Microsoft promises ‘strategic shift’ in hardware strategy as Surface preps for launch

In an open letter to shareholders this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has promised a “strategic shift” in how the company builds devices and brings products to market. Ballmer himself has taken a great deal of fire this year, though often for the wrong reasons, and Windows 8 plus Microsoft’s own Surface are generally seen as his best chance to prove he deserves to continue helming one of the largest IT companies in the world.

Much of what Ballmer writes is familiar; the company has always emphasi ed the value of its various OEM partners and the importance of their support. What’s new is Ballmer’s assertion that “There will be times when we build specific devices for specific purposes… In all our work with partners and on our own devices, we will focus relentlessly on delivering delightful, seamless experiences across hardware, software and services… Further, as we develop and update our consumer services, we’ll do so in ways that take full advantage of hardware advances, that complement one another and that unify all the devices people use daily.”

Ballmer goes on to list SmartGlass, Xbox Music, SkyDrive, Skype, and Bing as examples of technologies that the company has woven into Windows 8 that will change the way users interact with their devices and each other. There’s already been a great deal of chatter lately around Redmond’s potential hardware plans, including rumors of a Microsoft phone, but we think it’s a mistake to cast these shifts strictly in terms of hardware.

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Redmond undoubtedly wants a premium brand and associated products, but the company has put as much work into interface research and cross-platform integration (the originalSurface, SmartGlass, Kinect, Metro UI) as into the design of the upcoming Surface tablet. The wider goal of projects like Surface is to challenge OEMs to build better products, period, rather than simply racing to the bottom of the price well. Apple won its spurs with its innovative use of touch on the original iPhone and with Siri’s debut last year, even if the final product isn’t quite as versatile as people thought it would be. Microsoft, in contrast, has worked on multiple new technologies, including those we’ve listed above.

Microsoft doesn’t necessarily care if a product uses ARM or x86; the bigger question is whether or not it’s designed to incorporate cutting-edge MS capabilities that wow buyers, or if it’s just another me-too device. The new Microsoft Ballmer writes about wants a direct relationship with its users, and intends to take a more prominent role in delivering technologies they explicitly identify with Microsoft.

As we’ve noted before, much of this depends on how effectively Windows 8 catches on, whether users want Windows 8 tablets at all, and just how well Microsoft’s Surface actually works. The company did a fabulous job with pre-launch Surface hype, but real reviews have been few and far between.

Microsoft promises ‘strategic shift’ in hardware strategy as Surface preps for launch