Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Is This the Definition of Insanity?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has seen modest, if not underwhelming, sales for its first-ever native hardware device, the Surface tablet that runs on the new Windows 8 operating system. The latest sales estimate for both the RT and the Pro versions of the portable computing devices was about 1.5 million, with the RT posting about 60 percent of that number. Microsoft had mentioned an expectation of selling three to four million of these babies.

There is a saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. Well, we’re not going to say it outright, but we’ll just report that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is rumored to be in production for a new tablet computer, this one a smaller-sized version of the Surface, which may be in the 7- to 9-inch range. We don’t really know much more about it at this point, but the speculation is running that Redmond may announce the new device at its Build developers’ conference at the end of the month, with actual launch perhaps coming as soon as June. However, that seems to be optimistic, as there is no definitive word from any of the suppliers that they are working on components for a smaller Surface device.

The timing of this also seems interesting in that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has not placed its Surface tablets  in every market yet. Mexico will be getting its first Surface RT devices later this month, with Korea and Thailand next on the list in June. As for the Surface Pro, that will hit store shelves in Austria and Australia this month, and hit much of Asia and Russia next month.

Based on the numbers so far and the markets still on the list for the original Surface devices, what do you think? Should Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) be jumping into the mini-tablet space so soon after its larger tablet? Based on the lack of information, do you think there are legs to this rumor in the first place? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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