Microsoft mothballs Surface Mini - report

Fierce competition convinces software giant to stay out of 8in-screen market, reports claim

Microsoft has opted against launching its long-awaited Surface Mini tablet, and may jettison the device entirely, reports have claimed.

According to a story published by Digitimes, the software giant has mothballed plans to mass produce a smaller version of its tablet. Sources have reportedly told the site that a fiercely competitive landscape - including the rumoured upcoming launch of an iPhone 6 phablet device from Apple - have convinced Microsoft that now is not the time to make its move on the market.

Rumours of Microsoft's plans to launch a 7.5in to 8in-display device emerged in April. The tablet, which Digitimes claims has been fully developed and tested, was understood to feature an ARM processor and Windows RT 8.1 as its operating system.

The vendor's foray into the hardware world has thus far been a damp squib, with market share struggling to break one per cent and inventory problems and price cuts burning a $900m (£538m) hole in Microsoft's balance sheet in its FY13.

Recent first-quarter tablet market numbers from IDC revealed that the vendor sits somewhere below the 1.9 per cent market share cut-off point of the top five manufacturers: Apple, Samsung, ASUS, Lenovo, and Amazon respectively.

CRN has contacted Microsoft requesting comment.