Microsoft is said to launch the next-generation Surface RT tablet along with the Windows 8.1 operating system in October this year.
The company announced its first-ever series of tablets, the Surface slates, back in June 2012 and released the Surface RT in Oct. 2012. Recently, the company reduced the price of the tablet by $150, which suggests that Microsoft is planning to launch the next generation of the tablet.
"Microsoft has recently started clearing its first-generation Surface tablet inventory to welcome its upcoming second-generation models, which reportedly will be launched in October. Microsoft has dropped its Surface Pro price by US$100 in North America and is selling its Surface RT at a very low price through education procurement channels, according to sources from the upstream supply chain," reports DigiTimes.
The DigiTimes report says that the poor compatibility of the Surface RT tablet has pushed the company to reduce the price of the tablet in order to get rid of the excess stock.
Rumors also suggest that the upcoming Surface RT tablets will be pre-loaded with the latest version of the Windows RT operating system. The latest OS build may convince new customers to try it and purchase the tablet. Some rumors also point out that the company may also launch a smaller tablet along with the regular 10.6-inch tablets.
However, Apple is expected to launch the iPad 5 and the iPad mini 2 in October this year and Nokia is also rumored to launch its tablet in September or October. As such, Microsoft will have to face stiff competition if it launches the second-generation Surface RT tablets in October.
Microsoft had high-expectations from the Surface tablets but it couldn't attract many customers to its first tablet range. Now the company will try its best to get the pricing and compatibility of its next-generation tablet right in order to appeal to more and more tablet customers and to better compete in the tablet space.
The Redmond-based company has not let out a word regarding the next-generation Surface RT tablets, so we will have to take current rumors of the upcoming Surface tablets with a pinch of salt.
