Surface Mini can wake up Windows Phone 8

I like the idea of ​​Surface: a decent iron, an incredible form factor, and in the case of Pro, also smart compromises for a good price. However, these products could not fulfill their promises. These are the first pancakes that lump. But it may happen that a cheaper Surface with a smaller screen finally fulfills all promises of Surface. And it would be nice if he worked on Windows Phone 8, and not on Windows RT .

Yesterday (February 13 - note of the translator) at Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference Microsoft CFO Peter Klein touched on the topic of Surface and, in particular, spoke about Microsoft’s ability to scale to different form factors. As John Pachkovski already wrote, Microsoft may release the Surface Mini.
')
This can help and Windows 8 / RT, and Windows 8, however, both options have compromises.

“We can use the same basic kernel code for all form factors from 4 to 27 inches and everything in between,” said Klein. - Therefore, in my opinion, we can well meet the demand, as we see it. We can produce a flexible set of custom concepts in different form factors, be it 4, 5, 7, 10 or 13 inches. ”

For Windows 8, you need a serious hardware, but all Windows applications can work on it. Windows RT has a very limited software and application store, and this problem is still not solved. So it seems that Windows Phone 8 is becoming the most suitable platform, even if it is not yet a blockbuster.

Microsoft's newest mobile OS is still fighting for a place in the sun. In particular, she is fighting for third place with the BlackBerry. It is elegant, intuitive and can scale well on the big screen. She does not need a serious iron, which allows you to make thin tablets with a long battery life.

Microsoft may not be the only company developing a 7-8 inch tablet. It was said that Nokia also makes such a tablet, and it can be presented even next week, at the MWC exhibition.

However, even with excellent hardware and wonderful OSes, it is pretty obvious that a tablet on Windows Phone 8 will be hard to find a buyer. While WP8 is growing, its software ecosystem is still rather weak. Developers are in no hurry to overwhelm the Store with applications. For most consumers, the system is relatively unknown. Another tablet platform from Microsoft can only spoil everything.

Now Microsoft is in a dangerous situation. She can no longer trust the promotion of their software to third-party companies like HP and ASUS. She clearly feels that the process should be headed by iron. Surface first generation are good, but not good enough. A model with a smaller screen will help rejuvenate the brand when it loses its novelty in a few months.