Microsoft will launch an 8-inch Surface tablet in June and a 10.x-inch model as early as the third quarter of 2013, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.
The 8-inch Surface will use touch panels supplied by Samsung Electronics and Nvidia-developed processors, and Taiwan-based ODM Pegatron will be responsible for production, the sources said.
In consideration of clearing inventories of existing 10.6-inch Surface tablets, Microsoft will launch the 10.x-inch, possibly lower than 10.6-inch, Surface at the earliest in the third quarter, the sources indicated.
Microsoft expects initial monthly shipments of the two devices to reach one million units, implying that Microsoft is more optimistic about the sales performance of the two models than of existing models, the sources said. There were 49.2 million tablets shipped globally during the first quarter of 2013 and Apple shipped 19.5 million units for a market share of 39.6%, followed by Samsung with 8.8 million units, Asustek Computer 2.7 million units, Amazon 1.8 million and Microsoft 900,000 units, the sources cited IDC statistics as indicating.
