In another sign that Microsoft’s Surface tablets are failing to hit the ground running, the Windows giant has slashed the Surface Pro lineup by $100 through August 29. The Microsoft-branded tablet family was unveiled last October so it’s only logical the company now wants to get rid of unsold inventory as it gears up to announce a second-generation Surface later this year. Both the 64GB and 128GB flavors of the Surface Pro are now a $799 and $899 value, respectively…
According toThe Verge, the United States, Canada, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are nowshowing price cutson both Surface Pro models. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that customers in these countries can buy a $100 cheaper Surface Pro between August 4 and August 29.
Of course, Microsoft put its expected spin on the development:
We’ve been seeing great worldwide success with Surface RT pricing and keyboard-cover promotions over the past several months and are proud to offer Surface Pro at more affordable prices starting today.
The cheaper Surface RT is based on ARM architecture while the Surface RT runs Intel chips, allowing it to run legacy Windows programs and be marketed as a cross-over between a tablet and a notebook.
The official Surface website is advertising the price cut.
The news arrives following Microsoft’s unexpecteddeep 30 percent discount on Surface RTtablets after Geekwire estimated the Windows maker sold a mere1.7 million Surface RT units to date, prompting a massive$900 million write-offover unsold inventory.
According to its annualForm 10-K filingwith the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Surface family of tablets had raked in only $853 million in revenue for the company.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE7AQY5Xk9w
Even the outspoken Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer couldn’t spin the news in a positive direction and has reportedlytold troopsthat“we built a few more devices than we could sell”. Despite this unusual admission of failure, I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess thatiPad-bashing in Surface commercialswill continue unabated.
