Microsoft slashed the price of both its Surface tablets due to weak sales and the company is reportedly getting ready to launch the Surface 2 and Surface Pro at the same prices it offered the original tablets.
It may seem odd, but Microsoft has a well-documented history of being the tech company who doesn't like to give up on things easily, even if it fails. It continues to move forward to take another stab at it and hopes things will turn around. The Zune was created to go head to head with the iPod, even though Microsoft provided licensing for manufacturers to use its PlaysForSure technology. Microsoft entered the portable media player with its own Zune hardware and software. It priced the digital players around the same price as the market leading iPod. Sales of Zunes were extremely low, but Microsoft kept going at it for a few years and even created a touchscreen fourth-generation Zune HD to compete with the iPod touch. Microsoft got out of the portable media player market after 5 years of releasing hardware priced too high to compete with the iPod.
Microsoft hasn't learned its lesson, and a new report from ZDNET claims Microsoft plans on releasing the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 at their original price points.
"According to my source, it sounds like there are no huge price cuts in the works, which will surely disappoint those who've been expecting the so-so reception of first-generation Surfaces to have made Microsoft rethink its Surface pricing. The aforementioned source told me that Microsoft is planning to continue to sell its first-generation Surfaces alongside its new Surfaces," reports ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley. "The supposed plan is to keep Surface RT pricing at its current level ($349.99 for the 32GB with no cover included) and introduce the 32GB Surface 2 at $499. A 64 GB Surface 2 will start at $599."
Microsoft is holding a Surface event on September 23 to announce the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2, which will likely go on sale Oct. 22, according to this report. Lower price points would surely help sales, but it remains to be seen whether Microsoft has learned its lesson.
