Microsoft permanently slashes price on struggling Surface Pro to $799

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Microsoft's Surface tablet lineup, which has thus far failed to gain traction against Apple's iPads, saw a permanent price cut this week, most notably among the high-end Surface Pro, which now sells for $100 less.

Surface
Microsoft's Surface Pro. | Source: Microsoft


The prices, which included the entry-level Surface Pro for $799, were initially enacted as a temporary measure set to expire on Thursday. But the Windows maker revealed to ZDNet that those prices are now permanent, and reduced prices have also expanded globally.

Microsoft, in a statement, attempted to portray the new prices as a win for the Surface lineup. But the company already took a $900 million charge on unsold Surface inventory earlier this year.

In July, Microsoft revealed that it had made only $853 million on the Surface product lineup in its first three months. That number was less than the write-down it was forced to take to adjust inventory, and also less than the $898 million Microsoft spent on an advertising campaign for Surface and Windows 8.

Under the new, permanent pricing, Microsoft is charging $799 for the 64-gigabyte Surface Pro with Windows 8. A 128-gigabyte version runs $899, though neither come with the keyboard accessory.

Surface WiFi


In comparison, Apple's iPad, which runs the iOS mobile operating system, starts at $499 for 16 gigabytes. For comparable capacities, the iPad still offers 64 gigabytes of storage for $100 less than Microsoft's Surface Pro, at $699, while the high-end 128-gigabyte iPad costs $799.

Beyond the Surface Pro, Microsoft has also knocked $50 off its Surface RT bundles, which now start at $399. The Touch Cover keyboard accessories are also now available for $40 less.
«13456

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 113


    What's a 'Surface'?


     


    (And, what's up with that GOOG price graph in this story?!)

  • Reply 2 of 113
    Sorry, I'm a bit confused as to why there is a screenshot of the stock data for GOOG, highlighting the after-hours drop in this article?
  • Reply 3 of 113


    I wish I could cut and paste all the comments here from 12 months ago that talked how everybody was waiting for the "real" windows running on a "real" tablet and that the SurfacePro was going to be so popular that the iPad would run with it's tail between it's legs. Unfortunately that many comments would probably break my <ctrl c> and <ctrl v> keys.

  • Reply 4 of 113

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GadgetCanadaV2 View Post


    I wish I could cut and paste all the comments here from 12 months ago that talked how everybody was waiting for the "real" windows running on a "real" tablet and that the SurfacePro was going to be so popular that the iPad would run with it's tail between it's legs. Unfortunately that many comments would probably break my <ctrl c> and <ctrl v> keys.



     


    Surely Cmd+C & Cmd+V ;)?

  • Reply 5 of 113


    Performed to the music Yackety Yak by The Coasters:


     


    Take out the surface to the trash

    You wasted money spendin' cash

    iPad used the surface to wash the floor

    You ain't gonna touch windows 8 no more

    Clickety-Clack

    (Don't talk back)

  • Reply 6 of 113

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by OverByThere View Post


     


    Surely Cmd+C & Cmd+V ;)?



     


    LOL, you're right!!! What was I thinking?

  • Reply 7 of 113
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    They should maybe look at firing that Balmer guy. He's not doing very well.... Oh wait, that's already happened
  • Reply 8 of 113
    rot'napplerot'napple Posts: 1,839member


    New Microsoft TV commercial announcing Surface Pro price reduction in comparison to iPad and the Siri-like voice says, "Oh my!  When generating sales, I don't have to do that!"... image


    /


    /


    /

  • Reply 9 of 113


    That should get 'em moving out the door. /s

  • Reply 10 of 113
    For now, Google is Wall Street's most fav bitch!

    Right, Larry?
  • Reply 11 of 113


    Won't work.

  • Reply 12 of 113
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member



     


    Do I even have to say it? 

  • Reply 14 of 113
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member


    Cheaper to drop the price $100 than to unbox the millions in the warehouse to re-flash them with 8.1 coming out next month.

  • Reply 15 of 113


    I still don't see why anyone would buy a Surface Pro so close to the release of Intel's Haswell Y-series (fanless).  Y-series tablets are expected to have a much thinner chassis and a 7~9 hour battery life.  Essentially what the Surface Pro should have been originally.

  • Reply 16 of 113
    elmoofoelmoofo Posts: 100member
    But in the commercial, the iPad doesn't have a kickstand. Advantage:Ballmer

    /sarcasm
  • Reply 17 of 113


    How are they going to pay all those dancers for the upcoming Surface commercials?

  • Reply 18 of 113


    Lonely Platforms


     


    Ah, look at all the lonely platforms 

    Ah, look at all the lonely platforms 



    Larry and Sergey, building a search that would be the new standard for years, 

    Nobody feared 

    Schmidt came along and bought an OS, I confess, made it just like Apple's 

    Talk about bull



    All the lonely platforms 

    To whom are they all sold? 

    All the lonely platforms

    Hey, are they even sold? 



    Steven A. Ballmer, starting from scratch on their phones with a batch of new code

    Developers. 

    Not skeuomorphic, trimmed it right down to just primary colors and squares 

    What does he care? 



    All the lonely platforms 

    To whom are they all sold?

    All the lonely platforms 

    Hey, are they even sold?



    Ah, look at all the lonely platforms 

    Ah, look at all the lonely platforms 



    Research in Motion, dying off slowly by changing its name and its brand

    Still rather bland 

    Hedging their bets with piggybacking Android app compatibility

    … Really? 



    All the lonely platforms (ah, look at all the lonely platforms) 

    To whom are they all sold…  

    All the lonely platforms (ah, look at all the lonely platforms) 

    Hey, are they even sold…

  • Reply 19 of 113
    A Woot! deal on Surface tablets can't be far off boys and girls.

    [IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/2rm6o36.jpg[/IMG]
  • Reply 20 of 113
    Go big or go home; give everyone in America a free Surface. (Apologies to Oprah)
Sign In or Register to comment.