Microsoft Surface Mini Also In The Works, Could Ship In November
A new post by Microsoft insider, Paul Thurrott, is stating that Microsoft will be announcing two new Surface tablets at tomorrow’s event in NYC (as expected), the Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2. However, Thurrott also throws a third device into the mix: A Surface Mini. Based on his intel it doesn’t seem that Microsoft will be announcing the Surface Mini tomorrow, but instead will be holding a separate event or announcement.
In terms of the actual launch schedule, Thurrott doesn’t expect the new Surface’s to be released until mid-October, likely on or around October 18 when Windows 8.1 is released to the public. The Surface Mini will reportedly have an 8-inch display and a Qualcomm (ARM) processor, meaning that it will run Windows RT 8.1.
I think this quote of Microsoft’s Julie Larson-Green pretty much sums up how the company feels about the first Surface, “So you need to have the combination of great hardware, great software, apps and services in order to win. And we learned this [first] with Xbox. When the first Xbox came out it was hardly any games, it took a while for us to get going with it. And we’re very optimistic about what we’re doing in terms of the changes that are being made in the software, the applications that are coming online, the services, and improving the hardware, both in terms of speed, performance, and the integration with the software.”
It’s worth noting that the second Xbox was a smash hit though. We told you on Friday what we think Microsoft needs to do in order to make the Surface succeed and it appears that Microsoft is fully onboard with trying to make the Surface a popular product. As they continue to throw resources and huge marketing budgets at it, we’ll have to wait and see if it ever catches on. Whatever happens, the Surface 2 needs to be at least somewhat more successful than the original Surface. It has to be.
Nonetheless, we’ll be at tomorrow’s Surface event bringing you the latest details — so stay tuned!