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Microsoft Forced to Slash Surface RT Prices Despite Vigorous Anti-iPad Ad Campaign

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Microsoft is planning to drop the prices of its Surface RT tablets by $150, reports The Verge. The lower prices, which will go into effect on Sunday July 14, are likely the result of lackluster sales.

Bloomberg reported in March that Microsoft had sold just 1.5 million Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets since they debuted in October of 2012 and February of 2013, respectively, with 400,000 of those sales attributed to the Pro. HP experienced similarly poor sales with its TouchPad, which was heavily discounted and then discontinued.

surfacert.jpg
The Surface pricing change comes just after Microsoft announced a restructuring of the company, aiming to enhance collaboration and unify its product lineup. Microsoft has heavily marketed Windows 8 tablets in recent weeks, pitting several different tablets against Apple's iPad in a series of ads that highlight the iPad's inability to multitask and its lack of built-in productivity software.

With the discount, Microsoft's pricing will be as follows:

- 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

Staples has confirmed the pricing cut in a weekly promotional ad that says the new pricing will be available as of Sunday. Despite the pricing cuts, Microsoft has suggested that new versions of both the Surface Pro and the Surface RT are in the works, along with a number of new accessories.

Article Link: Microsoft Forced to Slash Surface RT Prices Despite Vigorous Anti-iPad Ad Campaign
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/07/11/microsoft-forced-to-slash-surface-rt-prices-despite-vigorous-anti-ipad-ad-campaign/
This reminds me of that other tablet that didn't do to well years ago. What was the name? I can't remember. They lowered prices too, and sold out and then never produced anymore. Lol
 
Sent from my iPad

The iPad is so good that it is extremely hard for them to compite with it. The key reason, IMO, is that carriers had little, if any, traction with tablets (they are not subsidized) and it is a retail game.
 
212rikanmofo said:
This reminds me of that other tablet that didn't do to well years ago. What was the name? I can't remember. They lowered prices too, and sold out and then never produced anymore. Lol
Click to expand...

HP Touchpad? Motorola Xoom? List goes on and on.
 
Wow. I read the headline, and did a LOL in my head, then I came here to post it, and see that I was beaten to it by several people. So here it goes, LOL.

What a piece of junk. But hey, that baseball scout sure loved his Windows tablet!!!!! Who would buy these. They could price them down to $100, but that means devs would be running away from the platform. Consumers would stay away as no good apps would be coming. What a mess.

Folks, if you want a tablet, just get an iPad mini. I've had both full size and mini, and boy do I love the mini. What a joy. I can't wait for retina!!!!!
 
What a shame. By that I mean I really feel sorry for the people who bought those tablets, only to see the prices of them slashed. Imagine sinking £200-300 on a tablet, only to see that it's discontinued.

It's really, really a bad sign (especially for consumers). What sort of sign are they giving; purchase anything non-Apple and a few months later it'll be slashed in price or discontinued entirely?

Of course there have been instances where products have been discontinued/rendered useless by Apple -- G4 cube and the PowerMac G5s in general -- but IMHO they're possibly the exception to the rule.
 
I'm surprised the Pro outsold the RT by that much. I would have expected the opposite numbers. I guess consumers really want the full Windows desktop experience. I've never used Windows 8, but I find it intriguing. The iPad is less intriguing in that I've used it and know what it is. It's one of those things where I am sure I would use it if I had one, but since I have a computer, I don't need one. Don't really need a Surface either. If I had to upgrade my laptop, I might be curious to test out a hybrid, though. I find myself wanting to touch my MBP's screen lately.
 
The Ads aren't enough, people are still confused at the differences between Surface RT and Surface Pro.

Scrap the Surface RT completely, drop the Surface Pro down to 499$ and you might just have a better chance of competing.

Actually, just drop Surface completely, buy Nokia, and let them build MS products.
 
HP TouchPad? Really? Can't say I've heard of that. Was it even comparable to iPad? :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
swingerofbirch said:
I'm surprised the Pro outsold the RT by that much. I would have expected the opposite numbers. I guess consumers really want the full Windows desktop experience. I've never used Windows 8, but I find it intriguing. The iPad is less intriguing in that I've used it and know what it is. It's one of those things where I am sure I would use it if I had one, but since I have a computer, I don't need one. Don't really need a Surface either. If I had to upgrade my laptop, I might be curious to test out a hybrid, though. I find myself wanting to touch my MBP's screen lately.
Click to expand...

Don't be surprised, a lot of folks returned RT because it had a lot of performance issues, it wasn't as smooth as they'd thought it'd be.

Surface RT might have a better experience once they get a better hardware. MS rushed RT too soon.
 
Restructuring and discounts in this proximity of quarterly results. Who doesn't love the smell of desperation in the morning?
 
They are still too expensive. What Microsoft needed to do was come out at $99 for about 6 months to a year. Yes, they would take a major loss in the short term, but hear me out.

You sell initially at a loss to get a lot of market share, because in today's world that is where it counts. Once they had established the marketshare, then they could sell at normal prices that they can make a profit off of.

This is assuming that people actually liked Windows tablets (clearly they don't).
 
not aggressive enough in my opinion. They need to get those prices down to compete with the iPad. Price is the only reason someone would choose a Windows RT tablet over an iPad. $299 should be the sweet spot for the RT, but if they priced them below then they could start selling more. If they were priced at $199 I would buy one just to have one, no questions asked. I think Microsoft need to revisit their strategy.
 
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