I watched the Microsoft live video (it didn’t require Silverlight — points to Microsoft!) of the new Surface introduction.
And there was no Surface Mini introduced.
So, it’s dead?
I wouldn’t be surprised. Who would want to buy an RT-only eight-inch device when you can get full Windows in an eight-inch device like the Onda V819i?
I guess Microsoft woke up to the threat of China and the wisdom of letting people roll their own cheap Windows tablet. There will be several coming from China in a few weeks.
What I saw of the Surface 3 pro impressed me. I like the new 2:3 aspect ratio. I’d really like to try one at Best Buy — and they’d better have them set up so I can do my Google Books PDF test!
Mike Cane’s xBlog 
My take on the Surface line: someone in Redmond realized that competing with Apple on the high end of the market, Samsung in the middle, and all those Chinese producers in the budget arena is a no go. China’s ban on Win 8 will not have helped.
I have played around with the earlier Surface tablets, and was unimpressed. Positioning the new, larger 3 as a laptop alternative (with bonus tablet features) at least gives MS talking points in IT departments, and that is where I think they will be concentrating their sales efforts (bulk buy-ins).
Will they succeed? Hard to say, but I’m giving them credit for thinking outside the box for a change.
I think the artist and academic market is good. You can install Photoshop and use the pen. Academics and the like can have texts open, annotate and draw diagrams, formulas maps and the like.
I really want one but as I do not need one it will wait until it can be justified.
Will reading comics justify this? 12″ tablet hmmm.