News Microsoft dramatically cuts Surface RT pricing

The numbers get terribly confusing, even for the different gadget sites.

As I understand it, he 200,000 Windows RT units sold refers to those by other manufacturers. The IDC states that all five models put together (inc. Surface RT) have sold about 1,000,000 units (linky). Bloomberg reports anonymous sources stating that the Surface RT has sold a bit over a million, and the Surface Pro about 450,000.

 

You're absolutely right, it is confusing, and nobody seems to have a consensus. Bloomberg's report seems reasonable, but doesn't gel with the IDC's report from May about the Q1 sales - between them it seems to state that Microsoft struggled to sell RT in Q1, and this then reversed in Q2 to come out with the 2:1 advantage in sales that RT appears to have (900k to 450k) over the Pro. This would mean a lot of RTs sold this quarter, and hardly any Pros.

Regardless of the exact numbers (and MS's unwillingness to share is somewhat telling), it's pretty clear Surface has flopped in the tablet market. Apple sold 3m iPads in the first quarter of their existence, when everybody didn't know what to do with them, and they now sell about 20m of them per quarter. Microsoft obviously won't give up, and have a new revision on the cards, but is it enough to make the silicon a bit faster? I still think the £100 cost for the keyboard cover is too much.

 

You could just do it by common sense: I see loads of people with ipads and Ive never seen anyone with a W8 tablet let alone a Surface. Therefore, sales aren't good :/

 

That's why I mentioned the Nexus 10 sales number of about 600,000. If the Surface RT is a flop, what is the Nexus 10?

The Nexus 7 sales number is estimated to be 4.6 million. The twice as expensive iPad mini sold 10 million. Even when Asus sells its tablet at cost, it struggles to compete.

What this says to me is that it is very hard to break into the tablet market, which Apple has all but sown up.

Another interesting factoid is that the Google ChromeBook sold 600,000 units since its inception two years ago. The Surface RT managed to outsell it by 50% in its first quarter. Yet the Surface RT is labelled a flop, by the same tech writers who consider the ChromeBook a visionary and promising product, and particularly by companies like Acer and Samsung, which subsequently happily churn out another ChromeBook model. What does that say?

 

The problem (if it can be called a problem) is that iPad's are seen as fashionable, and when it comes to be being seen in public having something that other people aspire to makes you feel special.
Its why most people buy designed brands and high end cars, people just like to show of

 

And to be fair, the iPad is an excellent product. It is almost flawless. The iPad Mini feels like something that dropped through a temporal wormhole from the future. I say this as a Surface RT owner.

Its ecosystem also has a six year head start. When the iPhone came out, there were no apps, but that did not bother people because all smartphones did in those days is offer PDA and email functions, and a (usually crappy) web browser. Apps were a bonus.

When the iPad came out three years later, there already was a wealth of iOS apps that were easily scaled up to the iPad. The ecosystem was already there.

The Surface RT tablet does not have that. It cannot tap into the myriad of legacy Windows software; it has to rely on the fact that Windows 8 is so ubiquitous that people will want to make Metro apps for it, and hence automatically for the Surface RT. But Windows 8 is ubiquitous on PCs and laptops, not on tablets. PCs and Laptops don't really need Metro apps. What can I say? Microsoft is a schizophrenic company, prone to schizophrenic reasoning.

 

Greetings!

There are a bunch of cheap 7-10" android tablets in the market. Nexus only is misleading as they usually more expensive.

 

The Nexus 10 is also a massive flop - because I think the real demand is for the Nexus 7 and the iPad mini. When you're paying for the Nexus 10 you may as well just fork out for an iPad for little more, whereas the Nexus 7 is cheap and remarkably good. Slash the Nexus 10 pricing by £100 and I think it will pick up...but won't make money.

You are absolutely right that Apple have the tablet market sewn up - to a point. The Nexus 7 is the only weak point for Apple, hence it's reasonable sales, which means Apple have to up their game with the iPad mini in the future, and Samsung et al with, well, everything else.

I think Microsoft should have looked at this fact a lot harder. The lack of a vibrant app store is massively harmful, and is possibly enough to sink a product. Should they have just accepted they were too late to the tablet party and not bothered at all? RIM are in the same situation - too far behind Apple and Android to catch up. The RT strikes me as a me-too product, coupled with Microsoft's typical inability to come up with a solid focus. The Pro on the other hand, bar battery life, is more what I would expect, and would welcome MS to continue development on in the future.

PS: Tegra 3? Really? Obsolete by the time it launched...

 

Some of them are surreally cheap --and not even of poor quality. You can get some pretty decent 7" Android tablets for less than £125,--.

As for the Surface RT: I think that it is different enough to find its own market niche (it did for me --it is the first tablet I thought worth buying). The only stupid thing Microsoft did was lock the desktop. When you jailbreak it and run legacy programs ported to ARM on it, you realise that it is a pretty capable device.

