Aiming to compete with the likes of Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD and Google’s Nexus, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft is building a 7-inch Surface tablet.
Sources tell the WSJ that a new lineup of tablets, including a 7-inch version, will go into production later this year.
This all makes sense given the decrease in demand for PC’s. A report from IDC earlier this week showed a 13.9 percent decline in PC shipments for the first quarter, despite the release of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 8, in October.
Last month, ZDNet’s Ed Bott came across a Microsoft hardware certification guideline change that indicated the company’s plans for smaller tablets.
Since its debut last October, Microsoft has sold a grand total of 1.5 million Surface tablets as of last month. Following reports of lackluster sales of the Surface RT tablet and other Windows RT devices, Microsoft spoke up last month in defense of the version of its operating system that was designed to go head-to-head against the iPad and other tablets.
Previously on GeekWire: 6 things Apple needs to copy from Microsoft Surface in iOS 7
