Microsoft Rumored to be Slowing Surface Production

According to a report published by Digitimes, Windows RT "may not perform as well as expected in the market"

The article suggests that Microsoft has cut tablet orders by half and there is now reason to believe, if the information is accurate, that Microsoft will miss the anticipated goal of 4 million shipped Surface RT tablets by the end of the year. Instead, Microsoft may only ship 2 million units. Digitimes said that Asustek Computer, Samsung Electronics and Dell are also seeing weak demand for Windows RT devices.

With little hope that Surface RT will be improving its market performance, all hopes now rest on the Surface Pro tablet, but there is already mounting doubt that Microsoft can make a significant impact. The tablet, which will run Windows 8 Pro will carry a $400 premium over Surface RT and sell for at least $899 (64 GB). The higher end 128 GB model will retail for $999. The tablets will have a 1080 p 10.6-inch screen and run Core i5 processors, as well as pens nor taking notes and making sketches.

The Digitimes report suggests that the supply chain believes that Surface Pro will be priced out of the market and will need a lower price to appeal to consumers.

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  • zubikov
    Honestly look around the mall on black friday, ask your friends, relatives and coworkers. Who went out and got a Microsoft Surface? I bet many got an iPad or the amazing Nexus 10. The Surface is an expensive joke.
    Reply
  • dameon51
    I can't understand not wanting the RT. Can't wait for the Pro though.
    Reply
  • gouki146
    The RT is 10 years TOO LATE. Win XP on a tablet? Not exciting until the 2nd or 3rd gen when the hardware catches up to the hype.
    Reply
  • tleavit
    Ill have 100 orders for a pro tables in my small business next year alone. Don't be fooled people, there is MASSIVE pressure in the business word by users to use a tablet in the work space and M$ dropped the ball by taking so long, every other competitor will catch up. So far the surface has the best specs but Im concerned that it does not have a docking station for business user to easily drop it in and use their normal mouse/keyboard/monitor based apps.
    Reply
  • Metro UI is a disaster. It's failed in the phone market, and now Microsoft wants to shove it down our throats. I sincerely home that Windows 8 is a complete flop and they escort that idiot Ballmer out the door! Seriously, Microsoft has never innovated well, but rather bullied people out of the markets they've created or just plain bought them out. Now, they're so late to the market, it's game over...
    Reply
  • therogerwilco
    Windows 8 rocks. The Surface RT rocks. The closed model they're applying to application installations and the completely restricted API you can code Windows 8 apps in, is the failure point for the Surface RT. The Pro you'll be able to use as normal, but after X amount of years with that freedom, trying to apply a business model like Apple or Droid to a piece of hardware, will not catch on. I was horrified when I tried to set an environment variable within some code for my Surface RT, only to find out the API is probably 30% of the entire .net 4.5 framework. Don't get me wrong, that helps security and performance, but that sure limits the amount you can actually do for coding and reduces the experience of the end user. (this is not a droid, or a crummy apple, this is freakin windows. it's been a mature and massive experience for years)
    Reply
  • It is simply too expensive. It is a lot more compelling at $300 than it is at $500. Micro$oft has billions in the bank, and they need to subsidize this thing to get it out the door, and gain market share.
    Reply
  • -Jackson
    Metro UI is a disaster. It's failed in the phone market, and now Microsoft wants to shove it down our throats. I sincerely home that Windows 8 is a complete flop and they escort that idiot Ballmer out the door! Seriously, Microsoft has never innovated well, but rather bullied people out of the markets they've created or just plain bought them out. Now, they're so late to the market, it's game over...
    Nobody's forcing you to use it princess.
    Reply
  • Gundam288
    -JacksonNobody's forcing you to use it princess.Nope, but if you want the newest Direct X MS pretty much forces you to use their new OS sadly. This has been how they have done things for a while now. =/
    Reply
  • lradunovic77
    Metro needs to die
    Reply