Microsoft has taken a major leap of faith and decided to manufacture its own hardware, the Microsoft Surface for Windows RT1. Now the Surface is out, it seems Microsoft's traditional hardware partners — in this case Acer — are questioning whether it's worth making devices for Windows RT.
If Microsoft is making its own hardware, isn't it more likely to try and push those devices at stores (and obviously online), rather than those made by partners?
Of course, Microsoft wins whether a customer buys a Surface or an Acer-branded tablet running Windows RT: but how many people will buy a Surface instead of a device made by one of Microsoft's hardware partners? That's the question these companies will be asking themselves, and it seems Acer has made its choice clear:
"Originally we had a very aggressive plan to come out very early next year but because of Surface, our R&D development doesn't stop, but we are much more cautious," Acer President Jim Wong told Reuters on Tuesday.
1: Catchy.