“Microsoft seemed very pleased with itself yesterday, as their Surface franchise managed over $1 billion in global sales for the December quarter,” Mark Reschke writes for T-GAAP. “While Microsoft is trumpeting the sales figure, based on an average selling price of $1,000, Microsoft many not have actually sold 1 million Surface devices.”
“Surface revenues rose from $908 million during the September quarter to $1.1 billion in the December quarter. Analysts expected sales of Surface would grow during the largest consumer quarter of the year, but with Microsoft’s massive advertising campaign, the software giant still cannot figure out how to sell over a million of their devices during the largest consumer hardware sales season of the year,” Reschke writes. “Watching the Redmond-based company jump up and down over such weak sales that was backed by a massive advertising campaign is almost unnerving to watch. The whole much ado about nothing seems downright Ballmer-esque.”
“Meanwhile Apple’s record Mac sales are astounding and defy the economy and competition,” Reschke writes. “Could it be that Microsoft’s Surface advertising is selling Macbook Airs? Within every Surface ad, Microsoft compares its product to the MacBook Air. Essentially, Microsoft is asking people go into Best Buy or visit an Apple retail store and compare the Surface against the MacBook Air. Apparently people are and Apple is seeing record Mac sales as a result… There is a strong correlation between record Mac sales and Microsoft’s record advertising.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Shush!
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Headline revision:
Dimwitting Microsoft might be helping Apple set new Mac sales records
And just imagine the sales if the Best Buy sales staff actually spent the time to show people the multi-touch capabilities of a MacBook Air with its large trackpad . . . . Because probably most of the potential buyers already have a touchscreen iOS device.
My favorite part of one of those ads is where they show the MacBook Air and then in a sort of “what about touchscreen” moment toss an iPad next to it. Instead of me thinking, “Wow, what a deal that is to get both in the Surface,” I instead think: “Thank goodness I’ve got that exact setup.”
What else would expect Microcraps to do? They are getting used to having low expectations and trumpet extremely minor accomplishments that are just a harbinger of mostly future FAIL. Fits right in with their deficient and chromosome damaged DNA.
Sooner or later, MS is going to have to make their own world class MSChair knockoff of the MacBook Air.
Only fitting that Ballmer is remembered with his own MSChair.
Unwitting Microsoft = Redundant redundancy
You can say that again!
From the Department of Redundancy Department.
Unwitting Microsoft = Redundant Redundancy
You know what I do’nt care for? Superfluous redundancy checks….
There you go again, reiterating a point I have repeatedly restated many times, over and over, echoing it to the point where the repetition reverberates.
You go to Best Buy to look at the Surface and discover that it costs $1,100 with a keyboard. Then you look at the MB Air and it costs $900.
Hmmm, which should I buy, the black plastic pretend computer or the slick aluminum real computer that costs $200 less.
But, but, but . . . you can click the keyboard on to it and you can dance with it and you will have a whole bunch of ‘friends’ who will dance with you who also bought the iPad like device.
man, I wish I could locate that rat bastard IT guy from where I worked back in 89: “Apple will NEVER surpass Microsoft, ever.”
get ya’ some of this, Bob, wherever the hell you are,
Heh. Are all IT guys rat bastards? Sometimes I wonder. 🙂
What do you expect from M$ ? Office Bob and Clippy are in charge of product development and advertising. 🙂
The Windows 8 disaster is selling more Macs than a TV ad campaign ever could.
Yes, notice how MS is touting the $1 billion revenue figure, but fails to mention either unit sales or margins or profit.
Surface – The inferior tablet that tries to be a compromised laptop, running a kludge OS.
Mean while Apple was selling 9,000 iPads and 34000 plus iPhones and 2500 iMacs per per hour (based on 24 hours/day) during Q4.