Microsoft discontinues branded PC accessories to focus on Surface peripherals

[Shawn Knight]

Why it matters: It is the end of an era at Microsoft as the Redmond-based tech giant is discontinuing its Microsoft-branded line of keyboards, mice, and other PC peripherals to focus on accessories carrying the Surface moniker.

In a statement issued to The Verge, Microsoft Senior Communications Manager Daniel Laycock said that going forward, Microsoft will shift its attention to Windows PC accessories under the Surface name. Existing Microsoft-branded peripherals already on the market will remain on sale until supplies last, the executive added.

Microsoft-branded PC accessories date back to the early 1980s when the company put out its first mouse, which was bundled with Microsoft Word and Notepad. Several other standout products came out of Redmond in subsequent years including the quirky Natural Keyboard with its split ergonomic design in 1994 and the IntelliMouse series starting in 1996.

Microsoft was a leader in pointer technology at the time and was among the first to ship products with scroll wheels and side buttons. The company's IntelliMouse Explorer featured optical tracking technology, eliminating the pesky mouse ball that needed frequent cleaning. It sounds trivial nowadays but at the time, going from a ball to an optical sensor was a real game changer.

A few years back, Microsoft introduced retro-inspired remakes of its classic IntelliMouse. They were not nearly as cutting edge as the original but were still attractive to a certain segment of nostalgia seekers.

Laycock reinforced the fact that Microsoft will continue to offer accessories like keyboards, mice, pens, docks, and adaptive accessories under the Surface brand. What's unclear, however, is if Microsoft will tweak price points at all.

As The Verge highlights, Surface-branded peripherals are not always the cheapest on the market. Microsoft-branded accessories, on the other hand, were on average a bit more affordable. With them going away, will Microsoft adjust pricing on existing Surface models or introduce new budget offerings to fill the gap?

Have you used any Microsoft-branded accessories over the years? If so, are there any particular products you really enjoyed?

Image credit: Nate D. Sanders Auctions

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/98497-microsoft-discontinues-branded-pc-accessories-focus-surface-peripherals.html

 

[Neatfeatguy]

I've still got two of those IntelliMouse that I use daily. I've had one of them for 20 years or more, still works like it did from day one. The other one I've had for about 15 years, but it sat in storage until about 5 years ago. I gave it to my daughter when she got a laptop and she used it for a couple years and now she's got no use for the laptop so I use it and the mouse daily at my work.

I've also got the most amazing ergo keyboard at home from Microsoft - the Microsoft Natural Elite keyboard. I've got two at home (one I use daily, the other for backup), one black and one white/gray colored one. Had them for many years and it'll be a shame when they stop functioning. Last time I got some off ebay one wasn't fully functional and the other one didn't have working LEDs for the indicators on it so I had to cannibalize them to get one fully functional keyboard.

Those two products were well designed and last a long, long time.

I have tried the MS Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 - what a POS. That is a garbage keyboard. I think this one is discontinued and if you ask me, for good reasons.

My keyboard I use on my work computer is the Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard and while it's clearly not on the same level as the original MS Natural Elite keyboards, it is leaps and bounds better than the Ergonomic Keyboard 4000.

 

[passwordistaco]

MS Trackball Optical 4 lyf.

 

[amghwk]

Despite love-hate relationship with MS, I do love their keyboards and mice. They are surprisingly reliable and impress with attention to quality.

I have bought wired and wireless keyboard-mouse combos, headphones, mini wireless keyboard with touchpad, their signature Intellimouse including an older IR version which I still use in my Retro system.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

First laser mouse was Microsoft, wish they still made it, was damn near indestructible.

 

[Jack77]

Curious how long Surface will last, as Satya Nadella is software (and mostly Cloud) focused. It's not that Surface is essential hardware for the software ecosystem like in the case of XBox.

But maybe prestige and sales are high enough for Surface.

 

[amoeba00]

One of the hardest things I had to do was switch from the Microsoft Trackball Explorer to a regular mouse for gaming. The buttons just stopped working and I took all my frustration out which basically ensured it would never work again. By that time, it was long out of production and just wasn't going to spend $200 for a used one off eBay.
I was also not the happiest camper when I realized that I would now have to learn how to game with a regular mouse.

Now with the G603 and all those glorious buttons, I don't see how I could switch back.

(Ugh, these first world problems...)

 

[Musician]

I like Microsoft keyboards and mice. Bought a few along the years. Still using the media keyboard.

 

[sunnyvd]

Been 11 years but still using my Sidewinder X6 keyboard

 

[LetTheWookieWin]

Still rocking my SideWinder Precision 2 joystick from about 20 years ago. I loved Microsoft’s mice, particularly when they introduced the scroll wheel / middle button along with the optical sensor. Not having to remove the ball and clean fuzz/grime off of the sensor wheels was a revelation.

Going further back, the original Microsoft mouse was also significant for its time. Compared to the single-button mice Apple was supplying on Macs and the IIgs, the second button on the Microsoft mouse was a usability boon.