OEMs are challenged to revisit notebook designs and innovate

The Surface design has so far best demonstrated how to integrate the tablet and the notebook designs and functionalities in one. It has even led to the creation of a new genre of device—the notelet. (BusinessandMarket was first to use the term ‘notelet’ in a June 21 post. See: http://www.businessandmarket.net/2012/06/what-has-surfaced-let-me-call-that.html)

Surface also has in it to tickle the interest of OEM partners and developers and prompt newer design innovations, but for it to really succeed well, building a vibrant ecosystem around the new Windows platform would be critically important. And from a consumer standpoint, the pricing would also need to be attractive enough, to cause both notebook and tablet users to gravitate towards the Surface and other Windows 8-based devices.

However, the Windows 8-based device designs that have been out so far show that none of the OEMs that employ Windows 8 have been anywhere close to the Surface in terms of innovation.

At the same time, it is being apprehended that with Surface, Microsoft would be breaking into the OEMs’ domain of manufacturing the hardware. BusinessandMarket is of the view it would be very early to say so. At the most, Surface could exist in parallel to other OEM designs so as to give customers more options to choose from.

The likelihood is that different customers would have different needs, budgets and preferences and that would drive the development of Windows 8-based devices in the coming future. Even the Surface comes with a number of variants, especially with and without the ‘cover’ keyboard that is seen as the center of its innovative design and appeal.