Analyst: Surface Pro could head directly to disaster

Context claims if the tablet is not sold through the channel it will be 'suicide'

A Context analyst has boldly claimed that Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet will have come and gone with "not much trace" within the next six months.

Speaking to ChannelWeb, the analyst's product manager for mobile computing Salman Chaudry said he does not think the vendor will consider the channel in its UK go-to-market strategy, and if this is the case, it will be "suicide".

The business-focused tablet was launched in the US and Canada at the start of the month, but the vendor has remained tight-lipped on when the device is set to launch in the UK, and if the channel will get to resell it.

Its consumer-focused RT tablet was launched in the UK at the end of last year, and analyst Canalys branded its entrance to the market as a "non-event".

Chaudry told ChannelWeb he does not think the device will make a big splash in the business tablet space.

"I do not really see a long lifespan for Surface hardware, based on our channel analysis. I think we can assume [that] in the next six months, the Surface will come and go with not much trace of an impact. It was marketing for the point of selling Windows 8, but there has not been huge penetration and we see that OEMs are taking the role as hardware manufacturers," he said.

The US channel is yet to get its hands on the new Surface Pro tablet, and Chaudry added that it will not be a good move for this strategy to be replicated in the UK.

"It is a business tablet which is not going [to be sold] through a business strategy – it is suicide," he said, adding that part of the reason could be due to fear of upsetting OEM partners.

A Microsoft representative for the Surface Pro was not available to comment at the time of publication.