Microsoft really had no other choice but to jump on the bandwagon, but its top decision makers (like Gates and Ballmer) are too bloody arrogant. They are too comfortable with the market dominance of Windows and Office and have started to believe that everything they do in that area is automatically going to be received like the second coming of Christ. At least Jobs understood that you are only ever as good as your last product.

I think that the sudden emergence and success of the iPhone and iPad, and the difficult birth of Windows 8 and the Surface has been a healthy wake up call for Microsoft.

PS: the Surface RT had been on the drawing board for a year; when it started the Tegra 3 was still quite new. The mobile market moves fast, and flexible Microsoft ain't. When the new Atom came out I would have pulled out all the stops and quickly redrawn the mobo of the Surface RT around that, even if it meant a three month launch delay. Think about it: a Surface RT but with legacy compatibility. It would have sold like crazy.

 

Nexxo I have to disagree with you here. The trouble is apple have1 operating system with 2 products. IPad and mini. Anyone buying an iOS tablet MUST buy one of them.
Android has multiple manufacturers at multiple price points and screen sizes.

I know of 0 people IRL with a tab running Windows.
I know of 2 people IRL with an iPAD
I know of 6 people IRL with an android tablet.
Similar stats for phones 1 windows, many iPhone, more android.

The trouble for MS on the phone and tablet market is that they have hit it too late. Either they need to firesale the stock HP style to improve market share, or sale at a price point that is attractive to buyers in the current economic climate.
I assume that those that can afford to spend >£250 on a tablet already have and therefore won't be in a hurry to upgrade. Those that can't afford it, like myself, aren't that relevant to potential sales. There are not many people left. They either have to be patient and accept that it will take time to get out into the hands of the masses or do something radical.

 

But that one OS is Apple's strength. If you scrape all Android tablets together, they may well reach a number on a par with all iPads. But then you have different versions of Android running on different screen sizes and resolutions... it is quite hard to develop for. Whereas with Apple, one App almost fits all. There are four resolutions to cater for: the older iPhone, the iPhone 5 with taller screen, the non-retina Apple iPad/iPad Mini, and the retina iPad. It makes the developer's life a lot easier.

 

Definitely, i completely agree with you. The benefit of each approach is its demise and strength.
On the one had apple have a very simple setup as the available devices are so so narrow. It is great for consumers and devs, unless the one size fits all policy doesn't fit you.
Android by contrast offers a myriad of choices which is great for consumers, but not devs.
My point was more that if MS want to stick around in the mobile space, they need to be in it for the long haul. Or firesale the stock to get it out to people and start a buzz about the product. If it dropped to ~£100 or less I'd be very tempted. Until then I've got pc, laptop, netbook, smart phone, tablet. I really don't see what benefit the surface would be, over any of the above.

 

Totally agree. (OK, I'm worried now... ).

For me the Surface RT is very much an all-in-one device: tablet and laptop. A sort of Swiss Army knife. I think that it was a bit overpriced, but it was the closest thing to what I was looking for. Pricing it to match the iPad was arrogant --Microsoft just does not have that luxury. It should take Google's approach and sell them at rock-bottom prices, with touch covers going at cosy (£25,-- maximum). Never mind whether it upsets the OEMs.

 

lets be blunt there is 1 good andriod tablet thats the nexus 7, The rest suffer a tonne of issues that have stopped them ever selling in unit quantities to make them profitable.

Nexus 10 is too pricey and too close to an Ipad which people would rather be seen with.

Despite Apples share of Tablet market dropping in sales terms, They are still seen as the dominant company by many and are the only company making a profit on the tablet.

 

Apple is in the ideal position of being seen as the inventor of the tablet (yeah, I know, but nobody remembers the 2004 Windows tablet devices --and those who do, shudder) and of having a six year head start on apps --with a virtual monopoly on the market for the first year.

When you are a conservative buyer, you buy a Hoover vacuum cleaner, a Phillips light bulb, a Singer sewing machine. You go to the brands that are synomymous with the product. Similarly, you go for an Apple tablet.

And then there's the apps: six years' worth of app development; six years' worth websites making sure there is an iPad-friendly version. If there's an app for that, it's sure to be an iOS app. Six years of Apple accessories: in your car, on your speaker dock, on your HiFi system. It has acquired such a critical mass that Apple can just change the dock connector and people rather buy new accessories than move to another tablet.

 

Another thing to bear in mind is that many people have taught parents to use iOS devices, and I sure as hell aren't going through all that again with an android. My parents are staying in the walled garden forever now

 

The lack of accessories is a real shame about Android devices I think. I do like the fact that anyone can use any iPhone dockspeaker-me-jig with no fuss. I really would love to see accessories making use of BT or DLNA and having usb for charging or devices without BT or wifi. That would be great.

As for learning new things, people adapt and overcome, my dad did with android, he would probably cope nicely if thrown an iOS, or win mob too, at least with the basics.