Surface Tablet Revenue Just $853m Microsoft Reveals

Microsoft made $853m in revenue from Surface tablets in its 2013 fiscal year, a disappointing figure that failed to even cover the company's $900m inventory adjustment charge for the poorly selling Surface RT. The figures, confirmed in Microsoft's most recent 10K filing, paint an underwhelming picture of the Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets, though doesn't specify exactly how many units have been sold.

Microsoft has been coy on giving those figures out, though that hasn't stopped industry observers from guesstimating around the company's sales. In March, sources with unofficial access to the numbers claimed that Microsoft had sold around 1.5m units.

Earlier this month, Microsoft admitted it had taken a $900m hit on inventory adjustment around the Surface RT. The news came just a day after Microsoft slashed the price of the tablet by around $150.

Overall, Microsoft still managed to pull together a rise in Windows revenue for the year, though pushing Surface didn't help. Sales of the tablets failed to even cover the extra $898m the company spent on marketing them and Windows 8, the 10K reveals.

Next up, so the rumor mill would have it, is a new range of second-gen Surface tablets, still running either Windows RT or Windows 8, with a broader choice of processors. There have also been whispers of LTE-equipped versions, to better take on Apple's 4G-enabled iPads, along with 7-inch versions to challenge the Nexus 7 and iPad mini.

VIA Dina Bass