Microsoft recently grabbed headlines due to the decision to design and manufacture their own piece of hardware themselves in Surface. This did upset many of its partners, but Microsoft seem to feel this is the only way to challenge Apple head on. Steve Ballmer was quoted as saying " We'll leave no stone unturned in the battle with Apple."

Even hinting that a Microsoft designed and manufactured WP8 is not out of the question.

Do you think Microsoft are on the right path here?

Do you think Microsoft are better off having their own designed and made kit to go head to head with Apple?

The 32gb entry price for Surface is expected to be $500 - $600 with USB ports and Full M$ Office based on ARM acitecture. A more powerful Intel based deviced is expected later around the $1000 mark. Both versions will come with a soft case that has the trusty keyboard on the inside of the case for office use made easy and functional presumably.

What are your toughts?

Would you like to see a Windows Phone 8 designed and made by Microsoft?

Well Microsoft is doing things right but unlike Apple that only uses their OS on their devices, everybody uses Microsoft OS so Microsoft needs to be carefull because others companies also want to sell their Windows 8 tablets.

Or far worse for Microsoft, they will get hit with a varsity of monopoly charge by governments and have the other hardware makers embrace a new software standard of OS (such as Linux).

Mike from Morgantown

This will cause OEMs to not go out of their way to build Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices. Given how WP7 and previous Windows tablets have gone, they need all the help they can get. I think Surface will be more successful than any previous attempt at Windows on phones or tablets but still fall far short of Samsung and Apple. MS don't enter a market to be a distant third.

WP7 is functional but there's no compelling reason to get it when iOS and Android are better supported. The same will go for Win8-on-ARM: decent preinstalled experience, no software support.

Much like the Lumias, they will need to bring the price way, way down to get any units sold.

PS Microsoft is buying Nokia any day now so they will be producing hardware like anyone else. Nokia has junk credit ratings and a plummeting stock price, and when WP8 doesn't magically revive the company they will go bankrupt and MS will scoop them up like has been the plan all along (since Elop was installed as CEO).

ehh, I think MS is better off to stay out of hardware manufacturing, They were never good and it, and doubt they ever will be. Even if i end up liking the surface, I'd stay away from it knowing they produced it.

If Xbox 3 comes with Windows 8 it will sell more than surface. Xbox has really been the only successful hardware Microsoft sells beyond mice and keyboards. It will also help them inflate pitiful Windows 8 sales.

Surface only scratches the surface of Microsft's plans of tech domination.

I am looking forward to Surface. I think they were tired of being frustrated, as they came out with the 'slate' over a decade ago, and nobody made good tablets for them. So now they are saying, "This is how it should be done." It will also be nice to have a real computer with the Surface Pro. I would have certainly purchased a Surface over the laptop I bought last fall.

And with the problems of overheating on the Xbox 360 aside, it is still an impressive piece of hardware. It's a shame that some glue and a few screws would have prevented that problem. Sony was super lucky on that one. Plus the X360 can compete just fine with the PS3 which came out a whole year later and was also to be a tech powerhouse.

The original Xbox was delayed against the PS2 a year so it could be twice as powerful.

Zune HD was a great piece of hardware - not sure why they didn't just make that into a tablet.

But as far as phones. I think not - that's why they have the contracts with Nokia. Nokia makes great phones, and should have some great Window Phone 8 out when that launches.

As far as aliening their partners, where can they really go? Apple licensed a bunch of partners back in the 90's then sued them right before they came out. It destroyed many people's jobs, and I've always thought of Apple and an untrustworthy company because of it.

The only true threat is Android. I wonder if they are tying to get Windows 8 in the next Kindle.

I hope MS doesnt dominate HOWEVER I also hope that they would have enough sales to keep going. MS is really good at innovating when fierce competition is at hand.

No one's really buying Windows Phones anyway. They actually somehow declined in overall marketshare last quarter despite only holding a paltry 3% to begin with.

Make an XBox Phone, Microsoft. Slider controls like Xperia Play, only make it a bit more sleek/comfy and actually bring out some damn games for the thing (Halo, CoD, Madden, Banjo-Kazooie, XBLA content, etc.).