Roof tile? That’s over on aisle 9.
Stretch the analogy a bit. Windows tablets? They’re on aisle 9, next to the laptop bags.
I could stretch the analogy even more, where the buyer gets lost amid a sea of generic Spanish roof tiles like Tom Anderson (the early version of Hank Hill) at Home Labyrinth.
Nobody has to ask that question about the iPad. It’s front and center at the Apple store.
So, Redmond needs the Microsoft Store — or similar boutique storefronts where its product can stand out.
This was confirmed for me on Friday when the Kansas City Star reported that people actually lined up outside in the wee hours of the morning for the opening of a new Microsoft store.
Peddle Surface at Best Buy and you lose any chance of this kind of following.
But wait, isn’t this all part of Microsoft getting into PC hardware and screwing its partners? I call it a survival strategy in the age of Apple. The glory days of the Compaq, Packard Bell et al Windows PC-o-rama at CompUSA are long gone.
So, the Surface-plus-Microsoft stores is a good start.
For the first time in years I’m actually excited about a Windows product. I’ll be there when Surface arrives (at my local Los Angeles Microsoft store). Will I buy one? Who knows but finding one should be pretty easy.
Related Links:
Microsoft’s Surface tablet vs. the iPad: Seven challenges
Microsoft-branded tablets rise to the ‘Surface’
Reality check: Microsoft’s calculated ‘re-Surfacing’ of the PC business
With Surface, Microsoft picks a fight with its closest partners
Surface: A desperate move to catch Apple, says report
via CNET Latest News http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57464399-92/microsoft-and-apple-the-roof-tile-analogy/?part=rss&subj=latest-news2&tag=title
