Despite Microsoft’s best efforts, it’s no secret that their Surface line of tablets haven’t exactly been selling like hotcakes – despite several being priced at ball-busting prices of under $400. Faced with disappointing sales of Surface devices powered by its Windows RT platform, Microsoft is taking their desperate efforts one step further: By slashing the price of all Surface RT models by $150!
The Verge reports:
The price cut will come just days after the company hinted at replacement Surface RT and Surface Pro models during its Worldwide Partner Conference on Wednesday. Microsoft is expected to refresh its Surface Pro with a Haswell processor, and the company has been testing Surface devices with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 processor. We’re told that Microsoft is also planning to reveal new accessories for its Surface devices, including a battery-equipped keyboard cover that it has hinted at previously. The new Surface RT prices are detailed below.
- Surface RT 32GB – $349.99
- Surface RT 64GB – $449.99
- Surface RT 32GB with Touch Cover – $449.99
- Surface RT 64GB with Touch Cover – $549.99
The company is also rumored to be preparing a smaller version of the Surface RT aimed at competing with the iPad mini, with pricing as low as $250. There’s no doubt about it – Microsoft has become almost embarrassingly desperate in their attempts to pull at Apple’s market share strings, and it shows all to clearly. Maybe that’s because when it comes to tablets, Windows isn’t a feature – it’s a liability.
Considering that sales of their Surface tablet have been underwhelming at best, and the fact that Windows 8 is driving the PC market to a record 20-year decline, maybe it’s time for Microsoft to consider that the real problem with the Surface isn’t it’s price (or it’s size) – it’s the Windows RT platform. Like Windows 8, consumers just aren’t in love with Microsoft’s shiny new platform… but as always, only time will tell.
Meanwhile, both HP and Amazon are also slashing prices on their own iPad competitors, the HP Slate 7 and Kindle Fire HD, respectively – for much the same reasons. It just goes to show you: When innovation fails, desperation quickly takes its toll.
