Microsoft made an interesting claim today, though it didn't back it up with any hard figures: Demand for Surface Pro 3 has surpassed the supply, leading to shortages in some markets. So Microsoft is asking for your patience while it gets more into the marketplace.
I know, I know.
Evenly the non-cynical is correct to question this assertion, given that we have absolutely no idea how many Surface Pro 3 devices that Microsoft's hardware manufacturing partners have made. But with the Surface Pro 3 heading into 25 new markets in just the past few weeks, it's perhaps not surprising that some of these markets are having supply issues.
Here's how Microsoft's Brian Hall describes the shortage, not in quote form but rather spaced out as individual claims and with my own emphasis added:
Due to the response, Surface Pro 3 is in limited supply in some markets.
Given the interest that we saw as part of our US launch, retailers ordered what we thought was a healthy amount of Surface Pro 3s for these new markets.
It turns out that we didn't ship enough.
At some retailers in Australia, Surface sold out by lunchtime on launch day.
In China, retailers are sold out of the Core i5 and i7 models.
Devices are hard to come by in Germany, New Zealand, Korea, and at one of the largest retailers in the United Kingdom.
"While we're fortunate to have fans who appreciate what we built, we're also committed to replenishing supply as quickly as possible," Mr. Hall adds. "For those of you waiting for Surface Pro 3 (or for the specific version that is just right for you): hang tight, we are shipping in new products as fast as we can. We should be in a much better position in the next week or two ... Thanks for your patience and support."
Stories like this are ready made for jokes. But Surface Pro 3 is a great product, and a worthy productivity-focused alternative to both the MacBook Air and the iPad Air. I don't think anyone expects the Surface Pro 3 to actually challenge those products from a unit sales perspective. But is it unreasonable to think that there is pent-up demand for such a device?
