Sales of the Surface tablet may not meet Microsoft’s own sales forecasts if a report by Digitimes is accurate. Citing “sources from upstream component suppliers,”, the report suggests that sales started slowly and may only reach about 60% of Microsoft’s forecast by year’s end.
Microsoft is expected to continue to face challenging conditions over the holiday shopping season. Two reasons are provided for this: The first is a lack of a competitive edge in pricing and performance. The second is that the Surface lacks supporting software as previous Windows software is not compatible and relies instead on new software available from the Windows Store.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently described initial sales of the Surface RT as “modest” but pointed out that reception to the tablet had been “fantastic.” He expected sales to improve as availability improved.
The report concludes that Windows 8-based tablet sales may benefit from the slower than expected Windows RT uptake.
For its part, Microsoft has yet to provide any official Windows RT sales numbers.
Read more: Digitimes