There is no doubt that the 7-8-inch form factor for tablets is very popular right now. When tablets first became popular everyone was making 10-inch devices. Then the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7 came along and now everyone has shifted to smaller sizes. For a lot of people the 10-inch size is too big to be truly portable. If you want to use Microsoft Surface that’s a problem since right now it is only offered in one size. According to The Wall Street Journal that will change soon.
WSJ reports that a 7-inch Surface will go into production later this year, along with a new refreshed line of other Surface tablets. They say that Microsoft did not plan on releasing a 7-inch model, but the success of tablets like the Nexus 7 and iPad Mini have made them realize they need to enter the game. There is no word on whether it will run Windows 8 or RT. Really, Microsoft should have seen this a while ago. The Nexus 7 already existed when Surface launched, and it had already sold very well. The iPad Mini has been selling like crazy for a while now too. This is just another example of Microsoft waiting too long to enter a market. We can only hope that when the 7-inch Surface does arrive it’s not too far behind.
[via Pocketnow]
