Microsoft's Surface turns first profit in 2 years

As a comparison -- although Microsoft denies that the Surface Pro 3 is a tablet, preferring to dub it a notebook replacement instead -- Apple sold 12.3 million iPads in the same quarter, producing $5.3 billion in revenue.

Microsoft must do better if Surface is to be a viable business rather than a vanity project. "The gross margin has to keep moving up at this point," Dawson said in an email reply to questions. "It's at a point in its history when it has to get beyond the early losses to a sustainable business."

(www.computerworld.com)