Microsoft Surface RT And Surface Pro Price Cuts Become Permanent

The temporary price cut that Microsoft made to its Surface tablets earlier this month will be permanent, it has been revealed, leaving both the Surface Pro and the Surface RT varieties of the tablets — as well as the Touch Cover — a fair bit cheaper. The price change isn't instantaneous, however, with the company saying it will be altering the prices in a phased approach.

The price change is effective today, however, with the Surface Pro gaining a $100 price drop in the United States, bringing the starting price of the line to $799 USD. The Surface RT bundles, meanwhile, have received a $50 USD discount, bringing the starting price for the line to $399 USD. And all of this is rounded out by the Touch Covers, which have been dropped by $40 USD to a starting price of $79. The Limited Edition Touch Covers, however, will start at $89 USD.

Said a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to the folks at ZDNet: "The customer response to recent Surface pricing and keyboard-cover promotions has been exciting to see, and we are proud to begin rollout of Surface Pro, Touch Cover and Surface RT bundles at even more affordable prices starting August 29."

The latest promotion being referred to, of course, is the surprisingly one that took place on August 4, a reaction to the low sales number Microsoft saw for its tablet PCs. The past quarter revenue for the Surface products came in at $853 million, and word has it the models RT and Pro models will be getting a refresh later this year.

If the tipped info is right, the refreshed models will be showing up with a Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor rather than a Tegra 3 (for the RT variety), and Haswell for the Pro line. Such a permanent price drop for this line could be a hailing mark up the rumored refresh.

SOURCE: ZDNet