There Was No Surface Mini Because Microsoft Already Lost on Tablets

The biggest surprise from Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 launch on Tuesday wasn't what the company did announce, but what it didn't.

Going into the event, the expectation was that Microsoft would showcase a new, smaller version of the Surface — something that could compete against the iPad mini, Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX.

Those expectations weren't completely baseless; for months we've heard rumblings of a small form-factor Surface. Plus, it's hard to deny that the trend for consumer tablets is in the 7-inch or 8-inch space

But Microsoft didn't introduce a Surface Mini (and kudos to Greg Keizer of Computerworld for being the first to report this news). Instead, it decided to go even bigger with the 12-inch Surface Pro 3. Read more...