It’s too early to predict the exact sales figures but we are getting an indication of which tablets are more popular among the people who are shopping in this holiday season. Undoubtely, amazon kindle fire and Apple iPad commanded the list leaving Microsoft’s Surface tablet far behind.
The newest estimates came from R.W. Baird’s William Power who regularly checks mobile gadgets sales figures. William Power spoke to the executives of staples and ebay regarding the tablets which they are recommending and which one they are selling the most.
Here’s his full note, as reproduced by Barron’s:
Microsoft’s Surface, which Best Buy just recently started carrying, was not recommended to us by reps without us asking about it specifically. When asked about sales to date, reps noted that the device was new and indicated that early demand has been modest relative to the iPad and Kindle Fire. We would also note that the device was in stock at every store we contacted […] We contacted Staples stores in an effort to further gauge Microsoft Surface sales, though our impression from speaking with reps was tablets are not a major seller at Staples. Tellingly, Staples doesn’t currently carry the iPad. When pressed for details, Staples reps indicated that Surface volumes have been modest to date. Most reps told us that the primary appeal to Surface buyers is the ability to run Microsoft Office. Consistent with our Best Buy checks, the Surface was also in stock at all Staples stores we contacted. Outside of the Surface, the Google Nexus 10 was cited as another strong tablet option.
Also, neither Google Nexus 7 nor Samasung Galaxy tab and other popular android tablets were included in the list. No one would be able to compare properly until and unless one get the exact sales figures but so far, the results are not surprising at all.
Less scientific study was carried out by Axian(a twitter user) and he counted the number of tweets of the new owners of tablets.
Apple’s iOS comes with twitter built-in but other OS does not but still it is showing that Surface tablet is least popular among the holiday shoppers. Moreover, other tablets which were launched before surface tablet and their predecessors that have got reviews from the users.
Surface tablet is actually new in the market and we should keep in kind even with its early sales figures.However, at the moment it doesn’t seems to be the holiday season for Microsoft with these low figures.
