Microsoft Orders Up to 5 Million Surface Tablets for 2012

Shipping figures are in line with Google and Amazon's Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire tablets.

Microsoft is instilling enough confidence into its Surface tablet that it has commenced a "large volume production" of the device, which may see up to 5 million units being shipped during the fourth quarter.

According to component supplier sources in Asia, the Wall Street Journal said Microsoft will build between 3 million and 5 million Surface tablets before 2013 arrives.

Sources suggest that Microsoft's figures are in line with both Amazon and Google for their Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 tablets, respectively...

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Acer Sternly Warns Microsoft Over Surface Tablet

PC vendors are not especially excited that Microsoft will be building its own tablet. We have known that for some time, but the tone that is used to criticize Microsoft is getting more serious and may be surprising.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Acer's CEO JT Wang gave us a taste what is going on behind the scenes between PC makers and the Windows company, something we usually can only speculate about:

"We have said [to Microsoft] think it over. Think twice. It will create a huge negative impact for the ecosystem and other brands may take a negative reaction. It is not something you are good at so please think twice."

There are several subtle messages that are buried in this statement. The translation: "Surface is killing our business. You have had your fun, but it's time to tell everyone that it was just an idea that will never see the light of the day."...

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Bill Gates Backs Microsoft's Surface Tablet Solo Venture

Windows 8 tablets will replace the desktop, says Bill Gates.

Former chief executive and current chairman of Microsoft Bill Gates knows exactly why the company seemingly punched its partners in the gut with the introduction of the Windows 8-powered Surface tablet. Even more, he thinks Microsoft has done the right thing by going solo, and that Windows 8 is going to kill the traditional PC. Whoa.

Bill Gates made this revelation on Charlie Rose Monday night as he talked about Microsoft's decision to make its own tablet. As previously reported, Surface will arrive in two flavors: x86-based featuring Windows 8 Pro, and ARM-based using Windows RT. It will feature a unique cover that also serves as a super-thin keyboard, and go head to head with other Windows 8 tablets manufactured by HP, Dell, Asus, Lenovo and others.

"I actually believe you can have the best of both worlds," he said. "You can have a rich eco-system of manufacturers and you can have a few signature devices that show off, wow, what's the difference between a tablet and a PC?"

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What OEMs desperately need to learn from Microsoft's Surface

Microsoft is not throwing its OEM partners under the bus. It is pushing them out of the way of an onrushing freight train.

See what I did there? I substituted one violent transportation-based metaphor for another. That was deliberate. So was Microsoft’s unprecedented decision to cross a line it has maintained for three decades.

See also: How the tech press reacted to Microsoft Surface

Why now? What changed? Why did Microsoft decide the time has come to compete directly with its OEMs? Why design its own line of tablet PCs, to be sold in Microsoft stores under the Surface brand?

Back in 2006, Microsoft and the OEM community collectively failed with Windows Vista. Microsoft delivered a messy glop of code that didn’t work well until Service Pack 1, and the OEMs were embarrassingly unprepared with drivers and designs. The OEMs also insisted on packing their products with performance-sapping crapware...

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