According to new data from IDC, Microsoft has sold nearly 900,000 Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets during the first quarter of 2013. Microsoft’s Surface RT has been available since October of 2012 while the Surface Pro has been available since February of 2013.
IDC, which released the stats today, is reporting that Microsoft has entered the top five in the tablet space for the first time, all thanks to the Surface RT and Surface Pro. While we have yet to obtain any official current stats from Microsoft, this data from IDC proves that the Surface brand is indeed a money maker.
IDC also noted that Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets ‘continue to struggle’ to gain any sort of traction in the tablet market, which doesn’t bode well for Microsoft. Apparently, the total shipments of Windows 8/RT tablets across all vendors was 1.8 million units.
Microsoft is planning on a smaller sized touch devices and IDC notes that this will not save Microsoft’s Windows 8 or Windows RT brand. Rather, the move towards a smaller sized touch device by Microsoft is a necessity since the market is shifting that way. “Clearly the market is moving toward smart 7-8 inch devices, but Microsoft’s larger challenges center around consumer messaging and lower cost competition. If these challenges are addressed, along with the desired screen size variations, then we could see Microsoft make even further headway in 2013 and beyond,” IDC adds.
So there you have it. So far, 900,000 Surface devices sold during Q1. Are you impressed?
Thanks for the tip, Markus!
Further reading: Surface, Windows 8, Windows RT
