablets, in announcing the second-generation models of their appliances, designed to establish a bridge between the PCs and the machines that run the touch screen.
Remodeling obtained a more positive response from the industry analysts compared to the first version of the Tablet Surface, which was released at the end of last year and became a sales failure. "Microsoft has clearly learned [the lesson]," said Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering, a research firm specializing in the technology sector. According to him, the adoption of a new cover which turns into a highly sensitive touchpad could give the company an advantage over Apple in a new and promising area of technology.
Recently, Microsoft has reduced the price and made a writedown of $ 900 million against one of his tablets of the first generation, the RT. The machine was the first to run on the Windows operating system on low-power ARM chip, typically found in smartphones and tablets.
The writedown wiped out revenue from $ 853 million that Microsoft had announced for the RT and the Pro model, based on Intel's chip, in the first eight months of the apparatus on the market. In contrast, Apple sold $ 25.8 billion in iPads in nine months.
Better performance, batteries with longer duration and a greater number of applications should become the second generation of Microsoft's tablets more attractive to potential customers, according to industry analysts.
Changes to improve the appeal of the RT, which was renamed Surface 2, include a gray sheath and a repositioning of brand that took the logo of Windows machines. Prices remained unchanged in relation to the first generation, at $ 499 for the Surface 2 and $ 899 for the Pro model, designed to compete with the ultrabooks and other laptops of light weight and high performance.
But even with a more appealing device, Microsoft will have to try harder in its brand positioning and marketing to the Surface have a chance, said J.P. Gownder, an analyst with market research firm Forrester Research.
Microsoft executives admitted marketing glides on his first effort in touch technology, which includes the operating system Windows 8 and the Surface, and promised a more efficient release for new software and devices that reach the market yet this year.
The new Surface will face a tough competition in the end-of-the-year season, considered very important. Companies like Apple and Amazon already have given signs that they're launching new machines. "Probably we'll see iPads in the coming four weeks, best before the Surface hit stores," said Doherty, the Envisioneering.
The new touch-sensitive Surface covers have over one thousand sensors, which makes it possible to create versions for specific applications. Microsoft showed off a Cape which operates as audio mixer, with the sliders and dials entered on the touch screen.
In Brazil, there is no deadline for the premiere of the Surface, reported the Microsoft Advisory.