One lesson so far: While Apple can still command top dollar, Windows tablets only become widely desirable after they drop to Android-level pricing.

After mostly sitting out the patron Electronic Showcase earlier this month, Microsoft touted its Surface tablets last week on the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in Ny city. But are the devices, that have been frequently out of stock in the course of the holiday season, actually making progress? InformationWeek breaks down the nice and the bad indicators, both for the skin line and Windows tablets usually.

The good

Throughout 2013, Microsoft highlighted a great number of corporate and institutional Surface deployments. It also established partner programs to construct a 3rd-party community around its Surface products. While initial Surface sales were poor, these efforts helped Microsoft to make a fantastic point: Whether for reasons of manageability or utility, the skin line serves at the least some productivity-minded professionals better than an iPad, laptop, and even both.

Microsoft furthered this agenda at NRF, where it welcomed AnywhereCommerce and MagTek, either one of which make mobile point-of-sale products, into its Designed for Surface program. In a blog post trumpeting Microsoft’s Big Show appearance, the corporate also profiled a brand new Surface Pro customer, Scandinavia-based retailer MQ.

The Surface Pro allowed MQ to reimagine its store layouts, Surface senior manager Biran Eskridge told InformationWeek in a phone interview. The tablets are installed in kiosks that connect customers to the retailer’s warehouses, meaning that if the specified garment isn’t in stock, a client can summon it to the shop by the following day. Consequently, MQ keeps less inventory to be had, which Eskridge said has caused less-cluttered stores, greater attention from passersby, and better revenue.

[Which tablets ruled last year? Read 10 Best Tablets Of 2013. ] 

The MQ deployment joins a set of Surface success stories Microsoft has highlighted in recent months, starting from Delta using 11000 Surface 2s as “electronic flight bags,” to real estate management firm Pedcor choosing the skin for its entire IT division, to physicians using the tablets to give more personalized care.

Eskridge said Microsoft probably won’t share any Surface sales figures before it reports quarterly earnings on Jan. 23. But he pointed to a few public data that shines a good light on holiday Surface sales.

Ad network Chitika calculated Microsoft’s Surface and Surface 2 snared 2.3% of all post-holiday U.S tablet usage within the America and Canada. That figure was up from 1.8% before Christmas. It also beat the percentage of well-regarded rivals, equivalent to Google’s Nexus tablet.

Retail analytics firm InfoScout found Surface was a well-liked Black Friday item, particularly the unique model, which was on sale for less than $199. It was the head-selling item of any sort that day at Best Buy. 

Various online reports have also indicated that certain configurations of the newer Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 (both which have been better received than the 1st models) were out of stock at many locations in the course of the holidays. Eskridge said Microsoft has found that some shoppers who were tempted into stores by the steeply discounted Surface ended up leaving with costlier models.

Microsoft’s customer satisfaction data shows that Surface owners use the device greater than they used their previous tablets, Eskridge said, adding, “It validates our standpoint.”

Outside of the skin, as a minimum a couple of new Windows devices, akin to Dell’s Venue 8 Pro, generated limited buzz throughout the holiday season. 

The bad

Microsoft has clearly made progress, but installed context we’re talking about baby steps, not major strides.

Forrester analyst David Johnson told Informationweek that demand for Windows 8 is “pretty flat” within the enterprise. He noted that employee demand for Windows tablets has risen but said businesses still show a “strong preference” for iPads.

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