In the early morning of April 12, Beijing time, according to Reuters, a source familiar with the situation said that Microsoft is developing a new series of surface tablets, including a 7-inch surface, which is expected to be put into mass production later this year.
Microsoft executives believe the company needs to keep up with the trend of small tablet computers, according to the source. At present, there are small tablets such as Google's 7-inch nexus, Amazon's kindle fire, Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 and Apple's 7.9-inch ipad Mini on the market.
It has been rumored that Apple will release three new generation surface tablets this year, but did not mention the 7-inch surface. Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner, a market research firm, tweeted on Thursday that the 7-inch tablet could pose a challenge in terms of ease of use for Microsoft Windows OS. He pointed out that other small tablets are based on a simple mobile operating system, while Microsoft's windows phone has the same kernel as its desktop OS, which means that Microsoft is still using the 'desktop' windows system for its tablets.
Industry insiders pointed out that for the sales of small-size surface tablet computers, Microsoft's pricing of this product is crucial. Apple's ipad Mini starts at $329, which means Microsoft doesn't have much room to cut prices.
Meanwhile, Google's nexus 7 and Amazon's kindle fire are currently selling for $199 and $159, respectively. By contrast, Microsoft's surface RT starts at $499 and its surface Pro starts at $899.
Microsoft declined to comment on the news.