Microsoft says more Surface Pros will arrive in stores ‘by Saturday’

Check out our full review of the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet. 

Panos Panay, general manager of the Surface team, said in a tweet during a scheduled winchat on Tuesday that US and Canadian stores selling the recently launched Surface Pro tablet would receive more stock this week, with the 64GB version shipping now, and the 128GB model arriving in stores by Saturday.

“We are shipping more 64gb now to BBY [Best Buy], Staples, MS Store and online. 128gb at BBY and MS Stores by Saturday,” Panay tweeted.

When Microsoft launched the Pro version of its Surface tablet over the weekend, it soon became apparent that the company had either woefully underestimated demand for the Windows 8 version of its iPad rival, or had supplied outlets such as Best Buy and Staples with such a small number of tablets that even if demand was light it was bound to sell out within hours.

In the event, there were reports over the weekend of lines outside Microsoft retail stores Saturday morning – something you don’t often see – followed soon after by tweets and forum postings from disgruntled would-be buyers complaining that the stores selling the device appeared to have had just a few Surface Pros in stock.

“Customer response to the launch of Surface Pro has been amazing. We’re working with our retail partners who are currently out of stock of the 128GB Surface Pro to replenish supplies as quickly as possible,” the software-turned-hardware maker said on the Surface blog on Saturday, followed by a long, awkward silence. Until Panay’s tweet today, that is.

If shipping just a few devices at the start was geared towards guaranteeing positive-sounding “sold out” headlines rather than “unsold stock” reports, then that tactic has certainly backfired for the Redmond-based company.

Microsoft has so far declined to say how many Surface Pros it shipped and sold over its opening weekend, though some have estimated that fewer than 30,000 devices were in stores when business got under way Saturday morning.

If you set out last weekend to pick up a 128GB Surface Pro, did you manage to get your hands on one? Or are you hoping for better luck this weekend?

[via Cnet]