Microsoft Acknowledges Reports of Surface Pro Shortages

Microsoft have stated that "demand is high" for the Surface Pro, and have also acknowledged that shortages of the new tablet have been reported.

On the company's Surface blog, Microsoft stated: "We know some retail and online locations have been low or out of stock of Surface Pro and we're working to address this."

The blog continued: "In the U.S., we are shipping additional units of the 64-GB SKU to Best Buy, Staples and Microsoft Store now. We are shipping 128-GB SKU later this week to retailers, with some units available by the end of the week. Our priority (and that of our retail partners) is to fulfill orders from customers who made a reservation first. Canada is following a similar timeline but [it] may take an extra few days to start arriving [there]."

The Surface Pro tablet was released at the weekend and operates Windows 8 Professional. It received warm feedback from reviewers. The Surface Pro does not use a Nvidia ARM-based Tegra 3 chip, but instead uses an Intel Core i5 processor.

The device was praised for its hardware design, strong performance and for being able to run Windows apps seamlessly, but was criticized for not having a good battery life and for operating louder and hotter than the original Surface.

In spite of the tepid reviews and the winter storm Nemo, which had forced Microsoft to delay the launch event for Surface Pro at the weekend, the company still saw strong sales according to Microsoft.

There has, however, been some frustration directed at the company's decision to leave the channel as a result of Surface's go-to-market strategy. At present, the Surface devices are available only via the company's own stores (both online and retail), and at some retail partners such as Best Buy and Staples.

Partners of Microsoft are awaiting news from the vendor related to being given permission to carry the Surface and Surface Pro tablets. (CY) Link