Oprah is a pretty big deal. Whenever she praises a certain consumer product, sales seem to get a nice bump as millions of fervent Oprah followers indulge her opinion. Why is why Microsoft should have been happy when Oprah tweeted that she loved the new Surface tablet so much she bought 12 of them. Only catch is that she tweeted her love for the Surface from an Apple iPad.
"Gotta say love that SURFACE! Have bought 12 already for Christmas gifts. #FavoriteThings," Oprah tweeted on November 18
Forgetting the fact that most of us cannot afford 12 Surface tablets, there is plenty of irony here due to the fact that the iPad is the biggest competitor to the Surface and that Microsoft has spent $1.5 billion on Windows 8 promotion so far, according to TechCrunch. Oprah has endorsed the Surface tablet in her list of 48 favorite things, and while tweeting her love for it from an iPad isn't blasphemy, it does make you wonder. Does Oprah like the iPad more? Or was this a slip up by one of the aides?
A far less sensationalist reason could exist - the Microsoft Surface has no Twitter app. As of now, Twitter claims that it is still working on an app for the Windows Store, but given that the company's app has proved successful on iOS and Android devices, it brings up the sneaking suspicion that Twitter doesn't think of the Windows Store as a high priority. If this is the case, then other developers are sure to feel similarly, and that is bad news for Microsoft.
Windows 8 has come under fire recently, and while many find the new style and interface refreshing, there are some who are turned off by the revamp. Usability expert Jakob Nielsen had this to say:
"Windows 8 on mobile devices and tablets is akin to Dr. Jekyll: a tortured soul hoping for redemption. On a regular PC, Windows 8 is Mr. Hyde: a monster that terrorizes poor office workers and strangles their productivity."
While Twitter and Nielsen may not be too keen on Microsoft's new operating system, Microsoft should still be able to look forward to a Winfrey sales bump thanks to Oprah's immense influence. Just make sure to try out the Surface before purchasing if you're going off her advice.