The Surface Mini in Red
Several years ago, Microsoft was planning to release a smaller Surface device known to those following the company closely, as the Mini. The device was canceled at the last minute and the final fate of the tablet is unknown.
The reason I say it is unknown is that this tablet had been mass produced in the tens of thousands before it was canceled and in some instances, Microsoft had to turn around trucks that were carrying the devices to shopping centers and retail outlets to prepare the device for sale. This was, by all accounts, a last minute cancellation of the device and frankly, it was the correct move but what happened to the machines that were produced remains a mystery.
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The tablets were likely recycled but it’s fun to think the shells were turned into Surface Pens or buried in the desert next to the ET games Microsoft dug up.
We know it was the correct move to cancel the device as the 8in tablet market does not exist today. Apple has a few devices in this segment but has not updated them frequently and Windows OEMs are not selling tablets in this size either.
Yes, the device is crudely cut out from another image I have…this was done to protect the source of the information.
That being said, earlier today Windows Central posted up shots of a black Surface Mini without the cover and I figured it was time to post the image I have of the device now that the cat is out of the bag (I honestly forgot about them).
The device ran Windows RT, had a 1440×1080 display, Snapdragon 800 processor, 1GB of RAM (yes, just one) and 32GB of storage (although I believe 64GB would have been an option as well). The cover, which is a rubber-like material was around the outside of the tablet and added a kickstand and the connection point for the cover.
The Surface Mini would have made a few fans but overall, it didn’t offer enough differentiation from what was already available in the market and Microsoft was still recovering from the massive write-down of the Surface RT which means they were hesitant to take additional hardware risk at that time. Since this device was canceled, the Surface brand has become a staple of the industry and continues to be a bright spot for Microsoft hardware.
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Conversation 39 comments
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skane2600
<p>I guess correcting a bad decision at the last minute is better than letting it go forward, but it's just another indication of Microsoft's aimless direction. Nothing in the market had substantially changed between the time the product was conceived and the time it was almost released. If it was a bad idea at delivery, it was a bad idea from the beginning. </p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#134680"><em>In reply to Chris_Kez:</em></a></blockquote><p>I don't know the timetable but I doubt Nadella was appointed just as the delivery trucks were about to pull out. In any case, he held a very high position within MS prior to being named CEO so we can only speculate on what his opinion was on this product in its early stages. </p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#134576"><em>In reply to hrlngrv:</em></a></blockquote><p>I don't think anyone is ignoring those tablets but are sales of them increasing or declining? In any case, the narrative that pure tablets are mostly about consuming content is even more true for these small ones. You could say that we are in the post music player and portable DVD player era with about as much evidence as Post-PC.</p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#134592"><em>In reply to hrlngrv:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yes, there's a tendency to exaggerate the significance of a decline whether it's about PCs or tablets.</p>