Microsoft permanently slashes price on struggling Surface Pro to $799
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Comments
What's a 'Surface'?
(And, what's up with that GOOG price graph in this story?!)
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GadgetCanadaV2
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
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)
Quote:
Originally Posted by OverByThere
Surely Cmd+C & Cmd+V
LOL, you're right!!! What was I thinking?
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!"...
/
/
/
That should get 'em moving out the door. /s
Right, Larry?
Won't work.
Do I even have to say it?
the good old days, January of this year
http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2013/01/22/growing-the-surface-family-surface-windows-8-pro-availability-confirmed.aspx
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.
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.
/sarcasm
How are they going to pay all those dancers for the upcoming Surface commercials?
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…
[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/2rm6o36.jpg[/IMG]