Surface RT.
(Credit:
Microsoft)
Microsoft's Surface tablet may not have rung in much holiday cheer last quarter, at least according to one analyst.
Microsoft sold just 1 million Surface RT
tablets in the fourth quarter, projects UBS analyst Brent Thill, down from a prior forecast of 2 million. In an investors note out today, the analyst cited two reasons for his dour projection in a single sentence:
"Surface RT is a consumer device with [fourth-quarter] sales suffering from the difficult
iPad compare and narrow distribution."
Early last month, IHS iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander told CNET that she expected Surface sales of 1.3 million for the quarter, adding that "I would be surprised to see it much above that."
Last July, CEO Steve Ballmer said that Microsoft's goal was to sell a few million Surface tablets in the coming year. But the company has been mum about recent sales of Surface, which debuted at the end of October.
Thill has higher expectations for Microsoft's
Surface Pro tablet, which is slated to hit the market later this month.
Unlike its RT counterpart, Surface Pro will be a full Windows 8 tablet capable of running all desktop applications and offering more power and features.
Calling the Surface Pro "more promising," Thill sees it as an alternative to the iPad among enterprises users. For Microsoft's fiscal 2013, which ends this June, the analyst estimates Surface sales of 2.5 million units. For fiscal 2014, he's eyeing sales as high 8 million.
Microsoft declined CNET's request for comment on Thill's forecast. The company will release its earnings report for last quarter on January 24.
Surface sales hit only 1 million last quarter, forecasts analyst
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Surface sales hit only 1 million last quarter, forecasts analyst
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Surface sales hit only 1 million last quarter, forecasts analyst
